AI Keyword Clustering Tool — Topical Clustering, Authority Map & Live SERP Validation

Bulk AI keyword clustering, a topical authority map and live SERP-validated MERGE / SPLIT recommendations in a single run. Submit up to 1,000 keywords per batch and get Google Ads search volume, CPC and 12-month trend, deep semantic clusters (canonical_query + central_entity + buyer intent + recommended content format), a hierarchical CORE / OUTER topical map keyed to your business context, and per-cluster top-10 Google SERPs cross-checked for keyword cannibalization and content consolidation.

A practical alternative to Ahrefs / Semrush / MarketMuse / Frase / Surfer SEO / KeywordInsights when you need the clustering output, not a full SEO suite subscription. Pay per 1,000 keywords, no subscription, no API keys to manage.

Built for SEO agencies planning pillar pages and topical authority, content strategists turning a seed list into an editorial calendar, in-house teams piping bulk clustering into dashboards or n8n / Make / Zapier, GEO / AEO specialists generating cluster-level briefs, and AI agents calling it via Apify MCP. Co-designed with a senior SEO analyst so every metric, threshold and output field matches a professional content-strategy deliverable.

What does the AI Keyword Clustering Tool do?

It turns a flat keyword list into an actionable content map. Deep semantic embeddings group keywords by intent and meaning, not surface tokens ("ascendent kalkulator" + "kalkulator ascendentu" + "jak obliczyć ascendent" land in one cluster). Each cluster is then classified CORE (pillar pages — your main offering) or OUTER (supporting / E-E-A-T content) relative to your businessContext, and validated against live Google SERPs for MERGE / SPLIT recommendations. It is not a raw keyword-volume dumper and not a full SEO suite.

Why use the AI Keyword Clustering Tool

• Semantic clusters, not token matches — up to 1,000 keywords grouped by intent + central entity, so synonyms and zero-overlap phrases that Google ranks the same land together.
• CORE / OUTER topical map — a hierarchical pillar → supporting structure with URL-safe slugs, keyed to your business context and ready for editorial planning.
• Live SERP MERGE / SPLIT — for each cluster's canonical query we fetch Google's top-10 and check overlap. MERGE = two clusters with ≥50% URL overlap (Google sees one intent → consolidate). SPLIT = a cluster whose sampled members have <30% mean overlap (mixed intents → separate). No major SEO suite has the MERGE signal.
• Full metrics per keyword — search volume, CPC, competition + index, 12-month history and MoM trend for every keyword in the expanded set.
• Optional seed enrichment — submit <200 seeds and the pipeline auto-expands each (Google PAA + Related + organic title tokens + AI query variants); submit 200+ and your input is the corpus.
• Localized — 53 countries, 2-letter ISO codes; cluster labels and map text honor the language code.

How to cluster keywords into a topical map

1. Paste your seed keywords (1–1,000) into keywords.
2. Fill businessContext (1–3 sentences) — required; it drives CORE / OUTER classification.
3. Set country / language; leave enableSerpValidation / enableSplitCheck on for MERGE / SPLIT recs (toggle off for cheaper exploratory runs).
4. Click Start — one batch returns clusters, a topical map and validation in ~5–8 minutes for 1,000 keywords.
5. Download (JSON, CSV, Excel), then plan pillar pages from core[], supporting articles from outer[], and act on the MERGE / SPLIT list.

{
  "keywords": ["topical clustering", "keyword clustering tool", "semantic keyword clustering", "topical authority map", "pillar page planning", "keyword cannibalization"],
  "businessContext": "We sell AI-powered SEO software for agencies and in-house content teams. Buyer is a senior SEO / content strategist.",
  "country": "us",
  "language": "en",
  "enableSerpValidation": true,
  "enableSplitCheck": true
}

Tips: a richer businessContext sharpens the map (1–3 specific sentences beat one generic); submit 200+ keywords to skip auto-expansion; group by language per run for stronger clusters.

