Keyword clustering is the SEO tactic if you want to seamlessly optimize your SEO content and streamline your workflow at the same time. The best part? Google Search Console showing an article’s journey in the SERPs from publication. This particular article is about messages to write in a book (see point #3 to understand what I did with this link here).
3) Choose the most appropriate keyword for the content (then use internal linking, naturally)
Keyword clustering presents you with opportunities you may have otherwise overlooked. If you pull together multiple keywords that all sit within one article or web page, you can determine the best angle to write in order to suit your focus keyword and your online presence.
You will have a selection of keywords and you can use their search volume, competition and your websiteโs domain authority to determine the best keyword for your site to focus on right now.
Additionally, it means that you can write meaningful anchor text as part of your internal linking strategy. Taking the example from the graph above (โThis particular article is about messages to write in a book giftโฆโ), the anchor text โmessages to write in a book giftโ is not the focus keyword. The focus keyword is: โwhat to write in a book for a giftโ, which doesnโt sound natural at all in the context above.
Thanks to a selection of clustered keywords, an internal link using relevant keywords, was easily slotted into a grammatically correct sentence. Ultimately, you can fit your keywords into your content instead of writing your content around your keywords.
4) Say goodbye to cannibalization
You could argue that you can avoid keyword cannibalization without clustering keywords, but can you?
If you know which keywords youโve used where, then you should, in theory, have no (ok, there might be a little bit) keyword cannibalization. You wonโt fall for the mistake of assigning a focus keyword to two content pieces – or more subtly – creating two content pieces for keywords that shouldโve been clustered and covered within one article.
By clustering keywords and analyzing SERPs, you might be surprised at what belongs within the same content piece.
Letโs take these two keywords: โRubikโs Cube methodโ (260 searches/month) and โHow to complete a Rubikโs Cubeโ (590 searches/month).
Without looking at the SERPs, one might be tempted to assign โRubikโs Cube methodโ as a focus keyword for an article that shares different methods, whereas โโhow to complete a Rubikโs Cubeโ would be a step-by-step guide. Thankfully, Google SERPs is quite clear that these two keywords can be usedโand should be usedโon the same web page to avoid cannibalization and poor performing articles because they simply donโt cover the topics in full.
5) Keyword clustering streamlines the SEO content plan and improves productivity
Thereโs no shying away from keyword clustering. Whilst it does add a whole lot of time to the keyword research process, it saves a lot of time long-term. The more keyword research and clusters you can create early on, the more it pays back in Google ranks and seamless marketing strategy.
The main benefit is objective planning for content. If you use keyword clustering to create a clear plan of action for SEO content for every single page on your website and jot down suitable content ideas for the future, youโll be left with long-term scalability, since you have keywords to target over time that can be scaled indefinitely.
Your team can work from one document detailing which keywords live where, which content needs to be created in order to achieve a rank, and also, how that content can be repurposed for use across the marketing landscape.
Keyword clustering is a crucial and preparatory step
You can think of keyword clustering as the preparatory work that takes place before you execute SEO. An analogy, shared with me by Adriana Stein, is that keyword clustering is like the shopping and preparation of ingredients before cooking. If you skip this crucial step you might find yourself a bit flustered later on with a dinner that wasnโt quite what it could have been.
Ultimately, what keyword clustering does is insist that you take a step closer to your marketing strategy. Through SERP analysis, you will understand your customer on another levelโyouโll know the Google SERPs for your desired keywords inside and out and exactly what you need to work towards in order to secure that page one rank.
Then, youโll be rewarded with a full, scalable content plan, an entire team working in pursuit of the same content goals, and most importantly, seamlessly optimized content!