Topic Clusters

If you've heard SEO people talk about "topic authority," topic clusters are the practical version. Linkilo groups your posts into clusters of related content and helps you link them together so Google understands what you're an expert at.

What this is

A topic cluster = one "main" article (the pillar) surrounded by several related articles that all link to it.

For a coffee blog:

• Pillar: The Complete Guide to Espresso Machines
• Cluster posts: Best Espresso Machines Under $300 · How to Clean Your Espresso Machine · Espresso vs. Drip Coffee

When Google sees this structure, you become a real expert on espresso machines, and that pillar tends to rank higher.

Pillar Page vs. Money Page

• Pillar Page — most comprehensive post in a cluster. Pillar selection is automatic (longest content), but you can override it.
• Money Page (coming soon) — a post that drives revenue, regardless of topic depth. Money pages will be prioritized as link TARGETS in future versions.

Get to the Topic Clusters page

In WordPress: Linkilo → Topic Clusters.

You'll land on a page titled "Linkilo AI Topic Clusters" with the subtitle "Visual Hierarchy & Content Strategy."

The toolbar

Four buttons:

• Create New Cluster — manual cluster. Name it, pick which posts go in.
• Regenerate Clusters — legacy keyword-based clustering. No AI required, no OpenAI cost. Groups posts by shared keywords.
• Regenerate with AI Themes — AI-powered clustering. Uses OpenAI to group posts into editorial themes like "Humidors & Storage" or "Buying Guides & Reviews." Costs OpenAI credit, but produces much smarter results.
• Remove All AI Clusters — wipes auto-generated clusters. Manual ones you created with Create New Cluster are preserved.

The three views

Top-right View: dropdown:

Insight Dashboard

Big-picture view with metrics and a visual map.

• Visualization dropdown (default: Content Coverage Treemap)
• Filter by Intent (Commercial / Informational / All)
• Filter by Funnel (TOFU / MOFU / BOFU / All Stages)
• Stat cards: Total Clusters, Posts Clustered, Orphan Posts, Content Gaps, Total Clicks
• Automated Insights — short summaries like "Your most developed topic is X with N posts"
• Content Coverage Treemap — colored grid, each rectangle is a cluster, bigger = more posts

Treemap legend:

• Block color — each cluster gets a unique color
• Funnel Stage circle (top-right of each block): 🔴 TOFU · 🟠 MOFU · 🟢 BOFU
• Intent (border style) — solid = Commercial · dotted = Informational

Interactive List View

The drag-and-drop view.

• Your Topic Clusters — list of every cluster as a box with the count: "Best Cigar Accessories (19)"
• Each cluster shows its posts with a Pillar badge on the one Linkilo picked as pillar
• Five action icons on the right of each cluster: heart (favorite), lightbulb (suggestions), star (make pillar), grid (linking opportunities), trash (delete cluster)
• Unclustered Posts panel on the right with Auto-Cluster All button and per-post Suggest links

You can drag posts between clusters, drag from Unclustered into clusters, or use Auto-Cluster All to let Linkilo place them.

Smart Pillar Suggestions

Focused view that shows clusters where Linkilo thinks a different post should be the pillar. For each: current pillar + recommended pillar + why. Click Apply to swap.

Search

Next to the View dropdown, the "Find a post or cluster…" search box filters everything visible.

How to actually use this page

First-time setup

1. Click Regenerate with AI Themes (purple button).
2. Wait — clustering takes a few minutes for large sites.
3. Switch to Insight Dashboard to see the treemap.
4. Switch to Interactive List View to fine-tune. Drag any posts that look misplaced.

Monthly maintenance

1. Check the Unclustered Posts panel. Click Auto-Cluster All or assign manually.
2. Glance at Insight Dashboard → Automated Insights for shifts.
3. If you've added 20+ new posts since the last run, click Regenerate with AI Themes.

Changing a pillar

Switch to Interactive List View → find the cluster → click the Star icon → pick the post.

Common Questions

What's the difference between "Regenerate Clusters" and "Regenerate with AI Themes"?

• Regenerate Clusters uses keyword overlap. Free. Decent but mechanical.
• Regenerate with AI Themes asks OpenAI to group posts by editorial theme. Costs a small OpenAI fee. Much smarter.

If you have OpenAI set up, prefer Regenerate with AI Themes.

Will my manual clusters be wiped if I regenerate?

No. Both regenerate buttons preserve clusters you created with Create New Cluster. Only auto-generated clusters get rebuilt.

How often should I regenerate?

Once a month for an active blog. Cluster shape only changes meaningfully when you add or significantly edit posts.

What are "Content Gaps"?

A planned feature — currently shows N/A. Will spot topics your competitors cover but you don't.

My treemap looks empty

You haven't generated any clusters yet. Click Regenerate Clusters or Regenerate with AI Themes to create them.

A cluster contains posts that don't belong together

Switch to Interactive List View and drag the off-topic post to a better cluster. Or wait for the next regeneration — clusters auto-correct as you add more posts.

Can a post be in multiple clusters?

Not currently. Each post belongs to one cluster (its primary topic). Linkilo picks the best fit.

What's the Funnel Stage for?

Linkilo guesses where each post fits in a buyer journey:

• TOFU (Top of Funnel) — informational, "What is X?"
• MOFU (Middle of Funnel) — comparison, "X vs Y"
• BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) — purchase-intent, "Best X of 2026"

The filter at the top of Insight Dashboard lets you focus on one stage.

Commercial vs. Informational border?

Border on each treemap block shows intent: Commercial (solid) = revenue-driving content · Informational (dotted) = teaching content. A healthy site has both.