# Keyword map: [Site name]

Prepared by [Name] on [date]. Results read from the Google top 10 on [date], for [country and language].

Free template from SerpDad (https://serpdad.com/templates/keyword-mapping/). Delete the guidance lines in brackets when you fill it in.

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## The rule

[Write the rule at the top, so everyone reads the map the same way.]

- Every keyword gets exactly one owner page. No keyword appears twice.
- Two keywords share a page when their Google top 10 results share **3 or more** of the same URLs. Fewer shared URLs means separate pages, even when the wording looks alike.
- When a keyword could fit two pages, it is a tie. A person decides it and writes the reason in the notes.

## Verdicts

[Each owner page gets one verdict. It tells the writer what kind of work the page needs.]

| Verdict | Meaning | Work |
|---|---|---|
| New page | No page on the site covers this group | Write a new page |
| Optimize | A page on the site already covers this group | Improve that page instead of writing a new one |
| Optimize #N | As above, and Search Console shows the page at average position N | Improve that page |
| Ranks #N | Your page appears at position N in the top 10 you checked | Improve that page, starting from what already works |
| Pages compete | Two or more of your pages earn impressions for this group | Pick one owner page, merge the others into it and redirect them |
| Parked | The keyword stays on the map without a page, for now | Revisit it on the next pass |

## The map

[One row per keyword. Group the rows by owner page, focus keyword first.]

| Keyword | Monthly searches | Owner page (URL) | Focus keyword of that page | Shared top 10 URLs with the focus keyword | Verdict | Intent (page types in the top 10) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [focus keyword] | [number] | [URL] | [focus keyword] | Focus keyword | [verdict] | [for example: 7 guides, 2 tool pages, 1 forum thread] | [note for the writer] |
| [keyword] | [number] | [same URL] | [focus keyword] | [count] of 10 | [verdict] | [page types] | [section it belongs in] |
| | | | | | | | |

## Shared URLs (the evidence)

[For every keyword that shares a page with its focus keyword, list the shared URLs. This is the receipt: anyone can check the decision later.]

| Keyword | Focus keyword | Shared URLs |
|---|---|---|
| [keyword] | [focus keyword] | [URL 1], [URL 2], [URL 3] |

## Ties to decide

[Keywords that could fit two pages. Decide each one by hand and write the reason.]

| Keyword | Page A | Page B | Decision | Reason | Decided by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | |

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## Filled example: four keywords from the serpdad.com page plan

From the topical authority hub of SerpDad's own plan for serpdad.com (62 pages, 224 keywords, 19 sections). The shared counts are real, checked in October 2026. The URLs for new pages and the intent notes are illustrative.

| Keyword | Owner page | Shared top 10 URLs with "topical authority tool" | Verdict | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| topical authority tool | / (homepage) | Focus keyword | Optimize | The homepage owns this group |
| build topical authority tool | / (homepage) | 6 of 10 | Optimize | 6 shared, so same page: a section on the homepage |
| topical authority | /topical-authority/ (example) | 2 of 10 | New page | 2 shared, so its own page: the hub page |
| topical authority checker | /topical-authority-checker/ (example) | 1 of 10 | New page | 1 shared, so its own page |

The wording barely changes across the four keywords. The overlap runs from 1 shared URL to 6, and that decides the pages.