How to Do Keyword Clustering & Why It Helps SEO

What Is Keyword Clustering?

Keyword clustering is the process of grouping similar keywords based on search intent—i.e., what exactly the searcher is trying to achieve.

For example, people searching “king size mattress” and “king mattress” are shopping for the same type of product. And Google displays similar search results.

Keyword clustering is important in SEO because users can search for the same page in different ways. Identifying all relevant terms helps you optimize (and therefore rank) for a wider variety of keywords.

You want each page to rank for its primary keyword. But you also want to target related secondary keywords, such as:

• Synonyms (e.g., “king size mattress” and “king mattress”)
• Long-tail variants (e.g., “king size mattress with box springs”)

Mattress Firm’s king mattress category page ranks for more than 1,800 keywords. And attracts an estimated 197,800 organic (unpaid) U.S. visits per month from Google alone.

You don’t need to optimize pages around keyword clusters to get multiple rankings. But it can certainly help.

Plus, using related keywords in your content may inspire you to cover subtopics you hadn’t considered before. And should make your content read more naturally. (Because you’re not repeating the same keyword over and over.)

Both of these factors can improve content quality. Which can lead to better rankings and engagement.

Keyword categorization also gives you a fuller understanding of SEO potential.

For example, you might look at...