Topical Map in SEO

In this post,

I’m going to show you how to use a topical map to boost your SEO rankings and traffic.

A topical map is a visual representation of the topics and subtopics that are relevant to your niche or industry. It helps you identify the gaps and opportunities in your content strategy, and create comprehensive and authoritative content that covers your topic in depth.

But how do you create a topical map? And how do you use it to optimize your content for SEO?

That’s what I’m going to show you in this post. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• What is a topical map and why it matters for SEO

• How to create a topical map for your website in 5 easy steps

• How to use your topical map to plan and create SEO-friendly content

• How to measure the impact of your topical map on your rankings and traffic

Ready? Let’s dive right in.

What is a Topical Map and why it matters for SEO.

A topical map is a diagram that shows the main topic and the subtopics that are related to it. For example, here’s a topical map for the topic “SEO”:

img1.

As you can see, the main topic (SEO) is divided into several subtopics, such as:

• Keyword research

• On-page SEO

• Technical SEO

• Link building

• Content marketing

• SEO tools

Each subtopic can be further divided into more specific subtopics. For example, keyword research can be broken down into:

• Keyword difficulty

• Keyword intent

• Keyword tools

• Long-tail keywords

• Etc.

A topical map helps you understand the scope and depth of your topic, and how it relates to other topics in your niche. It also helps you create a content strategy that covers your topic comprehensively and authoritatively.

Why does this Matter for SEO?

Because Google wants to rank content that provides the best answer to the user’s query. And the best answer is usually the one that covers the topic in depth and breadth, and matches the user’s intent.

By using a topical map, you can ensure that your content covers all the relevant subtopics and angles that your audience is looking for. This can help you rank higher for your target keywords, and also rank for related keywords that you may not have thought of.

In fact, a study by SEMrush found that pages that rank in the top 10 results for a given keyword also rank for an average of 1,000 other keywords.

img2.

This means that by creating comprehensive and authoritative content based on a topical map, you can rank for more keywords and drive more organic traffic to your site.

But how do you create a topical map for your website?

That’s what I’m going to show you next.

How to create a Topical Map for your website in 5 easy steps.

Creating a topical map for your website is not hard. You just need to follow these 5 simple steps:

Choose your main topic. This is the broad topic that you want to rank for and that represents your niche or industry. For example, if you have a website about digital marketing, your main topic could be “digital marketing”. Brainstorm subtopics. These are the narrower topics that are related to your main topic and that your audience is interested in. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, AnswerThePublic, or BuzzSumo to find subtopics based on keyword research and content analysis.

For example, some subtopics for “digital marketing” could be:

• Social media marketing

• Email marketing

• SEO

• PPC

• Content marketing

• Etc.

Organize subtopics into categories.

These are the groups of subtopics that share a common theme or aspect. You can use tools like MindMeister, XMind, or Coggle to create a visual map of your subtopics and categories.

For example, you can group the subtopics for “digital marketing” into categories like:

• Channels (social media, email, SEO, PPC, etc.)

• Strategies (inbound, outbound, content, etc.)

• Metrics (ROI, CTR, conversions, etc.)

• Tools (Google Analytics, Mailchimp, SEMrush, etc.)

• Trends (AI, VR, influencer marketing, etc.)

Add more details to subtopics.

These are the specific subtopics that go deeper into each category and subtopic. You can use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Ubersuggest to find more details based on keyword difficulty, search volume, and ranking difficulty. For example, some details for the subtopic “SEO” could be:

• Keyword research (keyword difficulty, keyword intent, keyword tools, etc.)

• On-page SEO (title tags, meta descriptions, headings, etc.)

• Technical SEO (site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, etc.)

• Link building (guest posting, outreach, skyscraper technique, etc.)

• Content marketing (blogging, video marketing, infographics, etc.)

• SEO tools (Ahrefs, Moz, Screaming Frog, etc.)

Review and refine your topical map. This is the final step where you check your topical map for completeness and accuracy. You can use tools like Google Search Console or Google Analytics to see how your existing content is performing and identify any gaps or opportunities in your topical map. You can also use tools like Surfer SEO or Clearscope to optimize your topical map for relevance and quality.

And that’s it! You’ve just created a topical map for your website.

But how do you use it to plan and create SEO-friendly content?

That’s what I’m going to show you next.

How to use your Topical map to plan and create SEO-friendly content.

Now that you have a topical map for your website, you can use it to plan and create content that ranks well on Google and drives more traffic to your site.

Here are some ways to use your topical map for content creation:

• Use your main topic as the theme of your website. This is the topic that you want to be known for and that represents your niche or industry. You can use your main topic as the basis of your domain name, tagline, logo, and homepage. For example, if your main topic is “digital marketing”, you can use it as the theme of your website like this:

img3.

