How a Content Cluster Strategy Fits Into Your Digital Marketing Campaigns

Coming up with material suitable to achieve a high ranking in 2023 is difficult. At the current moment, there are 1.9 billion internet pages accessible through Web Live Stats, and individuals perform 3.5 billion Google queries on a daily basis. In addition, the vast majority of organizations (91%) are now utilizing content marketing, with the majority of them investing in shorter articles and blog posts.

How do you manage to be distinct among all the competition?

Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo are not just looking at keywords when they determine which content to rank. Create an educational experience that serves to improve the lives of those who come to your blog in order to have a noteworthy presence in search engines.

Developing a content group plan can assist you with that. In this piece, we will explain to you what a content cluster is, how to build one, and the most important tips needed for a successful plan.

What is a cluster content strategy?

A content cluster approach is a type of online marketing approach which involves grouping content related to a singular topic. The strategy consists of three key components:

Content = which includes blog posts, video marketing, social media content, podcasts, news articles, press releases, and anything else you would expect to find in a typical content marketing strategy
Internal links = which are links that take readers to other content on your domain
Pillar pages (sometimes called “hub pages”) = which are central pages that link readers to content clusters and your service pages.

Where did cluster content strategies come from?

Despite some websites having unintentionally employed a bundle of content for a long time, promotional experts have been concentrating on content groupings since Google unveiled its Artificial Intelligence (AI) system – Google RankBrain – in 2015.

RankBrain has altered the way Google goes about organizing and judging pages for inclusion in search results. Google shifted the emphasis of its algorithm away from simply keywords toward many other things such as how the user experiences the content and what the user is looking to get out of it.

Once the procedure put user experience first, some advertisers composed groupings of content that gave readers a consistent and well-ordered encounter. Search rankings began to improve for those using content clusters due to RankBrain, thus convincing other marketers to use this approach as well.

Why you should use a cluster content strategy in your digital marketing

By now, you should have an idea of some advantages that content clusters offer, such as contributing to higher rankings in search engine results. But that’s not all. Embracing a content cluster strategy can also help you:

Keep visitors on your website

The majority of people who view a website will only take between 10 and 20 seconds to do so. If people coming to your site are unable to uncover what they want, they will move on elsewhere. That’s why a content cluster strategy works.

Grouping your content marketing simplifies the process of your target demographic’s search to quickly find the info they need. Therefore, they will remain for a longer period, develop a more effective connection with you, and are more likely to go through with the transaction.

Improve your SEO

Implementing a cluster content strategy can increase your website’s visibility in search engine results, leading to higher SEO rankings. Specifically, it will help you:

Target the right keywords
Target your content at different stages of the sales funnel (including Top-of-the-Funnel content, Middle-of-the-Funnel content, and Bottom-of-the-Funnel content)
Avoid keyword cannibalization (when multiple web pages target the same keyword)

You can expect a rise in organic traffic and better rankings on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when you work to improve your SEO.

Build high-quality backlinks

Grouping together related information can establish you as an expert in your field, allowing you to keep your website uncluttered while still elucidating all the aspects of a theme.

Making your website a leader in its space will assist you in acquiring backlinks. Links from other websites, media outlets, and blogs that direct visitors to your website are known as backlinks. Backlinks can bring more visitors to your site, give your company increased visibility, and help your website rank better on search engine results.

Why topic clusters matter to SEO

If you oversee the production of digital content or the optimization of search engine performance, then be cognizant of topic groupings as they are what dictate the metrics we evaluate.

Do you measure keyword rankings, traffic, or conversions? How about engagement or pages per session? The utilization of the topic cluster method aids in maximizing the efficiency of both the SEO program and content calendar in order to acquire the highest potential of value from your internet-based promotional techniques.

Want proof?

Terakeet examined the beauty industry closely to determine which businesses were dominating organic search market share. If you’re similar to me, you would guess that sizable beauty companies such as Ulta, Sephora, L’Oréal, Neutrogena, or Dove will overpower search engine results.

Not even close. Dove and L’Oréal did not even end up in the rankings of the top 20 best-performing companies in the nine areas that were analyzed. So, which brands were consistently winning?

Online publishers.

We determined that Allure, Byrdie, New York Magazine, and Good Housekeeping held on to over 40% of the organic market between them in multiple areas.

What is the secret behind these publishers being so successful compared to the large-scale retail brands like Amazon? Topic clusters.

Byrdie has written 66 different blog posts about body piercings that, together, are ranked for over 26,000 key words and result in more than 1.4 million monthly visits from Semrush. Read the full Byrdie SEO case study here.

That’s the power of topic clusters.

Still not satisfied? Here are four additional arguments for why cluster content is beneficial for SEO.

Google is investing in topic and passage comprehension

Google dropped some major SEO bombshells recently. At first, they declared a success in their ranking system which aids the program to work out the importance of various parts inside the whole page. Secondly, they enhanced their capacity to comprehend sub-subjects related to a wide passion through artificial neural networks. Here’s Google’s announcement which I highly recommend you read.

In September 2021, Google proclaimed that they have gained insight into the typical methods by which people investigate specific subjects. Let that sink in for a moment. This goes beyond identifying related topics. Google has the capability to estimate the sequence in which people typically progress through a journey. The newly introduced “Things to know” search feature simplifies the process of learning about new topics for users. It will roll out near the end of 2021.

Sound familiar? Those advances are precisely what topic clusters excel at. Google is thrilled with these recent advancements, and they feel that it will markedly enhance the user experience by arranging data in broad categories and linking to more specific material from associated passages. When Google spends money on something that helps to find information quicker and makes user experience better, it’s definitely worth paying attention to.

