What a topical map is, and why a small blog needs one

A topical map is the plan of every page your blog needs to cover one subject well, and of how those pages link to each other. You draw it before you write, so every post has a place. This series explains the method in three parts, based on the published work of Koray Tugberk Gubur, who built it. First, this part covers what the map is and why it matters.

What is a topical map? #

A topical map is a plan of the pages a site needs for one subject, grouped and linked in order. Koray Tugberk Gubur splits it into a core section, about what the site sells or does, and an outer section about the wider subject. In addition, the site's purpose decides which page belongs where.

Core and outer sections of a topical map #

Koray calls a site's purpose its source context. In his words, the source context determines "the topical map's core and outer sections" (his topical map study). For example, a blog about home energy might put energy prices and tariffs in the core. However, it would put the history of electricity in the outer section.

A topic can't be defined as the same by every website.

As a result, the same question gets a different answer on different sites. A car blog and a cycling blog both explain electric bikes, but each links the answer to its own core.

Why does a topical map matter for a small blog? #

The map matters because search engines judge how fully a site covers a subject, not only how good one page is. Koray calls this topical coverage. So a small blog with a planned, linked set of pages on one subject can outrank bigger sites that touch the subject once.

What Koray's case study shows #

Koray describes topical authority as a way to raise a site's rankings without backlinks. In one case study, a new site grew from zero to 128,000 organic visits in 123 days (topical authority case study, 2020). He credits planned coverage of one subject and a deliberate order of publishing.

That is one site's result, so read it as a direction. Still, the lesson for a small blog is clear: cover one subject completely before moving on.

How is it different from a keyword list? #

A keyword list names searches, while the map names pages and the links between them. Two keywords can share one page, and one keyword can need several. The map also decides the order you publish in and which page links to which. A keyword list never does either.

Why a topical map links its pages #

Koray uses the term contextual bridge, in his topical map work, for a link that joins two related topics in a way that makes sense to the reader. Without such bridges, he says, internal links cannot pass relevance between pages. In short, the map is really a map of bridges.

Koray Tugberk Gubur on topical authority #

In this talk on his own channel, Koray explains how a site becomes a topical authority in its niche.

Next in this series #

Next, part two shows how to build one for your own blog, step by step. Then part three covers linking its pages together. For a one-line definition, see our glossary.