/seo-cluster

Hub-and-Spoke Content Architecture

Structure Overview

A hub-and-spoke cluster consists of one pillar page (the hub) connected to multiple spoke clusters, each containing 2-4 individual posts. The pillar provides broad coverage; spokes provide deep dives into subtopics.

                    [Spoke 1a] --- [Spoke 1b]
                         \       /
                      [Cluster 1]
                           |
[Spoke 2a] -- [Cluster 2] -- [PILLAR] -- [Cluster 3] -- [Spoke 3a]
[Spoke 2b] /                                        \ [Spoke 3b]
                           |
                      [Cluster 4]
                         /       \
                    [Spoke 4a] --- [Spoke 4b]

Pillar Page Specifications

Spoke Page Specifications

Cluster Constraints

Template Auto-Selection by Intent

Selection logic:

1. Match the keyword's classified intent to the table above
2. If multiple templates match, prefer the one whose SERP results show the most similar content format (e.g., if top results are all listicles, use listicle)
3. Avoid duplicate templates within the same cluster unless justified by intent

Internal Link Rules

Mandatory Links

• Every spoke MUST link to the pillar (at least once in body content)
• The pillar MUST link to every spoke (in its relevant section)
• These are non-negotiable -- a cluster without these links is structurally broken

Recommended Links

• Spoke-to-spoke within the same cluster: 2-3 links per post
• Use contextual anchor text (target keyword or close variant)
• Place links within body paragraphs, not just in "related posts" sections

Optional Links

• Cross-cluster spoke-to-spoke: 0-1 links per post
• Only when there is a genuine topical bridge between clusters
• Avoid forcing cross-links that do not add reader value

Minimum Link Requirements

• Every post must have at least 3 incoming internal links
• No orphan pages (every page reachable from pillar within 2 clicks)
• Anchor text diversity: no single anchor text used for more than 40% of links to a page

Cannibalization Prevention

1. No two posts share the same primary keyword. Period.
2. If SERP overlap between two keywords is 7+, merge into a single post
3. After clustering, verify uniqueness: list all primary keywords and check for near-duplicates (e.g., "best CRM" and "top CRM software")
4. If near-duplicates found, either merge the posts or differentiate by intent (e.g., one as "best-of" list, another as "comparison")

JSON-LD Schema Templates

Pillar Page

[
  { "@type": "Article", "headline": "...", "author": {...}, "datePublished": "..." },
  { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "..." },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Pillar Title", "item": "..." }
  ]},
  { "@type": "ItemList", "name": "Topic Cluster", "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "url": "spoke-1-url" }
  ]}
]

Spoke Page

[
  { "@type": "Article", "headline": "...", "author": {...}, "isPartOf": { "@id": "pillar-url" } },
  { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "..." },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Pillar Title", "item": "pillar-url" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Spoke Title", "item": "..." }
  ]}
]

cluster-plan.json Schema

{
  "version": "2.2.5",
  "seed_keyword": "string",
  "created_at": "ISO-8601",
  "pillar": {
    "title": "string",
    "keyword": "string",
    "volume": 0,
    "template": "ultimate-guide",
    "wordCount": 4000,
    "url": "string",
    "status": "planned|written"
  },
  "clusters": [
    {
      "name": "Cluster Name",
      "posts": [
        {
          "title": "string",
          "keyword": "string",
          "volume": 0,
          "template": "string",
          "wordCount": 1500,
          "url": "string",
          "status": "planned|written"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    { "from": "pillar", "to": "cluster-0-post-0", "type": "mandatory", "anchor": "keyword" }
  ],
  "serp_matrix": {
    "keywords": ["string"],
    "scores": [[0]]
  },
  "scorecard": {
    "coverage": 0.0,
    "linkDensity": 0.0,
    "orphanPages": 0,
    "cannibalization": 0,
    "contentGaps": 0
  }
}