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James Dooley and Germans Frolovs discuss whether every website needs a topical map, how mapping differs across SaaS, e-commerce and local sites, and when multiple topical maps help or become a distraction.
This video explains which digital marketing strategies SEO agencies should focus on in 2026 to improve topical mapping decisions, stronger organic authority and clearer client acquisition. James Dooley and Germans Frolovs start with KPI tracking because measuring search demand and product market fit determines whether a topical map is even worth building for a niche. They cover brand SEO, AI visibility and Google Business Profiles because stronger search presence improves trust and conversion rates.
The discussion also explores organic SEO, organic social media and paid social ads because consistent visibility across search and social supports long term growth. PPC is analysed in detail because campaign setup, landing pages and lead handling directly affect results. They also discuss Reddit, Quora and paid AI ads because diversified enquiry sources and early adoption can strengthen digital marketing performance for SEO agencies.
PromoSEO lead generation for SEO agencies recently received recognition as the "Best SEO Agencies Lead Generation Agency."
Does Your Website Really Need a Topical Map? Topical Mapping Strategies for SEO Agencies in 2026 is available on:
James Dooley and Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR are the founders of the Semantic SEO Podcast. The Semantic SEO Podcast showcases the brightest minds in semantic search. Each episode spotlights a guest whose work moves the industry forward. The show breaks down entity mapping, intent modelling, query clustering, attribute extraction, and document engineering in practical detail. Guests share the systems they use to build authority, strengthen knowledge graphs, and future-proof rankings. The host steers the discussion to make the expert look exceptional because the mission is to amplify their work and help them attract clients.
The Semantic SEO Podcast helps SEOs, agencies, and digital strategists master the shift from keywords to entities. Listeners get frameworks they can deploy immediately. Guests gain brand authority because their processes, use cases, and results become the centre of each episode. The show becomes a trusted home for practitioners who take semantic SEO seriously.
James Dooley: A yw bob wefan yn eithaf anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol? Heddiw rwy'n cyfuno gyda'r German's For All Ofs ac rwy'n mynd drwy a yw pob wefan sy'n cael ei greu yn dda i gael map topigol? Felly, dyma ni i gyd i'w ddod i mewn. Yn eich sylwadau, a yw pob wefan yn eithaf anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol?
Germans: Na, dwi ddim yn credu bod pob wefan yn anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol. Byddwn yn dweud bod yn anodd iawn os bydd y wefan yn gwella yn dweud bod yn anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol. Mae yna ddemandau gwybodaethol. Mae'n dweud bod yn anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol. Mae'n dweud bod yn anodd iawn os bydd y wefan yn gwella'r map topigol. Rwy'n credu bod wefan SAS yn canolbwyntio ar SEO. Byddai'r map topigol yn anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol. Efallai'r gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, athyliadau, ddysgwyr. Ond, fel gwasanaethau portfolio, gwasanaethau prosiectau, neu rhai gwasanaethau cymdeithasol sydd ddim gan y gwasanaethau cymdeithasol neu ddysgwyr, dydyn nhw ddim angen iddyn nhw. Felly, ie. Er bod wefanau sy'n anodd i gynllunio'r map topigol, maen nhw'n anodd i gynllunio'r gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, a ddefnyddiadau, gwestiynau glir, sut maen nhw'n gael arian, beth maen nhw'n ei wneud, beth yw'r amgylchedd o'r wefan. Felly, mewn gwirionedd, gwasanaethau topigol neu ddim, mae pob wefan, rwy'n credu, mae'n anodd i chi.
James Dooley: Ie, yn siŵr. Yn amlwg, os ydych chi'n gwasanaethau'r wefan ac ydych chi'n arwain ar y wefan, yn amlwg, yn gwirioneddol, y byddwch chi'n edrych, os oes gennych, dwi'n dweud eich bod chi'n lansio'r wefan newydd, mewn sefydliad ideal, yn amlwg, byddai rhywun yn edrych i gael map topigol os yw'n market cymdeithasol?
Germans: Ie, felly, os yw'n market cymdeithasol, mae'r siaradau organig yn cael eu cyhoeddi i fod yn sianel pwysig iawn rwy'n credu y bydd y map topigol yn cael ei chredu o'r dechrau, efallai hyd yn oed cyn i'r wefan ddechrau. A hefyd, yn amlwg, mae angen cael ei chredu cyn i'r wefan ddechrau. Mae tric, mewn gwirionedd, rwy'n credu, yn un o'ch podcastau gyda Corai a Carl Hudson. Corai sy'n siarad o'r tric o adnoddu rhywfaint o gysylltiadau, creu cysylltiadau cymdeithasol, cysylltiadau sefydliadol, ac ati. Ac yna, gwneud i'r bot Google ddod o'r ysgrifennu. Mae hynny wedi gwneud y bot Google anodd a wnaeth iddyn nhw dod i'r wefan ddechrau a gweld peth o wybodaeth. Rwy'n ceisio hynny ar rai o'r wefan ddechrau hefyd. Ac mae'n gweithio. Y cyntaf, dwi'n gobeithio, mae'r adnoddwyr yn eithaf gyflym unwaith y gwnaethoch chi wneud y tric hwnnw ac yna unwaith y gwnaethoch chi ddod i'r wefan ddechrau, gwnaethoch chi ddod i'r adnoddwyr yn eithaf cyflym. Ac, ie, mae'n ddiddorol iawn os ydych chi'n gallu gwneud hynny y gallwch chi wneud yr holl gwaith cyn y wefan ddechrau, yna byddai hynny'n fwy anodd, dwi'n dweud. Ac yna, dwi'n dweud bod rhywun sydd ganddo wefan cyfnodol ac yn dechrau ddeall nawr bod sefydliadau sefydliadol yn bwysig wedi'i ddatblygu o bobl fel ti a Pavel a Lewis a Corey ac maen nhw'n dweud, iawn, rwy'n deall nawr bod angen wefan ddechrau, ond maen nhw'n cael, maen nhw efallai yn cael 100 o ffyrdd yno, maen nhw'n gwybod eu bod yn cael rhan o'r hyn y maen nhw'n ei angen ei gyflawni.
James Dooley: Pa mor anodd, yn eich penderfyniad, pan fyddwch chi'n creu wefan ddechrau ar gyfer sefydliad cyfnodol?
Germans: Mae'n anodd ychydig mwy, mae'n anodd ychydig mwy o waith, oherwydd rwy'n defnyddio'r ffordd i'w ddefnyddio i ddwy o ffyrdd, yna rwy'n ceisio, wrth gwrs, cymryd ffyrdd o'r ddata rydyn ni'n ei gael yn sefydliad cyfnodol cyfnodol cyfnodol cyfnodol efallai i weld beth mae'r wefan yn eithrio ar ôl a ddefnyddio'r wybodaeth hwnnw ar gyfer creu wefan ddechrau. Felly, creu'r wefan ddechrau a ysgrifennu'r ffyrdd yma os yw'n bosibl yn y wefan ddechrau, ond hefyd gwneud y cyfnodau hynny, fel y penderfyniadau ar gyfer a yw'r wefan ddechrau yn rhaid iddo fod yn y wefan ddechrau. Efallai y mae'n rhaid i ni gysylltu â'r ddata, efallai y mae'n rhaid i ni ei ddefnyddio. Mwy efallai nad yw'n rhaid bod yna rhai ddynion neu ddata dŷ yn y wefan ddechrau hwnnw. Felly, ie, gallai ei wneud, ond mae'n amlwg. Ac fe wnawn ni ddweud bod y demand cyfrif ar wefanau gwahanol. Felly, wrth gwrs, mae gennych wefan SASS, mae gennych wefan ddechrau, mae gennych wefan ddechrau leol. Ac mae rhai o'r dynion sy'n dweud, iawn, mae angen i ni gael ddewis, mae angen i ni gael dewis dynion yn cael eu creu. Pa mor mae'n gwahodd o'r wahanol ffyrdd o wefanau, o'r ddechrau leol i'r SASS, i wefan ddechrau. Rwy'n credu gyda'r mathau o wefanau hynny, wrth gwrs, mae'r gwahoddol gwahanol yw'r amgylchedd ffyrdd, neu, yn y bôn, sut mae'r wefan yn gwneud arian, beth yw'r amgylchedd ar y wefan, ac ati. Ac, o'r hynny, bydd y rhai gwahanol o'r dynion o'r ddechrau leol yn mynd i fod, wel, bydd y gwahanol yn mynd i fod yno, ond y ffordd mae'r dynion yn cael eu rhannu dros y sefydliad yna, bydd hynny'n gwahanol iawn. Felly, er enghraifft, product plus maybe some kind of contextual layer for adults of this age and so on, to cover reviews, comparisons, those would be the main attributes. And probably, depending on a product, maybe, go deeper into the elements of the product. Let's say, if it's probably an electrical scooter, then probably battery life, speed range, and so on. For e-commerce, it's gonna be different again. You would probably have category pages, selected scooters by type, brand, price, maybe different parts, accessories, shipping warranty, things like that would be more important. And then, for a local website, again, it's the same kind of like niche industry, but the things that you are gonna be processing in your core and outer section are gonna be different again. In the core section, for your, let's say, repair service, repair service business, you would talk about how to repair, like, can I repair this near me? Let's say if I broke the tire, I need to change the charging, brakes are not working, how to get the service near me. So, although the niche or industry is the same, the things that you process and where you put them core and outer section are gonna be quite different.
