Digital Marketing is an ever-changing field.

Technologies emerge at a rapid pace that change the configuration and possibilities of dialogue between a brand and its audience.

Companies and marketers need to be always up to date with the latest ways to achieve better results in such a competitive scenario.

Do you consider what you are doing for your strategy?

In terms of Content Marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), some of the biggest changes today are in the way people search and interact with content, and how the search engine reads and selects this content.

In this context of change, some new concepts and practices have developed, and among them are topic clusters.

If you are not familiar with this idea, this blog will show you everything you need to know to understand the impact of topic clusters.

Cluster content

If you have defined your pillar, the next step is to think about the content that aligns with your definition.

This refers to the group of content that will work together to turn your pillar into a relevant page for the search engine and then appear among the first results of the SERP.

While pillars deal with broader topics, clusters can (and often should) be more specific.

But again, it is important to be careful. 

Don’t think that this means that it’s content for the middle or bottom of the funnel, although there is that tendency.

When defining your clusters, they must be addressed precisely and specifically, without exploring other subjects too much, as is the case with the pillar. 

Cluster content should commit to a specific subject and address it as thoroughly as possible.

If possible, pillar content must reference and explore, even briefly, all of the clusters.

In general, for each pillar post, 10 to 30 cluster posts should support it, although there is no set rule around this number.

It’s honestly surprising how quickly the specifics for a strong cluster can change. Take “AI in marketing” for example—three years ago, you might’ve focused on automation, but now in 2025, you’re probably digging into generative AI or how Google’s algorithm updates are handling all the new content types. Let’s face it, what felt exhaustive last year is basic table stakes today. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by how fast these changes happen, you’re not alone. Staying nimble isn’t just some trendy advice; it’s the only way to keep from falling behind.

Another thing worth mentioning is how cluster content isn’t just good for SEO—there’s a genuine usability benefit. When you group related articles, videos, and guides around a tight theme, you’re making it stupidly simple for users to go down the rabbit hole. They might come looking for “content marketing metrics” and end up spending an hour wandering from KPIs to editorial calendars without ever feeling lost. There’s a kind of “choose your own adventure” flow possible when content is mapped this way, and honestly, it’s satisfying for both the creator and the audience if you get the links and the structure right.

Example of a cluster content

Going back to the Rock Content example and considering “Content Marketing” as the pillar content, we can think of some possible cluster posts, such as:

• Content marketing examples
• Content marketing software
• Content marketing strategy
• Content marketing metrics
• Content marketing trends
• Content marketing KPIs
• Editorial calendar
• Growth hacking
• Buyer persona
• Copywriting

And so on.

To discover your clusters, we suggest you do some keyword research and find those that can be included in your content. 

After producing the materials, it’s time to link them.

The pillar and its clusters must be interconnected to show the search engine that they follow an organization and that you have authority on that subject. 

This interconnection must be made through hyperlinks, which leads us to the next topic.

Hyperlinks

Getting backlinks is one of the major goals of a good SEO strategy. After all, they are one of the most important ranking factors for Google.

However, many professionals forget that internal linking also plays an important role in the success of the strategy.

Although they do not have the same value as external links in terms of ranking, internal links work to show the search engine:

• How your pages are organized.
• Which are the most important.
• And the authority of your company regarding a specific theme.

Thus, in the topic cluster structure, internal links are indispensable.

But it shouldn’t be done carelessly. You must plan these links as follows:

The cluster post should always be linked to its pillar

Although the first link doesn’t need to be to the pillar page, it is recommended.

It is also important to use the exact anchor (i.e., if your pillar is “SEO”, the link must be to this word).

The pillar post must link back to the cluster

When exploring the theme of the cluster in the pillar post, you won’t (and shouldn’t) be able to give as much attention to the topic. 

So add a “learn more” button or make a simple anchor for the cluster.

By doing this, you create a web of content around your main post so that it is all connected and signaling its importance as a whole to the search engine.

This structuring work demands organization, and the more posts you have in your strategy, the harder this task becomes.

To help you with this mission, you can rely on online mind map tools such as Coggle or Lucidchart so that you can easily and visually organize your posts and measure the effectiveness of the clusters.

If you prefer to make more detailed documentation of your topic clusters, you can also choose to organize them using a spreadsheet, as in the following image:

Topic Clusters at HubSpot

Remember at the beginning of this article we mentioned that HubSpot conceived the concept of topic clusters?

While this is true, it is also true that this concept already existed in similar forms before.

Rock Content itself uses a strategy of satellite posts.

Although the two concepts are not the same, they aim at achieving better positions for the main post and higher conversions for the strategy as a whole.

And they do this through consistent internal linking and producing content in a planned way.

So, what is HubSpot’s differential? 

Well, besides having formalized this differently (for example, in topic clusters, the pillar post tends to be for a head-tail, besides it not being possible to make clusters with content that can be pillars), HubSpot created a tool for organizing the strategy within its platform.

This makes it possible to organize your topic clusters visually, centrally, and automatically.

But the coolest thing is that the company has developed a format to make your analysis much easier! 

Much of the manual work of collecting and analyzing data is saved, making it easier to track metrics such as authority, access, and conversions.

This way, you can see the effectiveness of a topic cluster, proving your efforts, identifying optimization points, and working to improve results.

The downside (yes, it always exists) is that this tool is paid. 

On the other hand, if you already invest in this software, we strongly recommend using it to optimize your content strategy.

Wrap Up: Start Incorporating Topic Clusters in Your Strategy

Are you now ready to incorporate topic clusters into your marketing strategy?

This is a sign that you really want topic clusters to bring positive results to your business and your content production.

In order for you to do this, you must become familiar with Search Engine Optimization. 

And we have the perfect SEO guide for you to reach top Google results!

 

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