Topics vs Keywords

Focus On Topics, Not Keywords

Google’s March 2024 core update removed 45% of low-quality, unoriginal content from search results — exceeding the 40% reduction target Google had publicly set for itself. That’s not a gradual adjustment. That’s a hard pruning of content that existed primarily to rank for keywords rather than to actually help anyone.

And yet most SEO conversations still orbit around keywords. Which terms to target, what volume to chase, which tools to use for research. I’m going to make the case here that this framing is increasingly the wrong one — and that the businesses winning in search are thinking about topics first and treating keywords as the finishing coat, not the foundation.

In digital marketing and SEO, keywords refer to specific search terms that users enter into search engines, while topics encompass a broader subject or theme. While keywords are important for optimization, topics provide a better understanding of the narrative and help organize content around a specific subject.

Topics are the broader subject or theme your content revolves around — a range of related concepts organized into something coherent. If you have a blog about healthy eating, one of your topics might be “plant-based diets.” Topics provide the high-level structure that gives your content a spine.

Keywords are the specific search terms people use when looking for information. They’re more focused and specific. A keyword related to “plant-based diets” might be “vegan meal plan.” Keywords optimize content for search engines and help users find your site.

Both matter. But the debate — which should get more emphasis — keeps coming up. Some argue keywords are still primary because they directly affect rankings. Others (myself included) argue that focusing solely on keywords produces fragmented content that lacks depth and fails to build the kind of authority Google increasingly rewards.

Google’s E-E-A-T Guidelines and Topical Authority

In December 2022, Google officially added “Experience” to their existing E-A-T framework (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), creating E-E-A-T. The update signals that Google now actively looks for evidence of first-hand experience with a topic, not just keyword-matching prowess. For businesses, this means showing real-world knowledge rather than simply regurgitating information found elsewhere.

Websites focusing on topical authority consistently perform better under these guidelines. Topical authority means covering a subject comprehensively across multiple pieces of content, building a web of expertise that Google can recognize as genuine depth rather than keyword stuffing spread across thin pages.

A Surfer SEO analysis of 253,800 search engine results found that page-level topical authority is the single largest on-page ranking factor — outweighing even the monthly traffic volume of the domain itself. A Graphite research white paper (2023, 332 URLs across 12 domains) put numbers to this: high topical authority sites gain organic traffic 57% faster than low topical authority sites, and their pages are 62% more likely to receive their first click within the first week of publishing.

The shift in mindset is: from “How can I rank for this keyword?” to “How can I become the go-to resource for this topic?” It sounds subtle. The ranking difference is not.

Differences Between Keywords and Topics

Here are the key distinctions to keep straight:

1. Scope: Keywords have a narrower scope than topics. They focus on specific terms or phrases, while topics encompass a broader subject area.
2. Intent: Keywords reflect what users are actively searching for right now. Topics reveal the semantic relationship between words and the overall narrative — the context, not just the query.
3. Organization: Topics help you cover different facets of a subject comprehensively. Keywords alone lead to fragmented content that doesn’t provide a holistic view.
4. Semantic relevance: Keyword research tools return variations of search terms, but they don’t capture semantic relationships between ideas. This limits your ability to create genuinely comprehensive content.
5. Keyword cannibalization: Treating keywords as topics causes multiple pages on your site to compete against each other for the same terms. Ahrefs found that 37% of keyword cannibalization cases produce ranking instability of more than 5 positions per month. That’s wasted authority, split across pages that should be unified.

Research and Optimization with Topics and Keywords

Keywords vs Key Topics

When it comes to semantic SEO and content creation, topics and keywords work together. The mistake most businesses make is optimizing around keywords first and building content backward from there.

The better sequence: identify the topics that matter to your audience, understand their search behavior and intent, then find the keywords that map to that intent. Incorporating high-quality content on relevant topics is what lets you establish genuine authority in your field — not keyword density.

For instance, if you run a fitness blog targeting beginner weightlifters, research may reveal that popular topics include “strength training exercises for beginners” or “nutrition tips for muscle gain.” Incorporating those topics into your content strategy creates comprehensive, useful material. Then keyword research tells you the specific phrases to include and the questions to answer.

