The keyword overview

The keywords page collects every keyword RankYak has discovered for your site, along with any you have added yourself. It offers two views: a topical map that visualizes your clusters, and a list view for working through keywords one by one. Choosing Keywords in the left menu opens the topical map; the tabs at the top switch between the two.

The keyword list

The list view is organized by topic. A list of your topics sits to the left of the table, and the table shows the keywords of the selected topic. Each entry in the topic list shows how many of the topic's keywords are covered, along with the average search volume and difficulty of its keywords, so you may see at a glance where your coverage stands. Keywords that do not belong to a topic are collected under No topic at the bottom of the list.

Each row in the table shows the keyword and its search volume and difficulty. When Google answers several keywords with the same results, one article covers them all, so they appear as a single row: a +N marker next to the keyword shows how many variations it carries, and expanding the row lists them beneath it. The last column shows what covers the keyword: a link to the article RankYak wrote (or is writing), a planned date when the keyword is scheduled on the content plan, or an existing page of yours that already ranks for it when Google Search Console is connected. A dot on the article link shows whether it has been published to your website yet, since only a published article (or a ranking page) counts as covering the keyword.

You may sort the list by keyword, search volume, difficulty, or opportunity, and the search field matches both keyword names and topic names. Typically, the list opens sorted by opportunity, so the most attractive keywords lead. By default, the list includes keywords that are already covered by a published article or an existing ranking page. If you would like to see only what is still ahead of you, you may turn on the Hide covered toggle to hide them.

Views

Five views sit above the list, each with a count of the matching keywords in the selected topic.

Starring keywords

Sometimes you may wish to keep a shortlist of the keywords that matter most to you. Clicking the star icon next to a keyword adds it to the Starred view, so your personal watchlist is always one click away.

Generating an article

Articles are written by the content plan on their scheduled date, and there is no other way to write one. If you would like an article for a particular keyword sooner, open the menu next to the keyword, in the list view or inside a topical-map cluster, and choose Add to calendar, which puts it on the first free day; from the calendar you may then drag it earlier still.

Managing clusters

RankYak groups keywords into clusters on its own and picks the keyword with the most searches to lead each one. Typically that is the right call. However, you know your business, and sometimes a variation deserves an article of its own, or a keyword belongs with a different group. You may change any cluster, in the list view or inside a topical-map cluster, and RankYak keeps your changes through every later research run.

Choosing the primary keyword

The primary keyword is the one the cluster's article is written for. To make a different variation the primary, expand the row, open the menu next to the variation, and choose Make primary keyword; the Change primary keyword entry in the cluster's own menu does the same from a list. A primary you chose is marked with a lock, and research no longer changes it. If you would like RankYak to pick again, choose Let RankYak choose the primary from the cluster's menu.

Of course, you may change the primary of a cluster that already has an article. From then on the article targets the new keyword, and every future rewrite and refresh follows it, while the article's title and URL stay as they are.

Moving and splitting keywords

To move a variation into another cluster, open its menu and choose Move to another cluster, then pick the cluster it belongs with. The cluster you pick keeps its own primary keyword. To give a variation an article of its own instead, choose Split into its own cluster: the variation becomes a cluster by itself, under the same topic, with its primary locked. You may also select several variations with the checkboxes and move or split them in one action.

A keyword you placed by hand is marked with a pin, and research leaves it where you put it. Research may still add new variations to any cluster, so a cluster you split out grows like any other. The primary keyword of a cluster that already has an article or a planned date cannot be moved out; promote another keyword first.

Merging clusters

When two clusters are one article's worth of demand, open the menu of the cluster you would like to fold away and choose Merge into another cluster, then pick the cluster that should absorb it. Every keyword of the merged cluster joins the one you picked, which keeps its primary keyword, and the merged cluster is removed along with any article of its that was planned but not yet started. A cluster that already has an article cannot be merged away.

Archiving keywords

If a keyword misses the mark, you may archive it: open the menu at the end of its row and choose Archive keyword, or select several rows with the checkboxes and archive them in one action. Archiving a row archives the keyword together with its grouped variations, so the whole group is excluded from future content planning at once. If only one variation misses the mark, you may expand the row and archive that variation on its own. Nothing is deleted either way: the Show archive link below the list opens the archive, where you may restore any keyword or group at any time.

A keyword can no longer be archived once its article has been written or is being written, or once its scheduled date has passed.

The topical map

The topical map arranges your topics as hexagons around your site, from core topics near the center to edge topics further out, with each topic surrounded by its keywords. The color of each keyword shows its state: covered by a published article or a ranking page, planned or written but not yet published, or not covered yet. Clicking a topic opens its cluster so you may inspect the keywords inside, and the counters above the map track how many topics and keyword clusters are covered.

A topic that has not been researched yet appears as a dashed hexagon with no keywords around it. Keyword research fills it: RankYak finds the keywords people search for around the topic, keeps the ones you can win, and groups them into clusters that appear on the map once you approve them. While a research runs, the topic's panel shows its progress, and when it is waiting for your review, the panel points you to the Research tab to review it.