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URL Clustering for SEO: Grouping Pages for Better GSC Analytics

Kong Metrics Team · · 3 min read

Analyzing SEO performance page-by-page is useful for micro-optimizations, but it is terrible for understanding macro-level business performance.

If you run an e-commerce site, you don’t just want to know how the “Red Nike Air Max” product page is doing. You want to know how the entire “Men’s Sneakers” category is performing compared to the “Women’s Boots” category.

In Google Search Console, getting this category-level view is painfully difficult. The solution is URL Clustering.

The Macro SEO Advantage

Clustering your URLs provides a macro-level visibility that is essential for enterprise-level SEO management. It simplifies reporting, enables clearer comparisons between different site categories, and empowers SEO teams to focus on structural improvements that drive the most significant impact on overall site performance.

The Messy GSC Interface

To view the performance of a specific site section in GSC, you have to use the “Page” filter and write complex Regular Expressions (RegEx) to capture the right URLs.

For example, to see your blog traffic, you might filter by URL containing /blog/. But what if your site structure is messy? What if blog posts live under multiple different subfolders, or don’t have a subfolder at all?

Writing, saving, and constantly updating RegEx filters is tedious, and GSC doesn’t allow you to easily compare two different RegEx groups side-by-side.

What is URL Clustering?

URL Clustering is the process of grouping individual web pages into logical, thematic buckets. Instead of analyzing 10,000 individual URLs, you analyze 5 to 10 strategic clusters.

Directory vs. Custom Clusters

  • Directory Clustering: Grouping based on the URL structure (e.g., all URLs under /products/ vs. /blog/).
  • Custom Intent Clustering: Grouping based on content type, regardless of URL structure (e.g., grouping all “Review” articles, even if their URLs are different).

Category-Level Analysis with Kong Metrics

The URL Clustering feature in Kong Metrics takes the headache out of macro-analysis.

Instead of typing RegEx strings every time you log in, Kong Metrics allows you to build permanent, dynamic clusters.

  1. Automated Directory Grouping: Kong Metrics instantly maps your site architecture and automatically clusters traffic by your existing subfolders.
  2. Custom Grouping: Easily create custom clusters by tagging URLs or setting up simple rules.
  3. Side-by-Side Comparison: Compare the CTR, Impressions, and Click trends of your “Blog” cluster directly against your “Product” cluster over time.

By shifting your analysis from individual pages to URL clusters, you can instantly see which sections of your website are driving revenue, and which sections are dragging down your overall site authority.

Learn more about managing your content using Content Decay, analyze your site’s indexing health with GSC Index Coverage Errors Explained, and prioritize your work with SEO Prioritization Matrix GSC.