💡 Why is this important?
You need two things to rank in Google and LLMs:
Great content
Topical authority
Think of topical authority like a trust badge from Google—awarded when your site stays focused, relevant, and in-depth around one subject.
If all your content is about running shoes? Google sees you as the shoe expert. If you suddenly start writing about legal advice? You confuse the algorithm, and your SEO takes a hit.
That’s where Topical Map comes in. It helps you:
🧠 Discover new topics worth writing
🕳️ Spot content gaps between you and your competitors
🗺️ Organize content clusters that build domain authority
📝 Get smart, weekly recommendations to keep your calendar full
In short: Topical Map = your SEO strategy assistant.
❓ What's in it for you?
Focused Strategy: Find content ideas, get clarity on where to expand and which keywords to target.
More SERP Visibility: Targeting well-researched topics improves your chances of ranking.
Build Topical Authority: Cover subjects deeply to rank better and faster.
Smarter Prioritization: Weekly recommendations tell you exactly where to focus and allocate resources.
🛠️ What you’ll need:
Google Search Console connected to Surfer (see How to add Google Search Console to Surfer for more details)
Topical Map in Sites or Topic Research
📆 When to do it? How often?
Initial Setup: When launching a new site or a new content campaign.
Ongoing Basis:
Monthly for content calendar planning
Weekly to follow Surfer’s content recommendations
⚠️ Topical Maps update monthly—check back often to stay ahead.
How to create a Topical Map
There are two ways to create a Topical Map: through Topical Map in Sites or through Topic Research.
For existing sites: Topical Map in Sites
Go to Sites → pick your domain
Surfer scans your existing content
We’ll auto-generate a Topical Map with new article ideas to expand your current authority
Note: Only one Topical Map can be created for the specific domain, and the data is refreshed every 30 days. Once created, the Topical Map is available under the Sites project for that domain.
For new sites or new topics: Topic Research
Go to Topic Research
Click + New Topical Map
Type in the topic or main keyword you want to explore
(Optional) Connect GSC to see which new ideas are already ranking on your domain
Note: You can create as many Topic Research queries as you want and access them through the Topic Research dashboard. As you’ll keep publishing new topics, your Sites’ Topical Map will auto-update and reflect your progress.
How to make the most of Topical Map
1. Start with Recommendations
Based on metrics like Search Volume, Keyword Difficulty, and popularity, but also how well cluster is already covered we are preparing weekly personalized list of Recommendations for your domain.
To better understand potential of each recommendation, you can check their Score (last column in the table).
💌 You’ll also get these recommendations weekly via email—just whitelist [email protected] to make sure the emails will reach you.
2. Explore the Map view
The visual map helps you zoom out, benchmark against competitors, explain your strategy, or present ideas to clients.
Map mode tips:
Color code by Coverage to highlight content gaps (white space = zero/minimal coverage)
Color Code by Keyword Difficulty to spot easy wins (low difficulty = easy targets for new articles)
Focus on central clusters of the map to locate content ideas that are semantically closest to your main topic
Apply Search Volume filter to find keywords in specific volume ranges
Apply Keyword Difficulty filter to find keywords in specific difficulty ranges
Locate specific keywords for more direct analysis or content updates. Note that search works only for the main keyword in keyword cluster
💡All filters that you apply to Topical Map also work in map mode.
Using Topical Maps is an ongoing process. Every week you should dedicate time to explore, plan and write new content. When you find cluster that is interesting for you, simply copy-paste url from your browser to your content plan.
That’s it—now you know the basics of using Topical Map! Time to show you how to do a competitive analysis with it →