What Is Keyword Clustering?
Keyword clustering is an SEO strategy that involves grouping related keywords into clusters or themes. Instead of focusing on single keywords, clustering helps optimise content for a broader set of terms that are closely related.
The idea is simple: by targeting a group of similar keywords in your content, you can improve your chances of ranking for multiple search queries with a single page or article.
Here’s a look at an example:
Imagine a fitness blog. Instead of creating separate articles for “best workout shoes,” “top running sneakers,” and “comfortable gym shoes,” it is better to create one comprehensive guide on “The Best Shoes for Every Workout.” This covers all these related terms in one piece, both enhancing SEO efforts and saving time.
Why Is Keyword Clustering Important For SEO?
Keyword clustering isn’t just about putting similar terms together; it’s about understanding user intent and how search engines interpret related queries.
Advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and semantic understanding by search engines has made have made it possible for them to recognise the relationships between different keywords.
So, by grouping keywords strategically, you can create more in-depth, valuable content that addresses multiple aspects of a topic, which both users and search engines value.
- Helps you rank for multiple keywords: By optimising content around a cluster of related keywords, a single piece of content can capture a wider audience and cater to different search queries. This ultimately broadens your reach and brings in more organic traffic.
- Prevents keyword cannibalisation: When multiple pages on your site compete for the same or similar keywords, it can lead to keyword cannibalization. This dilutes your ranking potential as your pages are competing against each other in search results. Clustering helps combine content, ensuring that each page is unique and relevant.
- Helps learn about user intent: Keyword clustering allows you to dive deeper into the why behind different searches. By understanding whether users are looking for information, ready to make a purchase, or want solutions, you can create content to meet those specific needs.
- Uncovers secondary keywords: Clustering also reveals secondary keywords and related terms that might not have been initially obvious but are beneficial for the topic and can also drive extra traffic.
- Helps prevent keyword stuffing: Instead of overloading your content with a single keyword, clustering allows you to spread out related terms naturally throughout the content. This approach not only improves readability and flow but also follows best SEO practices, reducing the risk of penalties from search engines like Google.
Keyword Clustering Best Practices
Keyword clustering is best done during the keyword research process. These will include variations, synonyms, long-tail, medium-tail and short-tail versions of the main keyword or search query. Here are some top tips to consider when creating keyword clusters:
- Create a list of keywords: Think about the terms you want to rank for. Keyword research tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner can help you identify terms with volume. Looking at the related searches in Google search results are also a great way to discover keywords users are using.
- Group by intent: Not all keywords are created equally and understanding the intent behind them is important. By grouping keywords based on what a user is looking for you can create content that directly addresses what users are looking for. For example, informational queries might lead to a blog post or guide, while transactional keywords could be targeted in product or service pages. Pro tip: If you’re not sure about the intent behind a keyword, give it s search and review the top 5 – 10 queries. This will give you a good idea about what Google thinks the best results are.
- Choose A Primary Keyword: When creating content, it’s important to select a primary keyword that fully represents the main topic of your page. This keyword should be the most relevant and high-value term within your keyword cluster. The rest of the keywords should be used, organically, throughout the rest of the content.
