If you want to rank higher on Google, you need more than just keywords. You need to create and follow a topical map for SEO.
A topical map helps you organize content in a way that search engines understand. It shows how different topics connect, making your site more authoritative and improves your topical relevance.
In this guide, you'll learn what a topical map is, why it matters, and how to create one step by step.
Whether you're building a blog, an affiliate site, or an eCommerce store, a well-structured topical map can improve your rankings and traffic.
What is a Topical Map for SEO?
A topical map for SEO is a structured plan that organizes related topics in a way that search engines can easily understand. It outlines the main subject of your website and breaks it down into smaller, interconnected subtopics.
Instead of randomly writing about different topics, a topical map helps you plan what to cover. It ensures you answer all important questions about a subject.
Why Create a Topical Map?
A topical map helps search engines understand your website better. Instead of treating your pages as separate pieces of content, Google sees them as part of a well-structured topic.
Creating a topical map is one of the best ways to build authority in SEO, it helps Google understand your site’s relevance and ensures you’re covering a subject comprehensively.
- Chris Coussons, Founder of Visionary Marketing
It also makes content planning easier. With a clear map, you know exactly what to write about next. This prevents gaps in your content and ensures you fully cover your niche.
Chris from Visionary Marketing also notes that they use topical maps to prioritise content production, starting with the most impactful pages and gradually expanding.
It also helps with content updates, ensuring older pages remain relevant by linking to newer insights.
Another added benefit of a topical map is that it helps you attract the right audience. When your content is well-organized, visitors can easily find what they need, keeping them on your site longer.
How to Create a Topical Map for SEO
Define Your Broad Niche
Before creating a topical map for SEO, you need to define your niche. Your niche is the main subject your website focuses on.
And this isn't just relevant for blog posts. Even small businesses or eCommerce websites need to clearly define which niche they're in.
So if you're selling handmade organic soaps online, your niche would be in the health and skincare industry.
Or a small local business providing landscaping services would be in the outdoor living and/or homecare niche, so they would produce content that's relevant to that audience.
Choosing a clear and specific niche helps search engines understand your site's purpose and makes it easier to build authority.
A broad niche gives you direction. It ensures that all your content connects to a central theme, making your website more relevant to both search engines and users.
Without a clear niche, your content may feel scattered, making it harder to rank.
For instance, Tom's Guide is a tech product review blog covering phones, TVs, VPNs, gaming, etc. So because their niche is tech focused, you won't see any blog posts or reviews about beauty products.
Find Core Topics and Subtopics
Once you’ve defined your niche, the next step is to break it down into core topics and subtopics.
When you create a topical map for SEO, your goal is to plan out relevant subtopics or clusters of content around your main theme.
- Dan Wood, Director of SEO for GA Agency
This helps you cover your subject in a structured way, making it easier for search engines to understand your content.
So how do you find these topics and subtopics?
Your core topics are the main categories within your niche. These should be broad but still directly related to your website’s focus.
Now, chances are that you already know of some core topics and subtopics within your niche. If this is the case, you can start by creating a Google Sheets document or Excel file with all of the topics and subtopics you can think of.
However, there might be some that you don't know of yet.
This is where different research tools and methods can be of help.
To find these topics and subtopics, you can use:
- Google Autocomplete: Start typing your broad into Google and see what suggestions appear.
- Google’s “People Also Ask” (PAA) Box: These are common questions related to your niche.
- Competitor Websites: Analyze top-ranking sites in your niche to see their content categories.
For example, if your website is about "strength training for beginners," your core topics might be:
- Strength Training Workouts
- Nutrition for Strength Training
- Common Mistakes in Strength Training
- Strength Training Equipment
Use Google’s Knowledge Panel for Inspiration
Google’s Knowledge Graph is a powerful tool for building a topical map because it helps you understand how Google connect topics.
It’s designed to organize information in a way that mirrors how people think about different subjects.
For instance, if you search for the keyword "hydroponics" you'll see a few different elements:
- Featured Snippet
- Google Knowledge Panel
Note: The SERPs for each keyword is unique so you might see more SERP features or less for your topic.
In the hydroponics example, there's a Wikipedia link in the Google Knowledge Panel, indicating that Google is using Wikipedia as a source of information to create the Knowledge Panel.
If you click on the link, you'll see everything that Wikipedia has about hydroponics.
You can look at each of the topics on the left side index and include these in your topical map.
Based on the above screenshot, you can add the following to your list of topics and subtopics:
- Pest and Disease Control for Hydroponics
- What is Vertical Farming?
