Create Topics for Your SEO Strategy

By utilizing HubSpot's SEO tools, you have the ability to investigate and categorize topics and subtopic keywords that align with your company's areas of expertise. These identified topics form the cornerstone for all the content you produce on your blog and website.

Developing content organized around these topics and subtopics enhances search engine comprehension of your website's purpose. Ultimately, this approach enhances the performance of your content in search results over the long run.

Why should I write topic-based content?

Producing content that revolves around well-defined topics and subtopics enhances the precision of your website's indexing by search engines, including Google.

These search engines examine keyword phrases within your content, titles, meta descriptions, hyperlinks, and other elements. If you're interested in delving deeper into the workings of SEO and discovering the SEO tools available in your HubSpot account, feel free to explore further.

To establish the framework for your online content, pinpoint a handful of primary subjects that encapsulate your company's expertise. To specify the organization of your content, each of these subjects should encompass the following:

• Main Pillar Page: Create a central pillar page on your website dedicated to your main topic.
  
  
• Links to Subtopic Pages: Within the pillar page, include links to other pages or blog posts that delve into specific subtopic keywords related to the main topic.
  
  
• Reciprocal Links: Ensure that the subtopic keyword content also includes links back to your pillar page.
  
  
• Enhanced Understanding: These internal links between your pages assist search engines in boosting Google SEO rankings, comprehending the content and focus of your website, as well as the significance of each unique page.

Your topic's pillar page and subtopic content can be HubSpot-hosted pages or blog posts, or URLs of pages hosted outside of HubSpot.

Add Your First Topic

You can easily accomplish this within the SEO tool once you're prepared to craft your initial topic. Discover further insights on selecting a pertinent topic.

• Go to your HubSpot account.
• Navigate to Marketing > Website > SEO.
• Click on the Topics tab.
• Select "Research Topics.

• In the "Enter a topic" box, type your desired topic.
• In the bottom right, click Done.

Create a New Topic

For topics generated subsequent to your initial one, you'll have the ability to assess the popularity of the topic phrase and its level of competitiveness in Google search results before confirming the topic's creation:

• Access your HubSpot account.
• Go to Marketing > Website > SEO.
• Select the Topics tab.
• In the upper right corner, click on "Add a topic."
• Input your desired topic into the text field.
• Click "Add" to analyze SEO metrics for this topic.

• Examine the Monthly Search Volume and Difficulty validation metrics for the topic, allowing you to make comparisons with the metrics for Recommended Topics.
• To access topic validation data for a different location, click on the Country dropdown menu in the upper left corner and choose your desired location.

• Once you've gathered data for your chosen topic, pick the topic you wish to write about by selecting the radio button beside it. Then, at the bottom left, click on "Create Topic.

Attach Topic Content

Once you've established your topic, you can connect it to your pillar page, which serves as an extensive resource covering the topic comprehensively. This pillar page includes links to high-quality content that supports various subtopic keywords.

• Access your HubSpot account.
• Navigate to Marketing > Website > SEO.
• Select the Topics tab.
• Click on the name of your topic.

• In the center of the topic page, click "Attach content URL

• In the right panel, attach your pillar page content
  • To attach an existing HubSpot blog post, landing page or website page.
    • Utilize the Pillar Page search bar to find a specific page or blog post by its name or URL. 

• • • Click on the content displayed in your search results to attach it.
  • To link to an external resource:
    • Click on "Add external URL."
    • Input the URL of your external page or blog post, and then click "Save." The SEO tool will verify the external link in approximately 20 seconds.
  • To create a new page or blog post for your topic's pillar page:
    • Click on "Create a post."
    • Open the Content type dropdown menu and choose the type of content you want: blog post, landing page, or website page.
    • Provide a title for your new page or post, then click "Create" to associate your new draft content.
  • To attach existing content that contains phrases related to your topic, click a piece of content in the Suggested Content section.
• Select your pillar page, then click Save.

Add Subtopic Keywords and Supporting Content

Once you've linked a pillar page to your topic, you'll then link supporting content related to subtopic keywords. The subtopic content should incorporate a link back to the pillar page for the purpose of establishing your website's authority for both the topic and subtopic keywords in search engine results.

To add supporting content:

• In the upper right corner, click on "Add subtopic keyword."
• On the right-hand panel, input a subtopic keyword, and then click "Research Subtopic Keyword." This action will provide you with metrics for the average monthly searches for the subtopic keyword and a list of related subtopic keywords.
• Choose your desired subtopic keyword from the list, and then click "Save."

• Next, you'll be prompted to attach content to this subtopic keyword.
  In the right panel, attach your supporting content.
  • To link an already created HubSpot blog post, landing page, or website page:
    
    
    • Utilize the Subtopic content search bar to search for a page or blog post by its name or URL. 
    • Click on the content displayed in your search results to link it.
  • To link to an external resource:
    
    • Click Add external URL.
    • Enter the URL of your external page or blog post, then click Save. The SEO tool will validate the external link in about 20 seconds.
  • To generate a fresh page or blog post targeting this subtopic keyword:
    
    • Click on "Create a post."
    • Access the Content type dropdown menu to choose the content type: blog post, landing page, or website page.
    • Provide a title for your new page or post.
    • Click "Create" to associate your new draft content.
  • To attach existing content that contains phrases related to your subtopic keyword, click a piece of content in the Suggested Content section.
  
  To add a new subtopic keyword in the Content Performance tab:
• Click the Content Performance tab.
• In the upper right, click Add subtopic keyword.

Edit Subtopic Keyword Content

• Click on a subtopic keyword within the SEO tool.
• In the upper right corner of your Subtopic content, click "Remove Attached Content."
• Choose a new piece of content to attach.
• In the upper right corner, click the "X."

• Click on a subtopic keyword to access the Manage Subtopic panel.
• Then, in the lower right corner, click on "Delete.