Group Keywords into Clusters

The "Group Keywords into Clusters" step allows you to organize a list of keywords into meaningful, thematic clusters based on semantic similarity. This powerful tool helps content strategists and SEO professionals identify related keyword groups for content planning and optimization.

How to Configure the Group Keywords into Clusters Step

Configuring the step requires setting the parameters shown below:

[IMAGE: Screenshot of the Group Keywords into Clusters step configuration panel]

Keywords List

Enter a list of keywords that you want to group into clusters. You can provide the keywords in several formats:

• As a comma-separated list (e.g., "SEO tools, keyword research, backlink checker, rank tracker")

• As a line-separated list (each keyword on a new line)

• As a JSON array (e.g., ["SEO tools", "keyword research", "backlink checker", "rank tracker"])

You can use Liquid syntax to dynamically reference keywords from a previous step:

{{ step_1.output.keywords }}

Number of Clusters (Optional)

Specify how many distinct clusters you want the algorithm to generate. If left blank, the system will automatically determine the optimal number of clusters based on the keyword data.

Range: 2-20 clusters

Minimum Cluster Size (Optional)

Set the minimum number of keywords that should be in each cluster. Keywords that don't fit into sufficiently large clusters may be grouped into a miscellaneous cluster.

Default: 3 keywords

Similarity Threshold (Optional)

Define how semantically similar keywords need to be to belong to the same cluster. A higher threshold requires greater similarity for grouping.

Range: 0.1 (very loose grouping) to 0.9 (very strict grouping) Default: 0.5

Output Format

The Group Keywords into Clusters step returns a JSON object containing the organized keyword clusters:

{
  "clusters": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "SEO Tools",
      "keywords": [
        "SEO tools",
        "keyword research",
        "backlink checker",
        "rank tracker",
        "SEO analytics"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "name": "Content Marketing",
      "keywords": [
        "content marketing",
        "content strategy",
        "blog writing",
        "content calendar",
        "editorial planning"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "name": "Social Media",
      "keywords": [
        "social media marketing",
        "Instagram ads",
        "Facebook marketing",
        "Twitter strategy",
        "social engagement"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "total_keywords": 15,
    "clusters_created": 3,
    "average_cluster_size": 5,
    "similarity_threshold_used": 0.5
  }
}

[IMAGE: Screenshot showing an example of the Group Keywords into Clusters results in the AirOps interface]

How to Use the Results

You can access the clustered keywords in subsequent workflow steps using Liquid syntax. For example:

To access all clusters:

{{ step_2.output.clusters }}

To access a specific cluster:

{{ step_2.output.clusters[0] }}

To access keywords in a specific cluster:

{{ step_2.output.clusters[0].keywords }}

Common Use Cases

• Organizing keyword research for content planning

• Creating topic clusters for pillar content strategies

• Planning logical site architecture based on keyword themes

• Identifying content gaps across related keyword groups

• Building efficient content briefs for related keywords

• Organizing PPC campaigns into thematic ad groups

How to Continue if the Clustering Fails

By default, the Group Keywords into Clusters step will terminate the workflow if it fails. To continue the workflow if the step fails, click "Continue" at the bottom of the settings panel.

[IMAGE: Screenshot showing the "Continue" option in the step settings]

The step will return the following keys when it fails:

• output: this will be null

• error:

  • message: the message returned from the step

  • code: the error code representing the error

Common error causes include:

• Invalid keyword input format

• Too few keywords to create meaningful clusters

• Invalid parameter values

Example Workflow

Here's a common pattern using the Group Keywords into Clusters step:

1. Start with keyword research data from a "Semrush Keyword Magic" or "DataforSEO Keyword Ideas" step

2. Use the "Group Keywords into Clusters" step to organize the keywords into thematic groups

3. Use an Iteration step to process each cluster

4. For each cluster, use an LLM step to generate:

   • A cluster name/theme

   • A pillar content outline covering all keywords in the cluster

   • Individual content briefs for supporting articles

5. Use a JSON step to organize the complete content plan

This workflow enables efficient content planning that addresses related keywords in a strategic, organized way, improving both user experience and SEO performance by creating semantically related content that comprehensively covers topic areas.