How to Use Keyword Mapping as an SEO Superpower for Your Content Strategy
Why a keyword map is worthwhile and how to proceed
Landing pages, product pages, blog articles: Over time, a lot of content accumulates on a website. So you don't lose track, an appropriate SEO strategy is crucial. A valuable tool is the keyword map: A keyword list to which important parameters such as search volume, URLs and search intention are assigned. Creating a keyword map initially puts many people off because the initial effort is quite high. But we promise you: It's worth it! With this article, guest author Lisa Feilen explains why this is and how you can proceed with the creation.
What is meant by keyword mapping?
Simply put, a keyword map is a table in which the most important keywords are assigned to specific URLs. Here you will also find important SEO metrics. Most keyword maps contain information about:
- Theme cluster with main keyword and secondary keywords
- Search intention
- Search volume
- Competition
- URL
- Topic of the subpage
Theme cluster
In a keyword map, you can map thematic or keyword clusters. For this, a main keyword and relevant secondary keywords and / or long-tail keywords are defined and clearly recorded in the table.
Search intention
What are users who search for this keyword hoping for? Is their intention transactional or informational? The search intention gives keywords a context. This is important for optimizing the content that a page is supposed to rank for, picking up readers exactly where they are in the user journey.
Which type of keyword works best? Actually, with long-tail keywords. A clear advantage of longer keyword combinations is that they communicate the Search intention and possibly the target group behind it better than generic terms. So if you search for “Callcenter Software Autohaus”, you probably work in the industry and are looking for a suitable product as a solution (transactional).
Search volume
The search volume of a keyword is an indication of its relevance - but should always be seen in the context of the intention and the user journey. Monthly search volumes of less than 100 are not “low” per se. Because if they are very specific keywords with a transactional intention, then they are worth much more than generic terms with a high search volume.
Competition
How fiercely contested a keyword is can, for example, help in prioritizing the to-dos that result from the keyword map. Content and pages for little “contested” keywords have a high chance of ranking relatively quickly on Google and positively influencing the overall Visibility of your website.
URL
Of course, the URL to which a theme cluster is assigned should not be missing. The unique assignment to a specific subpage is crucial when creating a keyword list. This is the only way to ensure that no keyword is forgotten and that content does not double or cover same or too similar keywords. In short, mapping also helps you avoid keyword cannibalization and duplicate content.
Type of subpage
This is helpful to recognize the type of subpage (for example product page, blog post, etc.) at first glance and to assign strategically suitable keywords more easily. As already mentioned, the search intention behind the keywords is an important factor to offer searchers the content they are hoping for when searching. These intentions should ideally match the goals of the respective landing pages: For a product page, for example, it makes sense to assign it transactional keywords as far as possible.
You can also expand your keyword list with information that helps you to better understand the keywords and improve your content based on it:
- Average position, if your website already ranks the keywords
- Impressions & clicks of the SERPs
- Dwell time on the landing page
- CPC, etc.
Why is a keyword map important? What benefits does it provide? What goals does it pursue?
A keyword map is usually created after extensive keyword research. For example as part of a content audit or before a relaunch. It forms the basis of your content strategy, but is also a tool that changes dynamically and makes your daily SEO work easier.
A keyword map lets you discover potentials as well as mistakes, such as important keywords that have not yet been assigned content. Keyword clusters that you have created during the research can also be sensibly divided over several subpages with the help of a keyword map.
Important: A keyword map is never created only once and then “done”. The key is to maintain it constantly and keep it up to date.
The advantages of keyword mapping at a glance:
- A keyword map quickly shows if multiple subpages of a website are optimized for the same keywords - as is well known, this would lead to cannibalization of these pages.
- It gives you an overview of which search intention is behind the respective keywords and makes the optimization of texts and content easier.
- You avoid double content! New content can be better defined and differentiated from other, already existing content, using a keyword map.
- You do not forget any old blog posts due to the listing of all URLs and you always have these in view for potential updates or adjustments.
- The internal linking is easier for you, as you always have all topics and URLs at hand.
