Topical Maps

Open Topical Maps

Topical Maps, the PirateSERP tool for content structure, expands a seed topic into the subtopics that Google offers searchers and arranges them as a tree of pillar and cluster pages. Each topic carries its monthly search volume and cost per click (CPC) for the market you select. Search data is included with your subscription, so you don't need a separate data-provider key.

Build a map

1. In the header, select the project. Your project's market and language fill the form.
2. In the Seed topic box, enter a topic, such as best coffee maker. If your project has saved services, you can select one in the Business service list to fill the box.
3. In the Market and Language lists, check the market and the language.
4. For Levels deep, click 1, 2, or 3. The form selects 2 by default.
5. Click Build Map, and keep the tab open while the map fills.

Each level takes a few minutes, and each extra level expands many more topics. Start with one or two levels, then rebuild at three levels when the first branches match your topic. The status line reports each stage, from expanding the seed to fetching search volume and saving the map.

Some topics are kept without subtopics of their own. When that happens, a Map saved, N topics skipped notice reports how many topics received no subtopics.

Review topics

The results header shows the topic count, market, and language. Three tiles summarize the map: Pillars (have subtopics), Clusters (leaf topics), and Combined monthly volume.

Click Tree to read the map as an outline with Topic, Structure, Volume, and CPC columns. To collapse or expand a topic's branch, click its Collapse or Expand arrow. Every map opens fully expanded.

Click Graph to see the topics as connected dots. The color of each dot marks its top-level branch, the legend names each branch, and the dot size shows the topic's depth.

Click Treemap to see each topic as a box sized by its monthly search volume, grouped under its top-level branch. The biggest boxes are the biggest opportunities. Click a box to see the topic's details. Topics without volume data don't appear in Treemap; Tree lists every topic. To read the same values as a list, expand Show data as a table.

A topic marked related comes from Google's related searches because the topic had no refinement options of its own. Review each branch before you treat it as a page idea.

Assign page roles

A pillar is a topic with subtopics, and a cluster is a leaf topic under its pillar. These labels suggest a site structure; they do not require you to publish a page for every topic.

On a saved map, select a role for each topic in its role list:

• authority for content that earns references and trust.
• discovery for content that searchers find through search.
• conversion for content that leads a visitor to a business action.

Roles save with the map. Click Export CSV to download each topic's keyword, label, depth, parent keyword, structure, role, source, search volume, and CPC.

Check coverage against your site

Coverage shows which topics in the map already have a page on your website. It compares the map with your project's most recent Site Auditor crawl, so run a site audit in the same project first. The check uses no search data and costs nothing extra.

1. Open or build a map.
2. Click Check coverage.

Each topic in Tree gains a coverage badge:

• covered means a page on your site already targets the topic. Click the badge to open the page.
• possibly means a page is close to the topic but might not answer it. Click the badge to open the closest page and decide whether it covers the topic.
• missing means no page on your site covers the topic yet.

In Treemap, coverage colors each box and marks its name: ✓ green for covered, ? amber for possibly covered, and ✗ red for missing. A large red box is a high-volume topic your site doesn't cover yet.

Uncovered topics carry a priority from P0 (highest) to P3. Priority reflects each topic's search demand and business value. The Topics to write or check list names the ten highest-priority uncovered topics. If the project has no finished site audit, a notice links to Site Auditor instead.

Coverage reflects the pages in your most recent crawl, and the result names the audited website, the crawl date, and the page count. A page the crawl didn't reach counts as missing, so audit enough pages to include your whole site. After you publish more pages, run another site audit, and then click Check coverage again.

Coverage always checks the website audited in your active project. If every topic comes back missing, the map might belong to a different website: switch to that website's project, or audit that website in this project.

Save and reopen maps

Topical Maps saves each finished map to Saved maps in your active project. Click a saved map to reopen its tree, values, and roles, or click Delete map to remove it. Switch projects to find another client's maps.

If saving fails after a map finishes, the map stays on screen with a notice that its topics are not saved. Click Retry save to save it again. A retry saves one copy of the map, not a duplicate. Click Export CSV to keep a copy before you leave the page.

Continue your research

Compare a topic's related keywords in Keyword Research. Open a cluster topic in Content Editor to draft its page, and plan links between pillar and cluster pages with Internal Linking.