Topical Clusters

Topical Clusters helps you plan and organise your content. Instead of tracking blog ideas in scattered spreadsheets, everything lives in one structured view.

The tool uses a three-level hierarchy:

• Clusters – Your broad themes or pillar topics

• Topics – Individual content pieces within each cluster

• Subtopics – Supporting content that explores specific angles

Each piece of content can be tagged with search intent, buyer journey stage, and content type. You can also link keywords from your ranking data, so you always know how content performs.

Two ways to get started

You can populate your clusters in two ways:

• Build manually – Create clusters, topics, and subtopics one by one (covered in this guide)

• Import from your sitemap – Automatically create clusters from your existing published content

If you already have a library of published content, the sitemap import saves significant time. See the Sitemap User Guide for instructions on that approach.

This guide focuses on manual creation and the features available once your structure is in place.

What you can do

• Build a visual content map showing how topics relate

• Generate topic ideas using AI

• Create content outlines ready for writers

• Auto-assign keywords based on what's already ranking

• Filter and audit content by status, intent, or journey stage

Getting started

Accessing the tool

Navigate to Topical Clusters from the main menu. The tool opens showing three columns side by side.

Selecting a project

At the top left, you'll see a project dropdown. All content in Topical Clusters belongs to a project, so select the one you want to work with.

If you work across multiple workspaces, the dropdown shows only projects in your current workspace.

Understanding the interface

The three-column layout

The screen is divided into three columns, arranged left to right:

1. Clusters – The leftmost column. These are your main themes.

2. Topics – The middle column. Select a cluster to see its topics here.

3. Subtopics – The rightmost column. Select a topic to see its subtopics.

This layout is called Miller columns. Selecting an item in one column shows its children in the next column to the right.

Column headers

Each column has a pink header bar showing:

• Plus button – Click to add a new item to that column

• Column name – Clusters, Topics, or Subtopics

• Item count – Shows how many items are in the column

Content cards

Each piece of content appears as a card. The card shows:

• Title – The name of the cluster, topic, or subtopic

• Keyword – If assigned, with search volume in brackets

• Content type – Blog, guide, comparison, etc.

• Intent – Informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational

• Journey stage – Awareness, consideration, decision, or retention

• Link icon – Appears if a URL is assigned (click to open)

• Published badge – A pink tick if the content is marked as published

Hover over any card to reveal the three-dot menu button on the right side.

The filter bar

Above the columns, a filter bar lets you search and filter content. From left to right:

• Project selector – Choose which project to view

• Search box – Type to search by name, keyword, or URL

• Published filter – Show all, published only, or not published

• Content type filter – Filter by blog, guide, comparison, etc.

• Intent filter – Filter by search intent

• Journey filter – Filter by buyer journey stage

• Auto-Assign Keywords – Button to automatically assign keywords

Creating content

Adding a cluster

Clusters are your top-level themes. Think of them as pillar topics that group related content together.

To create a cluster:

Click the plus button in the Clusters column header
Enter a name for your cluster
Click Save

Clusters only need a name. The other fields (URL, intent, etc.) are for topics and subtopics.

Adding a topic

Topics are individual content pieces within a cluster. Before adding a topic, select a cluster first.

To create a topic:

Click on a cluster to select it (it highlights with a pink border)
Click the plus button in the Topics column header
Fill in the form (details below)
Click Save

Topic form fields

• Name – The title of your content piece (required)

• URL – The web address if the content is published

• Search intent – What the searcher wants:

Informational – Looking to learn something (how-to guides, tutorials, explanations)

Commercial – Researching before a purchase (comparisons, reviews, case studies)

Transactional – Ready to buy or take action (product pages, pricing, contact forms)

Navigational – Looking for a specific page or brand (company info, support pages)

• Journey stage – Where the reader is in their buyer journey:

Awareness – Discovering they have a problem (educational content, problem explanations)

Consideration – Exploring possible solutions (feature explanations, comparisons, testimonials)

Decision – Comparing options and ready to choose (pricing, demos, case studies)

Retention – Already a customer (help docs, tutorials, upgrade information)

• Content type – The format: blog, guide, comparison, case study, FAQ, how-to, listicle, pillar page, etc.

• Select keyword – Choose from keywords tracked for your project's domain

• Published toggle – Turn on if the content is live

Adding a subtopic

Subtopics are supporting content pieces under a topic. They work the same way as topics but sit one level deeper.

