Businesses are constantly looking for ways to enhance their online presence and improve search engine rankings. One of the most effective strategies for achieving this is the implementation of topic clusters. It has been proven over the years that structured content using topic clusters can significantly boost search rankings by improving site authority and user experience. Given that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results, an effective SEO strategy is essential.
With tools like HubSpot’s Topic Cluster Tool, companies can streamline their content strategy, ensuring a more organised, structured, and high-performing website. This blog explores topic clusters, how they improve SEO performance, and how businesses can use HubSpot to maximise content effectiveness.
A topic cluster is a structured content strategy where a central "pillar" page comprehensively covers a broad topic and links to multiple subtopic pages that explore related aspects in more detail. This approach improves the user experience by providing a clear content structure while signalling to search engines that the website offers authoritative information on the subject.
Search engines reward well-organised content that answers user queries effectively. By interlinking pages within a topic cluster, websites strengthen their SEO, ensuring higher rankings and better engagement.
A pillar page is a comprehensive resource that thoroughly explores a broad topic and serves as the central hub for related subtopics. It provides a high-level overview while linking to detailed content on each subtopic, ensuring users can access in-depth information as needed.
A well-crafted pillar page should be:
Implementing topic clusters enhances SEO performance through several mechanisms:
HubSpot’s topic cluster tool is designed to help businesses plan, structure, and optimise their content within the HubSpot platform. It allows users to create and manage topic clusters visually, linking relevant subtopic pages to their pillar pages. This structured approach ensures that content is well-organised, easy to navigate, and search-engine friendly. As part of its HubSpot SEO services, the platform provides insights to help businesses refine their topic clusters for better search rankings.
Some key features include:
Using HubSpot’s Topic Cluster Tool provides several advantages:
To use the HubSpot Topic Cluster Tool, navigate to the SEO section within your HubSpot account. This tool is integrated within HubSpot's Content Strategy feature, allowing users to create and manage topic clusters effectively. Ensure that you have the necessary access permissions to edit SEO settings and manage content mapping.
Choosing the right core topic is crucial. Consider subjects that align with your brand's expertise, customer interests, and search demand. Use the HubSpot website SEO audit feature to analyse existing content and identify potential pillar topics that have strong search potential. In the image above, you can see that we have chosen ‘MarTech’ as our core topic, and our pillar page is ‘MarTech Implementation.’
Once you have selected your pillar topic, break it down into relevant subtopics. Each subtopic should focus on a specific aspect of the broader topic. Use HubSpot’s keyword research tools to determine the best-performing subtopics and ensure they align with search trends. We chose six subtopics, which can be seen in the image.
Develop high-quality content for both the pillar page and subtopic pages. Make sure that the content is thoroughly researched, engaging, and aligned with user intent. The pillar page should offer a broad overview, while subtopic pages should provide in-depth information. Incorporating HubSpot blog optimisation techniques will ensure that each post ranks well and contributes to the overall topic cluster strategy.
Many businesses already have content that can be repurposed. Use HubSpot’s content mapping tool to identify existing blogs, articles, and resources that fit within your topic clusters. Update these pages as needed to ensure consistency and coherence. You can see in the image that we had three existing blogs that were mapped to one subtopic.
Proper internal linking ensures that search engines and users can navigate through your content seamlessly. Link all subtopics back to the pillar page and vice versa. This reinforces the connection between related pages and strengthens SEO performance.
SEO is an ongoing process. Use the ‘Analyze’ tab to regularly monitor the performance of your topic clusters. Identify areas for improvement, update outdated content, and adjust your strategy based on user engagement and search engine trends.
As a HubSpot Platinum Partner, Vajra Global has extensive experience in helping businesses leverage HubSpot’s tools, including the HubSpot pillar page strategy. Our team specialises in HubSpot SEO services, ensuring that your content strategy is optimised for maximum impact.
Our expertise in GenAI and Martech allows us to offer innovative and unique solutions tailored to your business needs. From SEO tools setup to HubSpot blog optimisation, we provide end-to-end support to improve your search engine rankings and drive business growth.
By partnering with Vajra Global, you can ensure that your HubSpot strategy is not only well-executed but also continually optimised for success.