In order to educate and “nurture” your prospects throughout the buying journey, your content must arrive in front of Internet users, in one way or another. Organic search is a great way to reach and reach audiences who are looking for relevant information about your products, services, and your business.
But, the fight for the first pages of search results on Google is becoming increasingly fierce, and brands are finding it increasingly difficult to get their audience to find their references and products on the web. Fortunately, Hubspot has managed to develop an effective solution: a content strategy called “Topic Cluster”, which can be easily implemented with the thematic cluster tool created by HubSpot.
What is it about ? We will see in the rest of this article how to create a content optimization strategy on your website .
What is a topic cluster, or thematic group?
The notion of topic cluster as developed by Hubspot can be boiled down to an organic search tactic in which several pieces of content that revolve around the same topic are linked and grouped together, in order to help your website to increase its authority in one. given theme, and to optimize its natural referencing using relevant keywords.
Topic clusters, or groups of subjects / themes, consist of a main keyword known as “core topic”, or “main subject”, then various more specific keywords associated, which are called ” subtopics ”, and which can be called“ secondary subjects ”or“ sub-themes ”in French.
The main topic is represented on your website via what Hubspot calls a “pillar page”. A pillar page represents long form content that groups together all the topics included in your topic cluster / topic group and links to all of your subtopic content. It is this inclusion of a pillar page that differentiates this thematic cluster SEO strategy from a simple internal mesh.
How to use HubSpot’s topic cluster tool
The thematic cluster tool offered by HubSpot allows you to identify and analyze potential top topics by providing you with valuable information, such as monthly search volume and the difficulty level of the chosen keywords. Once you have bet on a specific main topic (core topic), the Hubspot SEO tool will help you visualize how your cluster topic is implemented on your website thanks to a graphical representation in the form of bubbles.
Your main topic and respective “pillar page” will be the focus of this representation, and you will see all the related keywords around that you need to have in your ancillary content.
The tool will help you do the following three things:
- Monitor the search volume of all keywords included in your SEO strategy
- Find out which queries drive visitors to your pillar page and subtopic content
- Make sure that all your topic cluster “assets” (core topic and subtopics) are linked together
However, when you are going to use this SEO tool, it is important to keep in mind that this is not a magic solution that will solve all your problems regarding the SEO of your website in the search results. Google. Topic cluster should be seen as a kind of organizational assistant. It is the part of human strategy that will make your groups of subjects beneficial for better natural referencing.
Thus, in addition to using the Topic Cluster tool to visualize your action and obtain performance reports, it is essential that you set up editorial calendars, SEO writing and internal links.
How to select your subjects
Your main subjects must obviously relate to the activity of your company and the services, benefits, or products that you market.
In addition, the main topics you choose should correspond with the high end of your marketing funnel, as you are primarily targeting an audience that wants to know more about the topics you are going to cover.
It is also essential to ensure that your main topic has sufficient research volume to justify the investment in creating a thematic group related to it. We can consider that a minimum of 400 monthly searches is a good basis, but you must also take care that the search volume is not too high, as it will be difficult to position yourself well.
Once you’ve selected your main topic, the next step is to explore related topics to use as sub-topics, or subtopics. If we take for example a theme like “What does demand generation marketing consist of?” ”, The sub-themes could include the following headings:“ best demand generation practices ”,“ how to implement an effective demand generation strategy ”and“ key demand generation tactics ”. These subtopics also don’t always need to include the main topic keyword. The headings “Marketing Strategies for Your Sales Funnel” and “Data Driven Marketing” could also be subtopics.
HubSpot’s Topic Cluster Tool can help you narrow down the keywords of your subtopics that you want to use. As you add one keyword per sub-topic to your cluster, the tool created by Hubspot will show you the search volume for that keyword and provide a list of related keywords that you could use. in place.
Your topic group / topic cluster should have a minimum of six subtopics to start with, but the ideal number can be considered to be between eight and ten. If you find that you need a lot more subtopics than that to fully cover your main topic, it may be worth making two or three subdivisions of your main topic that would each have their own ‘pillar pages’, with a ten or more sub-themes.
How to create and publish content
Before you launch your topic group with HubSpot, you should have the majority of the content already prepared.
Then create an editorial calendar to guide the creation of your “pillar page” and blog posts. Find, write and optimize all content, then publish and connect it all through the tool.
Thanks to HubSpot’s topic cluster tool, you’ll be able to be sure you’ve created content to address each sub-topic and placed hyperlinks in all text posted on your blog or website. In addition, if you want to extend the reach of your topic group, it will be possible for you to easily notice what you haven’t covered yet, and if there is already relevant content on your website that could be optimized and linked to a specific pillar page.
SEO analysis report on the performance of your content
The objective of a cluster topic strategy is to increase your ability to position yourself well in the pages of search engines at the level of your main topic, or core topic. Thus, increasing traffic to your website will be one of the most important performance indicators to watch.
In addition, you will need to keep an eye on the conversion rate per visit and the number of new visitors, which will be key KPIs. You don’t necessarily have to expect a lot of conversions on your web pages at the very start of your action topic cluster.
Another interesting indicator to follow is the average time spent on each page visited by Internet users, because it is a variable related to the user experience, an element which, as you know, is essential for algorithms. search engines when they need to assess the value provided by your content.
Conclusion
A content strategy based on the concept of topic cluster, or group of the subject, will undoubtedly allow your website to establish itself as a thematic authority in the context of organic search. But beware, because content is still king today, and above all, you need relevant, well-written content for this strategy to be successful. Once you have the opportunity to produce great quality content, the topic cluster tool will help you harness its full potential and ensure that it is localizable to search engines and readers.
HubSpot’s Topic Cluster Tool makes it easier for you to manage and monitor your topic cluster strategy. This will not only help you make sure your strategy is properly implemented initially, but also monitor and expand your topic groups over time so you can create optimized content that delivers added value for your audience. and your business.