Topical map has a geographic meaning (a map showing terrain), but in SEO it is a plan: an overview of the topics, subtopics and pages a website needs to cover a subject area, and how those pages link to each other. SEOs use it to decide what to write and to spot gaps.
What does a topical map contain?
There is no standard format. Most versions are a table or diagram with the same elements:
- Core topic, the subject area the site wants to be known for.
- Subtopics, each usually mapped to a page and a main keyword.
- Relationships, meaning which pages link to each other, often around a pillar page and supporting articles.
- Status, for example planned, published or needs an update.
A topical map is close to a topic cluster plan. The cluster describes one group of pages, and the map covers all clusters of a site.
What does Google say?
The term does not appear in the Google documentation checked here (helpful content guidance, SEO Starter Guide). That guidance on helpful content asks whether a page gives “a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic.” A topical map is one way to plan toward that, and the claim that it leads to topical authority is a common SEO assumption, not something Google has confirmed.
Example
A company that sells project management software lists “project planning” as the core topic. Subtopics are Gantt charts, resource planning, project risk and templates. Each subtopic gets a page. A planned article on “Gantt chart vs. Kanban board” links to both the Gantt and the Kanban pages. The map shows that “resource planning” has no page yet.
Sources
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
Last updated: