For SEOs, content strategists, and agencies who need a structured content plan

Build a complete topical authority map — visually, in minutes.

The Topical Map Editor turns a seed keyword like Golden Retriever into a structured graph of pages, sections, hubs, and FAQs — complete with URL architecture, internal linking plan, and entity-enriched node data ready for export.

Visual hierarchy — Force graph, horizontal tree, and radial tree layouts
Page vs section vs hub logic — every node classified, every URL planned
Export-ready — PNG, SVG, CSV, and JSON in one click

Open the Editor Generate with AI →

Free to use No account required Load JSON · Edit · Export Works with AI-generated maps

Not sure where to start? Load the Golden Retriever example map

Want AI to build the map for you? Use the Generator (free account required)

What is a topical map?

A topical map is the full blueprint of content your site needs to own a subject.

It defines which pages to build, how they relate to each other, which ones are hubs, which are sections, and how they should link — before you write a single word.

The editor turns that blueprint into a machine-readable graph with URLs, hierarchy, entity data, and a full internal linking plan.

Topical Map Editor — quick look

Example

Golden Retriever starter map — explore it live.

Try Example Open Editor

The real problem

Most content plans are a flat list of topics — not a structured authority system

A spreadsheet of keyword ideas tells you what to write about. A topical map tells you what the page is, where it lives in the hierarchy, what its URL should be, whether it is a hub or a section, and how it links to everything else .

The Problem

Content gets published without a clear hierarchy. Pages overlap, internal links are inconsistent, and Google cannot determine which page is the authority on a subject.

The Consequence

Without a clear structure, topical authority never fully consolidates. Rankings plateau even when content quality is high.

The Fix

Build the map first. Know every page, every URL, every hub, every internal link — before you brief a single piece of content.

Open the Editor Free to use — no account required.

What the editor produces

Not just a visual — a complete data model

Full Node Inventory

Every topic, subtopic, FAQ, comparison, hub, and section is a node with its own ID, label, slug, tier, entity list, and aliases.

URL Architecture Plan

Canonical URLs auto-generated from parent URLs and slugs. Section-only nodes get no URL. Standalone pages get their own. Hub pages get both.

Internal Linking Plan

Every edge in the graph carries anchor text, link type, placement hint, and required vs optional status. The full linking plan exports with the JSON.

What you get

Everything a content architect needs in one editor

Three Graph Layouts

Switch between Force Graph (explore clusters), Horizontal Tree (review hierarchy and URLs), and Radial Tree (present to clients) with one click.

Page vs Section vs Hub Classification

Every node is classified as a Standalone page, Section (no URL, lives inside a parent page), or Hub (standalone page that also navigates children). Visualised through colour, border style, and gold hub rings.

Inline Node Editor

Click any node to edit its label, slug, node type, URL role, hub role, tier, parent, canonical URL, confidence score, entities, and aliases — all without leaving the graph.

Add, Duplicate, Re-parent, Delete

Add child nodes with inferred types. Duplicate any node. Re-parent by changing the parent dropdown. Delete with Delete. All changes are reflected immediately in the graph.

URL Auto-Generator

Type a label and the canonical URL is auto-built from the parent URL and slug. Change the parent — URL updates. Set URL Role to Section — URL clears. Override any time.

Live Search

Search across labels, slugs, URLs, entities, and aliases in real time. Matching nodes are highlighted. Non-matching nodes are dimmed. Press / to focus the search from anywhere.

Hide Section-Only Nodes

Toggle off all section-only nodes to see only the pages that will have their own URLs. The graph re-connects automatically. Data is preserved — toggle back to restore.

Minimap Navigation

A live minimap in the corner shows the full graph at a glance. Click anywhere on the minimap to pan the main view to that position. The selected node appears as a gold dot.

Export Everything

Export as PNG (viewport or full map at 4800px+), SVG (vector, print-ready), CSV (all node fields), or JSON (full graph for pipeline reload).

Open the Editor Free to use — load, edit, and export instantly.

Inside the data model

Every node carries a full SEO data profile

Six Node Types

Macro (category hub) → Seed (primary topic) → Topic (main pillar) → Subtopic (supporting page) → FAQ (question content) → Comparison (versus content). Each type has its own colour, icon, and default URL role.

Entities and Aliases

Every node stores a list of named entities (organisations, concepts, people, tools) and alias phrases (keyword variants and search intents). Both fields are searchable in the live graph and export to CSV and JSON.

Confidence Score

Each node carries a 0–1 confidence score from the AI pipeline that generated it. Scores below 0.70 suggest the topic may be too tangential or too thin. Edit or remove low-confidence nodes before briefing content.

