A topical map lists the topics a site needs to cover, groups them into clusters around a central page, and shows how each page links to the others. It turns keyword research into a publishing plan: instead of a list of unrelated posts, the team builds out whole areas of a subject so that search engines and readers can see the site covers it thoroughly.
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How to build one
- Start from what the product does and the problems buyers have before they find it.
- Group related searches into clusters, each with one main page.
- List the supporting pages each cluster needs to answer the obvious follow-up questions.
- Mark which pages already exist, which need refreshing and which are missing.
- Draw the internal links: supporting pages to the main page, and main pages to the relevant money page.
Topical map or keyword list?
A keyword list says what people search. A topical map says what the site should be about, in what order to build it and how the pages connect, which is what a writer or an agency can act on.
Common mistakes
Mapping topics the product has no right to win
Coverage only helps where the site has something genuine to say. Keep the map close to what the product does.
Keep reading
- Topical Authority: Topical authority is the idea that a site covering a subject thoroughly and well is treated as a reliable source on it. It is a concept, not a metric.
- Topic Cluster: A topic cluster is a group of related pages around one subject: a broad pillar page linked to detailed pages on each subtopic, all linked to one another.
- Pillar Page: A pillar page is a broad, comprehensive page on a core topic that links out to more detailed pages on each subtopic. It anchors a topic cluster.
- Keyword Mapping: Keyword mapping assigns each target search, or group of searches with the same intent, to one page on your site, so pages don't compete with each other.
- Changelog Marketing: Changelog marketing turns a product's release notes into a public, readable record of improvements that shows momentum and gives content for other channels.
- Community-Led Content: Community-led content is created with or by a product's community, such as member guides, AMAs and roundtables, guided by the company but shaped by users.
- Comparison content: Comparison content helps buyers weigh options side by side, such as versus pages, alternatives pages and best-of lists.
- Content Audit: A content audit reviews every page a site has published to decide which to keep, update, merge, redirect or remove, based on quality and performance.