Don’t worry — I’m not going to ignore the topic of keywords!

“In this article about topics vs. keywords, I promise not to ignore the topic of keywords.”

David Victor, CEO, Boomcycle Digital Marketing

See what I did there?

Once you have identified the right topics, the next step is optimizing your content with targeted keywords. Keywords are the specific words or phrases people use in search. By placing them strategically in content, metadata, and headers, you improve your visibility in search results.

The important caveat is to avoid keyword stuffing — overloading content with too many keywords in an unnatural way. Most SEO tools reinforce this kind of mechanical optimization. Instead, focus on content that’s informative, engaging, and adds your own perspective (what the SEO industry calls “Information Gain“). That combination improves rankings and user experience simultaneously.

Tools for Identifying Effective Keywords and Topics

Numerous tools are available to identify effective keywords and topics. Each uses different data sets with unique features.

Semrush and Ahrefs are the two dominant all-in-one platforms — both do keyword research, content gap analysis, and competitive research. In practice, I’ve found Ahrefs is a better deal for day-to-day use. Semrush has a habit of gating features behind upgrade prompts in a way that gets old fast. Ahrefs just gives you the data.

Google Trends is free and genuinely useful for spotting seasonal patterns and rising interest in a topic, though it lacks keyword-level granularity.

Keywords Everywhere is an affordable browser extension that shows search volume, CPC, and competition metrics directly in your search results.

Google Search Console is often overlooked. The Search Performance report shows exactly which queries are already bringing people to your site — including long-tail phrases you may never have thought to target. That data is real, current, and free.

Building a Content Strategy Around Topics and Keywords

The right approach: start with a topic, then identify the keywords that live inside it. Not the other way around.

Choose a broad topic relevant to your audience and business goals — this becomes the main theme. Then use keyword research to find the specific phrases people use when searching for information within that topic. By starting from the topic, you can explore subtopics comprehensively: diet plans, exercise routines, mindset, motivation — not just isolated pages optimized for one phrase each.

The result is content that covers all relevant aspects in a way that satisfies both users and search engines, rather than fragmented pages fighting each other for the same rankings.

Balancing Keyword Use with Semantic Relevance

In the past, SEO meant using specific keywords repeatedly throughout a page to rank for them. Google’s algorithms have evolved significantly since then.

Semrush’s 2024 Ranking Factors Study, which analyzed roughly 16,000 keywords and the top 20 positions per SERP, found that text relevance (how closely a page’s content matches the query) correlated with rankings at 0.47. That’s more than double the next-strongest factor. The algorithm isn’t pattern-matching for keywords anymore — it’s evaluating whether the page actually covers the topic.

Balancing keyword use with semantic relevance means writing content that covers all facets of a topic naturally. If you’re writing about “home gardening,” your content should naturally include related terms like “plant care,” “soil preparation,” and “seasonal planting” — not because you stuffed them in, but because they’re part of the subject. Quality content should always be the driving force behind your strategy. That’s a bit boring to say, but it keeps being true.

Topic Clustering Strategy

One of the most effective implementations of a topic-focused approach is the topic cluster model: a central “pillar” page broadly covering a main topic, linked to multiple “cluster” pieces that explore specific aspects in greater depth.

A fitness business’s pillar page might comprehensively cover “strength training,” while cluster content goes deeper into “compound exercises,” “progressive overload techniques,” or “recovery methods for strength athletes.” The pillar links to each cluster page; each cluster links back to the pillar. That web of internal links signals to search engines that your site has genuine depth and breadth of expertise on the topic.

HubSpot restructured their own blog using this model and documented the results: domain authority grew from 49 to 60, and clicks on their target keywords grew more than 500% in the first year. Their case has been replicated across industries — the basic principle holds up.

Topic clustering also directly solves the keyword cannibalization problem. Instead of multiple pages competing for the same keywords, you create a clear hierarchy that helps search engines understand which page should rank for which queries. The cluster pages earn rankings for long-tail variations; the pillar page owns the broader term.