• Use your subtopics as the categories of your blog. These are the topics that you want to cover in depth and that your audience is interested in. You can use your subtopics as the categories of your blog and create a menu or a sidebar that showcases them. For example, if your subtopics are “social media marketing”, “email marketing”, “SEO”, etc., you can use them as the categories of your blog like this:

img4.

• Use your details as the topics of your blog posts. These are the specific subtopics that go deeper into each category and subtopic. You can use your details as the topics of your blog posts and create headlines that capture the attention and interest of your readers. For example, if your details for the subtopic “SEO” are “keyword research”, “on-page SEO”, “technical SEO”, etc., you can use them as the topics of your blog posts like this:

img5.

• Use your topical map as a guide for content structure and optimization. This is where you use your topical map to create content that covers your topic comprehensively and authoritatively. You can use your topical map as a guide for content structure and optimization by following these steps:

• Start with an introduction that hooks the reader and introduces the main topic and subtopics.

• Use headings and subheadings to organize your content into sections and subsections based on your topical map.

• Use bullet points, lists, tables, charts, images, videos, and other visual elements to make your content easy to read and understand.

• Use internal links to connect your content with other relevant content on your website based on your topical map.

• Use external links to cite authoritative sources and provide additional information for your readers based on your topical map.

• Use keywords and related terms throughout your content based on your topical map and keyword research.

• End with a conclusion that summarizes the main points and provides a clear call to action for the reader.

For example, here’s how I used my topical map to create this post:

img6.

And that’s how you use your topical map to plan and create SEO-friendly content.

But how do you measure the impact of your topical map on your rankings and traffic?

That’s what I’m going to show you next.

How to measure the impact of your Topical Map on your rankings and traffic.

Creating a topical map for your website is not enough. You also need to measure the impact of your topical map on your SEO performance and results.

Here are some ways to measure the impact of your topical map on your rankings and traffic:

• Use Google Search Console to track your rankings and impressions for your target keywords and related keywords based on your topical map. You can use the Performance report to see how your pages are ranking for different queries and how many impressions and clicks they are getting. You can also use the Search Appearance report to see how your pages are displayed in the search results, such as rich snippets, featured snippets, or image packs. For example, here’s how I used Google Search Console to track my rankings and impressions for the keyword “SEO”:

img7

• Use Google Analytics to track your traffic and conversions for your pages based on your topical map. You can use the Behavior report to see how many sessions, pageviews, bounce rate, and average time on page your pages are getting. You can also use the Conversions report to see how many goals, transactions, revenue, and conversion rate your pages are generating. For example, here’s how I used Google Analytics to track my traffic and conversions for this post:

img8

• Use third-party tools to track your backlinks and social shares for your pages based on your topical map. You can use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Majestic to see how many backlinks and referring domains your pages are getting from other websites. You can also use tools like BuzzSumo, Social Animal, or ShareThis to see how many social shares and engagements your pages are getting from different platforms. For example, here’s how I used Ahrefs and BuzzSumo to track my backlinks and social shares for this post:

img9

By measuring the impact of your topical map on your rankings and traffic, you can see how well your content strategy is working and what areas you need to improve.

But creating a topical map for your website is not a one-time thing. You also need to update or revise your topical map over time.

That’s what I’m going to show you next.

How to update or revise your Topical Map over time.

Creating a topical map for your website is not a one-time thing. You also need to update or revise your topical map over time.

Why?

Because your topic, niche, industry, audience, and competitors are constantly changing. And you need to keep up with these changes to stay relevant and competitive.

Here are some ways to update or revise your topical map over time:

• Use Google Trends to track the popularity and seasonality of your main topic and subtopics based on your topical map. You can use Google Trends to see how the interest in your topic and subtopics changes over time and across different regions and categories. You can also use Google Trends to discover new or emerging subtopics that you may want to add to your topical map. For example, here’s how I used Google Trends to track the popularity and seasonality of the topic “digital marketing”:

img10

• Use Google Search Console to track the performance and issues of your pages based on your topical map. You can use Google Search Console to see how your pages are ranking and performing for different queries and devices. You can also use Google Search Console to identify and fix any issues or errors that may affect your pages, such as crawl errors, indexation issues, mobile usability issues, or security issues. For example, here’s how I used Google Search Console to track the performance and issues of this post:

img11

• Use third-party tools to track the competition and trends for your main topic and subtopics based on your topical map. You can use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush to see how your competitors are ranking and performing for your target keywords and related keywords. You can also use tools like BuzzSumo, Social Animal, or Exploding Topics to see what kind of content and topics are trending and popular in your niche or industry. For example, here’s how I used Ahrefs and BuzzSumo to track the competition and trends for the topic “digital marketing”:

img12

By updating or revising your topical map over time, you can keep your content strategy fresh and relevant and stay ahead of the curve.

And that’s it! You’ve just learned how to use a topical map to boost your SEO rankings and traffic.

Now I’d like to hear from you:

What do you think of this post? Did you find it helpful? Do you have any questions or feedback?

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the next post.