A content cluster is a group of interlinked pages that together cover one topic. At its core is a pillar page that treats the topic broadly and at a general level, surrounded by supporting articles dedicated to individual subtopics, all of which are interlinked with each other. It makes sense for two reasons. The user finds related information without having to search, and search engines and language models alike better recognise that the website genuinely covers the topic, not merely mentions it. When building a cluster, the most important thing is to divide the subtopics so they do not compete with each other for the same query – this is precisely the most common mistake that leads to cannibalisation. It is worth designing the pillar page first, because it determines what subtopics arise at all. The scope of the cluster can be gradually expanded, but the original division of subtopics is hard to change, because it carries already-created links along with it.
See also: Content cannibalisation, Topical authority, Internal linking from content.