To create a subtopic:

Click on a topic to select it
Click the plus button in the Subtopics column header
Fill in the form (same fields as topics)
Click Save

The subtopic automatically belongs to the selected topic's cluster.

Editing and managing content

Every card has a menu with options. Hover over a card and click the three dots (···) on the right side.

The menu options depend on what type of item you're viewing:

• Edit – Opens the form to change any field

• Delete – Removes the item (and any children)

• Content Ideas – Uses AI to generate topic or subtopic suggestions (clusters and topics only)

• Create Outline – Generates a full content outline and sends it to your Kanban board (topics and subtopics only)

Editing an item

Click Edit from the three-dot menu. The form opens with all current values filled in. Make your changes and click Save.

Any change takes effect immediately. The card updates to show the new values.

Assigning keywords

Keywords link your content to ranking data. When you assign a keyword:

• The card shows the keyword name and search volume

• You can track how that content performs for its target keyword

To assign a keyword manually:

Click Edit on the topic or subtopic
Open the Select Keyword dropdown
Choose a keyword from the list
Click Save

The dropdown shows keywords tracked for your project's domain. If you don't see the keyword you want, add it in the Keywords section first.

Deleting items

Click Delete from the three-dot menu. The item is removed immediately.

Important: Deleting a cluster removes all its topics and subtopics. Deleting a topic removes all its subtopics.

AI-powered features

Topical Clusters includes AI tools to help you brainstorm content ideas and create outlines. These features use credits from your account.

Content Ideas

Content Ideas analyses your existing structure and generates new suggestions. It works on clusters and topics.

Generating ideas for a cluster

Click the three-dot menu on a cluster and select Content Ideas. The AI:

• Examines your existing topics in that cluster

• Infers your industry, audience, and content goals

• Generates 15–20 new topic suggestions

• Assigns search intent and journey stage to each

The new topics are added to your cluster automatically.

Generating ideas for a topic

Click the three-dot menu on a topic and select Content Ideas. The AI generates 12–18 subtopic suggestions exploring different angles of that topic.

This is useful for building out comprehensive coverage of a subject.

Create Outline

Create Outline generates a full blog outline and sends it to your Kanban board. It works on topics and subtopics.

To create an outline:

Click the three-dot menu on a topic or subtopic
Select Create Outline
Wait for the AI to finish (this takes a few seconds)

The outline includes:

• Title and introduction hook

• 5–7 H2 sections with bullet points

• Unique angle that makes the content stand out

• Visual idea suggestion

• Three meta title options

• Meta description

• Web research references

Find the outline in your Kanban board under the To Do column.

Auto-assign keywords

Manually assigning keywords to every piece of content takes time. Auto-Assign Keywords matches your published URLs against your ranking data and assigns keywords automatically.

How it works

The tool looks at URLs in your content structure and finds matching URLs in your keyword ranking data. When it finds a match, it assigns the keyword to that content piece.

Using Auto-Assign

Click the Auto-Assign Keywords button in the filter bar. A modal opens showing:

• Topics need keywords – How many items don't have a keyword assigned

• Can be auto-matched – How many can be matched based on URL

• URLs with ranking data – How many of your URLs have keyword data

• Manual assignments – How many keywords you've assigned manually

If you see "No Ranking Data Available," you need to add keywords to track first. Return once ranking data has been collected.

Choosing a strategy

When a URL ranks for multiple keywords, the tool needs to pick one. Choose your preferred strategy:

• Best Position – Assigns the keyword where your URL ranks highest

• Highest Volume – Assigns the keyword with the most search traffic

• Most Recent – Uses the freshest ranking data

Including existing assignments

Tick "Include existing assignments" if you want the tool to re-evaluate content that already has a keyword. This is useful when ranking data has changed significantly.

Leave it unticked to only process content without a keyword assigned.

Running the process

Click Run Auto-Assign. A progress bar shows while the tool processes. When complete, you'll see:

• How many keywords were assigned

• How many items were skipped

• Sample assignments showing what changed

Click Done to close the modal. Your content cards now show their assigned keywords.

Filtering and searching

The filter bar helps you find specific content and audit your coverage.

Search

Type in the search box to filter by text. The search looks at:

• Topic and subtopic names

• Assigned keywords

• URLs

Results appear as you type.

Use the dropdown menus to filter by:

• Published status – All, Published, or Not Published

• Content type – Blog, Guide, Comparison, etc.

• Search intent – Informational, Navigational, Commercial, Transactional

• Journey stage – Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Retention

How filters affect the view

When filters are active, the behaviour changes:

• All matching topics appear in the Topics column, regardless of which cluster is selected

• All matching subtopics appear in the Subtopics column

• Each card shows which cluster or topic it belongs to

This makes it easy to audit content across your entire structure.

