How to Group Keywords into Topics: The Beginner’s Guide to Keyword Clustering
There was a time when SEO seemed pretty basic: pick one high-volume keyword, stuff that keyword into the page a few times, and watch as Google puts you on page 1 of the search results.
But that time has ended.
These days, Google no longer just looks at the content on a page. It actually understands it. Google can deduce not only the context of words, but also their meanings and how they’re related to one another. If you’re still optimizing webpages for one keyword at a time, you’re not only behind in your SEO strategy. You’re actually becoming invisible to the very same search engines that will help determine your traffic levels!
Unfortunately, many marketers begin their SEO journey by putting their “best foot” forward, chasing one great keyword, putting that great keyword in numerous places on one specific webpage, and trying to achieve a position on page 1 of the search results. Think again. Those days are gone. Google is now a much smarter search engine than it was just a few years ago. Google no longer simply looks for one keyword by itself. It analyzes the total content of your page in order to understand what the entire topic is about.
Keyword clustering is now completely revolutionizing how SEO is done.
With this method of targeting numerous related keywords at the same time, you can demonstrate to Google that your page has some authoritative weight behind it. This will help increase your rank in search results and provide you with additional visitors to your site because users now have the ability to find more relevant information easily. These reasons are why many marketers/agencies are utilizing keyword clustering as another method of effectively optimizing their web pages.
In this blog, we will discuss the following information within this beginner’s guide on keyword clustering.
✅ What is Keyword Clustering? (And why it’s better than the traditional approach to Search Engine Optimization)
✅ How does Keyword Clustering Work? (A simplified breakdown of the logical process)
✅ How can you generate new Web Page Content based on Related Keywords? (The process for creating topic-rich web pages that are likely to rank highly).
Let’s put a period at the end of the keyword-centric approach and use that as an indicator that we are done with using keywords to produce effective content.
📍 What is keyword clustering?
Keyword clustering is about combining similar keywords into one “cluster” or main topic. Instead of writing 10 separate pages about 10 separate keywords, you simply create one great piece of content about all 10 keywords.
For instance, if you are selling ‘organic dog food’, rather than writing separate pages for:
✅ Best food for small dogs
✅ Kibble made from organic ingredients for puppy dogs.
✅ Dog food that is both healthy and good for dogs with stomach problems
The above three items would fall under an overall topic of “Organic Dog food for Special Health Conditions”. This is an example of keyword clustering; rather than competing for just individual keywords, you are working towards an overall authority on an entire topic area.
📍 Why Does Keyword Clustering Matter?
There are several reasons why this area should be researched by your company. A recent report from Semrush indicates that websites which utilize topic clusters have an increased ability to rank in the Top 10 of Google by 45% more than websites that do not use a topic cluster (Semrush, 2023).
- Prevention of Keyword Cannibalism by Google.
The definition of keyword cannibalization is complex, but the issue itself is straightforward. When multiple websites compete to gain popularity within Google’s search results using the same keyword. This confuses search engines like Google, making it difficult to decide which page to rank. As a result, none of the pages perform well in search results.
Keyword cannibalization happens when multiple pages on the same website target the same keyword. Using keyword clusters to create a singular page dedicated to one keyword (the primary page) will allow Google to understand which page should be displayed for users searching on that keyword. According to Backlinko, this will likely result in your search rankings rising between 15% and 30% higher than they currently are. (Dean, 2022).
- You Demonstrate to Google That You Are a Subject Matter Authority
Google’s prioritization is to show users the most helpful content. When you create one page that answers multiple related questions, it helps build topical authority, which means Google sees your page as a strong and reliable source on that topic.
When you build this authority, your content gains more trust and visibility. As a result, your page can rank for many related keywords, not just one.
- Improved User Experience
Think about how you behave when conducting a search. Have you ever wanted to get through five pages of content to find answers to every question? No, instead you want one easy-to-follow, complete guide. Use keyword grouping to produce better quality content that is meant for real people. If you can keep users spending more time on your pages, Google will pay attention.
