Keyword Mapping For SEO: What It Is + Free Template

We all know this: Keywords are among the core pillars of SEO.

But can you just simply fill up your website with all your keywords? Clearly not!

Keyword mapping is an SEO planning technique that ultimately helps you organize your keyword pages, website structure, and internal linking.

It basically involves researching keywords on a page-by-page basis in order to expand your visibility for targeted searches.

Let’s take a closer look.

What Is Keyword Mapping?

Keyword mapping is the process of strategically assigning specific keywords to individual pages of your website. Simply put, a keyword map documents the focus keyword and related terms (or keyword cluster) you allocate to every page.

Each keyword cluster includes:

• the focus keyword that makes a page’s main topic
• keyword variations
• supporting keywords
• semantically related keywords

To keep things organized, you need to write down everything in a spreadsheet. This is your keyword map.

A keyword map includes, among other things, focus keywords and keyword clusters, search intent and assigned URLs of existing or future (new) pages.

Mapping your keywords meticulously is an essential tool in search engine optimization.

Why Is Keyword Mapping Important In SEO?

SEO keyword mapping complements your keyword research. It acts as a keyword planning and implementation outline.

To navigate the endless keyword options and possibilities, you need to map out which keywords go with which pages and why. This will help you easily identify content improvements and additions ultimately raise your rankings.

But there’s more to it.

Here are some extra benefits of keyword mapping for SEO.

Avoid Keyword Cannibalization

According to SEO best practices, each web page must target one focus keyword with a specific search intent.

For instance, if you run a digital marketing course platform, you could end up having two blog articles titled:

Page A: “SEO Copywriting: Free Guide Download”
and
Page B: “SEO Copywriting: A Step By Step Guide”

Now, suppose you have a high domain authority for “SEO copywriting tips” searches.

But, during a given search, how could Google know which of your two (similar) pages is more important?

In essence, you would be competing against yourself! Page A would cannibalize your keyword power from Page B or vice versa.

To avoid all this, keyword mapping includes all your keyword + page combinations to prevent duplicate content within your website.

The result?

Avoiding keyword cannibalization within your own content encourages efficient indexing, adds quality to your pages and helps users quickly find what they are looking for.

Provide The Best Answer To Search Intent

Let’s look again at the posts example above. You’ll notice that both articles have the same focus keyword ‘SEO copywriting’ and the same search intent (Informational). Plus, their ‘secondary intent’ is practically identical - they both include a ‘how to’ guide.

In this case, a keyword map would help you avoid similar articles from getting published.

But, if you work on your existing keyword pages, a keyword map helps you pinpoint published articles with the same target keyword. Then, you could decide whether it’s best to merge them or modify them to address different queries.

How To Change Your Duplicate Content

A good solution in this example would be to alter the title and content of Page B into a “What Is” type post that aims TOFU users. The new post title would be: “What Is SEO Copywriting? Tips For Beginners.”

At the same time, you could enhance Page A which includes a free guide download to drive more leads, encourage signups, and improve your CRO marketing.

Remember: Be specific when it comes to search intent. Clear search intent, along with high-quality content and backlinks, will remain the top three ranking factors for SEO in 2024.

Organize Your Content Effectively

Keyword mapping acts like a keyword roadmap. It helps you identify the best keyword families.

Plus, it facilitates content organization based on specific search terms and how they relate among them.

But you can also use it to design your website structure and link hierarchy.

In essence, mapping allows you to combine keywords and content efficiently, so that:

• Google easily understands your pages’ relevance for your focus queries.
• Content creators have more resources to write targeted pieces.
• Content marketers have a hub of ideas to choose from.
• Website content is organized more effectively around topic clusters.
• Users can easily find what they are looking for on your website.
• Internal linking follows logical and meaningful connections.

The latter, in fact, is a core advantage of keyword mapping.

Improve Internal Linking

With your keyword clusters and assigned URLs in front of you, you can easily detect which pages can naturally link to others via contextual links.

What’s more, you can optimize your keyword-rich anchor texts using related terms from your map.

This intuitive and logical approach to internal linking gives search engines extra signs of topical relevancy and content quality. Plus, bots can crawl your site faster and easier, enhancing your overall SERP visibility.

As for website visitors, thoughtful internal linking enhances user experience, dwell time, and overall customer journey.

Facilitate Performance Tracking

An updated keyword map helps you keep track of all the important keywords you wish to rank for and their associated pages.

Ideally, you must update your map quite often to include upcoming keyword trends and new internal links. Or even repurpose pages with declining search terms. Plus, you can easily detect bad-performing pages and react fast enough to maintain your positioning.

Sounds inviting?