- The data that you have collected on the basis of the keyword map is comparable and offers the perfect basis for prioritizing certain content and to-dos.
How is a keyword map structured and which keywords belong in the keyword mapping?
There are different ways to create a keyword list. Not every template that you find on the internet is suitable for your own workflow. Keyword mapping templates can still be helpful and provide inspiration for your own approach.
Different tools have proven themselves for implementation. Keyword lists in Excel are as popular as Google Sheets.
Example of the structure of keyword mapping in Excel:
How is a keyword map created? A step-by-step guide using an example
Now that you have an overview of the advantages of keyword mapping, let's take a closer look at how to proceed with the creation and which steps are involved.
As you read in the first part of the article, keyword maps are usually created when it comes to restructuring (for example in the course of a relaunch) or setting up a website from scratch. At this point you start with comprehensive keyword research.
Keyword research and search intention
What kind of content is my target group actually looking for? The most important discipline in keyword research is to put yourself in the shoes of your target group. Only those who manage to change this perspective get the full range of possible Keywords played out. In this article you will find an overview with good tools for keyword research.
Definitely orient yourself on the user journey. In our example it's about a call center software. Even before a person types “Call Center Software Tools”, they might first deal with questions like “What is VoIP” or specifically look for a solution to a problem: “Call Center Home Office”. In your research, you should cover all phases of a user journey and collect both informational and transactional keywords. The search intention also receives its own column in the keyword map.
Form theme clusters / keyword sets
Next, you form meaningful keyword clusters, i.e. thematic groups that cover a main keyword and several secondary keywords (ideally long-tail keywords). So that the keyword map does not become unclear, limit yourself here to the 5 to 10 most important secondary keywords. Think in formats here, i.e. will the content be covered as a Landing page, blog post or product page? In our example, this could be a product page that covers the most important call center software features, as well as a guide to the topic of “digitalization in customer service” as a blog article.
Transfer search volume and competition
You have now created theme clusters, main and secondary keywords as well as Search intention in the keyword list, possibly also the format for your content. You can now transfer information on the search volume and the competition to get an evaluation basis for prioritizing the topics.
Add and assign URLs
If you already have an existing website that is about to be relaunched, for example, tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider. So you can quickly pull a current and complete list of all existing URLs that you enter in your keyword map and assign to the theme clusters.
Important: If you notice that several URLs are contributing to the same keyword / topic, then it is clear to Google that it is hedging your pages for this keyword / topic (cannibalization). You should check and differentiate the content of both pages in the next step to avoid this. Either through different keyword sets or through content that covers different search intentions - a clear cut between transactional and informational content.
Up-to-date data thanks to HLOOKUP?
You can also add the current data to your keywords in your Excel table or Google Sheet using HLOOKUP - this way, search volume, competition, and ranking are always up to date in your keyword map. But you should consider that with a keyword map you never get the “big picture” - the analysis with tools like Sistrix or XOVI will not replace it.
There you will find important information about trends, developments, competitors and other keywords that are not yet in a keyword map.
Conclusion on keyword mapping
A keyword map is a fixed part of an SEO strategy and maps all URLs of your website and the corresponding keyword clusters. It is ideal for depicting a status quo and is created, for example, before a relaunch or as part of a Content audit. As a reporting or decision-making aid, it uncovers potentials and problems and enables the prioritization of the next SEO measures. Nevertheless, it is not a static document, but should be updated regularly to detect comparisons and changes. In addition to the keyword map SEO tools are the crucial tools to continuously improve the content of your websites.
Lisa Feilen unterstützt die Digitalagentur Friendventure im Konzept und Copywriting. Nach ihren ersten Marketing-Erfahrungen in der Hotellerie entschloss sie sich 2016 dazu, Online-Marketing-Management zu studieren. Da sie sich mit Freude in die unterschiedlichsten Themenbereiche und Branchen eindeckt, befasst sie sich seither hauptsächlich mit der Konzeption digitaler Produkte und dem Schreiben wirksamer Texte.
