Ready for some intermediate SEO copywriting? Today we’re covering keyword clusters, keyword groups, and variable keyword decision trees…
Okay, the last one I made up … but the first two are real.
For a long, long time single-keyword optimization has been the name of the game for SEOs.
And, for many, it still is.
That is, the go-to strategy has been to focus on a single keyword for an entire article.
However, a few years ago a different strategy appeared on the scene.
Rather than writing about a single keyword … you write about a keyword cluster.
Keyword Clusters: SEO Copywriting on Steroids
Here’s how keyword clustering is described on Search Engine Watch:
Simply put, it’s keyword grouping categorized by (1) a common secondary keyword modifier which is how most tools approach it or (2) Google’s search engine results similarity
For information about the second result, see the original article at SEW or the Wikipedia article on the topic.
In short, keyword clusters are sets of long-tail keywords that group around a core term.
In depth, clustering can get much more complicated. Serpstat, for instance, organizes keyword clusters in hierarchies – clusters, superclusters, and protoclusters – and offers different options when it comes the strength and style of clustering.
But you don’t have to be an SEO nerd to use keyword clustering.
In fact, if you just follow the steps below, you’ll see how clustering can benefit SEO and even offer you ideas when it comes to writing.
Keyword Clusters Are the Perfect Gateway to Intermediate SEO Copywriting
It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
Simply follow these steps:
1. Input a keyword into a keyword suggestion tool.
Ubersuggest is one that I like, but there are many more.
For the purposes of this article, I put in “how to study kanji” and then clicked the “related” tab above the results.
This generated 701 results, which I took over to WordStream’s keyword grouping tool.
2. Throw that keyword list into a keyword clustering tool.
The keyword grouper gave back 59 groups. Each group was organized around a core keyword, such as “kanji” or “japanese.”
A few from the kanji group:
- n5 kanji list
- grade 1 kanji
- n4 kanji list
- kanji language
- kanji practice
- jlpt kanji list
This semantic grouping is what makes keyword clusters so great. It’s much easier to organize article ideas around keyword clusters than it is to dig through massive keyword lists to find topics.
Another major benefit is that you can target many more keywords in a single article than if you’re just focusing on a single keyword.
3. Choose your cluster(s) and write.
Keyword clusters can be easier to write about or harder, depending on how strict you apply your SEO rules.
If you require a specific keyword density for every single keyword … and you have strict requirements about sub-heading placement … well, you could be looking at a long writing haul.
However, if you just focus on a core keyword – then use sub-keywords as much as possible – then you can target an entire spread of keywords.
Final Thoughts
SEO is trending towards semantic search, so we should begin focusing on techniques beyond single-keyword SEO.
Keyword clusters are a great place to start, since they lean towards semantic groupings anyways.
And, since humans think and communicate semantically, it can actually be easier to write with groups.