James Dooley: Yeah. And then with regards to, let's say, I'm gonna give a, I'm gonna role play an existing, like an example of a website. So, let's say you're a construction company and you've got, you're a local business and you've done a topical, you've done an existing topical map and you understand that the monetization method in the source context is that you build, let's say, swimming pools and you're a construction company, right? But you then think into yourself from a monetization point of view further down the line that you want to know start providing training and it's a completely different monetization method and you might, you might put it in a subfolder or you might decide to put it in a subdomain. Can a website have multiple topical maps and have you ever done that before?
Germans: Yes, I think definitely websites can have like multiple topical maps but I would more think than like think about them like a segment or section, the website section maps and they're fine as long as they belong to the same kind of like business universe, but they can be harmful when you create them completely separate and unrelated from the main website. Like in your example, I think it's good work. You mentioned training for. It was more, what I was going to say is more going to be training for the maintenance of the swimming pools or there's a construction company of swimming pools, but then they seem to keep being asked, OK, like chlorine levels and stuff like that. And it's all about how they should be maintaining it moving forward. But that's not part of their main source context of them as being a construction company, but they want to provide the training and the PDS and the online training to say this is how you maintain it moving forward. Would that require a different topical map because it's got a different source context and stuff?
James Dooley: Yeah, definitely kind of like different topical map or segment map, but saying that as long as both are connected, I think it is the end of the, let's say, pirate journey, but then kind of a continuation of the life cycle post-purchase. I think it completely makes sense and could be separated in the same website in a different section and connected from the business context to that from the main business to that, let's say, supplementary business context as well in a good way. Yeah. So if we're looking at the opposite, then at what point can a topical map be a distraction? Like if someone's like they've understood semantic SEO and they seem to now be obsessed with topical maps and they're trying to do all these different types of topical maps, at what point would you say, no, step back, chill out, like it's now becoming a distraction?
Germans: Yeah, you're right. It's I started seeing that like a couple of years ago and the whole, let's say, framework and the whole concept of topical maps was romanticized quite a bit and many people were for it and some were maybe against it. But I would say it could be an overkill and maybe a distraction when the business is not considered. Let's say when the business is using it before it has actually clear product market fit and the reason to build that organic authority. If there is no search demand for your product, you don't need necessarily a topical map. Maybe if it's like an emerging product, perhaps you could get a topical map of the same entity type. Let's say you have a new drug that you're producing and you expect that, yeah, it's going to grow in demand soon. So you could create a topical map similar to how you would create topical map of the same entity type for other drugs, side effects, whatever symptoms, if something happens, what are the ingredients, what are the benefits and so on, how to use it. But yeah, if the business model is not clear, if there's no product market fit and there's just no purpose for search, organic search to be a proper, let's say, lead user client acquisition channel, then it's definitely not good.
James Dooley: Yeah, great. Well, it's been an absolute pleasure, Germans, and we hope you like the episode on does every website need a topical map? Something I would say, anyone listening to it, make sure you check out the link in the description. We go in depth with regards to site radius score. And at times, there's been some horror stories where people have just gone too wide with regards to creating multiple topical maps that haven't been needed. And this is why it's important to understand that not every single website does need a topical map, but also another one for you to check out is the topical map versus a semantic content network and the differences of it. Germans, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you.