Topical Mapping (CORE/OUTER)

Topical Mapping is the fifth step in the clustering pipeline that assigns clusters to CORE (primary, publish first) or OUTER (supporting, publish later) sections based on entity attribute classification. Clusters with main and derived attributes go to CORE: these are your site's pillars, without which topical authority cannot exist. Clusters with minor attributes go to OUTER; they support coverage depth but aren't critical. The CORE/OUTER split provides publication order: foundations first (CORE), then expansion (OUTER). Topical mapping implements a 'build from center outward' strategy—the domain centroid must be strongly defined before you start building the periphery.

In practice, if you have a limited content budget, focus exclusively on CORE. Ten good pillar pages deliver more than 50 scattered OUTER articles.