Topic clusters are a dead simple way to get a little bit ahead of the game,
as if you’re a solo blogger, they’re one of the most powerful ways to grow your traffic and make Google actually understand what your site is about.
Topic clusters are how you prove you actually know what you’re talking about – even if you only have 10–15 posts.
Why Topic Clusters Matter
Remember all the sites that used to rank easily straight away with these kind of posts?
The “best tools for X” and “how to do Y” kind of posts.
Thousands of creators, including myself, built entire sites on these single posts going viral.
But that era is done.
Today, Google is asking three questions:
- Do you cover this topic deeply?
- Do your posts connect logically?
- Are you an actual authority or just publishing noise?
Topic clusters answer all three, and they will allow you to:
- Rank faster
- Rank for more keywords
- Outperform bigger sites
- Build real topical authority
This is one of the few SEO strategies perfect for solo bloggers because it rewards depth, not volume.
The Simple Formula: Pillar + Support Posts
A topic cluster has two pieces:
The Pillar Post
This is your “master guide.”
Big, broad, high-level.
- “The Complete Guide to Email Marketing for Beginners”
- “The Ultimate Guide to Getting Fit at Home”
- “Beginner’s Guide to Freelance Writing”
This post is the hub – the main page that connects everything.
Supporting Posts
These are all the smaller, deeper articles that expand the pillar.
- “Best email marketing tools compared”
- “How to write your first newsletter”
- “Email sequences explained for beginners”
- “How often should you email your list?”
These support posts each cover ONE angle of the bigger topic in detail.
That’s it.
That’s a cluster.
The Beginner-Friendly Way to Build Your Topic Cluster
Here are the steps you can follow easily enough to start doing your own topic clusters.
Pick One Core Topic You Want to Be Known For
Ask yourself:
- “What do I want Google to associate my site with?”
- “What topic do I actually want to be an authority in?”
- “What subject ties to my audience AND my offers?”
This will be your pillar topic.
Keep it simple.
Create Your Pillar Post – The Big Foundational Piece
Your pillar should be:
- Longer than your usual posts
- Broader in scope
- The “start here” guide for your topic
- Something worth linking back to repeatedly
Think of it like a home base for your entire niche.
Brainstorm 8–12 Supporting Posts
These should all answer specific questions around the pillar topic.
For example, if your pillar is:
“The Beginner’s Guide to Home Fitness”
Your supporting posts might be:
- “Best beginner home workout routines”
- “Essential equipment for home workouts”
- “Bodyweight exercises for total beginners”
- “How to build a home workout habit”
- “Do you need supplements as a beginner?”
- “How to create a weekly workout schedule”
- “How long should a home workout be?”
- “Home workout mistakes beginners make”
Each support post hits a long-tail keyword.
Each expands the pillar.
Each strengthens your authority.
Interlink Everything
A topic cluster is all about internal links.
- Link every support post > back to the pillar
- Link the pillar > to all support posts
- Link related support posts > to each other when relevant
To Google, this signals:
“This site clearly knows this topic extremely well.”
This is why cluster sites rank faster with fewer articles.
Refresh + Expand as You Grow
Topic clusters aren’t static, so every few months:
- Add new supporting posts
- Update the pillar with new insights
- Improve internal linking
- Add FAQs
- Add case studies, examples, visuals
- Expand sections that perform well
Why This Works So Well for Solo Bloggers
If you’re working on your own, which most people do when blogging, while also probably working a full time job, hear this: You don’t need 100 posts to rank well.
You only need:
- One solid pillar
- A handful of great support posts
- Clean internal linking
- Intentional updates
This is how you outrank bigger sites – not by matching their volume, but by beating them in focus.
So start building clusters.
