SEO Content Strategy: Keywords and Topic Clusters
Keyword research identifies what your target audience searches for and what terms to target with content. Topic cluster strategy organises content into pillar pages (comprehensive coverage of broad topics) and cluster pages (deeper coverage of specific aspects) — creating an internal linking structure that signals topical authority to search engines.
Keyword Research Process
- Seed keywords: start with the core topics your business addresses
- Expansion: use tools (Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner) to find related terms, questions, and variations
- Prioritisation: balance search volume, difficulty, and business relevance — don't target high-volume terms you can't realistically rank for
- Search intent: understand what searchers want — informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional intent
Topic Cluster Architecture
Pillar page: long-form, comprehensive coverage of a broad topic (e.g., "Email Marketing Guide"). Cluster pages: detailed coverage of specific aspects (e.g., "Email Subject Line Best Practices", "Email Deliverability Guide"). Strong internal links between pillar and clusters signal topical authority and improve ranking for all pages in the cluster.