Keyword Cluster Builder

Description

Turn a niche into a content plan that actually makes money. This skill builds keyword clusters organized by affiliate revenue potential — not vanity traffic — with a publishing calendar you can follow week by week.

When to Use

• You picked a niche but don't know what to write first
• Your site has 20+ posts but no internal linking strategy and traffic is flat
• You want to plan the next 3 months of content around products that pay commissions

Instructions

1. Start from money keywords, not informational ones. The goal is affiliate revenue, so begin with keywords where someone is ready to buy:

   • best [category] — highest conversion intent
   • [product] review — ready to buy, needs validation
   • [product A] vs [product B] — comparing before purchase
   • [product] alternative — unhappy with current tool, ready to switch

2. Then build supporting content around each money keyword:

   • "How to [task]" guides that link to your review (e.g., "How to edit videos with AI" → links to your "Best AI Video Editors" post)
   • "What is [concept]" explainers for top-of-funnel traffic
   • "[Category] for [audience]" to capture niche segments (e.g., "AI writing tools for students")

3. Organize into hub-and-spoke clusters. Each cluster has:

   • 1 hub page (the money keyword — "Best AI Writing Tools 2026")
   • 3-6 spoke pages (reviews, comparisons, tutorials that link back to the hub)
   • Every spoke links to the hub. The hub links to every spoke. This is how you build topical authority.

4. Prioritize clusters using this scoring:

   • Revenue potential (HIGH/MED/LOW) — Does this keyword lead to a product with an affiliate program? What's the commission?
   • Competition (HIGH/MED/LOW) — Are the top 10 results big sites like Forbes, or smaller niche blogs you can outrank?
   • Your edge (YES/NO) — Do you have personal experience, unique data, or a specific angle?
   • Start with: HIGH revenue + LOW/MED competition + YES edge

5. Build a 12-week calendar starting with quick wins (low competition spoke content) in weeks 1-4, then publish hub pages in weeks 5-8 once you have spokes to link to.

Input Required

• Niche — e.g., "AI writing tools", "home espresso machines", "project management software"
• Your site stage — "brand new" / "have some content" / "established"
• Monthly capacity — how many articles can you publish? (default: 2/week)
• Products you already promote (optional) — helps anchor the clusters

Output Format

# Content Plan: [Niche]

## Cluster Overview

| # | Cluster (Hub) | Spokes | Revenue | Competition | Priority |
|---|---------------|--------|---------|-------------|----------|
| 1 | Best [category] 2026 | 5 | HIGH | MED | 🔥 Start here |
| 2 | [Product] vs [Product] | 3 | HIGH | LOW | 🔥 Start here |
| 3 | How to [task] | 4 | MED | LOW | Week 5+ |
| 4 | [Category] for [audience] | 3 | MED | MED | Week 9+ |

---

## Cluster 1: Best [Category] 2026

**Hub page:** "Best [Category] in 2026: [X] Tools Tested"
- Target keyword: `best [category]`
- Content type: Roundup review (2500+ words)
- Affiliate links: 5-8 products, each with affiliate link

**Spoke pages:**
| Article | Keyword | Type | Links to Hub? |
|---------|---------|------|---------------|
| [Product A] Review | [product a] review | Review | ✅ |
| [Product A] vs [Product B] | [a] vs [b] | Comparison | ✅ |
| How to [use case] with [Product A] | how to [use case] | Tutorial | ✅ |

---

## Cluster 2: [Next cluster...]

[Same format]

---

## 12-Week Publishing Calendar

| Week | Article | Cluster | Type | Why This Week |
|------|---------|---------|------|---------------|
| 1 | [Product A] Review | 1 | Review | Quick win — low competition, builds spoke for hub |
| 2 | [Product A] vs [B] | 2 | Comparison | Low competition, high conversion |
| 3 | How to [task] | 1 | Tutorial | Informational — builds topical authority |
| 4 | [Product B] Review | 1 | Review | Second spoke for hub |
| 5 | **Best [Category] 2026** | 1 | **Hub** | Now you have 3 spokes to link from |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Internal Linking Map

Hub: "Best [Category]"
├── → [Product A] Review (spoke)
├── → [Product A] vs [B] (spoke)
├── → How to [task] (spoke)
└── → [Product B] Review (spoke)

Every spoke has a link like: "See our full [category] roundup for more options →"
Every hub has a link like: "Read our detailed [Product A] review →"

## Quick Wins (Publish First)

These keywords have low competition and can rank within 2-4 weeks:
1. [keyword] — [why it's a quick win]
2. [keyword] — [why it's a quick win]
3. [keyword] — [why it's a quick win]

Example

Input: Niche: AI video editing tools, Stage: brand new, Capacity: 2/week, Products: Descript, Runway, CapCut

Output excerpt:

Cluster 1: Best AI Video Editors 2026 (Priority: 🔥) Hub page targets "best AI video editor" (3,400 monthly searches). 5 spokes: Descript Review, Runway Review, Descript vs Runway, CapCut vs Descript, How to Edit YouTube Videos with AI.

Week 1: Descript Review — lowest competition of the three, most search volume. Published first because it becomes a spoke for the hub in Week 5.

Quick win: "capcut vs descript for youtube" — only 4 results on page 1 are actually about this comparison. Easy to rank with a detailed 1500-word post.

Tips

• Don't write the hub page first. Write 3-4 spoke pages first, then publish the hub and immediately interlink. A hub with no spokes linking to it won't rank.
• "vs" keywords are affiliate gold. Someone searching "Notion vs Obsidian" is choosing between two products RIGHT NOW. Put affiliate links for both — you earn regardless of which they pick.
• Check who's ranking before you write. If the top 5 results are Forbes, NerdWallet, and CNET — skip that keyword. If it's 3 niche blogs with thin content — you can win.
• One cluster = one month minimum. Don't scatter across 5 clusters in 5 weeks. Go deep on one cluster, build authority, then move to the next.
• Revisit your hub page monthly. Add new products, update pricing, refresh the year in the title. Google rewards freshness on "best X" queries.