7 Keyword Clustering Tools 2024 (Guide Included)

As a very effective technique, keyword clustering involves using the primary keyword along with variations within the content to increase the chances of your content ranking for multiple search queries.

This practice has multifold benefits than just increased chances of ranking on the SERP. It can open newer opportunities to cover new topics that you did not now were possible earlier. 

In this guide, I will share how you can manually follow this practice, how a dedicated keyword cluster tool can help you with this task, and my top suggestions.

Key Takeaways On Keyword Clustering 

1. Keyword clustering is an analysis of similar keywords and forming a cluster
2. It involves finding and incorporating different keyword variations and thoroughly covering keyword search intent.
3. Keyword clustering can be done manually or by using one of the seven tools I shared in the second part of the post.

What Is Keyword Clustering?

Keyword clustering is an expert SEO practice that groups similar intent keywords together. The overall motive of following the practice is to help reach the primary keyword to a wider audience by getting featured for other related search queries. 

For example: 

If YouTube is the most searched thing on Google, other related keywords to it that also have similar intent are: 

• YouTube login
• YouTube Music
• YouTube open
• YouTube videos

So, if I am targeting the primary keyword, YouTube, for which the competition to rank is huge, targeting similar keywords for which the intent is the same but the competition is less can improve my chances of ranking for the primary keyword.

Additionally, targeting synonyms or long-tail variants of a keyword can be considered while grouping keywords. 

3 Ways Keyword Clustering Can Help You

Keyword clustering is a critical practice that all aspiring website owners, writers, and SEO experts should be aware of to publish well-optimized content that is written well and edited according to diverse user search queries. 

This practice helps in ways like: 

1. Improves The Page Traffic

As shared in the above YouTube example, it’s natural that if you cover multiple ways of users ask the same thing, it will eventually increase the traffic to my page, which was earlier only coming via one variation of the keyword.

2. Covers The Keyword Holistically

Following the incorporation of keyword clustering helps cover the content for more user questions and eventually helps more people get the answer they were looking for.

Another example is when a potential subscriber to Shopify searches for the new Shopify 90-month free trial. 

Suppose I have covered the same information that the person needs but have only included the keyword – ‘Shopify 3 month free trial,’ and not covered what the person searched for, I’ve potentially lost the chance to rank on the search result for the same query, and eventually lost that 1 page visit and potential engagement to my post.

3. Helps In High-quality Content Creation

What this means in terms of the user end is the content flow the reader goes through. 

While I am searching for the best pasta to make for dinner, and the post does not have variation to the primary keyword, it can also lead to “keyword stuffing,” which is repetitive use that can effectively hamper the reading experience. 

Important: You should know that Google considers keyword stuffing to be a spam technique and lists it in its spam policies.

What Are The Drawbacks To Keyword Clustering

Of course, keyword clustering has potential drawbacks or limitations, but not in a way that makes them critical. These drawbacks are conditional and more in terms of possibility: 

1. Time Consuming: 

Keyword clustering can be time-consuming if you have not followed this practice before and have only targeted a primary keyword since it involves an extended effort to find and use keywords, especially if you are not using any keyword clustering tool. 

2. Tap the wrong intent.

While grouping clusters of keywords, it may also happen that you get the intent wrong for the variation. While minor variations to a keyword can change the whole intent of the search query, you will have to be careful while adding keyword variations. 

Too see this yourself, Google this – “Coffee Bean Types” first and then “Best Coffee Beans” next.

You will notice that, though both keywords feel similar, their intent is different: the first is informational, and the next is transactional.

3. Lengthier content updates

The more keywords you have, the more time you will have to spend updating the content and checking if the added variation still serves its purpose every time you update your posts.

4. Risking keyword cannibalization 

If not done properly, you also stand to jeopardize the keyword if multiple pages are ranking for the same keyword used.  

You need to tackle these hurdles and follow an error-proof approach to keyword clustering with a tonne of patience. 

Keyword Clustering: How To Do It?

To begin understanding the exact process you will need to follow as a fresher, first gather your resources, like the keyword you wish to work on. Would it be your top keyword or a non-important one to start?

