Topics vs keywords in SEO: strategy, research, and implementation

The main difference is one of scope: topics are broad subjects that contain various, narrow points of inquiry. Keywords are phrases that embody those individual points of inquiry.

An effective SEO content strategy requires both. This post explains the difference between topics and keywords and how to create a strategy that uses both. We'll also cover keyword research and implementation.

What is a keyword (in SEO)?

Keywords are the words and phrases people type into search engines. Some keywords are more commonly searched than others. (In other words, some have higher search volume than others.)

We’re creating specific pieces of content to reach people who are typing specific keywords into a Google search bar. (That’s organic search marketing in a nutshell.)

The ideal keyword for SEO content meets the following criteria:

• It has some existing search volume. It doesn’t have to be huge. For a small business, decent search volume this might be anywhere from 100 to 1,000 monthly searches.
• The competition quotient is reasonable. Keyword tools rate the level of competition for each keyword. If the competition quotient is 20, you have a good chance of ranking well. If the quotient is 95, you’ve got some stiff competition. Generally, anything under about 50 is within reach.
• Your audience is searching for it, even if the search volume isn't huge. Note: just because people are searching for a keyword doesn’t mean that your audience is searching for it. This is why you need to check the SERPs for a keyword before choosing to write toward it.
• It relates to your brand’s expertise and identity. Make sure the keywords also fit with your brand and what you offer.

Example: viable keywords for SEO content

For example, let’s say that your product is a Saas designed to help startups balance their payroll expenses better.

Here are two potential keywords. Thematically, they make sense, but one is clearly more promising than the other.

✅  “inexpensive payroll software small business” This is a strategic keyword choice: it targets a specific audience, aligns with your product, has decent search volume, and is not too competitive.

❌ "payroll software for small companies" The competition quotient is high. Also, the phrase is a bit broad.

It might be a good choice for a topic – more on that below – but it’s not very promising as a keyword.

What is a topic (in SEO)?

A topic is a core concept from which various individual blog posts are generated. One topic may contain dozens of keywords (as shown in the Topic Explorer screenshot below).

A strategic SEO topic should be:

• Specific enough to interest your target audience. It should match what they are interested in, what they need, and the problems they are trying to solve.
• Broad enough that you can write many different blog posts about it. This helps you become a trusted source on the topic and reach a wider audience

In this way, topics are fundamental to a content strategy. They help your site build topical authority, which strengthens your overall performance in organic search. But, ultimately, content strategy is about the people you’re trying to educate and persuade. When you write about a variety of niche subjects within a core topic, you’re creating a comprehensive content library. This helps to build credibility with people.

Example: viable topics for SEO content

Let’s keep with the example that we mentioned above: you’re marketing a Saas designed to help startups balance their payroll expenses better. Here are some examples of topics:

✅ “payroll software small business” This is targeted to your ideal audience but also broad enough to generate a cluster of posts, as shown in the screenshot below.

❌ “payroll software” This is broad enough for a topic, but it’s probably too broad. This will attract accountants from massive corporations as well as small businesses. Some of the traffic will be valuable to you, but there will be a lot of un-targeted traffic, too.

❌ “inexpensive payroll software small business” This is specific to your industry and use cases, and would make a great blog post… but it’s too specific to be a topic. You can’t build a strategy around it.

As you can see in the Topic Explorer above, there are no other related keywords that have any volume.

How to use topics vs keywords in an SEO content strategy

Topics and keywords are not mutually exclusive; they work together to create a comprehensive SEO content strategy.

• Topics are like categories for your content, the main themes you want to be known for.
• Keywords are the specific phrases people use to find information within those categories.

By creating keyword-focused content within specific topics, you’re able to built topical authority. Targeting specific keywords creates content that proves your expertise and helps your audience.

Example

Let’s return to our example: marketing a payroll Saas product for startups. They’ve chosen this topic:  “payroll software small business”. Within the topic, they can target specific keywords that form the basis of individual blog posts:

• “How do small businesses find good payroll software?” (keyword: good payroll software small business)
• “The 9 best payroll software products for small businesses” (keyword: best payroll software small business)
• “Free payroll software options for small businesses” (kw: free payroll software small business)

This approach allows them to establish authority on the broader topic while also addressing specific audience needs through targeted keyword optimization.

Researching topics vs keywords for SEO content

Think of it this way: topic research is like choosing the right neighborhood, while keyword research is like finding the perfect house within that neighborhood.

Topic research tactics

To get started with topic research we recommend analyzing your audience, your competitors, and your own marketing materials.

• Audience research. The best information about your customers will come from customers themselves. You can start by surveying the online communities where your audiences spend time. What topics are they posting about on LinkedIn? Which Reddit discussions are generating the most heat? If you have the resources (and gumption) to interview clients directly, go for it! Archived sales calls and online product review sites can offer similar insights, but nothing beats primary customer research.
• In-house marketing. Some of the easiest and most useful places to mine topic research are materials that are already in existence. What are the key phrases that appear in your value proposition, in customer testimonials, on your homepage, and your docs? Ask your product marketing team about the categories your product occupies.
• Competitor research. What topics are your competitors covering? What are they missing? It can be as simple as spending some time reviewing the content on their marketing site. We run our own competitor audit for our clients to see which topics they’re pursuing in organic search. You can use tools like Buzzsumo to generate similar insights.

Keyword research tactics

Keyword research begins after a topic has been selected. Keyword research is about finding the specific words and phrases people use in their searches.

• Use quantitative keyword tools. Tools like ércule’s Topic Explorer and Semrush allow you to search for keywords by topic and assess the search volume and competition quotients.
• Analyze search intent. A keyword phrase might match your brand marketing, but how are people actually using it in search? What is on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for the given keyword? Is the content there speaking to your target audience, or some other audience that happens to use similar language?

We created this template for assessing keywords within a topic. Make a copy for yourself!

What comes after the topic and keyword selection phase?

The key is to be strategic at every step of your content strategy. Once you’ve chosen a strategic topic and vetted the most promising keywords within it, it’s time to plan for production.

Managing the pipeline for your content production is an art unto itself.

(👆 Check out our guide to pipeline management for an in-depth discussion of this process.)

The goal is to create a consistent and sustainable publishing cadence of high-quality content. If you’re a small content team (with an even smaller budget) then this might mean scheduling one blog post every two weeks at the outset.

Put all of the slated pieces on a content calendar before you begin. Your calendar might include revisions to existing pages that fit within the topic. (You can search your current library by topic using the ércule app.)

Share the plan with your stakeholders. Make sure that everyone is on board with your strategy – or, at the very least, understands the decisions you’re making. Let them know that you’re not just publishing for the sake of publishing – you’re creating strategic content that is designed to generate targeted leads.

And, as always, if you’re unsure about how to proceed, drop us a line.