Topic Cluster Planning skill

Topic Cluster Planning

Builds a hub-and-spoke architecture for a new content area. Hub = a broad pillar page that owns the topic. Spokes = specific articles that target long-tail keywords and link up to the hub. Done right, this signals topical authority to Google and concentrates link equity on the pages that matter.

Input

Seed topic or broad keyword (required). Example: "email marketing", "keto diet", "small business accounting".

Optionally: your domain, so the agent can check what you've already published in this space.

Role

You are a senior SEO content strategist specializing in topical authority architecture. You think in clusters, not individual articles.

Step 1: Research the Topic Space

Google the seed topic. Read:

• The top 10 results for the broad keyword
• The People Also Ask questions
• The "Searches related to" at the bottom of the SERP
• 2-3 major publications in the space to see how they structure their content

Note:

• Who dominates the broad keyword? (This tells you the difficulty level.)
• What sub-topics emerge from PAA and related searches?
• What specific questions do people ask?

Use only PAA questions and related searches you actually saw — don't pad the spoke list with invented queries. If the SERP shows few, say so and lean harder on competitor coverage.

Step 2: Identify the Hub

The hub is the one page that deserves to own the broad topic. It should:

• Target the broad/seed keyword directly
• Cover the topic comprehensively at a high level (don't go deep on every sub-topic)
• Link out to all the spoke articles

Hub content type options:

• Ultimate guide ("The Complete Guide to X") — best for broad informational topics
• Pillar + chapters (pillar page with a TOC linking to deep-dive chapters) — best for very broad topics with clear sub-chapters
• Category page with curated featured content — best for product/service topics

State your recommended hub format with reasoning.

Step 3: Map the Spokes

From the PAA questions, related searches, and competitor coverage, identify 8-15 specific spoke topics. Each spoke should:

• Target a long-tail keyword or specific question
• Go deeper on one narrow sub-topic than the hub can
• Link back to the hub (primary)
• Link to 2-3 related spokes

For each spoke, specify:

• Target keyword / question it answers
• Content type (how-to / definition / comparison / case study / listicle)
• Approximate word count
• Why it matters for the cluster (what sub-topic does it own?)

Rule of thumb: a spoke should answer a question the hub can only summarize.

Step 4: Map the Internal Linking

Draw the link graph:

• Every spoke links to the hub with a keyword-rich anchor
• Hub links to every spoke (usually in a "In this guide" TOC or a "Related deep dives" section)
• Related spokes link to each other (but sparingly — don't over-link)
• External links from the hub to 3-5 authoritative sources in the space

Critical: the first link from any spoke TO the hub is what Google's algorithm weights most heavily. Make sure it's contextual (within the article body), with a descriptive anchor text.

Step 5: Publishing Order

Don't publish the hub first. Publish 3-4 high-quality spokes first, then the hub with links to them. Then publish the remaining spokes, each linking back to the now-established hub.

This prevents the hub from launching as a link-less orphan that has nothing to point to.

Step 6: Output

Cluster Overview

• Seed topic | Estimated difficulty (Easy / Moderate / Hard) based on SERP competition
• Realistic timeline to build out (how many articles, how many months)

Hub

• Recommended format (Ultimate guide / Pillar + chapters / Category)
• Target keyword (the broad seed)
• Main H2 sections (roughly 5-10)
• Approximate word count
• What the hub should NOT cover in depth (save that for spokes)

Spoke List

#	Spoke Topic	Target Keyword	Content Type	Words	Hub Anchor Text

8-15 rows. Sorted by priority: highest-impact/easiest-to-rank first.

Publishing Sequence

1. Month 1: 3-4 spokes (pick from rows 1-4)
2. Month 2: Publish the hub, link it to the published spokes
3. Month 3-4: Remaining spokes, each linking back to the hub

Internal Link Map

A simple list showing which spokes link to which other spokes. Not every spoke needs to link to every other — just the naturally related ones.

External Linking Strategy

3-5 authoritative external sources the hub should cite. (Not competitors — actual authoritative sources: research papers, industry standards, government/university resources, or the primary creators of the concepts you're discussing.)

Success Metrics

• Month 3: Hub should rank somewhere in top 50 for the seed keyword
• Month 6: At least 2-3 spokes ranking in top 20 for their long-tail keywords
• Month 9: Hub ranking top 20, cluster driving consistent organic traffic
• Month 12: Cluster becomes a topical authority signal for the whole domain

What to Ignore

• Publishing everything at once — Google needs time to see the cluster form. Spread it over 3-4 months.
• Over-linking between spokes — if it doesn't feel natural in the article, skip it
• Keyword density in the hub — the hub is about breadth, not keyword stuffing

Next Step

For each spoke, use content-brief with the spoke's target keyword to produce a writer-ready brief. Then write-content to write the article.

Bundled references

Load from references/ only when the step calls for them.

• first-link-weight-evidence.md — the evidence behind "the first link in the body is weighted most heavily" and why it matters for spoke → hub linking (Step 4, when briefing the writer on anchor placement)
• publishing-sequence-decisions.md — the full decision framework for "don't publish the hub first" and the exceptions (Step 5, when the user pushes back on the staggered launch)
• spoke-selection-worked-example.md — a full cluster worked end-to-end (seed → hub → 12 spokes → link map) for a sample niche, to anchor Step 3 when spoke selection feels arbitrary
• topic-cluster-strategy.md — the theory behind hub-and-spoke architecture and topical authority signals (background, optional)
• pillar-page-template.md — exact H1/H2 structure for the hub page (Step 2, after the hub format is chosen)