I would suggest you start off with a non-major keyword first to practice first and then eventually move on to the next. Let’s start!

1. Build A List Of Keyword Ideas

If you start with a clean slate and have no earlier keyword research done, you must pay extra attention to this step. Start off by going to Google and searching for a seed keyword or primary keyword you wish to cover. 

Let’s say you are in a wellness niche and covering the term ‘meditation,’ type meditation on the Google search field. Before pressing enter, wait for Google to show you results that are similar to your primary keyword. 

Additionally, check out the section that Google has started including in its search results for quicker navigation of similar ideas. This can provide you with further insights into what people are searching for related to your keyword.

To go beyond basic research, you should also go to the below sections on the search result page: 

• People also ask 
• Things to know 
• People also search for 
• News 

These sections help you to understand the keyword intent more holistically and help you find further keyword ideas to cover separately. 

2. Cluster Them With A Tool

Now that you have your set of keywords, the next step is to cluster them by their similarity in search intent. 

This is done because, although your keywords are similar, this does not mean all variations can be covered together. Within the selected keywords too, there can be further variations in terms of the search results received. 

Again, for example, these are your keywords finalized: 

1. running shoes – Shopping intent
2. best running shoes – Shopping intent
3. running shoes for flat feet – Solution-based shopping intent
4. how to clean running shoes – how to guide

Even though these can be covered together, it is best to cover these keywords separately, as each shows different search results and has a different intent. 

However, it is not advisable to conduct this activity manually, and I highly suggest you only use a keyword cluster tool to save time.

3. Keyword Usage Planning

In the third stage, now you will have to strategize how to cover the grouped keywords you have. For this, assessing the keyword volume and its difficulty percentage is highly essential. 

You don’t want to be aiming to work towards ranking for one high-difficulty keyword directly when you have just started. Remember that the big players already ranking on top have way higher chances of staying there than you ranking them out as freshers. 

Rather, choose multiple low-difficulty keywords and eventually rank for similar user search intent. You can create a potent keyword planning strategy using a keyword clustering tool and instantly check the potential chances of ranking for a particular keyword with metrics like difficulty, volume, trend, etc.

Using an SEO tool for this purpose makes this task much easier and more accurate. Check out this keyword cluster sample by Semrush. 

This has a keyword cluster for seed keywords around buying a bicycle and shares a topical overview for each in a cloud format. 

Further, Semrush also lists down pillar pages and subpages and shares data about the keyword variations to cover for each, the intent bifurcation, KD% (keyword difficulty), and volume.

4. Create Or Optimize Content 

When you have the keywords and the keyword strategy in place, you can write the content and optimize it according to the plan and finalized keywords.

Now you need to write well-researched content around your primary keyword and:

• Use the primary keyword in – title tag, URL slug, meta description, and an H1 (if you are using)
• Try using the primary keyword within the first paragraph
• Use secondary keywords sporadically within the content, inside subheadings, FAQs, etc
• Link back to your own articles to the related keywords that we discussed earlier to be covered separately. 

5. Keep Track Of Progress

In the end, using a keyword clustering tool will allow you to analyze your efforts and check the rankings, clicks, traffic, and engagement of your posts/pages. This practice needs to be followed regularly, and soon enough, you can expect to see positive results.

But if the results don’t come in immediately, check the keyword trends and potential areas for improvement to improve your SEO tactics. 

I am sharing this from experience: You might have done everything right, but you must be patient until the corrective measures work. 

Trust me when I say this, which I must have said earlier too, SEO is indeed a long-term game. It does not work in a plug-n-play manner and requires time and efforst till the results come in. 

That’s pretty much everything you need to get started with keyword clustering as a beginner, until you learn the ropes. While that is not all, There are other parts to it, although.

Should You Get A Tool For Keyword Clustering?

I’ve answered this indirectly in the first half of my post already, but you should definitely get an SEO tool for the keyword clustering work, as it primarily saves time above all. 

To see more reasons why you should get a dedicated professional Keyword clustering tool subscription, you can have a look at the below section:

1. Assisted Keyword Research

Using a keyword clustering tool improves accuracy in researching and targeting the right keywords. As a beginner, you need this support as learning how to create keyword clusters is not really easy and can be overwhelming.

