🔍 What Are Target Keywords?
Target keywords are a shared resource across your Search Atlas account. Every time you assign a keyword to a piece of content — whether manually or automatically through a tool — it counts against your plan's target keyword quota. Your quota is not just consumed by published articles; it is consumed the moment keywords are assigned.
📊 Why Your Quota Can Disappear Quickly
Many customers are surprised to find their quota exhausted after creating only a small number of articles. The most common reason is that two powerful tools assign target keywords in bulk by design: Topical Maps and the Content Planner (Keyword Planner). Understanding how each tool works will help you plan usage carefully.
🗺️ How Topical Maps Consume Quota
Topical Maps, found at Left sidebar → Content → Topical Maps, generate a comprehensive cluster of topic ideas and subtopics around a seed keyword. When you build or expand a topical map, Search Atlas can assign a target keyword to every content node it creates — not just the ones you actively write. This means a single topical map generation can assign dozens or even hundreds of target keywords at once, depending on the depth and breadth of the cluster you configure.
- Each node in a topical map that receives a keyword assignment counts as one target keyword against your quota.
- A map with 50 subtopics will consume up to 50 target keywords immediately upon generation, regardless of whether you write any of those articles.
- Regenerating or expanding an existing map can add further quota consumption on top of previous usage.
📋 How the Content Planner Consumes Quota
The Content Planner, found at Left sidebar → Content → Content Planner, lets you plan and organise articles at scale. When you add or import keyword ideas into your content plan and assign them as target keywords, each assignment is deducted from your quota instantly. Bulk-importing a list of 200 planned articles will consume 200 target keywords — even if none of those articles have been written yet.
- Quota is consumed at the point of assignment, not at the point of publishing.
- Deleting a planned article or content node after assignment does not automatically restore your quota. Check your plan's quota restoration policy or contact support for clarification.
💡 A Real Example
Suppose you have a 600 target keyword quota. You open Topical Maps and generate two large topic clusters — each with 150 subtopics — consuming 300 keywords. You then import a content plan of 300 articles into Content Planner and assign target keywords to all of them. Your quota is now fully consumed, even though you have only written and published 4 articles. The quota tracks assignments, not published content.
✅ Best Practices to Manage Your Quota
- Check your remaining quota before generating a topical map. Review the quota counter via Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing) before starting a new cluster.
- Start with smaller topical maps. Generate a focused cluster of 10–20 subtopics to test relevance before expanding to a full map.
- Assign target keywords in the Content Planner incrementally. Only assign keywords to articles you plan to write in the near term, rather than bulk-assigning your entire content backlog at once.
- Audit existing assignments regularly. Navigate to Left sidebar → Content → Content Planner and review all keyword assignments. Remove assignments from articles you no longer plan to pursue to free up quota where your plan allows it.
- Coordinate across your team. If multiple users share the same account, establish clear ownership of who assigns target keywords and when, to avoid accidental bulk consumption.
🛠️ Where to Monitor Your Quota
You can view your current target keyword usage at any time by navigating to your account's Billing section via Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab. This gives you a live count of how many target keywords have been assigned versus how many remain in your plan. Make it a habit to check this number before running large-scale operations in Topical Maps or Content Planner.
🚀 Need to Increase Your Quota?
If your workflows consistently require more target keyword assignments than your current plan allows, consider upgrading your plan to access a higher quota limit. You can review available plan options under your account's billing settings.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.