📍 Step-by-Step: How to Group Keywords into Topics
Moving on and being practical about this now is going to cost you very little to start. Simply follow a basic series of steps to begin.
Step 1: Start With a Seed Keyword List
✅ Google Autocomplete: (When you begin typing something in Google, it will suggest words based on what you have typed).
✅ AnswerThePublic: (Another free tool that provides questions people ask regarding certain keywords or topics).
✅ Google Search Console: (If your site has traffic, it will indicate which search queries were used to find you).
Do not spend too long trying to figure out which words or phrases to utilize. Just write down as many words as possible that relate to your business idea.
For example, in a digital marketing company, the original keywords to consider would be: SEO Services, Social Media Management, PPC Company, Google Ads Help, Local SEO, Content Marketing etc..
Step 2: Identify Similarities among Keywords
You can create a blank spreadsheet with either Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, in which you will put your keyword phrases into column A.
In addition to putting your keyword phrases into column A, you will then want to look at the keyword phrases for any similarities and then see what type of content or search queries your target audience is using.
For example, it will help you identify common themes in the keyword phrases that have been gathered.
Once you find similarities, you can categorize each of those keywords by using color. For example:
– Blue: Pricing
– Green: Beginner
– Yellow: Advanced tips
– Orange: Local
The goal of categorizing the keyword phrases this way is to create a visual representation of clustering the keywords based on shared themes (similarity) in order to develop an idea/theme and the types of content associated with each of those themes, in order to create what is called a “clustering” of keywords.
Step 3: Evaluate Search Intent (Critical Step)
New marketers commonly make a mistake when they group words together in clusters based on how they look rather than what the user was intending them to be. The reason for a search can be categorized into four different types of intents:
✅ Informative: (Looking to learn something concerning a periodic issue. For instance, “how can I repair a water leak in my home?”)
✅ Commercial : (When a person searches for something and wishes to determine what the best available products are. For example, “which running shoes are best for sale in 2025”?),
✅ Transactional : (When a user is looking to confirm, prior to making a purchase, that the item or service they want to buy can be purchased. Example: “buy Nike Air Max shoes on the web”)
✅ Navigational : (The user is trying to find a specific website. For example, “Facebook login”).
To see what the search intent of your keyword is, search for your keyword or keyword phrase on Google. Look at the first three organic search results you see. Are they related to information, such as a news article to a product page? You need to produce the same type of content as the organic results on Google.
Step 4: Grouping by a Simple Rule
At this point in the process, you should have established your themes and confirmed their meaning/purpose. Now it’s time to separate them into groups!
According to Ahrefs, “two keywords should be grouped together if they share at least 80% of their respective sets of ranking pages in the search results”(Soulo, 2022).
You won’t need to do any math to evaluate whether two keywords should be combined, as they would either be obvious or through some Use of Logical Reasoning.
For example, when someone searches “best coffee maker,” would they not also find “best espresso maker” similarly worthwhile ? YES. However, if you searched for “how do you clean a coffee maker,” that would be an entirely different topic than either of the first two keywords.
Step 5 : Create Your Topic Pillar Page
After organizing your list of keywords (like the cluster of 7-10 related words) into clusters of related groups based on what you think people will search for, using that information as an outline makes creating the content easier.
How Would This be Structured:
✅ The main keyword that was found in the keyword cluster has a high monthly volume.
✅ All other keywords that were located were used as H2 or sub-heading, each sub-heading should be a sub-topic from the main header and will reflect the overall subject.
✅ Link to your site for each related array of topics
✅ A FAQ section is included giving the reader a brief explanation of how frequently that keyword is used and how it relates to other keywords.
Avoid using keywords 10 times. If you write them naturally, it will not be a problem for the reader. Google also understands the use of synonymous terms and different word forms for the same words.
Top Mistakes to Avoid
Here are three common errors to avoid.