2. Smoother Content Generation

When there are metrics that help you understand the right type of keywords to target, the writing part immediately gets much easier when you know what to write, how to write, what to target, and what to avoid with a keyword clustering tool. 

3. Save Time

Using a keyword clustering tool saves hours and hours of finding keywords, then finding related keywords to the seed keyword, and then further clustering them as per the intent. 

If you sit and try to cover this task manually, it will easily take days to weeks. But with a keyword cluster tool, you can do that within seconds or minutes. 

Top Tools To Consider For Keyword Clustering

When going forward to select a keyword cluster tool, why not select the best ones? 

Depending on these tools’ purposes and understanding user requirements for beginner website owners, I have compiled a list of the top 7 keyword clustering tools. 

Keyword Cluster Tool	Price Per Month	Free Trial Available	Tool Link
Semrush	$117.33	14-day	Here
Ahrefs	$108	❌	Here
SurferSEO	$79	❌	Here
KeyClusters	$9	100 free credits	Here
Keyword Cupid	$9.99	7-day	Here
SERanking	$52	14-day	Here
Frase.io	$15	1 document, 1 search query, and 5,000 AI-generated words	Here

From the table above, the better option is SERanking, given its affordability and the offer of a longer 14-day free trial. Let’s explore further details to see if it’s actually good.

1. Semrush

Semrush has been one of the most reliable SEO tools I have used since my early days. Search engines, web crawlers, and clickstream data are some of the places from which Semrush gets its data. 

Although Semrush has reduced their prices a little, as a beginner, you may want to go ahead with the Semrush free trial first, that you can claim for 14 days, 7 days more than offered normally. 

Semrush Key features

• Keyword manager
• Topic Research tool
• Keyword magic tool
• Content analyzer
• SEO content template
• Position tracking and analysis

Semrush Pricing

After your 14-day free trial, you will get started with a paid Semrush subscription plan that starts at $117.33 per month when paid annually. 

• Semrush pro – $117.33/mo
• Semrush guru – $208.33/mo
• Semrush business  – $416.66/mo

2. Ahrefs

The next best SEO tool I know and actively use is Aherfs. Where there is no Ahrefs free trial or any sort of special discount, investing in Ahrefs is worth it for more reasons than keyword clustering. 

The Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is the tool to look for when clustering keywords, where it clusters keywords by parent topic by terms and understand the global volume, CPC, and past trends. 

Ahrefs key features: 

• Parent topic feature
• Keyword Suggestions
• Competitor keyword clustering
• Keyword volume, trend, and difficulty analysis
• Keyword cluster performance tracker

Ahrefs Pricing

• Lite – $108/mo
• Standard – $208/mo
• Advanced – $374/mo
• Enterprise – $14,990/year

Ahrefs is the second most expensive keyword cluster tool on this list, but given that it offers more value than just keyword clustering, it is worth the investment for an SEO professional. 

Check out my Aherfs review to read more about the reason I recommend Ahrefs. 

3. SurferSEO

SurferSEO is one of the most affordable mid-tier SEO tools for keyword clustering that you can consider. It is also one of the best user interfaces that I have seen on an SEO tool. Critical data and information are shared, but it still does not feel overwhelming to navigate at all. 

There is critical data and information shared, but still, it does not feel overwhelming to navigate at all. This can be a multi-purpose SEO tool that can serve you pre- and post-your keyword research to find keyword clusters. 

Surfer SEO Key features

• Search intent analysis
• Keyword density recommendations
• Real-time content assessment and suggestions
• Share content structure guidelines 

Surfer Pricing 

• Essential – $175/mo
• Scale – $79/mo
• Enterprise – Custom

4. KeyClusters

The following keyword clustering might interest you, given the highly affordable pricing structure and the features of a well-capable keyword clustering tool. KeywordClusters avoids keyword cannibalization and supports multiple file export options. 

What’s better is that in the beginning, you also get 100 free credits to learn and understand the tool before jumping to a paid subscription. 

