Complete Local SEO Guide / Step 8
How to cluster your content for local SEO
Pages do not rank alone. They rank as a group that covers a topic thoroughly and links together. A cluster is one main page on a service, surrounded by the supporting articles that answer the questions around it, all linking up to that main page. This is how you turn a pile of articles into proof that you cover a topic in full.
- A cluster is one hub page (the service you most want to rank) plus the supporting articles that answer the questions around it.
- The spokes link up to the hub with descriptive anchor text, and the hub links back out to its best spokes.
- The closer a supporting piece is to the hub topic, the more relevance it passes.
- A tight cluster, a hub plus roughly eight to twelve supporting articles, is what tells Google you cover a topic in full.
What a cluster is
Google rewards topic coverage, not single pages. When one page covers the service and a set of focused articles answers everything a buyer asks around it, and all of them link together, the whole group reads as authority on that topic. The main page is the hub. The supporting articles are the spokes. Build the links in both directions and the hub rises faster than it ever would on its own.
Build a cluster
Work these in order for each service you want to own. One cluster per service, kept clean.
- Pick the hub. This is the page you most want to rank, usually the category or main service page. Everything in the cluster exists to support it.
- Map the spokes. List the real questions a buyer asks around that service: cost, how to choose, common mistakes, what to expect, requirements. Each question becomes one supporting article.
- Link the spokes up to the hub with descriptive anchor text that names the service, not with generic text like "click here" or "read more". Then link the hub back out to its best spokes. The closer a supporting piece is to the hub topic, the more relevance it passes, so link the nearest ones most deliberately.
- Keep clusters separate. Do not cross-link unrelated clusters just to add links. Links between topics that do not belong together dilute the signal rather than strengthen it.
Aim for one hub plus roughly eight to twelve supporting articles. That is a tight, complete cluster that tells Google you cover the topic in full. Fewer and the coverage looks thin, many more and you are usually padding with pieces that add nothing.
How should I link within a cluster?Link every spoke up to the hub with descriptive anchor text that names the service, and link the hub back out to its best spokes. The closer a supporting piece is to the hub topic, the more relevance it passes, so link the nearest ones most deliberately. Do not cross-link unrelated clusters just to add links.
How many clusters does a local business need?One cluster per service you want to rank. A business with a handful of core services builds a handful of clusters, each a hub page surrounded by its own supporting articles, kept separate from the others.
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