Keyword Clustering: 5 Best Ways to Build Keyword Clusters

When it comes to search engine rankings, keywords play an important role. They are the pillars upon which content is created and used to rank in search engine results. When researching, a marketer is tasked with deciding which keywords support which page. This is where keyword clustering comes in. Read further to learn more about what keyword clustering is and the methods to implement it.

In this article

1. What Is Keyword Clustering?
2. What Is The Importance Of Keyword Clustering In SEO?
3. Important Terms To Know
   • Topic Cluster
   • Pillar Page
   • Content Cluster
   • Parent Topic
4. 4 Keyword Grouping Tools For Keyword Clustering
5. How To Build Keyword Clusters
   • Choose a Central Topic
   • Conduct a Keyword Research
   • Create Keyword Clusters
   • Create cluster pages
   • Create pillar pages
6. What’s Next?
7. Related Reads

What Is Keyword Clustering?

Keyword clustering is a practice used for grouping target keywords in groups, or in this case, clusters, to segment those keywords related to website content. Search engine optimization (SEO) professionals use this technique to achieve higher rankings in search results. In order to do this technique, they will first conduct keyword research and cluster the keywords into smaller groups, then spread them across a website’s pages. The keyword clustering process is automated and is performed using clustering tools, four of which we’ll cover later in this article. 

What Is The Importance Of Keyword Clustering In SEO?

If you are a content marketer, it is safe to assume that you might have already done keyword clustering intentionally or unknowingly. For example, if you are about to begin writing a blog, you would first conduct thorough keyword research and the terms associated with the target keyword. You would also think about how you can use some of the keywords on other pages so that you can link them to each other later. 

These are some of the important aspects of keyword clustering and how it helps a website:

1. Better search engine rankings
2. Increased organic traffic
3. Good for improving site structure
4. Good for internal linking pages on your website to help search engine crawlers 
5. Help to build SEO authority on topics

One thing to note is that not all websites will be able to improve their rankings by improving their website structure. However, this does not mean you should neglect structure integrity, as it is always best to remain safer.

Important Terms To Know

These are some important terms you will encounter when conducting a keyword cluster.

1. Topic Cluster

A topic cluster is another term used to describe a keyword cluster. It is an organized collection consisting of related blogs, pages, and other content on the website to help visitors and webmasters easily navigate the website. This is one of the factors that can help increase search engine rankings and topical authority. For example, suppose you have a topic about cars; the topic cluster will be something like this: 

1. EV cars
2. Supercars
3. American muscle cars
4. Exotic cars
5. Formula One car

The topic clusters would have pillars that embody the other pages and act, as the name suggests, as “a pillar.”

2. Pillar Page

A pillar page is the center of the topic clusters. The simplest example would be to describe it as the heading of a paragraph, and the different subcategories that come under it would be the topic clusters. 

3. Content Cluster

A content cluster is another word for a topic cluster. Instead of grouping content based on keywords, the content is grouped into clusters based on the topic and its relevance. 

4. Parent Topic

This term is used to describe the keywords that bring in the highest traffic. In other words, it is the original keyword upon which other keywords are based; for example, if the keyword is “rear view cameras for cars,” the parent topic would be rearview cameras. 

4 Keyword Grouping Tools For Keyword Clustering

You can use keyword grouping tools to get the job done swiftly. Below are some of the best keyword grouping tools you must use.

1. Keyword Cupid (Paid tool, offers a free trial for 7 days)
2. Keyword Insights (paid tool, trial costs $1)
3. SEO Scout (Free)
4. Charly Wargnier keyword research tool (Free to use)

How To Build Keyword Clusters

To build a keyword cluster, follow the steps below

1. Choose a Central Topic

First, you must choose a topic that is relevant to your business. It should not be too broad, nor should it be too narrow. Target topics that people would search for in the informational journey, meaning look for topics that a regular person is interested to learn more about. This way, you can compel them to learn more about the topic and lead them to the cluster pages. 

2. Conduct a Keyword Research

Identify the primary keyword you want your website to target. Then, look for variations of the same keyword, including short-tail and long-tail keywords. You can also search for related keywords that people will search for in search queries. You will also need the volume of each keyword that can be obtained using a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or Google search console. To start the keyword research, head to a keyword research tool and, look at what keywords your competitors are using, then find the related keywords. 

3. Create Keyword Clusters

The next step is to use the keyword research tool to group the keywords you identified. Note that manually grouping the keywords into clusters is time-consuming. A keyword clusterings tool like SEO Scout or Keywords Insights is recommended. Once you have created a list of keywords, you will notice a similar pattern. When segmenting the keywords, remember to do so based on their relevance. 

If the keywords are too dissimilar, the content will be less readable to the user and confuse the crawlers. If the content is relatable, the crawlers can understand the page’s relevance better in relation to other pages within the pillar page. Also, look for keywords based on their organic difficulty and volume. This can help you understand which keywords will rank on your website. If a keyword shows the greater difficulty in a keyword research tool, it will be difficult to rank if your website has a lower domain authority. 

4. Create Cluster Pages

Now, to create cluster pages, create a content brief so that content writers will know how to create content based on the keywords you give them. Publish your blogs based on the keywords you identified and start publishing them.

5. Create Pillar Pages

You need to create a pillar page to connect all the cluster pages. Pillar pages are used as a navigation tool that helps users to find the pages under a particular topic. It helps the reader know everything about a topic and its related content. After that, use internal links to connect the cluster pages. 

Related Reads

• What Are Branded Keywords and Why Are They Essential?
• 8 Keyword Research Tools for Anchor Texts
• SEO Keywords to Use for Meta Descriptions

What’s Next?

Keyword clustering is an important part of any SEO strategy. Suppose you have a website that is not well organized and has topics under categories that are dissimilar to each other. In that case, it means your website needs to be optimized for better navigation and readability. There are two other reasons why keyword clustering is so important. It is because they trigger two of the biggest criteria that Google prioritizes: natural language and indexing. 

Keyword clustering aids in embedding more natural and relevant keywords to pages. It also helps Google indexing because all pages will have already been neatly organized into groups under their relevant headings.