Topic clusters

How Seovyn plans a pillar guide and the articles around it, the order it writes them in, how they link to each other, and how to plan or remove a cluster.

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A site ranks for a subject by covering it. A topic cluster is a pillar guide on the broad subject plus the articles that answer each question inside it, all linked together. Writing keywords one at a time produces a pile of unrelated pages; a cluster builds topical authority.

You'll find your clusters on Sources → Topic clusters.

How clusters are planned

Once a week, Seovyn reads your site and plans clusters around what you sell: each has a pillar and four to eight supporting articles, and every member is added to your keyword targets with the label Topic cluster (the pillar is marked Cluster pillar).

To plan the first ones without waiting, choose Plan clusters. Seovyn says how many new articles it planned, or that there was nothing fresh to add.

Up to three clusters are in progress at once. New ones are planned only when one finishes.

The order they're written in

  1. Supporting articles first

    The specific questions come first. Each one is written with the cluster in mind: it uses the pillar's phrase once and links to the sibling articles that are already live.

  2. One cluster at a time

    Seovyn finishes the cluster that's under way before it starts the next. At least a fifth of your keyword articles still go to your other targets, so clusters never crowd them out entirely.

  3. The pillar last

    The pillar waits until most of its supporting articles exist: 60% of them, and at least three. By then there are real pages for it to link to, and it links to every live one.

When a supporting article goes live later, Seovyn goes back and adds a link to it from its siblings, so the cluster stays connected as it grows.

Reading a cluster

Each cluster shows its name, how far along it is, and every member with its state: waiting to be written, in review, or live with a link to the page. A cluster where everything is published reads Every article written.

Remove a cluster

Choose Remove cluster on its card. Its unwritten keywords are dropped; articles already written stay where they are, in your library and on your site.