It is widely believed that having pages employed topic cluster model leads to get better evaluation from Google. So the model is strong in SEO.
There are bunch of myth in SEO industry but topic cluster model seems one exception.
Though topic cluster model itself won't make all sites rank high. Web master needs to write high quality, high reader satisfaction pages first.
What is topic cluster model
Topic cluster model was first proposed by HubSpot in 2016, and is widely spread by taking time. Around 2020 I saw many blogs and YouTube videos picked up this model as popular concept of site design. Fact that it has been supported for long time and still seems working proves topic cluster model is universally effective.
Method like hacking behavior of Google's search engine won't live long since popularity makes Google introduce counter measure with core update. Topic cluster model is quite different from such dark method. It is an idea that contribute to reader satisfaction and many of us think it will remain valid indefinitely.
Next 3 images are quoted from blog post introducing topic cluster model by HubSpot.
- Pillar content sits at center of circle.
- Cluster contents are placed around pillar content.
- Pillar content and cluster contents are linked.
Before employing topic cluster model, pages written for different topic were scattered in site.
Site without designing structure may end up this mess.
HubSpot employed topic cluster model and changed site structure looks like this.
Google's search engine runs crawler reading sitemap and following internal links and understands site structure. Evaluation (ranking) of each page is made based on this site structure and relations of pages so managing site structure easy to understand for Google's search engine is quite reasonable.
And properly placed internal link will let reader go around site reading related/interested pages and it contributes to higher reader satisfaction.
Many sites including HubSpot have reported they confirmed clear improvement for SEO. It seems topic cluster model is recognized effective worldwide.
How to write page with topic cluster model
Focus topic not just KW
Keyword is crucial aspect in SEO but heavily keyword weighted content may produce opposite effect. Those pages won't be high quality, high reader satisfaction content. Topic cluster model is based on idea that we should focus topic not just keyword.
When writing page for some theme or topic, consider dividing pages by topic in case one page will be too long or it looks better having few pages focused on different topic. In process of thinking keyword is important but topic should be prioritized.
How to write pillar content
Pillar content (also called pillar page) is suitable to cover wider keyword for the topic which web master tries to rank high. Web master wants massive traffic from SEO's point of view and it requires r rank high for larger keyword. Targeting long tail keyword with pillar content is no problem but it looks little different strategy.
Web master must consider target keyword difficulty based on genre and strength of site, otherwise it ends up fighting a futile battle. But in topic cluster model, pillar content can target relatively larger keyword than cluster content does. I'm doing this in my sites.
One purpose is let pillar content will rank high for wider keywords, not just for individual keyword. It sounds like too good to be true, but it is feasible. This is the change from keyword-focused to topic-focused, which is the philosophy of topic cluster model.
Write summary article as pillar content
Summary article is ideal for pillar content. Summarizing too wide theme is unfavorable but properly covering wide theme (so targeting larger keyword) with pillar content makes designing whole topic cluster easy.
- Summary article summarizes many narrower themes which are written in separated page.
- It is ideal to write in a way that can meet the search intent even if reader reads only the summary article. And internal link gives option to continue reading on the topic being interested and satisfied. Also it is desirable that pages are attractive enough so reader stays site reading those pages.
Write main article as pillar content
In this context, main article means page which can get large traffic in site. It won't be summary article but can be high quality high reader satisfaction page, proceed with topic cluster model.
How to write cluster content
Write cluster content (also called cluster page) with narrower theme than pillar content. The point is to narrow down theme and dig deep.
Long tail keywords are good for cluster content. Since we are narrowing down theme, long tail keywords are ideal to cover topic.
In the first place, the aim of topic cluster model is to improve the search ranking of cluster content targeting long tail keywords, collect the evaluation into pillar content, and raise the search ranking (Google evaluation) of the pillar content. Try to get high evaluation from a group of pages written using the topic cluster model, which cannot be obtained from just one page.
I also believe that cluster content should be written for topics with low search needs (low search volume) if it is necessary for the topic cluster model. You may disagree with this. The correct answer is known only to those who develop search engines at Google.
Placing internal link in topic cluster model
- Pillar content and cluster content should be linked in both directions (to each other).
- You don't have to link between cluster contents. When linking, too many links are counterproductive. A good way to judge this is how likely readers are to click on the link once they see it.
Examples of topic cluster model
Summary page and individual product page
Pillar content is a summary page and cluster contents are for individual product.
- Pillar content and cluster contents are bidirectionally linked.
- All cluster contents are linked one by one but it is not mandatory.
Separate deep topic to cluster content
Instead of making pillar content long, separate deep topic to cluster content.
Topic cluster model is valid for article groups with fewer pages.
What no one explains in topic cluster model
There are many blog posts and YouTube videos about topic cluster model, but there are some things that no one actually explains.
- A means of confirming whether internal link structure is as designed.
- A means of examining structure of multiple article groups based on topic cluster model that exist in site.
They do explain how to create a topic cluster model, but don't explain how to check and manage it. This is probably because there is no tool which can be introduced for that purpose.
How to visualize internal link structure
A diagram that visualizes internal link structure has appeared in the topic cluster model example. Those diagrams were all automatically generated. None of the well-known tools can do such a simple task.
Windows application "Link Map Viewer" provides visualization of internal link structure in a realistic way.
