SEO can feel overwhelming at times. With so many moving parts and strategies to keep track of, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds.
However, there is one high-level SEO framework that cuts through the complexity – the hub and spoke model.
My Journey From SEO Confusion to Clarity
When I first started learning about SEO, I’ll admit – I was completely lost. There were so many tactics and tools to make sense of. Keyword research, backlinks, site architecture – my head was spinning!
I spent many late nights googling things like “What is a title tag???” and “How to use Yoast SEO.” The learning curve felt steep.
However, everything changed when I discovered the hub and spoke model SEO strategy. Finally, there was a unifying framework that connected all the dots. The “aha moment” was powerful. I could see clearly how all the tactics fit together into an overall SEO strategy.
And that’s what I want for you too – clarity and confidence in your SEO efforts.
Let me walk you through exactly what the hub and spoke model SEO is all about, why it’s so powerful, and how to apply it to your website. I promise it will be time well spent that pays dividends across all your SEO activities.
Hub and Spoke Model – Explained Simply
The hub and spoke model is derived from a transportation and logistics analogy. Think of airline routes…Hub airports have many direct flights to and from smaller regional airports. However, those smaller spoke airports may not have many direct flights between each other. Their connections route through the hub
For example, I live in a smaller city with a regional airport. If I want to fly to another major city like LA, I typically have to connect through a hub airport like Denver.
The same concept applies to SEO…
A hub is a core, topic-specific web page that ranks well and receives lots of external links and internal links. It’s the authoritative page on that topic.
Spokes are generally thinner, lower-value pages that are related to the hub topic but more narrowly focused. The spokes may not have many external links, but they pass “SEO juice” to and from the hub page through internal links.
Why Hubbing Is an SEO Power Strategy
Optimizing your website using the hub and spoke model brings significant strategic advantages:
- Consolidates authority: By designating one page as the core hub for a topic, you focus on link equity and authority to improve its rankings.
- Enhances relevancy: Surrounding the hub with niche spokes keeps your content structure focused and semantically related. This strengthens the hub’s topical authority.
- Distributes equity: The interconnected internal linking passes authority and rankings potential from the hub out to the spokes, and vice versa.
- Attracts links: An authoritative hub on a great piece of content is a magnet for external websites linking to that resource.
- User experience: Hubbed content provides a central, authoritative resource on a topic while still answering users’ precise questions through deeper spokes.
In my experience both as an SEO practitioner and website user, I’ve found hubs to be vastly more valuable than isolated, independent content pages. Hubs essentially become the Wikipedia page for a topic you own and control!
Table highlighting the key differences between independent pages and the hub model:
| Comparison | Independent Pages | Hub Model Pages |
| Topic Focus | Broad, loose, indirect | Specific, tight, direct |
| Authority | Diluted across pages | Condensed into one hub |
| Internal Linking | Silos, not connected | Interconnected web |
| External Links | Spread randomly | Directed at the main hub |
| Rankings Potential | Lower overall | Higher overall |
Let’s now walk through exactly how to structure and optimize hubbed content compared to standalone pages.
How To Create Hub and Spoke Content
Building a hubbed content structure takes some upfront planning but pays off exponentially. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Choose a Topic For Your Hub
Don’t spread your authority thin. Pick one authoritative hub page per high-level topic. You can always expand the breadth later once your foundation is strong.
Step 2: Shape the Hub Itself
Your hub page needs to provide tremendous standalone value and depth to become a trusted resource.
- Length: Aim for long-form, epic content over 3,000 words covering the topic comprehensively
- Multimedia: Include charts, statistics, images, and videos to engage visitors
- Tools: Embed related tools or calculators to help visitors apply advice
- Styling: Visual distinction through larger headers, attractive lead graphics, spacious formatting
- Calls-to-action: Action steps guide visitors deeper into your content and conversion funnel
Don’t hold back on self-promotional links either. Once visitors find your hub to be an excellent resource, they won’t mind a few tasteful mentions of related offerings. Just focus on overdelivering on value first and foremost.
Step 3: Identify Potential Spoke Topics
What narrower subtopics and specific questions live within the broader hub subject?
- Questions: What word combinations do people search when asking a question about your topic?
- Intent: Are there different stages and intents in the buyer’s journey? Address each.
- Keywords: Identify specific long-tail keywords and subtopics you can own. Avoid larger topics with too much competition. You want to “carve” segments out rather than conquer entire industries.
- Gaps: Does your hub topic encompass certain aspects other sites miss? Fill those gaps.
Compile a list of 15-30 potential spokes to selectively develop over time.
Step 4: Prioritize High-Potential Spokes
Not all subtopics hold equal value. Use this criterion to determine what spokes show the most promise:
- Traffic opportunity: Keyword research tools estimate search volume and competition
- Business objectives: Which subtopics align with conversion funnels, email captures, etc?
- Link prospects: Which niches have available sites to pitch outbound links?
- Personal expertise: Leverage your unique experience and interests where there are gaps
With so many options, hub sites often grow spokes slowly over time. Rank the list and tackle the best ones first while letting others develop organically in the future.
Step 5: Create Connective Link Structures
The entire goal is strengthening topical relevancy through the tight internal linkage between the hub and spokes:
- Place nav menu links from the hub page to each spoke page
- Link relevant keywords across pages to pass rankings potential
- Link spokes back up to the hub page to reinforce the authority
- Cross-link spokes to other spokes to illuminate facets of the broader topic
Editor’s Note: See the graph below for an example link structure around an SEO hub page and spokes.
My Hub and Spoke SEO Results
I wanted to share a bit about my positive experience leveraging the hub strategy here on my own site.
As a Procurement Manager turned online entrepreneur, I launched this site to empower others’ career changes as well. The concept of “switching careers” seemed like an ideal initial hub.
Over months, I developed an expansive 4,200-word flagship guide – “How To Successfully Change Careers in 2023 Ultimate Guide.” It covers all aspects of the transition process from mindset, logistics, re-skilling, networking, resumes, and more.
To complement the core hub, I added a series of targeted spoke pages:
- “How To Make a Career Change Resume That Lands Interviews”
- “Best Way To Learn New Skills For a Career Change”
- “Should I Go Back to School When Switching Careers?”
And the results? Through persistent refinement, my career change hub now ranks #1 for its core keyword! Overall organic traffic has been 2X’d over the past 9 months as well.
Most rewarding, I hear from readers daily who have been empowered by the strategic combination of the expansive hub and tailored spokes. The focused topical authority has paid dividends!
I hope walking through my firsthand experience gives you confidence in the potency of hub and spoke SEO optimization. When applied diligently, it can truly elevate websites to the next level.
Next Steps To Implement Hub and Spoke Model SEO
As the next steps, I encourage you to:
- Audit your existing site content: Identify pages that could potentially be enhanced into hubs with added depth and spokes over time. Don’t underestimate what’s already there to work with!
- Map content clusters: During content planning stages, consciously group standalone pages into centralized hubs with distinct spokes around subtopics.
- Refine internal linking: Interconnectivity through links is the glue binding hubs and spokes. Be purposeful here for maximum authority consolidation.
To recap, the hub and spoke model seo is a top-level SEO framework bringing simplicity to an otherwise complex landscape. I sincerely hope this guide has provided clarity and tactical plans for improving your own website’s architecture.
Now over to you! Which hub topics resonate most for your website? Are there any subtopics you would develop into spokes? I’d love to hear your thoughts and plans in the comments below!
