# Topical map

Category: [On-Page & Content](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/) › [Content strategy & maintenance](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/content-strategy-maintenance/) · Also known as: content map, topic map

**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.

## Related terms

- [Topical authority](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/topical-authority/index.md)
- [Topic cluster](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/topic-cluster/index.md)
- [Pillar page](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/pillar-page/index.md)
- [Hub page](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/hub-page/index.md)
- [Keyword clustering](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/keyword-clustering/index.md)

## Sources

- [Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content)

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Last updated: October 7, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/topical-map/