Error 1 – Keyword Clusters Too Large
Some people place 50 keyword phrases on one page that make it impossible for anyone to read (and therefore only make sense as unconnected strings of words). Pillar pages should contain 5 to 15 keyword phrases in a cluster. If you have more than 15 per page, cluster them into 2 sets.
Error 1 – Keyword Clusters Too Large
Some people place 50 keyword phrases on one page that make it impossible for anyone to read (and therefore only make sense as unconnected strings of words). Pillar pages should contain 5 to 15 keyword phrases in a cluster. If you have more than 15 per page, cluster them into 2 sets.
Error 2 – Local Keyword Clusters
For example, if you run a plumbing business in Austin, you should group your local keywords separately from broader, national keywords. For instance, keywords like ‘emergency plumber Austin’ target local customers, while ‘plumber tips’ is more general and reaches a wider audience.
According to BrightLocal, there was a study conducted in 2023 that showed 78% of local searches from mobile devices led to an offline purchase (BrightLocal 2023). Therefore, you need to create a high-quality cluster for your local terms using only the specific terms (that align with searches) you want to use.
📍 Tools That Make Keyword Clustering Easier
You can cluster your keywords by using a spreadsheet, or you could use any of the following (low-cost) tools if you would prefer a faster way to do it.
Keyword Insights AI – Automatically clusters your Keywords based on the meaning of the keywords that you have entered. A free version of this software is available.
Surfer SEO – This will determine the various groups of keywords based upon what pages rank highest in the Search Engines for your best ranking keyword phrases.
Clusteric – Unlike Surfer SEO, this application is very simple and is only designed for the purpose of clustering your keywords – this is its only feature and it does not have any other functions.
📍 How to Measure Keyword Clustering Success
After creating your clustered pages, there are numerous ways to track their success.
Below are some areas within Google Search Console you can evaluate to determine how the clustered pages are performing.
✅ Impressions- Are users finding your page more frequently in the search results?
✅ Average position- Have you experienced an increase in overall rankings(example. position 15 to 8)?
✅ Click-through rate (CTR)- Are users clicking to access your page?
✅ Keywords- How many keywords is your page ranking for? A well-structured clustered page should be able to rank for between 50-200 keywords.
Conclusion
You don’t have to create your entire website in one weekend. Trying to complete everything at once will not only make you unproductive but will also make you feel burnt out, confused and produce low-quality content. When you hurry, mistakes will be made, such as putting unrelated keywords together and missing the search intent. Not only do these issues negatively impact your search engine optimization, they also negatively impact your credibility.
The bottom line is that when you experience stress, you will make poor decisions. Poor decisions will lead to less- than- great SEO results. Less than great results will make you want to throw up your hands and quit. We don’t want this to happen to you. So when it comes to keyword clustering, it’s a marathon and not a sprint, so give yourself permission to take your time on building your website.
The SEO benefits that come from having just one pillar page are more than you could ever get by posting multiple thinly populated pages spread-out across your website.
After launching your initial pillar page, allow yourself time to reflect on this accomplishment and celebrate your achievement! Then identify your next topic area of interest (which may or may not relate to your first topic area). Follow the same process of developing and publishing additional pillar pages around those topics. Over time, this will establish a regular routine for adding more and more of these types of pages to your site.
Eventually, you will have a beautifully organized website which will be easily understood and trustworthy to both your visitors and Google. When someone accesses your site they will find the information they are searching for grouped together around similar types of topics as opposed to randomly sampling different pages within your website. This structured approach makes it easier for Google to ascertain the expertise within a given subject area. As a result, when a user searches for something related to one of those topics, you’ll receive higher rankings in search results, which will subsequently create increased traffic to your website.
In summary, all of this is possible with just one cluster (set of related pages) represented by your first pillar page, and a positive action you performed today towards developing new clusters of related web pages by continuing through this process!
Now it’s your turn. Have you tried keyword clustering? Are you still stuck in the single-keyword mindset? Share your thoughts, questions, or wins in the comments below. Let’s learn from each other.
