Recently, I shared how I took a top search term in my market and ranked #1 for that term and related terms by building a topic cluster and linking the content pages to a pillar post.
In this case study, I’ll document the process as I repeat it for another goal: “Best Las Vegas Neighborhoods”.
Topic Cluster
First, it’s important to understand what a topic cluster is. A topic cluster is a group of pages around a specific topic, all linked to a central pillar page. The idea behind it is that by clustering your content in this way, you can rank for multiple related terms as opposed to just one.
To create a topic cluster around the phrase “Best Las Vegas Neighborhoods”, I’m going to create the neighborhood pages themselves and link back to the primary neighborhoods pillar page.
Pillar Page
The pillar page is the central page of your topic cluster. This is the page that you want to rank for the target keyword, “Best Las Vegas Neighborhoods”.
To create my pillar page, I’m going to start by using Frase.AI to identify the competition that is ranking for this term.
The Keyword and Topical Research
The data Frase gives me indicates an average word count of 1400 words. The top page, however, has 2500 words.
Next, I click on the optimize tab to see what neighborhoods and subtopics the top-ranking pages are including.
For example:
In addition to neighborhoods by name, these blogs also include types of neighborhoods such as:
- Master-Planned Communities
- Luxury Neighborhoods
- Gated Communities
Furthermore, they address neighborhood features such as:
- Cost of Living
- Golf Courses
- Jogging Trails
- Elementary School.
Creating The Cluster
The first step is to create the pillar post using the keywords and subtopics Frase has indicated are frequently found on the other top-ranking blog posts.
I’m going to use the AI writing assistant in Frase to help create the content, but I’ll be very hands-on with the direction, and fact-checking. AI writing software is not quite there yet on creating facts and tends to provide incorrect dates, names, and features when creating hyperlocal content.
Frase will score the article as I go.
Then, I’ll create the neighborhood pages. I’ve already created these pages, and some of them currently rank. I’ll list those below in order to see the growth after the cluster is complete.
I’ll be re-writing most of the pages using the SEO features in FRASE.
Pages within the cluster will all link up to the Pillar Page, and some will link to each other as well. There may be smaller clusters within the larger cluster, and I’ll share when, where, why, and how I develop these.
The Starting Point
Date: February 22, 2022
Currently, my website ranks in the #46 position for ‘Las Vegas Neighborhoods’ and 37 for ‘best neighborhoods in las vegas’. Ranking for both of these keywords is the eventual goal along with the long-tail keywords that are related.
In addition, I’d like to rank the content pages within the cluster for their specific neighborhood. Some of the larger neighborhoods will have their own smaller clusters. Take Summerlin, for example. Summerlin is a master-planned community with more than 40,000 homes. Inside Summerlin, there are villages, neighborhoods, schools, restaurants, shopping, entertainment, golf courses, casinos, and more.
Here are the goal neighborhoods and where I currently rank for them today. Keep in mind that there will be related long-tail phrases that include the community name on it’s own, the community + city and/or state, the community + the words “homes for sale”, etc.
I’m documenting the top term by search volume that I rank for currently.
- Las Vegas Arts District: #10
- Rhodes Ranch Homes For Sale: #18
- Spring Valley Las Vegas: #21
- Mt. Charleston Homes For Sale #24
- Homes For Sale in Centennial Hills Las Vegas: #36
- Southern Highlands Homes For Sale: #43
- Peccole Ranch Las Vegas: 43
- Skye Canyon: #43
- Green Valley Ranch Homes For Sale: #45
- Boulder City Homes For Sale: 49
- Sun City Aliante: #53
- Desert Shores Las Vegas: #67
- Sun City Macdonald Ranch: #69
- Lake Las Vegas: #73
- Mountains Edge Las Vegas: #81
- Sun City Anthem Homes For Sale: #87
- Sun City Summerlin: Not Ranking
- Downtown Las Vegas: Not Ranking
- Aliante: Not Ranking
I’ll be updating the build and ranking as I go.