Three Edge Types

Parent-Child (hierarchy, grey) — FAQ Attachment (orange dashed) — Related (purple, optional linking recommendations). Each edge carries anchor text, placement hint, and required vs optional status.

Graph-Ready JSON

The exported JSON uses a nodes + edges structure compatible with Neo4j, D3.js, and any graph database or visualisation tool. Load it back into the editor at any time to continue editing.

Starter Map Included

Not sure where to start? Load the built-in Golden Retriever starter map in one click. It includes a Macro, Seed, five Topics, Subtopics, FAQs, entities, aliases, confidence scores, and a full edge set — ready to explore.

How it works

From seed keyword to complete content architecture in three steps

1. Load or build your map

Import a JSON file from your AI pipeline, load the built-in starter map, or start from scratch by adding nodes one at a time. The editor accepts both PascalCase and camelCase JSON.

2. Edit and classify

Click any node to set its URL role (Standalone or Section), mark hubs, fix labels, generate URLs, assign parents, and add entities and aliases. Switch layouts to review from every angle.

3. Export and execute

Export PNG or SVG for client presentation, CSV for your content brief spreadsheet, and JSON to reload or feed into your CMS, graph database, or internal linking tool.

Open the Editor Methodology

Use cases

Who the Topical Map Editor is built for

SEO Consultants

Deliver a visual topical authority blueprint with every engagement. Export the radial PNG for the executive deck. Export JSON for the dev team.

Agencies

Build topical maps for every client site. Reuse the structure for content briefs, URL planning, and internal linking audits. White-label the PNG output.

Content Strategists

Plan entire topic clusters before briefing a writer. Export CSV to turn the map directly into a content calendar with URLs, parent pages, and node types already filled in.

SEO Educators

Teach topical authority, hub-and-spoke architecture, and internal linking with a live interactive tool. Load the starter map and walk through every node in class.

Plan it right — then keep it tight

Use the Topical Map Editor to plan. Use Topical Drift Analyzer to monitor.

The two tools are designed to work together. Build your topical map before publishing — then run a drift analysis after six months to see which pages have drifted away from the plan.

Topical Map Editor

Build the architecture before you publish. Plan every page, every URL, every hub, every internal link.

Visual node-edge graph editor
Page / Section / Hub / FAQ classification
URL architecture auto-generation
Internal linking plan with anchor text
Entity and alias enrichment
Export PNG, SVG, CSV, JSON

Open the Editor

Topical Drift Analyzer

Monitor the architecture after you publish. Find which pages have drifted off-topic and fix them.

Crawl-based semantic drift scoring
Interactive radial drift map (UMAP)
Internal link mismatch detection
Linking opportunity discovery
GSC intent alignment (real query data)
Prioritized fix checklist

Run a Free Drift Analysis

FAQ

Quick answers

The most common questions about the Topical Map Editor.

View all FAQs

Yes. The Topical Map Editor is completely free to use. No account required. Load a JSON file or the built-in starter map, edit it, and export — all in the browser with no server round-trips for the core editing and export features.

The editor accepts any JSON with a Nodes/nodes array and an Edges/edges array. Both PascalCase (pipeline output) and camelCase (editor export) are supported on import. The starter map JSON is available for download as a reference template.

A Standalone page has its own canonical URL and lives as an independent page in the sitemap. A Section has no URL — it is a heading and content block inside a parent page. A Hub is a standalone page that also acts as a navigation centre for its child pages — it contains a summary section for each child and links out to all of them. A node can be both a Section (summarised on its parent) and a Standalone (also has its own page).

Yes. The editor is designed to be the final step after AI topic expansion. Generate your candidate topics with ChatGPT, Claude, or any pipeline, format the output as the node/edge JSON, load it into the editor, and use the visual interface to merge duplicates, classify pages, assign URLs, mark hubs, and produce the final map.

The editor runs entirely in the browser using D3.js and handles maps up to several hundred nodes comfortably. For very large maps (500+ nodes) the Force Graph layout may be slow to settle — switch to Horizontal Tree or Radial Tree for better performance at scale. Use Hide Section-Only Nodes to reduce visual clutter when reviewing large maps.

The Map Editor is for planning — build the architecture before you publish. The Drift Analyzer is for monitoring — crawl your site after publishing to see which pages have drifted away from the plan. Together they cover the full content authority lifecycle: plan → publish → monitor → fix → re-plan.

Open the Editor Or Generate with AI View all FAQs

Build your topical authority map before you write a single word

Open the editor, load the starter map, and see how a complete topical authority blueprint looks — in under two minutes.