KeyCluster Key features

• Intelligent topic clustering
• Shares local insights
• Shares keyword cluster outputs in CSV files in real-time

KeywordCluster Pricing

• Basic – $9
• Starter – $19
• Freelancer – $34 
• Entrepreneur – $59
• Consultant – $110
• Agency – $129

5. Keyword Cupid

The odd-sounding keyword cluster tool offers features similar to its name. While every tool might cluster keywords into categories and share metrics, the Keyword Cupid also offers Silo structuring and guides on how to interlink existing pages to create topical silos.

The tool aims to take the guesswork out of the game and helps even those who are very new and know nothing or have advanced SEO experience.

Keyword Cupid Key features

• Can cluster 1000+ keywords together
• Creates relevant content silos
• Helps boost topical authority
• Live data pulls
• Has AI on demand

Keyword Cupid Pricing

• Starter – $9.99/mo
• Freelancer – $49.99/mo
• Agency – $149.99/mo
• Enterprise – $499.99/mo

6. SE Ranking

Another elaborate SEO tool that catches my eye in this list offers a mix of affordability and complimentary trial access to explore the tool thoroughly. Under its keyword grouper and keyword suggestion tool, you get valuable features, saving time, which costs just $0.005 for a search volume check for one query.

With similar features offered in high-end SEO tools, SE Ranking can prove to be a better suit for a beginner with limited needs. 

SE Ranking key features

• Keyword research and rank tracker
• Bulk keyword analysis
• Organic and paid search analysis
• Competitor analysis
• Backlink checker and monitor
• API integration available

SE Raking Pricing

• Essential – $52/mo
• Pro – $95.20/mo
• Business – $207.20/mo

I shared a comparison of SE Ranking vs. Semrush earlier, which gave Semrush a worthy competition. Check out the comparison to see how close SE Ranking can perform to Semrush. 

7. Frase. Io

Frase has been one of the most popular AI writing software. It is more than that; it actually offers the best of both worlds. With a new Frase analytics feature, you can export your website pages and start creating topic clusters on Frase.

Similar to SurferSEO, Frase also offers a content score and keyword integration assistance feature that almost feels like using SurferSEO. Check out the SurferSEO vs. Frase comparison to understand the differences and similarities between the two. 

Frase Key Features

• SERP analysis
• Outline builder
• Supports WordPress and Google Doc plugins
• AI writing wizard

Frase Pricing

• Free trial – Free
• Solo – $15/mo
• Basic – $45/mo
• Team – $115/mo

How To Select The Right Keyword Cluster Tool?

While selecting the Keyword Cluster tool you need to consider the below critical factors in order to avoid spending more and also finding a tool that fits your requirements. 

While subscribing to a keyword clustering tool, check for parameters like:

1. Know your requirements  

Understand your requirements in terms of the credits you require to analyze the keywords. Additionally, check if you want keyword clustering-specific features or an extensive SEO tool.

2. Price 

Check if the SEO tool fits your budget for the research part. If the purchase would be an investment that you would genuinely work with to enhance the content and pages. 

3. Free Trial availability 

It is a thumb rule to first try out the tool before subscribing for a long-term subscription. So, if a tool offers a free trial, you should use the period to the maximum. 

4. Accuracy 

During the free trial period, check the tool’s accuracy against basic manual checks shared earlier in the guide. It would be even better if you had someone who could cross-verify the figures against a different credible tool. 

5. Customer Support

When subscribing to a tool, check if they have enough and prompt customer support service to help you out of troubled times. Platforms with lazy customer support can tend to have buggy features that can make your investment a loss instead.

Conclusion: Keyword Clustering Is Effective When Combined With An SEO Tool 

When starting the keyword clustering practice for the first time, I am sure you will be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of complex data that needs to be analyzed. 

However, when combined with an SEO tool, you can divide these efforts and improve the accuracy of the keyword research. 

Right from the first seed keyword analysis to the analytics of the results, an SEO tool can help you support scaling your content and help rank your content for more keywords than earlier planned. 

After all, the key to successfully sharing, learning, and executing this SEO practice also requires manual intervention, due diligence, patience, and lots of trial and error before successfully hitting the spot!