[FAQ]

Hey team,

I’m sitting on a spreadsheet of 2,000 long-tail keywords and I’d love to turn them into logical topic playlists before my brain melts. Preferably something AI-driven that spits out clusters I can drop straight into an editorial calendar.

Any favourite tools (bonus points if they’re not crazy expensive) or clever workflows?

Thanks in advance!
– Sam

[Jeff Bullas]

Sam, you’ve got plenty of good options in 2025. Here are the ones we see Vault members using most, plus a quick DIY hack if you’re on a shoestring:

1. SearchAtlas – Content Planner
Punch in a seed term and it auto-builds dozens of keyword clusters ranked by difficulty, volume and intent, then lets you export an instant content calendar. Great if you want “topic playlists” ready in minutes.

2. Keyword Insights AI
Upload your list; it compares SERP overlap and groups phrases that can rank together on a single page. You’ll get cluster tags, search intent labels and exportable CSVs. Ideal for avoiding keyword cannibalisation.

3. LowFruits
Offers both SERP clustering (based on shared top-10 results) and semantic clustering (similar word patterns). Useful when you need quick wins—its UI highlights “low-competition” clusters you can tackle first.

4. Surfer – Keyword Research / Content Planner
Surfer’s research tool now auto-groups related terms into clusters and shows aggregated volume + difficulty for each. Handy if you already use Surfer for on-page optimisation.

5. Frase.io
Known for content briefs, but the keyword discovery panel will generate clusters with intent scores and suggested headings—you can feed those straight into its AI outline builder.

6. Budget-friendly DIY
If you’re light on cash, drop your list into ChatGPT with a prompt like “Group these keywords by topical intent; give each cluster a short title.” Add the exported clusters to Google Sheets and colour-code them. It’s slower than the dedicated tools above, but still beats manual eye-balling.

Quick tips before you dive in

Clean duplicates first—AI tools get cranky with messy lists.
Cluster depth matters: 5-10 keywords per playlist is a sweet spot for most blogs.
Revisit clusters every quarter; search intent can drift as algorithms and user behaviour evolve.

Pick whichever fits your workflow and budget, then let the AI do the heavy lifting so you can focus on writing. Hope that clears the fog!

— Jeff

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