Impact of Topics and Keywords on SEO Performance

Keywords have long been the focus of SEO strategies, directly aligning with specific search terms people use to find information. But Google has spent years building systems to understand more than just keywords on a page.

When Google launched BERT in October 2019, they said it would affect approximately 10% of all English-language search queries — particularly longer-tail and conversational phrases. That was the first confirmed step toward semantic search dominance. MUM, launched in 2021, is described by Google as 1,000 times more powerful than BERT. By 2026, with BERT, MUM, and Gemini integrated into core ranking, the vast majority of queries are being processed with semantic understanding, not keyword pattern matching.

Google’s 2023 and 2024 algorithm updates made this explicit. The Helpful Content Update penalized pages that appeared to be created primarily for search engines rather than users. Then the March 2024 core update reduced low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 45% — Google’s own reported figure, exceeding their internal target. Sites that had built rankings on keyword-stuffed, thin content saw those rankings collapse. Sites with genuine topical depth often gained.

I’ve seen businesses struggle to recover after algorithm hits because their content strategy wasn’t built on solid topical foundations. I’ve also seen sites still winning in 2026 with keyword-stuffed content and exact-match domains — so results do vary by market. But every algorithm cycle, the floor under those sites gets thinner.

When creating content for SEO purposes, start with a topic and then use relevant keywords to optimize it. Choose a broad topic relevant to your audience, identify the main theme, then use keyword research to find the specific phrases people use when searching within that topic. This ensures your content covers all relevant aspects rather than relying on fragmented pages targeting single keywords.

Search engines value content that satisfies user intent by delivering high-quality, comprehensive information. Topics help fulfill that need. Keywords help the right people find it.

Measuring Success in Topic-Based SEO

When you shift from a keyword-centric to a topic-based approach, your measurement framework needs to shift too. Traditional keyword rankings still matter — they’re just not the whole picture when evaluating topical authority.

Metrics worth tracking consistently:

• Topic coverage score: Tools like Semrush’s Topic Research feature help you identify how comprehensively you’ve covered a subject area compared to competitors.
• Content gap analysis: Ahrefs and similar tools identify topic areas where competitors rank but you don’t — revealing opportunities to expand topical coverage.
• User engagement signals: Time on page, pages per session, and bounce rate indicate whether content satisfies user intent for topic-related queries.
• Ranking distribution: Rather than tracking a handful of target keywords, measure how many total keywords your content ranks for across a topic area.

I’ve found that client sites with strong topical authority also tend to see improvements in conversion rates. Visitors who find comprehensive, authoritative content are more likely to trust your brand and convert. A page ranking #5 for a high-volume keyword but #1-3 for dozens of related long-tail queries often drives more total traffic and more qualified leads than a page ranking #1 for a single term with no topical depth behind it.

According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing report, which surveyed more than 1,400 global marketers, 29% of marketers rank topic clusters as one of the most effective SEO tactics they use. That number will only grow as Google continues updating its systems to reward depth over keyword density.

Always Create Content With a Topical Focus

Google can now mathematically evaluate the topics and narratives woven through your content. Optimizing by keywords alone loses impact every time another core update ships.

By taking a topical approach and focusing on comprehensive content that answers real questions, you build SEO results that compound over time rather than collapse when the algorithm changes. Treat keywords as the seasoning that helps the right people find your content — not as the main course itself.

The practical shift: ideate around the broader topics your users care about, as revealed by research tools and your own customer conversations. Build pillar pages. Create cluster content around each subtopic. Link them together. Fill the gaps your competitors have left open.

Avoid fragmented content that over-targets keywords without Information Gain. The brands that embrace topic-driven optimization will compound their advantage over time. Those clinging to tactically-driven keyword strategies will find the ground shifting under them — and it will shift faster than they expect.

Topics-optimized content is what wins the long game in SEO. The evidence — from Google’s own algorithm updates, from Surfer’s ranking factor study, from Graphite’s traffic research, from Semrush’s correlation data — points in one direction.