Just like you cannot predict a lottery, it is difficult to predict the user intent behind a search. People tend to use a wide range of keywords and phrases to find information on a particular topic. You cannot predict the reason.
For instance, a person could search for a broad term like “data analytics” for a variety of reasons. They could be looking to start a career in analytics or just casually browsing for a project or assignment.
Let’s take another example: what if somebody searches for “Thai food”? Are they looking to order Thai food or cook some Thai dishes themselves? Just like the lottery, it could be anything.
Suppose you are an SEO strategist or a content marketing professional and want to rank for data analytics courses or Thai food orders. In that case, it is important that you cover a wide range of search intents through your content.
The topic cluster content strategy is a systematic approach to content creation for producing quality content that answers every question a searcher might have.
The topic cluster approach involves identifying high search volume and related keywords (short and long-tail) for a specific topic and creating content ideas around them. Then, you create an in-depth, long-form content that acts as a central hub of information, linking back to cluster content blog posts on sub-topics.
You need to do extensive keyword research and thorough analysis to create a topic cluster that gets the job done.
Here are the key elements of a topic cluster:
- Pillar Page: Every topic cluster model has a pillar content piece with internal links to all relevant content in a comprehensive overview of a specific topic.
- Extensive Research: Topic clusters need a lot of research. If you want to answer every question, you need to know every question. Existing SERP ranking, competitors, and community forums are great sources for analyzing the existing content on your topic.
- Interlinking Structure: Your topic cluster needs a great internal linking structure of relevant content to enhance the user experience and maximize organic traffic. If people did not find their answer on one page, help them with options of related content around the main topic.
- Engaging Content: While working on a topic cluster strategy, ensure that you create better pieces of content than the current top websites on the SERP to replace them.
Now that you have a basic understanding of topic clusters, let’s look at some topic cluster examples to inspire content ideas for your topic cluster.
Topic cluster example for event planning company
Let’s say you are a marketer for an event planning company. You pick a broad term like “event planning” and want to rank for keywords like "event planning basics," "best practices," "different types of events," "how to plan a wedding," and so on.
A topic cluster on the broad topic of event planning might look something like this.
From the basics of event planning to ticketing, a topic cluster for a broad term like "event planning" covers every aspect of event planning. Notice how every topic has supporting subtopics for separate blogs.
The goal is to help visitors find out about event planning, giving them a complete glossary of different kinds of information on the topic.
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Topic cluster example for SaaS companies
Now let’s change hats to being a CRM SaaS marketer looking to create a topic cluster on the topic of “customer relationship management.”
The best way to start your topic cluster would be a Google search and look for different search queries that people use.
From the ‘People Also Ask’ and ‘Related Searches’ sections, you can see that people are looking for meaning, roles, step-by-step processes, and examples of customer relationship management.
If you use a keyword analysis tool, you will find more topics for your CRM content cluster.
A topic cluster on “customer relationship management” will look something like this:
The idea is to create a one-stop knowledge resource on customer relationship management. While creating a topic cluster, always focus on including a variety of different angles to your topic. A CRM SaaS platform has no direct ROI in imparting a step-by-step guide, but it will help them establish a topical authority on the subject.
Topic cluster example for e-commerce business
Let’s think about an Clothing eCommerce business for a minute. There are thousands of online sellers on the internet. Why should anybody buy from you?
A good answer is that you’re a thought leader in your industry. Your company has a healthy community of fashion enthusiasts, models, and ordinary people reading your content every day and helping you rank in SERPs for your target keyword.
Your topic cluster for an e-commerce clothing store would be a comprehensive guide to fashion, clothing, styling, and grooming. You want to become the ultimate source of “everything fashion” information in your industry.
Topic cluster example for education institute
Suppose you’re an educational institute looking to cement your place on the first page of search engines. An ideal starting point would be to identify the courses or career streams you want to focus on right now.
For example, if you decide to create a topic cluster for “foreign studies in Europe”, your topic cluster would have a comprehensive guide on topics like finding courses, selecting countries, preparing for exams, applying for a visa, and securing a scholarship.
Again, the goal is to target all the different keywords related to studying in Europe. Whether the searcher is looking for colleges, visa information, or places to study in Europe, they should find an insightful piece of content on that topic.
Also read: 5 Best Pillar Page Examples To Help You Get Started
Topic cluster example for digital marketing agency
Let’s take another example. This time, you’re a marketer looking to target a broad topic such as “digital marketing.”
Targeting a broad topic like “digital marketing” can help an agency showcase its expertise, build authority on digital marketing topics, and nurture future relationships with potential customers.
You can further create sub-pillar pages on topics like Instagram marketing and create their topic clusters with sub-topics such as Instagram contest ideas, latest marketing trends, promotional strategies, and community engagement tactics.
Topic cluster examples for travel agency
One last example for better understanding. You are a travel agency looking to create a topic cluster around the topic of “tourism in Europe,” here is what your topic clusters will look like:
As you can see, a topic cluster for “tourism in Europe” should ideally cover everything. From users casually browsing the best tourist places in Europe to the ones looking for tourist visa information, a successful topic cluster strategy will address all the questions people might have regarding tourism in Europe.
By now, we hope you are excited about different topic ideas for your own topic cluster. As mentioned at the start, an ideal place to start is by searching for and identifying a broad topic.
Once you know the lay of the land and understand the quality of your competitor’s content, find the best keywords and cluster them together. Come up with topics focused on those keywords and start creating some amazing content. You can also read our blog on Pillar Page best practices.
If you are looking to take a deep dive into this subject, a good starting point is our blog on what is a pillar page and how they boost SEO rankings.
Use Topic Clusters generator by Scalenut
At Scalenut, we love amplifying your efforts with the aid of technology.
Take Scalenut’s Topic Cluster Generator, for example. Just enter the broad topic, select the target location, and the tool will produce an in-depth list of topic clusters with search volumes for your reference.
You can pick and choose important keywords and create a topic cluster in a fraction of the time it would take you to do everything manually. Dominate the search engine by signing up with Scalenut today!
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