Useful filter combinations

• Find unpublished decision-stage content: Set Published to "Not Published" and Journey to "Decision"

• Audit all comparison content: Set Content Type to "Comparison"

• Find informational content gaps: Set Intent to "Informational" and Published to "Not Published"

• Review all published guides: Set Content Type to "Guide" and Published to "Published"

Reorganising content

Drag and drop lets you move and reorder content without opening the edit form.

Moving items

Click and hold on any topic or subtopic card. Drag it to a new location:

• To a different cluster – Drop on the cluster card or the empty space in that cluster's column

• Above or below another item – Drop at the top or bottom edge of another card

• Inside another item – Drop in the middle of another card to nest it

Understanding drop zones

When dragging, the target card highlights in three zones:

• Top third (blue line above) – Drop here to place before this item

• Middle third (blue border) – Drop here to nest inside this item

• Bottom third (blue line below) – Drop here to place after this item

Promoting and demoting

You can change the hierarchy level of items:

• Promote a subtopic to a topic: Drag the subtopic to the Clusters column and drop on a cluster

• Demote a topic to a subtopic: Drag the topic onto another topic (drop in the middle zone)

What happens when you move

• Moving a topic to a different cluster moves all its subtopics too

• The item's other settings (intent, journey, keyword) stay the same

• Changes save immediately – no need to click Save

Exporting your content plan

Export your entire content structure to a CSV file for spreadsheets, reporting, or offline work.

What's included

The export includes every cluster, topic, and subtopic with:

• Name

• URL

• Search intent

• Journey stage

• Assigned keyword

• Published status

The hierarchy is preserved – you can see which topics belong to which clusters.

How to export

Look for the export button near the filter bar. Click it to download the CSV file.

Open the file in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application.

Tips and best practices

Recommended cluster sizes

These guidelines help you build a focused structure without overwhelming complexity:

• 5–15 clusters per website for focused authority

• 5–30 topics per cluster for comprehensive depth

• 2–10 subtopics per topic for complete coverage

Too many clusters dilutes your authority. Too few lacks specificity. Start smaller and expand as your content grows.

Start with clusters

Define your broad themes first. Think about the main topics your audience cares about. Each cluster should represent a pillar of your content strategy.

Use intent and journey consistently

Tag every piece of content with search intent and journey stage. This makes filtering useful and helps you spot gaps in your funnel.

Add URLs for published content

Including URLs lets you use Auto-Assign Keywords and gives you quick links to review published pieces.

Let AI fill the gaps

Once you've built a basic structure, use Content Ideas to discover topics you might have missed. The AI learns from your existing content, so more context gives better suggestions.

Track keywords before auto-assigning

Auto-Assign only works when you have keyword ranking data. Add keywords to track in your project, wait for data collection, then run Auto-Assign.

Use filters for content audits

Regularly filter by "Not Published" to see content ideas waiting to be written. Filter by journey stage to check coverage at each step of the buyer's path.

Export regularly

Download a CSV export when briefing writers or reporting to stakeholders. It gives everyone a clear view of your content plan.

Frequently asked questions

How many clusters should I create?

Start with 5–15 clusters focusing on your core business areas. Too many dilutes your topic authority; too few lacks the specificity search engines need to understand your expertise.

Can I reorganise clusters after creating them?

Yes. Use drag-and-drop to move content between clusters at any time. Your structure should evolve as your content strategy develops.

Should I create all content before clustering?

No. You can plan clusters first, then create content strategically to fill gaps. This prevents random content creation and helps you prioritise what to write next.

Can I use both sitemap import and manual creation?

Yes. Many users start with a sitemap import to capture existing content, then manually refine the structure and add planned topics that don't exist yet.

What if content fits multiple clusters?

Choose the primary cluster where the content best belongs. Use internal linking to connect related content across clusters. Avoid duplicating content in multiple places.

How often should I review my cluster structure?

Review quarterly or when adding significant new content. Clusters should evolve with your business focus and content strategy.

Should every piece of content fit in a cluster?

Ideally yes, but some standalone content—like legal pages, temporary campaigns, or announcements—may exist outside the main cluster structure.

Getting help

If you have questions or run into issues:

• Visit our support centre for guides and FAQs

• Contact support through the help widget in your dashboard

• Check for video tutorials on our YouTube channel

We're here to help you get the most from SERP360.