Topic clusters in a nutshell
A topic cluster organises a site’s content around a pillar page: a service, product or category page you want to rank. Around it, supporting articles each answer one specific question on the same subject.
Internal linking does the rest:
- each article links to the pillar, with anchor text drawn from its queries, without repeating the same one;
- the pillar links to its articles;
- articles link to each other, two links at most, without drifting to another topic;
- no article targets the pillar’s query or another article’s: no cannibalisation.
Only links in the content count. The menu, which links everything to everything, says nothing about the cluster.
From page to push to live cluster
Six steps, two of them yours.
Find the pages to push
Each page gets a score: business value × click potential (queries in positions 4 to 20) × linking gap (few inbound links, weak anchors, buried too deep). AI qualifies the best ones.
Approve the selection
Suggested pages wait for your call: approve, dismiss or add one by hand. Nothing is picked automatically.
Map the cluster
For each pillar: 6 to 12 supporting articles with their keyword, intent and angle, existing articles to attach, and the link plan. Cannibalisation is checked up front.
Write the articles
Supporting articles become top-priority topics in the Radar. Each is written with the cluster in mind: a link to the pillar, links to articles already published.
Add the return links
On publication, the action plan lists the links to add: “from this page, to this article, with this anchor”.
Measure the effect
The pillar’s position, clicks and impressions since the cluster went live, alongside the articles published.
Your existing internal links, read and scored
Searkin also reads the clusters a site already has, with no paid calls. Each article is attached to the page it supports by topic, and each cluster gets a score on five criteria. The score is coming to the interface.
- ↑
Upward
The share of articles that link to their pillar.
- ↓
Downward
Articles linked from the pillar, up to twelve.
- ◎
Containment
Links that stay within the cluster instead of drifting to another topic.
- Aa
Anchors
Anchor text that uses the pillar’s queries, and varies.
- +
Health
No orphan articles, none more than three clicks deep, none competing with each other.
What you avoid
- Articles that cannibalise the page they were meant to push.
- Orphan articles nobody links to.
- The same anchor text pasted on twenty articles.
- Duplicates: an existing article is attached rather than rewritten.
- Ten clusters started and none finished: two at a time by default, with articles from active clusters first.
- A strategy applied without you: automatic approval is off by default.
Topic clusters: frequently asked questions
What is a topic cluster?
A way of organising content around a pillar page, with supporting articles that each answer one question on the same subject and link to the pillar. The goal: show Google the site covers the topic in depth, and channel authority to the page that brings in business.
Is Searkin an internal linking tool?
Yes, with a purpose: it audits internal links at every crawl (orphan pages, depth, broken links) and organises them by topic, around the pages you want to push.
How many articles does a cluster need?
Searkin suggests 6 to 12 supporting articles per pillar, attaching existing articles first. A pillar only counts as a cluster from two articles.
Does Searkin add the links to my pages?
The articles it writes already include their links to the pillar and published articles. Links to add to existing pages come as precise tasks in the action plan.
Does it work on a site that already has a blog?
Yes, that’s the most common case. Searkin attaches existing articles to their pillar and shows the ones floating outside any cluster.
How much does it cost?
Finding pages to push, mapping a cluster and writing articles are paid in credits, at a lower cost with your Claude subscription. The cost shows before each run. See pricing.