Topic Cluster Architect

Overview

Design a topic cluster strategy that matches the site's business model, search intent mix, and growth goal. Diagnose the site archetype first. Then build a content architecture with pillar pages, supporting clusters, internal linking logic, and a phased roadmap.

Prioritize strategic clarity and practical execution. Do not return a flat list of disconnected keyword ideas. Return a structured topic system that explains why each cluster exists, what intent it serves, and how it contributes to organic growth.

Deliver the result as a readable report. Prefer short sections, bullet lists, and tables that make decisions easy to scan.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

plan a content strategy for a website or business
design topic clusters, content hubs, or pillar pages
map content around products, services, categories, or problems
find SEO content opportunities after reviewing a site
structure a blog, resource center, template library, or learning hub
create a 30/60/90-day or quarterly content roadmap
tailor content strategy to the site's type instead of using a generic SEO framework

Do not use this skill for:

single-article briefs only
technical SEO audits
full CRO landing page rewrites
backlink outreach plans
pure keyword dumps without strategic structure

Minimum Inputs

Prefer collecting as many of these as possible:

website URL
short business description
product or service categories
target audience
target market or geography
primary business goal such as traffic, leads, demos, sales, topical authority, or expansion
current content situation
whether the site is newly launched if the user knows
optional launch timing, domain age, or current page count signals
optional competitor URLs for gap analysis
optional existing pages, categories, article inventory, or keyword lists for content-fit analysis

If inputs are incomplete, continue with reasonable assumptions and state them briefly before presenting the strategy.

Clarifying Questions

Keep clarifying questions short. Ask only what materially changes the strategy.

Prefer no-question execution when the site type, business model, and growth direction are already clear enough to produce a strong first-pass strategy.

Workflow

1. Diagnose the site archetype

Classify the site before proposing clusters.

Start with the closest standard archetype:

SaaS
B2B Service
Local Service
Ecommerce
Media / Blog
Affiliate / Review
Marketplace / Directory
Programmatic SEO
Hybrid

If the site is mixed, output:

Primary archetype
Secondary archetype
Strategy implication

Base the diagnosis on visible signals such as:

revenue model
main conversion action
navigation structure
content-to-commercial page ratio
presence of product catalog, service pages, editorial hub, comparison pages, templates, listings, or location pages

If the standard label is not precise enough, add a refined custom description such as SaaS + template-library hybrid or DTC ecommerce with editorial acquisition.

2. Assess site maturity and detect whether this is a new site

Classify the site as one of:

New site
Early-stage site
Established site

Use signals such as:

very recent launch date if provided
low page count or very thin content footprint
weak evidence of existing topical authority
limited commercial page depth
little visible trust, link, or brand momentum
sparse internal linking and undeveloped information architecture

If evidence is incomplete, label the judgment as a best-fit estimate.

Also assign a confidence level for the diagnosis:

High confidence
Medium confidence
Low confidence

Base confidence on evidence completeness, clarity of the business model, and how clearly the site's structure supports the archetype and maturity judgment.

If the site appears to be new, shift strategy toward focused market entry instead of broad topic coverage.

3. Define the growth objective

Infer or confirm the dominant growth objective:

demand capture
demand generation
topical authority
product-led discovery
service-area expansion
category expansion
commercial-intent capture

Let the objective shape cluster prioritization.

4. Map the topic universe

Separate topics into clear buckets such as:

commercial topics
problem / solution topics
use-case topics
comparison / alternative topics
educational topics
trust-building topics
vertical or audience-specific topics
geographic topics when relevant

Avoid mixing all topics into one undifferentiated list. Show how each bucket supports a stage of intent.

5. Use optional competitive and inventory inputs when available

If competitor URLs are provided:

identify topic patterns competitors appear to prioritize
highlight likely topic gaps, angle gaps, or intent gaps
explain which gaps are worth closing and which are not worth copying

If an existing page, category, or article inventory is provided:

map current assets to the proposed cluster architecture
identify pages to keep, expand, consolidate, reposition, or deprioritize
avoid recommending net-new clusters that duplicate existing strong coverage

Use these optional inputs to improve prioritization, not to replace strategic judgment.

6. Build the cluster architecture

For each major cluster, define:

cluster name
business rationale
search intent
pillar page or hub page
supporting pages
adjacent subclusters
monetization or conversion relevance
internal linking role

Keep the number of top-level clusters manageable. Prefer a focused architecture over exhaustive sprawl.

7. Tailor the strategy to the archetype

Adjust recommendations by site type.

Examples:

SaaS: use cases, features, alternatives, integrations, comparisons, jobs-to-be-done
Ecommerce: category support, buying guides, comparisons, care/use content, accessory and bundle discovery
B2B Service: service pages, industry pages, problem/solution pages, process and case-study support
Local Service: service + location clusters, trust and proof content, local problem queries
Media / Blog: breadth, editorial coverage, series structure, topic ownership
Affiliate / Review: comparison, best-of, versus pages, decision support, commercial intent capture
Marketplace / Directory: listing logic, city/category hubs, supply-demand query mapping
Programmatic SEO: template logic, scalable page patterns, entity segmentation
Hybrid: define which archetype drives acquisition and which archetype supports conversion

8. Prioritize and phase

Provide a practical sequence such as:

Phase 1: quick authority and revenue-adjacent wins
Phase 2: mid-funnel and coverage expansion
Phase 3: moat-building and scale

Recommend what to build first, what to defer, and what to avoid.

9. Estimate likely SEO impact and success conditions

State a realistic expected impact level such as:

High potential
Medium potential
Low potential

Explain the rating using site maturity, competition, execution readiness, and alignment between the proposed clusters and the business model.

Always include:

who is most likely to benefit from this strategy
what conditions must be true for the strategy to work well
what limitations may reduce SEO results

If the site is new, explain that success will usually appear first as indexing, topical footprint, and early impression growth before large ranking wins.

10. Add a new-site strategy when relevant

If the site is classified as New site, add a dedicated new-site strategy section.

This section should:

recommend a narrow initial focus instead of broad topic sprawl
explain which p

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