How to build a topic map that ranks for buying intent

Start from the product, not the blog

We begin with the pages that make money: products, services and pricing. Then we ask what someone needs to know before they would buy from each one.

Group questions by intent

Every search term goes into one of three groups: learning, comparing or ready to buy. Comparing searches are where most of the revenue hides, and most brands ignore them.

1. Export search terms from Search Console and paid search.

2. Add questions from sales calls and support emails.

3. Tag each one by intent and by the page it should lead to.

Link every guide to a page that sells

A guide that does not link to a product is a dead end. Every article in the map has one clear next step, and we track how many readers take it.