A keyword map assigns groups of search queries to the page that should satisfy them. The practical work is not copying keywords into a spreadsheet; it is deciding when several queries belong on one URL, when a separate page is justified, whether an existing page already serves the intent, and where two URLs would compete for the same job.
This worked example uses a small fictional B2B expense-management website. The queries are illustrative, and no search-volume numbers are included because fabricated metrics would distract from the mapping logic. We will take the list through cleaning → clustering → intent → existing/new URL assignment → cannibalization check → final map. For the conceptual framework, use the main keyword mapping guide.
Step 0: define the site inventory before touching the keyword list
Assume the fictional site currently has these pages:
| Existing URL | Current purpose |
|---|---|
| /expense-management | Main product page for business expense management |
| /corporate-cards | Corporate card product page |
| /pricing | Pricing and plan information |
| /blog/expense-management-process | Educational article about the expense-management process |
| /blog/expense-policy-guide | Educational guide to expense policies |
| /templates/expense-policy | Downloadable expense-policy template |
This inventory matters because keyword mapping is a site-architecture decision. If you skip existing pages, every interesting cluster looks like a reason to create a new URL.
Step 1: start with the raw keyword set
Our small raw export contains the following queries:
| # | Raw query |
|---|---|
| 1 | expense management software |
| 2 | business expense management software |
| 3 | employee expense management software |
| 4 | expense management platform |
| 5 | expense tracking software for business |
| 6 | best expense management software |
| 7 | expense management software pricing |
| 8 | corporate card expense management |
| 9 | corporate expense cards |
| 10 | expense management process |
| 11 | business expense process |
| 12 | how to create an expense policy |
| 13 | expense policy guide |
| 14 | expense policy template |
| 15 | employee expense policy template |
| 16 | expense reimbursement policy template |
| 17 | expense report template |
| 18 | employee expense report template |
| 19 | expense report software |
| 20 | automated expense reports |
Step 2: clean without erasing intent
Cleaning should remove noise while preserving modifiers that change the search task. Do not stem every phrase into the same root or delete words such as best, pricing, template, or software. Those words often separate page types.
| Raw query | Cleaned query | Action | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| business expense management software | business expense management software | Keep | “Business” is a useful audience modifier |
| employee expense management software | employee expense management software | Keep | Could still share the main product intent; decide at clustering stage |
| expense management software pricing | expense management software pricing | Keep | Pricing modifier changes the expected destination |
| employee expense policy template | employee expense policy template | Keep | Template intent is explicit |
| business expense process | business expense process | Keep | Near-synonym to evaluate against the process article |
If the export contained duplicates caused by capitalization, whitespace, tracking artifacts, or exact repeated rows, deduplicate those. Do not merge conceptually distinct queries just to make the sheet smaller.
Step 3: cluster by the page that can satisfy the task
We now ask a practical question: could one well-designed page satisfy these queries without becoming internally contradictory?
Cluster A: core expense-management product
- expense management software
- business expense management software
- employee expense management software
- expense management platform
- expense tracking software for business
These queries describe closely related commercial product intent. Unless search-result evidence shows a meaningful split, one strong product page should normally own them. Creating separate pages for “platform,” “software,” and “business software” would likely manufacture overlap rather than solve a different user problem.
Cluster B: comparison / “best” intent
- best expense management software
The searcher is not simply looking for one vendor’s product page; they are comparing options. A first-party company site can address this intent only if it can provide a useful, transparent comparison methodology. If the business cannot publish credible comparative content, the correct mapping decision can be no new page.
Cluster C: pricing
- expense management software pricing
The existing /pricing page is the obvious candidate if it actually explains plans, cost drivers, and what is included. Do not create /expense-management-software-pricing simply to repeat the same information.
Cluster D: corporate cards
- corporate card expense management
- corporate expense cards
These queries combine card functionality and expense control. The existing /corporate-cards page should be tested first. If the page already explains how card transactions feed expense controls, it can own both. A new page is justified only if the combined solution represents a distinct user task that the card page cannot satisfy without changing purpose.
Cluster E: expense-management process
- expense management process
- business expense process
Both are informational process intent. The existing process article should own the cluster.
Cluster F: how to create an expense policy
- how to create an expense policy
- expense policy guide
These queries ask for guidance. The existing /blog/expense-policy-guide should serve them.
Cluster G: expense policy template
- expense policy template
- employee expense policy template
- expense reimbursement policy template
The dominant task is obtaining a reusable template. Route these to /templates/expense-policy unless the “reimbursement” variant requires a materially different legal or operational document. That determination should come from real product/editorial requirements, not keyword similarity alone.
Cluster H: expense report template
- expense report template
- employee expense report template
No existing URL serves this download task. This is a clean candidate for a new template page, for example /templates/expense-report.
Cluster I: expense report software
- expense report software
- automated expense reports
This looks commercial, but it needs a cannibalization check against the main expense-management product. If “expense reports” are only one feature inside the same solution, a separate product page may be too narrow. If buyers evaluate expense-report automation as a distinct solution category with different decision criteria, a new page can be justified.