Well, the truth is that leveraging your keyword map is a challenging job. To help you out, we’ve put together a free keyword mapping template!

Free Keyword Mapping Template

A keyword mapping spreadsheet has a set of predefined fields. To speed things up, you can use our free keyword mapping template.

But if you decide to make a keyword map spreadsheet on your own, here’s what you need to include:

1. Keyword Cluster Topic

The general topic title for your reference.

2. Primary Keyword

The main keyword you want to rank for.

3. Secondary Keywords

Relevant keywords, synonyms, semantic keywords, etc.

4. Total Search Volume

Search volume of all your main/secondary keywords combined.

5. Highest KD

Usually refers to the difficulty of your main keyword.

6. Target URL

That contains your main keyword.

7. Page Status

Existing page, content for revamp, or new page.

8. Last Updated Or Creation Date

Past or future.

Additional fields you might like to have in your keyword map include:

• Page Title
• H1
• Meta Description
• H2
• Word Count
• Anchor Texts & Pointing URLs
• Images
• Notes On Content Writing (e.g., include lists, statistics, etc.)

With your spreadsheet at hand, you can now start your keyword mapping.

How To Do Keyword Mapping?

Here’s a step-by-step guide to mapping keywords.

Step 1: Find Your Best Keywords

First of all, you need to identify your primary keyword for every page of your website.

Brainstorm Search Terms

Start by brainstorming with your team. Then use a professional keyword research tool to verify and amplify your findings.

Using SEO tools and logic, you can designate your primary keywords. These are typically seed keywords that enable you to discover a larger set of related terms and user queries.

Don’t shy out on this one. Write down a good number of keywords. You can then filter out what you don’t need as you go along.

Choose The Right Keywords

Surely, you cannot use all possible keywords at once!

Start by choosing those keywords that are closer to your services. At the same time, investigate what your competitors rank for and also trending keywords.

With your initial list ready, you can now start grouping your keywords.

Step 2: Group Your Keywords Into Clusters

Add all the keywords that are closely related to or answer the same question into the same cluster. Then, choose your primary keyword to target and assign the rest as secondary terms.

Remember to include synonyms and variations.

For example, if ‘SEO Copywriting’ is your seed keyword, you should also include ‘copywriting for SEO’ as a variation. And ‘SEO content writing’ as an LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) word.

Mapping Tips

Sometimes, a second focus keyword may spring up within the same cluster. It’s then worth investigating whether you’d be better off creating a new page for it.

Another thing you’ll probably notice is that similar words or topics exist in various clusters. These, in fact, are internal link opportunities. Sometimes, they can also offer website structure ideas.

As you are populating your map, jot down any thoughts and observations. And move any words that don’t quite fit into a separate sheet.

Page URLs

This is also a good moment to start shaping your target URL. Don’t forget to include your primary keyword!

Though some SEOs say this is not a big ranking factor, a recent study showed that pages with keywords in the URL generated 45% more traffic.

Step 3: Assign Pages To Clusters

If your website is already online, add a list of your existing pages with their focus keywords and URLs.

Check Existing Content

Check the effectiveness of these pages and see if you can improve them. For example, you can expand or alter their content to include more secondary keywords or better adapt to a specific search intent.

But watch out: avoid big changes, especially in the title and H1. If your page ranks pretty well already, you’d like to add to it and slightly modify the main headings (if needed).

Plan Future Pages

Next, go ahead and prioritize your new topics. Design a 3 or 6-month plan with all pages to be published. Include their URL, page title, H1, and meta description (include your main keyword in all these fields).

If you are content mapping for a new website, thorough research will help you form coherent categories and subcategories that bots and humans can easily follow.

Remember: Don’t force awkward keywords in your content or site categories.

As with all things in SEO, the best results come naturally.

Step 4: Optimize Your On-Page Content

Congrats! Your keyword map is (almost) ready! Now, you can easily spot opportunities for improvement but also discrepancies. For instance:

• Similar content
• Missing content
• Improvements in existing pieces
• Internal linking opportunities with optimized anchor texts
• Backlink opportunities
• Guest post ideas
• Content variation

Done right, these key improvements can substantially expand your SEO results and ROI.

However, keep in mind that this is not a one-off job. On the contrary. You must keep updating and re-evaluating your keyword map as you go along.

And as your website grows, your map grows with it.

But also user behavior changes. New keyword trends and search terms emerge constantly.

In this fast-paced environment, keyword mapping helps your site content stay fresh and up-to-date, maximizing your SEO results.

Ready To Get Started?

Grab our free keyword mapping template or let us do the hard job for you. Our premium SEO services help your message reach users who search for what you offer.

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