What you get — clusters, topical map & SERP validation

One dataset item per batch, with a full ClusterResult payload:

{
  "batch_id": "a3cdcec9-826e-4fb0-aaef-978196d0736e",
  "status": "done",
  "country": "us", "language": "en",
  "summary": {
    "input_keywords": 10, "expanded_keywords": 290, "total_clusters": 30,
    "total_search_volume": 388170, "core_topics": 10, "outer_topics": 20,
    "split_recommendations": 9, "merge_recommendations": 17
  },
  "keywords": [
    { "keyword": "topical clustering", "google_search_volume": 480, "google_cpc_usd": 11.70, "google_competition": "LOW", "trend_mom_pct": 22.9, "cluster_id": 0 }
  ],
  "clusters": [
    { "id": 0, "canonical_query": "topical clustering", "central_entity": "topical clustering",
      "cluster_label": "Topical Clustering & Topical Authority Maps", "intent": "commercial",
      "recommended_format": "ranking", "classification": "CORE", "members_count": 17,
      "total_volume": 18570, "avg_cpc_usd": 14.32,
      "serp_top10": [{ "rank": 1, "url": "https://example.com/topical-clustering", "domain": "example.com" }] }
  ],
  "validation": {
    "splits": [{ "cluster_id": 4, "canonical_query": "keyword clustering", "mean_serp_overlap_pct": 22.5,
      "reason": "mean SERP overlap of 5 sampled members is 22.5% (< 30%); the cluster mixes distinct intents" }],
    "merges": [{ "cluster_ids": [1, 13], "serp_overlap_pct": 60.0,
      "reason": "top-10 SERP overlap of 60.0% between 'keyword research' and 'keyword research tools' (≥ 50%) — same intent" }]
  },
  "topical_map": {
    "core": [{ "pillar_page": "topical-clustering", "central_entity": "topical clustering", "supporting_pages": [3, 7, 12], "cluster_id": 0 }],
    "outer": [{ "page": "keyword-cannibalization", "central_entity": "keyword cannibalization", "reasoning": "A diagnostic concept supporting the core offering, not a primary pillar.", "cluster_id": 12 }]
  }
}

Category	Fields
Batch	batch_id, status, country, language, business_context, created_at, completed_at
Summary	input_keywords, expanded_keywords, total_clusters, outliers, total_search_volume, core_topics, outer_topics, split_recommendations, merge_recommendations
Per-keyword	keyword, google_search_volume, google_cpc_usd, google_competition, monthly_history[], trend_mom_pct, cluster_id
Per-cluster	canonical_query, central_entity, cluster_label, intent, recommended_format, classification (CORE/OUTER), members[], members_count, total_volume, avg_cpc_usd, serp_top10[]
MERGE / SPLIT	validation.splits[], validation.merges[] — cluster id(s), canonical_query, SERP-overlap %, machine-readable reason
Topical map	topical_map.core[] (pillar pages), topical_map.outer[] (supporting pages) — both with URL-safe slugs

Download as JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML or RSS.

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
keywords	array<string>	✅	—	1–1,000 seed keywords; case-insensitive duplicates removed automatically.
businessContext	string	✅	—	1–3 sentences on what your business does; drives CORE / OUTER classification.
country	string	❌	us	2-letter ISO country code (53 supported).
language	string	❌	from country	2-letter language code; set when keywords differ from the country default.
enableSerpValidation	boolean	❌	false	Live SERP overlap analysis for MERGE recommendations.
enableSplitCheck	boolean	❌	false	SPLIT coherence check for clusters > 10 members.
minClusterSize	integer	❌	2	Smallest reportable cluster (below → outliers).
maxClusters	integer	❌	auto	Hard cap on cluster count; auto-tunes by quality score.

Full configuration is on the Input tab. Run it from any stack via the Apify API client or the Apify MCP server (mcp.apify.com).

How much does keyword clustering cost?

Pay-per-event — one event per batch (up to 1,000 keywords), charged only on successful runs. No subscription, no platform usage charges, no outbound API keys.

