How can you effectively map keywords and clusters in e-commerce?

Keyword mapping and clustering are essential steps in e-commerce SEO that help you optimize your site structure, content, and user experience. By grouping related keywords into clusters and assigning them to relevant pages, you can create a clear and logical hierarchy that matches the search intent of your potential customers. In this article, you will learn how to effectively map keywords and clusters in e-commerce using some simple tools and techniques.

1 What are keywords and clusters?

Keywords are the words and phrases that users type into search engines to find what they are looking for. Clusters are groups of keywords that share a common theme, topic, or intent. For example, if you sell shoes online, you might have clusters for different types of shoes, such as sneakers, boots, sandals, etc. Each cluster can have sub-clusters for more specific variations, such as colors, brands, sizes, etc. Clustering keywords helps you understand the semantic relationships between them and the user needs behind them.

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Mohammad Deluar Hossain

Explore Small Business Success 🚀Website Development | Digital Marketing | SEO | SMM | Video Editing | YouTuber | Freelancer🚀
Once you have mapped out relevant keywords, it's crucial to organize them into clusters based on similarity or thematic connections. This process helps streamline your content creation efforts by identifying common themes or topics that can be covered within a single piece of content. Additionally, grouping similar keywords together in clusters allows for better internal linking opportunities on your site, which improves user experience and SEO performance.
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2 Why is keyword mapping and clustering important?

Keyword mapping and clustering is important because it helps you organize your e-commerce site in a way that makes sense for both search engines and users. By mapping keywords to pages, you can ensure that each page targets a specific cluster and satisfies a specific intent. This way, you can avoid keyword cannibalization, which is when multiple pages compete for the same keywords and dilute your ranking potential. You can also improve your site navigation, internal linking, and user journey by creating a coherent and consistent structure that guides users from broad to narrow queries.

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3 How to find keywords for your e-commerce site?

In order to map and cluster keywords for an e-commerce site, the first step is to generate and analyze them. Various tools and methods can be used for this purpose, such as keyword research tools, competitor analysis, and customer feedback. Keyword research tools are online platforms that help discover and evaluate keywords based on metrics like search volume, difficulty, competition, trends, etc. Examples of these tools include Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer, and Ahrefs Keywords Explorer. Competitor analysis involves looking at the keywords that competitors are ranking for to identify gaps and opportunities. Tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, and SimilarWeb can be used to get insights into competitor keyword strategies. Customer feedback is also important when it comes to understanding customers' language and pain points. Reviews, testimonials, surveys, social media posts, forums can be used as sources of customer feedback.

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Sven De Donder

Building the "Tripadvisor" for Industrial Technology - biggest marketplace for Robotics - Top Voice
I use SEMrush's keyword magic tool to do keyword research. I will explain how to easily find the low-hanging fruits. I start my search with a main keyword. I am in the industrial robotics business so for me the main keyword would be "industrial robot" The tool returns a list of related keywords with their search volume and their keyword difficulty. I scroll through the list starting with the highest volume keywords. Any keyword with a keyword difficulty lower than 25% is what you want to save because it is underserved and there is potential. In my example these are the low hanging fruit keywords: - industrial robot vacuum - industrial cleaning robot - industrial mobile robotics - industrial robotic palletizer - ...
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Younas Khan

Full Stack Digital Marketeer | Growth | SEO | SEM | SMO | Consultant
Apart from using tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, Keyword Planner and Ahrefs etc, I also consider Google Instant very help for the long tail search keywords. If you have budget available do give it a try to run ads for extracting some useful search terms for your product or service. It really works well for SEO content.
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4 How to cluster keywords for your e-commerce site?

The next step in keyword mapping and clustering is to cluster keywords for your e-commerce site. Depending on your goals, resources, and preferences, there are different ways to cluster keywords. Manual clustering involves manually sorting and grouping keywords based on your own criteria and logic with tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or Trello. This method gives you more control and flexibility, but can be time-consuming and subjective. Automated clustering, on the other hand, utilizes software or algorithms to automatically cluster keywords based on their similarity and relevance. Tools like Keyword Cupid, MarketMuse, or ClusterAi can be used to create and optimize clusters. This method saves time and effort, but can be less accurate and customizable.

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Umer Mushtaq Dogar

Advisor | $110MM+ annual spend | Process Excellence | LUMS
For mature projects - a good 'site structure' comes in handy since it defines a hierarchical structure for category, sub-cat, 3rd-level pages, and beyond. Keywords with similar themes can be organized according to these. It also resolves most issues related to internal linking, navigational flows, URL structure, and sitemaps. For new projects, keeping a list of kw modifiers (prefixes and suffixes) used in keyword research helps. We can use them to: a) identify kw variations and grouping similar keywords e.g. wherever modifier 'how to' is used, it can form a separate category of pages b) Determine query intent. e.g. modifiers 'purchase' or 'buy' can be tagged as 'transactional,' whereas 'benefits of' can be categorized as 'informational'.
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5 How to map keywords and clusters to pages?

The final step in keyword mapping and clustering is to map keywords and clusters to pages. This is when you assign each cluster to a specific page on your e-commerce site and optimize the page content and elements for the cluster. You can use tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Google Search Console to audit and monitor your pages. It's important to align your clusters with the levels and categories of your site structure, so that you can create a logical hierarchy that reflects the user journey and search funnel. Additionally, prioritize your clusters based on metrics like search volume, difficulty, competition, value, etc., so that you can allocate resources accordingly. When it comes to optimization, include the main keyword and variations of the cluster in your page elements and content, but avoid keyword stuffing or over-optimization. Use natural and relevant language that matches the user intent and context.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Umang Thakar

Co-Founder at Digital Infoways | Top-Rated on Upwork | Transforming Brands With Data Driven Strategies
Effectively mapping keywords and clusters in e-commerce is crucial for optimizing your website's SEO strategy and ensuring that your product pages rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs). Here's a guide on how to do it: - Competitor Analysis - Categorize Products and Pages - Create a Keyword Spreadsheet - Map Keywords to Categories - Map Keywords to Product Pages - Use Long-Tail Keywords - Optimize On-Page Elements - Create Quality Content - Internal Linking - Implement Schema Markup - Optimize for Mobile - Monitor User Behavior Effective keyword and cluster mapping in e-commerce requires a combination of research, strategic planning, on-page optimization, and ongoing monitoring.
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How can you effectively map keywords and clusters in e-commerce?

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1 What are keywords and clusters?

2 Why is keyword mapping and clustering important?

3 How to find keywords for your e-commerce site?

4 How to cluster keywords for your e-commerce site?

5 How to map keywords and clusters to pages?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Digital Marketing

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How can you effectively map keywords and clusters in e-commerce?

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3

4

5

6

1 What are keywords and clusters?

2 Why is keyword mapping and clustering important?

3 How to find keywords for your e-commerce site?

4 How to cluster keywords for your e-commerce site?

5 How to map keywords and clusters to pages?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Digital Marketing

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