Content clusters: how to build topical authority

You used to be able to rank with separate pages that each targeted one search term. Google now looks more and more at whether you cover a topic completely, and whether your site is the place where someone can get all their questions about that topic answered. A content cluster is how you build that.

What exactly are content clusters?

Take a central page on financial planning. That page covers the topic broadly and links to in-depth articles on subtopics like building a pension, saving for your children and investing for beginners. All those pages link back to your main page and to each other where relevant. That's a content cluster.

A cluster like that has three parts:

• Pillar page: The main page, which covers the whole topic broadly
• Cluster content: Articles that each go deep on one subtopic
• Internal links: The links between the main page and the articles, and between the articles themselves

From that structure, Google can see that you cover the main topic and the questions around it. That's what topical authority means in short: your site shows that it knows a topic from every side.

Why content clusters matter in your SEO strategy

On May 23, 2023, Google publicly described, for the first time, a system called "topic authority". For news queries, it helps decide which sources know a lot about a field, such as health, politics or finance. That system was made for news, but the idea behind it applies more broadly: if you cover a topic thoroughly, you have a better chance than someone who puts separate pages on separate search terms. So plan your pages by topic and put the search terms underneath.

That fits how people search. More and more often they type a whole question, and they want the answer from a source they trust. Google is also getting better at understanding what someone means, even when it differs from what's literally in the search bar.

A site with a strong cluster can therefore be found for the main topic and for many longer, more specific questions around it. Those longer queries are called long-tail search terms. Fewer people search for each one separately, but with a cluster you catch many of them at once.

Building a content cluster in four steps

Step 1: Choose your core topics

First choose a handful of main themes that you really know and that your customers search for. On my own site, those include 'technical SEO', 'content marketing' and 'local findability'.

You can see what people are asking for in tools like Google Trends and Answer the Public, and in the numbers from your own Google Search Console. Look at your competitors too: which topics do they cover in depth?

Step 2: Create your pillar page

The pillar page is the main page of your cluster: all the other articles link back to it. That page has to:

• Cover the whole topic broadly
• Point to the in-depth articles at logical places
• Target your main search term
• Have a logical structure with clear headings

Make sure the page tells the reader something they won't read at your competitor's. A table of contents and some imagery make a long page like that easy to scan.

Step 3: Write the cluster content

Every subtopic you touch on in the pillar page gets its own article that goes deeper. That can take many forms:

• Detailed how-to articles
• Case studies with real examples
• Comparisons and reviews
• FAQ pages
• Videos or podcasts

Mix those formats. A how-to helps someone who's still exploring their options, a comparison helps the buyer who only has to choose.

Step 4: Add internal links between all the pages

Internal links turn separate articles into one cluster. Every cluster page links to the pillar page, and the pillar page links to all the cluster pages. That's the basis. What makes the connection stronger:

• Link cluster pages to each other where it makes sense
• Use descriptive anchor text (not “click here”)
• Put links in the running text, where the topic comes up
• Update older articles with links to new cluster pages

That shows Google how your pages fit together, and it makes it easy for a visitor to click through to the next article.

Three examples of a content cluster

Content clusters by industry

A real estate agency can build clusters around the buying process and the selling process. A healthcare provider can make a cluster per treatment method or around patient care. And an online store sets up clusters per product category or per situation in which someone uses the product.

Whatever your industry, choose topics your customers struggle with themselves. The questions they ask you on the phone or by email are often the best start for a cluster.

Measure what your cluster brings in

A content cluster is something you have to keep tracking. Keep an eye on these numbers:

• Rankings in Google for your pillar page and cluster pages
• Organic traffic to the whole cluster
• Average session duration and bounce rate
• Pages per session
• Inquiries and sales that come in through the cluster pages (conversions)

You adjust based on those numbers. See which topics draw the most traffic and which page brings in the most inquiries.

Content clusters and AI search engines

ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews get their answers from somewhere too. The companies behind them don't disclose exactly how they choose their sources. It does stand to reason, though, that a site that covers a topic thoroughly and clearly is easier to read and cite than a site with separate pages.

So write your cluster in a way an AI tool can read well: clear headings, questions you answer right away, and information that's factually correct.

Start with one cluster

Expect it to take months before a content cluster is working well. So start with one cluster around your most important topic, measure what it does, and only then expand to other themes.

Want help setting up content clusters? I create complete SEO strategies, and clusters are often part of them. I write the SEO copy and take care of the technical optimization and link building around it.