Keyword clustering tool: paste a list, get topic groups.

Keyword research gives you a list. Clustering turns that list into a plan. The gap between the two is where most agency content calendars quietly fail: keywords get assigned to writers one at a time, three posts end up targeting the same intent, and the client’s own pages start competing with each other.

The fix is to group before you brief. The tool above does the first pass: paste the export, get groups on shared terms with a suggested page type for each, copy the result as CSV. Below is the method for turning those groups into a plan, including the SERP check the tool cannot do for you.

Group by intent, then confirm with the SERP

The single most useful rule is that keywords belong in the same cluster when one page can satisfy all of them. Words are a weak signal; intent is the strong one. Two checks make this concrete:

1. Could one page rank for both keywords and leave each searcher satisfied? If yes, they cluster.
2. Do the live top-ten results overlap? Heavy overlap means Google already reads the keywords as one topic, so a single page is the right unit. Comparing SERPs is also the fastest way to catch two clusters that should really be one.

Assign one page type per cluster

A cluster without a page type is still just a list. Give each one a single job:

• Pillar page: broad, high-intent head term that anchors the topic.
• Supporting post: a specific question or subtopic that links up to the pillar.
• Comparison page: “X vs Y” or “best tools for” intent, where a listicle or head-to-head wins.
• Product or collection page: commercial intent that belongs on a money page, not a blog post.

One cluster maps to one URL. That constraint is what keeps a client site from cannibalizing itself.

Worked example

Say a client sells project-management software. A raw export might cluster like this:

Cluster	Primary keyword	Supporting keywords	Intent	Page type	Links to
PM software overview	best project management software	top pm tools, pm software for teams	Commercial investigation	Pillar page	Comparison + each supporting post
Asana comparison	asana alternatives	asana vs monday, asana competitors	Comparison	Comparison page	Pillar
PM for agencies	project management for agencies	agency workflow tools	Informational	Supporting post	Pillar
Getting started	how to set up a project board	kanban board setup	Informational	Supporting post	Pillar

Four clusters, four URLs, zero overlap. The pillar collects internal links from every supporting page and points back down to each. That reciprocal linking is the part most calendars skip. If you want the deeper version, see our guide on internal linking for SEO.

The copy-paste template

Drop these columns into a sheet and fill one row per cluster:

Cluster name | Primary keyword | Supporting keywords | Search intent | Page type | Internal links | Status

Keep Status so the same sheet doubles as your editorial calendar: mapped, briefed, drafting, in review, published. When you brief a writer, hand them one cluster, not one keyword. That single change removes most cannibalization before it happens.

Doing this across a client roster

The method scales down to one site easily. It gets heavy when you run it across ten or twenty client brands and have to keep every cluster, page type, and internal-link map in sync. That is the part AltoRank automates: research and clustering per client, drafts written against the cluster, and nothing published until a human approves it. You can see how it stacks up against other tools on the alternatives comparisons, or read more on automating keyword research.