- Environmental Advantages of Hydroponics
Research Keywords for Each Topic
Keyword research is a crucial step in creating a topical map. Instead of guessing which keywords to target, proper research ensures you are using terms that people are actually searching for.
This increases your chances of ranking on Google and attracting the right audience.
Our Keyword Research Tool helps you discover the best keywords based on search volume, competition, and relevance.
For each topic in your topical map, research:
- Primary Keywords: The main terms that define the topic.
- Long-Tail Keywords: Specific phrases with lower competition but high intent.
- Secondary Keywords: Variations and synonyms that help with semantic SEO.
So let's take our hydroponics niche from earlier, and we want to write a blog post on the subtopic of "pest and disease control for hydroponics".
I'd take the top ranking blog post and paste its URL under "Search By URL" in our Keyword Research Tool.
This will reveal the keywords that are being used by this top-ranking result.
Based on the above screenshot, we can see that "pest control hydroponics" and "hydroponic diseases" are two of the keywords we can target.
By conducting proper keyword research for every topic, you ensure that your content is optimized for real search queries, increasing your chances of ranking higher and driving more traffic.
Optional: Create a Visual Representation of Your Topical Map
While not required, creating a visual representation of your topical map can help you better understand your content structure. A visual topical map makes it easier to see how topics connect and ensures you cover your niche comprehensively.
If you prefer a visual approach, you could these tools to help you out:
- MindMeister
- Miro
- Lucidchart
But this is only optional. If you prefer, you can simply record your main topics and keywords in a spreadsheet.
The key is to stay organized and ensure every piece of content aligns with your overall SEO strategy.
Whether you use a visual map or a sheet, what matters most is clear topic organization and consistent execution.
Check that You Cover the Entire Topical Map
The whole point of creating a topical map for SEO is to ensure that your website is the go-to authority in your niche.
One of the first steps to solidify your authority in your niche is to make sure that you cover all of the relevant topics and subtopics in pillar posts.
Once the topical map is structured, ensure it’s reflected in the site’s content strategy. This means creating cornerstone content for broad topics and linking it to more detailed, supporting articles.
- Ciara Edmondson, SEO & Content Manager at Maxweb Solutions
You can use Google's NLP tool to analyze any text and show the entities it recognizes, helping you identify important topics that you also need to mention.
To do this, go to the Natural Language Processing tool, and paste your top competitor's blog post or page copy into the tool, then click on Analyze.
The tool will show you the different entities that Google recognizes in the text.
If you see an object, person, place, etc. that you've missed, add it to your blog post.
You can also use AI tools like ChatGPT to analyze your text and ask it to check that you've covered the entire topical map for the specific topic.
What is the Difference Between Semantic SEO and Topical Authority?
Semantic SEO helps Google understand the meaning and context of your content, while topical authority helps establish your site as the go-to expert in that niche.
Both are important and work together.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Creating Topical Maps
1. Choosing Too Broad or Too Narrow a Niche
A niche that is too broad makes it hard to cover all relevant topics in depth, while a niche that is too narrow may not have enough search volume or content opportunities.
Be sure to find a balance where you can create your topical map.
2. Ignoring Search Intent
Many people focus only on keywords without considering what users actually want when they search. If your content doesn’t match search intent (informational, transactional, etc.), it won’t rank well.
3. Skipping Keyword Research
Some assume they know the right keywords and create topics based on intuition. This often leads to targeting low-traffic or highly competitive keywords.
Always use a keyword research tool to validate your keyword choices.
4. Lack of Internal Linking
Even with well-organized topics, failing to interlink related content weakens your SEO. Internal links help search engines understand relationships between pages and improve ranking potential.
5. Covering Topics Incompletely
Some people create a topical map but fail to fully cover all important subtopics. This weakens topical authority and makes it harder to rank.
Ensure your map covers your niche comprehensively.
6. Not Updating the Topical Map Over Time
SEO and search trends change. If you create a topical map and never update it, you may miss out on new topics or rank for outdated terms.
A topical map isn’t just a static plan though. It’s an evolving structure. As search behaviour changes and new trends come and go, continuously updating / expanding the map to maintain topical relevance and authority is most likely necessary.
- Ciara Edmondson, SEO & Content Manager at Maxweb Solutions
Wrapping Up
Building a strong topical map for SEO helps you create content with purpose, structure, and authority. It ensures your website covers a subject in-depth, making it easier for search engines to understand your expertise.
While the process involves research, organization, and strategic planning, the payoff can result in better rankings, more organic traffic, and a site that truly serves user intent.
Now that you have a clear roadmap, it’s time to start building your topical authority and strengthening your SEO strategy.
