What is cluster content and how can it help your organic reach (SEO)?

Topic clusters are a content strategy used to increase your website’s visibility on search and boost your authority online. Following search behaviour changes, Google now gives more weight to deeper, organised, topical content rather than thin, keyword-specific content.

Why have we moved away from keyword-based content to topic-specific content?

People no longer search by keywords; they ask real questions. They use longer phrases. On average, searches contain 4 words, and these are not necessarily keywords. Using voice search like Alexa, Google and Siri have meant that we are asking questions to our search engines in a conversational way, and the engine now must interpret that and provide answers that are relevant to the MEANING of the question – not specifically the words.

For example, if we ask Alexa if it’s going to rain today it will tell us the weather forecast. You haven’t specifically asked for the weather, but it knows based on your question that the weather was the topic for discussion.

So, to get our content in front of our customers when they aren’t always using keywords, we need to understand the topics that they are searching for and build clusters around them.

Pillar content and cluster content

So, how is the cluster content approach structured?

It has a clear hierarchy, which is what feeds the effectiveness of this approach, and adopting the cluster content way of working means that you have to bear it in mind each time you are adding internal links to your website.

A pillar content page provides an overview of one topic. It addresses every question that could be asked around that topic, and provides links off to the cluster pages that delve into further detail. Use subject headers throughout (H2 tags) to list the content that it includes, and then provide a brief overview, linking off to the deeper content. Think of it as an A-Z of the topic, and it needs regular reviews to ensure it’s up to date.

At the end of the pillar page, it should link to other pillar pages from different topics, in a ‘related content’ menu structure.

The cluster pages spin-off from the pillar page, providing further details and depth into the specific questions and issues that are introduced on the pillar page. The cluster page needs to begin with an introduction that links back to the pillar content.

Don’t link to other cluster content from this cluster page, purely back to the pillar page for the user to go back if they want to carry on reading around that topic.

The cluster content pages still need a call to action, ideally, the reader can convert whilst on the page – such as: “sign up to the newsletter”, “contact us”, or “download the ebook”. You want to be satisfying the need and converting them within that topic, so try not to send them away.

Let’s take an example topic of Brand strategy…

You create a pillar page for brand strategy detailing all aspects that need to be included within a strategy. You then link off to cluster content for each different strategy item:

Brand Promise
Brand Values
Brand Vision
Brand Mission
Brand Proposition
Brand Story

Within the cluster page, it links back to the main pillar page of brand strategy. At the bottom of the pillar page for brand strategy, it links to other topics such as ‘content marketing, audits and research techniques, copywriting’.

It will start to look something like this…

NB: this image shows exactly why I stick to words and not design.

It’s kind of the exact opposite of the Wikipedia technique, which is scattergun LINK TO EVERYTHING with no consideration of hierarchy or topic structure.

Where do I even start with creating cluster content?

Deciding to go with the cluster content strategy is a great move for building your authority online and in the minds of your customers. However, it’s not an easy, quick win. It needs to become your mindset when creating new content for your website and relies on updating old content and pillar pages to ensure they’re always relevant, rather than bunging new blogs at the top and pushing the old content down the pecking order.

It's cleaner, and much easier for the users to navigate – and less chance of duplication across your site, which is no bad thing.

Identify user topics through thorough research

As usual with all content strategies, start by analysing your audience’s needs and search behaviour, through market research, online behaviour analysis and reviewing your buyer personas. What do they need to know from you? Identify up to 10 core problems that your audiences are searching for and that you can satisfy. How many topics can you condense these into – aim for 3 or 4 maximum.

Audit your existing content

It’s time to trawl through your existing content to review what you already have that addresses those 10 core problems. What can be updated and turned into pillar or cluster content?

Write your pillar page

Think hard about what you call your pillar topic – it has a lot of heavy lifting to do. Validate it through thorough keyword research and audience surveys.

Throughout the page, use relevant headings, a great introduction and offer further relevant content at the end.

Create your cluster content

Then, create the individual pages with deeper insight into the specific questions that your audience are looking for.

Promote and update the content

Once the content is written and live, keep promoting it. Plan it into your editorial calendar as regular content for your social media and newsletters.

Just because it’s live, doesn’t mean it’s finished. Keep updating it, keep reviewing it. Always analysing your customers search behaviour and ensuring that your pillar and cluster content is still satisfying their needs. Behaviours change fast, so I would do this every few months to keep on top of it.

In a nutshell

Pillar and cluster content is a website content strategy that helps build your authority for specific topics and boost your organic ranking.
It’s a new mindset of content creation and structure, less sporadic internal links and more hierarchy of content.
Think of a pillar page as an A-Z of a topic and cluster pages as the meaty stuff.
Never forget the call to action, and offer related content at the bottom of pillar pages to show what else you can help audiences with
Base everything on research, then keep evaluating and updating them.