Apify subscription	Effective price / 1,000 keywords
Business	$0.99
Scale	$1.25
Starter	$1.75
Free	$3.95 (one batch fits inside the $5 monthly free credit)

Sending fewer than 1,000 keywords still counts as one batch — pipeline cost is dominated by SERP fetches and LLM calls, not input length. See the Apify pay-per-event docs.

AI Keyword Clustering Tool vs Ahrefs, Semrush & MarketMuse

	This actor	Ahrefs / Semrush scrapers	Single-engine volume scrapers
Bulk semantic clustering	✅ 1,000 KW / batch	❌ raw data only	❌
CORE / OUTER topical map	✅ keyed to your business	❌	❌
Live SERP MERGE / SPLIT	✅ top-10 overlap	❌	❌
Volume + CPC + 12-mo trend	✅ every keyword	✅	✅
Intent + recommended format per cluster	✅	❌	❌
Subscription	❌ pay-per-batch	❌ but $3–10 / scan	❌

What this actor does not do

• It's not a raw volume dumper — it clusters and maps; use Keyword Metrics Pro if you only want bulk Google + Bing volume.
• It's not a full SEO suite — no backlinks, audits or rank tracking; just the clustering deliverable as clean JSON.
• Live SERP MERGE / SPLIT add runtime and cost — toggle enableSerpValidation / enableSplitCheck off for a faster, cheaper clusters-only run.

FAQ

Why "topical clustering" instead of plain keyword clustering?

It groups keywords by search intent + central entity + business relevance, not string similarity — so "running shoes for flat feet" and "best supportive trainers" cluster together (Google ranks them on the same intent). That's the difference between a synonym list and a content map you can act on.

How is this different from grouping in Ahrefs / Semrush?

They group by token overlap on one canonical query. We cluster on deep semantic embeddings, then validate against live Google SERPs. The MERGE recommendation — which clusters Google itself ranks as the same intent (≥50% URL overlap) — has no equivalent in the major suites.

What does the topical authority map contain?

Two arrays. core[] = clusters whose central entity is your main offering, each a pillar page with a slug and supporting cluster IDs. outer[] = tangential clusters that build E-E-A-T, each a supporting article with a reasoning sentence. Together, a complete pillar-cluster plan.

What is the SPLIT recommendation checking?

For clusters with >10 members it samples 5, fetches each one's live top-10, and compares to the canonical-query SERP. Members with <30% overlap are flagged as misfits (Google ranks them differently) so you can pull them into their own page.

What happens if my run times out?

The pipeline has a 12-minute backend hard limit; a 1,000-keyword run typically completes in 5–8 minutes. On a timeout the dataset is empty and you are not charged (PPE fires only on success).

What languages and countries are supported?

53 countries via country; language defaults from country but is overridable (e.g. country=pl, language=en). Cluster labels and reasoning honor the language code.

Is this safe for AI agents to run?

Yes. It runs under limited permissions — it only clusters your keywords and writes your dataset, never touching the rest of your account. Run it from any agent or IDE via the Apify MCP server.

Related Actors

A natural workflow: pull a competitor's ranked keywords → enrich with volume/CPC → cluster them here into a content plan.

• Keyword Metrics Pro — bulk Google + Bing volume, CPC & trend for your keywords.
• Competitor Keyword Research — pull rivals' ranked keywords to cluster.
• Google Rank Checker — check where you rank for every clustered keyword.
• Backlink Checker API — off-page authority & referring domains.
• AI Brand Visibility Tracker — brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity & Gemini.

SEO keywords

topical clustering, ai keyword clustering tool, keyword clustering tool, semantic keyword clustering, keyword grouping, topical authority map, content cluster tool, pillar page planning, hub and spoke seo, seo content strategy, keyword cannibalization, merge keyword recommendation, split keyword recommendation, live serp analysis, search intent classification, content brief generator, ahrefs alternative, semrush alternative, marketmuse alternative, frase alternative, keywordinsights alternative, bulk keyword clustering, mcp seo tool, geo aeo keyword tool.

Built by DoesAiKnow.com — pay per 1,000 keywords, no subscription, API + MCP-ready.