HOW TOPIC CLUSTERS

GENERATE SEARCH ENGINE INTEREST

Aided by natural language processing (NLP) technology,
search engines have reached a point of sophistication where
they can interpret user search queries to provide results that
are more accurate and more relevant. Search engines like
Google, for example, are increasingly concerned with the
‘context’ and ‘intent’ behind a user’s search, looking at a
number of variables – NOT just keywords.

Location, proximity, previous searches, user search behaviour,

device, keyword terms – all of these factors are taken into
consideration by today’s search engines to deliver the most
accurate and relevant results possible.

Much of this change is down to how we – as users – use

search engines. Nowadays, search is increasingly mobile-first
and voice-based, mobile voice assistants like Siri and Alexa
have made search queries far more ‘conversational’ and
‘natural’, and we are perfectly fine posing the most complex,
sentence-based questions to search engines: “What’s the
best restaurant in London?”, “Where can I find affordable
clothes?”, “How can I get to Times Square?”.
1 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
FOR B2B ENTERPRISE?
From a B2B marketing perspective, most businesses have
been focusing their content and search engine optimisation
(SEO) around strict, keyword-based strategies. These
businesses would use relevant, long-tail keyword terms with
low competition and good search volumes to drive quality,
targeted traffic back to their website.

Many companies have had success with this approach, but as

influential search engines alter their algorithms to favour topics
rather than keywords, the nature of content is changing and
businesses must change their approach to content creation
and optimisation.
Keyword strategies are, of course, still important, but in an
increasingly competitive landscape, new strategies are
required to stay ahead of the competition… and in light of
these changes, content creators and SEO experts are
moving to a ‘topic cluster’ approach.

Don’t dismiss your

keyword strategies.
While topic clusters must be considered as the standard for
future content creation, keywords can still help you to
identify what your target audience is interested in and
looking for.
2 WHAT IS A TOPIC CLUSTER?
A topic cluster is where a single “pillar” page acts as the main
hub of content for an overarching topic and multiple content
pages that are related to that same topic link back to the pillar
page and to each other.

In simpler terms, a pillar page is a broad overview of a specific

topic – think of it like a summary or road map of anything that’s
around 2,000 to 5,000 words long. The pillar page then links to
in-depth articles related to the main topic. These articles are
known as ‘cluster content’.

The idea behind this approach is that you build a central page
that provides an in-depth overview of a specific topic, and then
write a series of in-depth subtopics related to the main topic,
covering different aspects, and link them back to the pillar page.
3 HOW DOES IT WORK IN
PRACTICE?
If you provide accounting software for small businesses, your
pillar page could be along the lines of: ‘Accounting Software
for Small Businesses’ and your cluster content – the pages
linked to the pillar page – could be blog topics around
‘Choosing the right accounting software’, ‘Benefits of
accounting software for small businesses’, and ‘How to get
the most out of your accounting software’. These all fall under
the broader topic of accounting software.

“Topic clusters are an excellent way to demonstrate your business’
knowledge of a specific subject. It not only helps your customers to
understand and find solutions to their problems, but also improves your
ranking on Google over time. It’s a powerful content strategy that can
really deliver results.”
AARON CARPENTER
SENIOR EDITOR AT HUBLE DIGITAL
Take this scenario for example:
A potential prospect executes a search for ‘accounting
software for small businesses’. They are then presented with
a list of results and click on your pillar page for ‘Accounting
Software for Small Businesses’. Your pillar page provides
them with a comprehensive overview of accounting software
and includes cluster content that provides a detailed
breakdown of each element involved. Your prospect leaves
your website informed and educated – and you have
positioned your business as an authority on that topic. What’s
more, they pass your information on to other stakeholders in
their business, making your solution top-of-mind when they
make their decision.
As more and more people find your pillar page, its ranking on
search engine results pages (SERPs) increases and more
organic traffic comes to your website.
4 WHY TOPIC CLUSTERS
ARE IMPORTANT
It’s important to remember that when we search, multiple
variables are involved. For example, typing into Google:
‘Burger joints in London’ is not the same as ‘Best burger
joints in London’. In the first instance, one is vague and
not concerned with the quality of those burger joints,
whereas the second is.
A slight variance in the search – though similar – should
deliver different results. And so, by using topics clusters,
we change our approach to creating content to ensure it
delivers the right content based on what prospects are
looking for.
Another example would be ‘How to create a Twitter page’.
Similar results could be:

- Twitter page design
- How to design a Twitter page
- Twitter page design templates
All the searches are incredibly similar, but each search
has different context and intent. That said, someone
searching for ‘How to create a Twitter page’ will most
likely be interested in finding out more about designing
Twitter pages and Twitter page design templates. So, if
someone’s looking for ‘How to create a Twitter page’, the
surrounding articles could easily be those mentioned
above!
Topic clusters are an opportunity to engage with
prospects who have more questions around a specific
topic – and they allow you to nurture leads from an initial
top of the funnel enquiry that might be “What is
HubSpot?”, for example, through to “How much does
HubSpot cost” – purely with content! It’s a cost-effective
way to generate better-quality leads.
5 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF
A TOPIC CLUSTER APPROACH?

1. Improved SEO
By using a topic cluster setup – you signal to search
engines that there is a semantic relationship between your
pillar page and the content that it links to. Bots crawling
the page will be able to quickly map out what your topic
cluster is about, what the main page is, and how your
information can help searchers.