Step 4: assign intent and page type
| Cluster | Primary intent | Expected page type | Decision signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Expense-management product | Commercial | Product/solution page | One solution can satisfy the close synonyms |
| B. Best software | Commercial investigation | Comparison guide | Requires credible comparison, not disguised sales copy |
| C. Pricing | Commercial / pricing | Pricing page | User wants cost and plan detail |
| D. Corporate cards | Commercial | Product/solution page | Card-led task may be distinct from general expense management |
| E. Process | Informational | Guide | User wants workflow explanation |
| F. Policy guide | Informational | Guide | User wants to create or understand a policy |
| G. Policy template | Download / practical | Template | User wants an editable starting document |
| H. Expense report template | Download / practical | Template | No existing asset serves the task |
| I. Expense report software | Commercial | Product/solution page or section | Needs overlap check against core product |
Step 5: existing URL versus new URL
This is where mapping turns into site planning.
| Cluster | Existing candidate | Decision | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | /expense-management | Keep and optimize | Direct purpose match |
| B | None | Conditional new page | Create only if the company can publish a fair comparison |
| C | /pricing | Keep and optimize | Pricing intent already has a natural destination |
| D | /corporate-cards | Keep and test coverage | Likely satisfies card-led intent |
| E | /blog/expense-management-process | Keep and optimize | Exact informational match |
| F | /blog/expense-policy-guide | Keep and optimize | Guide intent already covered |
| G | /templates/expense-policy | Keep and expand supporting variants | Download task already served |
| H | None | Create /templates/expense-report | Distinct download task and no current destination |
| I | /expense-management | Do not create yet | Needs SERP/product evidence that expense-report software is a distinct solution task |
Step 6: run the cannibalization check before finalizing the map
Multiple pages sharing vocabulary are not automatically cannibalizing. The concern is repeated competition for the same query group when the pages do not have a useful distinction.
Check A: /expense-management versus a proposed /expense-report-software
Ask:
- Would the two pages target different buyers or stages?
- Would they require different product evidence, screenshots, features, or conversion paths?
- Do relevant search results consistently treat “expense report software” as a separate category?
- Does Search Console already show the same query group switching between multiple URLs?
If the answer is mostly no, keep the cluster on /expense-management and add a dedicated section about report automation. A new URL would create more maintenance and internal competition without adding a distinct task.
Check B: /blog/expense-policy-guide versus /templates/expense-policy
These pages share “expense policy,” but their jobs are different. The guide explains how to build a policy; the template provides a reusable artifact. Keep both, link them clearly, and avoid forcing the guide to rank for download-heavy queries or the template to become a full educational article.
Check C: /pricing versus a product pricing subpage
If the site has one pricing model, a central pricing page is cleaner. If different products have materially different commercial models, product-specific pricing pages may be justified. The site architecture should follow the offer, not the keyword list.
Step 7: the final keyword map
| Primary cluster | Supporting queries | Intent | Final URL | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expense management software | business expense management software; employee expense management software; expense management platform; expense tracking software for business | Commercial | /expense-management | Optimize existing |
| Best expense management software | — | Commercial investigation | Undecided | Create only with credible comparison methodology |
| Expense management software pricing | — | Commercial / pricing | /pricing | Optimize existing |
| Corporate expense cards | corporate card expense management | Commercial | /corporate-cards | Optimize existing |
| Expense management process | business expense process | Informational | /blog/expense-management-process | Optimize existing |
| How to create an expense policy | expense policy guide | Informational | /blog/expense-policy-guide | Optimize existing |
| Expense policy template | employee expense policy template; expense reimbursement policy template | Download | /templates/expense-policy | Optimize existing; verify reimbursement fit |
| Expense report template | employee expense report template | Download | /templates/expense-report | Create new |
| Expense report software | automated expense reports | Commercial | /expense-management | Map provisionally; create separate URL only if evidence supports distinct intent |
Step 8: turn each mapped row into an implementation brief
A final map is an input to production, not the finished work. For each URL, capture:
- Primary user task and search intent.
- Primary cluster and supporting queries.
- Existing versus new page decision.
- Page type and expected evidence.
- What the page must uniquely contribute.
- Internal links from parent, sibling, commercial, and template pages where useful.
- CTA role, if any, without forcing it into informational content.
- Measurement: query group, landing page, and business outcome.
The site’s SEO content brief guide shows how to make that hand-off explicit.
What this example deliberately does not do
- No invented search volume. Real mapping should use verified datasets available to the team; this example is about decisions.
- No one-keyword-per-page rule. Closely related queries often belong to one page.
- No automatic page creation. Several clusters map to existing URLs or remain conditional.
- No “SERP similarity percentage” threshold. Tools can help compare results, but the final decision still depends on the user task and site purpose.
- No assumption that every modifier needs a page. “Business,” “employee,” and “platform” can be supporting language when the underlying task is the same.
A reusable decision rule
For every cluster, ask: What page would best complete this task, does that page already exist, and would creating another URL give the user something meaningfully different? That rule prevents both thin-page proliferation and over-consolidation.
If you want an editable worksheet for applying the same process to your own data, the site already has a Keyword Mapping Template. The template is the working file; this guide is the worked reasoning example.
Sources and verification
- Google Search Essentials
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
- Google Search Console: Performance report
- Google Search Central: Link best practices
How this page was prepared
Reviewed by SEO Strategy Editorial Team. Claims, terminology, and time-sensitive details were checked against the sources listed below and the page was last updated September 3, 2026.
AI-assisted tools supported research organization or drafting; editorial review remained responsible for source selection and the published conclusions.
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