How to Use Keyword Clustering for Better Content Optimization

SEO professionals and content marketers have developed various methods for ensuring that their content ranks better in search engine results and delivers better value to visitors and their audience.

One of the ways, more popular in recent times, by which this is achieved is through keyword clustering, which this article shall explore in detail. By the end of this article, you should be able to apply keyword clustering effectively in your content strategy.

What is Keyword Clustering? 

Keyword clusters are keywords that represent the similarity in users’ search intent. For example, “laptop for gaming,” “windows laptop,” and “laptop with AMD” all represent a keyword cluster of people who are interested in laptops. Now, why is this important?

The idea of keyword clustering as an SEO strategy is to ensure that marketers are targeting both the primary and related keywords to maximize their ranking opportunities.

From the example we have used, a brand that tries to rank for only “laptop” will probably notice that there is too much competition. A tool such as the Eye10 Keyword Planner would be best for researching keyword variants.

If you only try to rank for just one of the variants, your marketing efforts will not go far. Therefore, you need an overarching SEO strategy that ensures you can capture all the most important keyword variants.

Benefits of Keyword Clustering

Keyword clustering is immensely beneficial, but in what practical ways does it manifest in your content optimization strategy?

a. Generate Content Ideas

To begin a content marketing campaign, you must conduct keyword clustering research. The keyword clusters that you have identified, including primary keywords and secondary variants, will then inform your campaign strategy.

When done effectively, these keywords generate a steady stream of content ideas for several months. And there is nothing better for SEO than having a long-term action plan because SEO is a continuous activity.

The Eye10 Keyword Planner is the perfect tool for generating keyword ideas for content.

b. Scale Marketing Efforts

By designing the framework for content marketing using keyword clustering, you get a strategy that can be scaled and applied to other marketing efforts.

Repurposing keywords in a cluster supplies you with content for PPC advertising, social media marketing, email newsletters, video SEO, and more. Thus, you can align marketing teams to focus on a single set of collective objectives.

c. Enable Internal Linking

Keyword clustering provides more opportunities for internal linking because, by doing so, you can generate content in different areas connected to a single search intent.

Consider the laptop example given above, for instance. The post targeting “windows laptop” could link to another post targeting “windows laptop.” That other post could also link to another article targeting “laptop with AMD.” Therefore, this connectedness ensures internal linking benefits.

d. Build Authority and Expertise

Keyword clustering also enables you to build expertise and authority within your industry. By consistently producing high-quality content focused on a particular set of subtopics within a keyword cluster, you establish yourself as one who has mastered that niche.

And sooner or later, your online audience will start looking to your website as one of the most reliable sources of information related to that area.

Effective Keyword Clustering

This section is concerned with the how of keyword clustering. What exactly do you do to achieve your goals?

1. Keyword Research

As you must have already identified from everything previously said, keyword research is the inevitable first step in keyword clustering. Extensive keyword research.

Once you have determined the primary keyword you want your website to target, the next step is to identify all the variants of that primary keyword, including short-tail and long-tail variants.

This is where the Eye10 Keyword Planner comes in. When you search for a keyword and enter the name of your website, Eye10 shows you additional keywords you are already ranking for.

However, it also shows you ideas and suggestions for other keywords you should be ranking for. It integrates results from the Google Keyword Planner.

2. Build a Keyword List

The aim of the keyword research at this point is to generate a list of keywords within a cluster, including the monthly volume of each keyword and the cost-per-click (CPC), which is especially important in PPC advertising.

Aim for a list with 100 keywords if you are starting. Some experts in keyword clustering can generate up to a thousand keywords.

3. Create Keyword Clusters

The keyword list you created initially is just one long list that will be hard to track. You must segment the keywords into keyword clusters to track them and use them in your strategy.

The way to do this is by observing the keywords in your list that use the same words or phrases. This may also include synonyms and similar subtopics. The idea is to find patterns in search queries to find the keywords closer to each other.

Those keywords would then represent a cluster. However, semantic relevance is just one way of segmenting keywords. You could also want to segment keywords by their search volume or CPC. This grouping is effective if you are on a budget, as it helps optimize your marketing spending.

4. Design Your Content Framework

Keyword clustering aims to create a framework for your content marketing strategy. Therefore, you have to build a roadmap from your keyword list and cluster that establishes how you will publish your content, including any repurposing plans you might have.

This makes your long-term strategy plain on paper and enables you to plan your budget for SEO too. This eventually leads to you designing your content calendar.

If you have a team or teams of people for various aspects of SEO, you have to bring them together so everyone can work together towards the specific goals you want to achieve.

Conclusion

You have seen how keyword clustering can be effective as an SEO strategy. It helps you maximize your opportunities for keyword optimization. As you begin with the first stage of clustering, the research stage, sign up for the Eye10 Keyword Planner tool to take your content optimization strategy to the next level.