As your content is clearly laid out and easily understood,
search engines will identify your pillar as valuable, and the
quality inbound links to and from the pillar page, via the
subtopic content, will increase the pillar page’s value and
rank on SERPs over time. And when one piece of
interlinked content does well – so do your other pages.
As you continue to build out your topic cluster, the page’s authority
will increase and you will generate more organic traffic to your
website. It’s a more structured approach to content creation that
improves your SEO and informs your content creation.
2. Website authority
Topic clusters are an easy way to build website
authority. If you have in-depth content on your
website addressing a specific topic, and subtopic
content answering questions related to that topic –
all of which is interlinked – Google will look at your
web page as an authority on that subject matter.
Remember, search engines use links as a signal of
authority, so by linking subtopic content to your pillar
page and your pillar page to subtopic content, you
enhance the value of all your pages, and make it
easier for website visitors to find what they are
looking for.
3. Content organisation
Topic clusters put strategy back into your content creation.
Rather than creating one off pieces based on keywords,
you look at the bigger picture and start to create content
that will not only improve your pillar page’s authority in the
eyes of Google, but also answer the questions your
prospects have. Topic clusters simplify your content
hierarchy, making it easier for interested parties to
navigate their way through your website and for you to
move them further into the buyer’s journey.
4. Improved lead generation
Topic clusters provide the perfect opportunity for you to create
top, middle and bottom of the funnel content and have it all under
one umbrella, allowing you to move website visitors from simple
visitors to leads all through content.

For example, let’s say you provide Inbound Marketing

consultancy and someone has questions around Inbound, what
it is and how it can benefit their business. They investigate your
website and find your topic cluster on Inbound Marketing and
read an article called “What is Inbound Marketing?”. Having
found out more about Inbound, they want to know how it can
benefit their business, so they look through your topic cluster
and find an article on “The Business Benefits of Inbound
Marketing”.

Now, convinced and educated on the benefits of Inbound, they

want to know how your business can help – so they read another
piece of cluster content. This time it’s a case study, which helps
them decide they’re ready to engage with your business.
Suddenly, from that initial website visit, you have generated a lead
– all through content.
6
BUILDING A TOPIC CLUSTER
As topic clusters consist of a pillar page and cluster content
(clusters), you need to come up with a central topic and surround
that central topic with relevant, in-depth articles (cluster content).

First, construct a plan that covers the cluster content you will create
to surround your pillar page with – make sure the cluster content
relates to the pillar page and answers the questions your prospects
have (buyer personas will help in the process).

You should keep adding more cluster content to your pillar page
over time, as this will help to improve the value of the pillar page
(and the cluster content) in the eyes of Google.
A topic cluster should have at least ten subtopics that
address specific questions, problems or pains your
customers may be exploring related to the core topic
of your pillar page. There isn’t a definitive number of how
many blogs you should add to your pillar page, it completely
depends on how many topics you think you can cover.

When it comes to building your topic clusters, think from the

perspective of your prospects. At every stage, the content
you create should be tied to the business pains/challenges
they face and the possible solutions to those problems.
7 BUILDING OUT SUBTOPICS
Having built your central pillar page, you need to create specific and
detailed subtopics. As mentioned previously, how you come up with
these topics will be based on your buyer personas and the questions
they might be asking.

If you’re not publishing regular blog content, you should be. This
strategy is not a complete overhaul of your content marketing
efforts, but more a process of realigning your strategy to ensure its
focusing on current SEO best practice, and that you are not
blogging for the sake of blogging.
Here’s an example from
HubSpot, looking at their
“Content Marketing” pillar page.

Content Marketing Strategy

Brainstorming Techniques Gated Content
Blogging Growing Readership
Blogging Mistakes Content Planning
Buyer Personas Content Creation Tools
Writing Skills Blog Post Topics
Writing Productivity Grammar Fails
Buyer’s Journey

Regardless of format, make sure your subtopics answer the questions

your prospects have in depth. Keywords can still play an important role
in your strategy, but it’s more important to think about related questions
to your topic that prospects might be having.
8 CONNECT YOUR SUBTOPICS
TO YOUR CORE TOPIC
Finally, hyperlink text in your core topic to your subtopics where
relevant – and link your subtopics back to the pillar page. This is
the most important step when creating topic clusters.

The internal linking between your topic and subtopic pages

shows search engines that the content across your pages have
a semantic relationship.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Content without strategy is just stuff – and the world
has enough stuff.
As topic-based content becomes the standard for all
kinds of content creation, having a long-term content
strategy in place will be vital. The thing is, if you are
randomly creating content and promoting it, you will
not be able to build your website’s authority over time,
generate website traffic or improve your website’s
ranking on SERPs.
You need to look at the bigger picture of content
creation and start creating libraries of content that
contain the answers to the questions your prospects
have. You need to become a source of information
that your prospects can turn to and rely on.
To that end, topic clusters represent a more strategic approach
to content creation and put a renewed emphasis on high-
quality, in-depth and relevant content.
But if you don’t have a strategy in place – or need assistance
creating one – we can help.
Content is the backbone of your Inbound Marketing strategy –
and if you are just getting started, you need to get it right the
first time and ensure your content creation is tied to business
goals and the pain points of your prospects.
At Huble Digital, our specialist consultants have helped
enterprise clients across industries to build out pillar page
strategies, pillar pages and subtopic content – including
conducting buyer persona workshops, content audits, content
brainstorms and ongoing content support.
To find out more about the content services
we provide, get in touch today.