Topic clusters enhance context, relevance & authority

Envision having a section on your website regarding the hue of jaguars. What information will Google use to determine if your page is concerning the paint hues of the latest F-TYPE, the team colors of the men’s basketball team, or the quantity of melanin contained in the fur of the South American jaguar?

Context.

It is apparent that Google can discern meaning from various parts of a webpage, such as the page title, URL, subheadings, sections, and lines. However, Google also examines the parts contained in pages that link to your material, plus the hypertext of those links.

So, topic clusters are like concentrated buckets of relevance. Search engines are aided in their comprehension of the context, associations, and structure of each page in a content family by them.

Also, content clusters show how extensive your coverage is (or not). An example of this is that if you have ten distinct pages that are interconnected and cover a single theme, Google will consider you more of an expert than if you only had one article that dealt with the topic.

Having extensive knowledge, being a credible source, and building credibility are essential for achieving higher search engine rankings in many industries. Consequently, it is sensible to put money into an approach for content that increases those qualities which cannot be measured.

How to implement a cluster content strategy

It’s not necessary for you to be an expert in sales to gain proficiency in content clustering. People with a range of skill sets, including small business owners and experienced digital marketers, can use topic clusters in their webpages.

Here’s how:

Step 1. Set goals

First, you need to set goals for your strategy. Creating objectives will direct your approach and provide you a benchmark to measure your results.

Use SMART goals for best results. SMART goals are:

Specific = they give you something tangible to work towards
Measurable = you can access them with a metric (like revenue, website performance, conversions, etc.)
Achievable = you can reach your goal using the resources and knowledge you currently have
Realistic = the goal is possible
Time-bound = the goal has an end date (like “by the end of FY2022” or “by the end of January”)

Step 2. Perform keyword research

The subsequent step is to investigate relevant phrases and choose which ones to focus on. Ideally, you should aim to cover a diverse range of keywords, including:

Primary keywords = keywords that you want to rank for the most
Secondary keywords = keywords that give more detail on your primary keyword (so if your primary keyword was “SEO,” your secondary keywords might be “search engine optimization strategy” and “search engine results pages”)
Short-tail keywords = like “content” or “marketing”
Long-tail keywords = keywords with low search traffic that are extremely specific (like “how to implement a new marketing strategy”)
Geo-targeted keywords = keywords specific to your area
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords = keywords that are closely related to your primary keywords (like synonyms)

Step 3. Sort your keywords into clusters

Conducting a content audit once you’ve collected your identified key phrases is the next step after keyword research. Examining your content for its keywords, performance, standard, and productive value is an evaluation called a content audit. Conduct an audit of relevant keywords by making a list of all pieces of content and scoring them against the main criteria in an Excel sheet.

Next, employ a content mapping device to picture the optimum content course of action. Your content map will demonstrate the varieties of content conglomerations that you require for every stage in the buying process. The AIDA sequence is a key part of the sales process, encompassing Awareness, Interest, Desire and taking Action.

Lastly, check your content audit against your content map and fit your current content into the plan.

Step 4. Craft content for each cluster

At this point, there are some groups that contain a lot of information as well as those that need more. You’ll know if you have enough content in each cluster if you have:

Covered the cluster’s keywords
Addressed the cluster’s primary questions
Explored the nuances of each topic
Produced several different pieces of content within each niche

Seize this chance to create new material to fit in each group. We suggest developing assorted material, for instance blog posts, infographics, images, podcasts, and long- and short-length videos.

Topic cluster mistakes

People frequently commit two serious errors when constructing topic clusters: cramming too much content in, and creating pockets of silence.

Let’s start with link silos. This is when SEOs choose not to connect different topics together in order to focus the relevance. This tactic does not take advantage of the advantages of providing internal links that would give PageRank and more detail.

Beyond that, topics simply don’t exist in a vacuum. All elements are related, and associated themes aid Google in grasping the links between different groups.

The other mistake to avoid is content flooding. This is an example of when SEO experts write an excessive amount of blog posts focusing on nearly identical keywords. As an illustration, they could create a major page centered on the term email promotion. Then, they’d create cluster pages like:

7 Effective Ways to do Email Marketing
10 Email Marketing Methods You Can’t Ignore
How to do Email Marketing in 2019
Ways to do Email Marketing in 2020

Every one of these articles aims at the same keyword, “How to Perform Email Advertising.” The consequence of this is that these webpages will battle with one another in order to secure higher rankings, also identified as keyword cannibalization.

Be sure to group related search terms together for creating cluster pages in order to prevent content flooding. Make sure that every search term and its associated keyword intent type is different. If you’re unsure, check that the search engine result page for your keywords are different from other words in their associated group before writing the content.

Final thoughts

If your marketing personnel dedicate a good chunk of their time to blogging, it is beneficial to invest in topic clusters. They assist search engines in understanding your website, and they demonstrate to customers that you are aware of their requirements by giving pertinent information during the purchasing process.

When you incorporate a topic cluster model into your content marketing efforts, you can create an orderly, productive and advanced approach. Creating content with superior content and of a substantial length that draws in searchers at the beginning of their journey. Groups of content pages should be aiming for related keywords connected to specific subjects at the center and bottom of the funnel.

Moreover, search engines are becoming more effective in grasping the logical connections between associated topics and primary subjects. Consequently, if you put money into subject groupings, your SEO endeavors should demonstrate an increase as well.

In conclusion, creating content strategically around main topics makes sure that the website elements and inbound marketing initiatives work together to give users a complete and satisfying brand experience.