📌 Overview
Two questions come up often: how many pieces of content a plan includes, and what separates a keyword from a keyword cluster. This article answers both so you can plan your content with confidence.
💳 What Are Plan Credits?
Credits are the allowances that come with your Search Atlas subscription. On Universal Credits, supported actions such as generating content spend from one shared balance. On standard billing, each feature has its own quota. Your plan decides how many credits or quota units you receive.
- Each plan is different. Higher plans generally include a larger allowance than entry-level plans.
- Different actions can use different amounts. Creating a piece of content may not use the same number of credits as other tasks.
- Use the figure shown in your account. On Universal Credits, the header shows your remaining shared credits. On standard billing, each feature has its own remaining quota. If a number looks wrong, refresh and contact support rather than treating the display as guaranteed to be perfectly current.
🔎 How to Check Your Credits and Content Allowance
Credit amounts can change as plans are updated, so the best way to see your exact numbers is to check them in your account. Follow these steps:
- Log in to your Search Atlas account.
- Open the profile menu and select Billing. Some account types, including certain white-label and partner accounts, do not have this option.
- On the Billing page, open Your Plan and Credits.
- Review the credits or quotas included in your plan and what remains. Universal Credits accounts see one shared remaining balance. Standard accounts see a separate remaining amount for each feature.
This shows the credits or quota remaining under your current plan. It does not convert directly into a fixed number of content pieces, because creating content can use different amounts depending on the workflow.
🚀 What Happens When a New Plan Becomes Active?
If you upgrade or switch plans, for example to the $99/month Starter plan, your credit allowance changes to that plan's allowance once the new plan is active. To confirm:
- Make sure your payment or upgrade has been completed.
- Refresh the platform or log out and back in.
- Open Billing, then Your Plan and Credits, and check that the allowance for your new plan appears.
If the balance does not match what you expected, our team can review it with you (see the last section).
🔑 What Is a Keyword?
A keyword is a single word or phrase that people type into a search engine. It is one specific search term.
- Examples: running shoes, best running shoes, running shoes for beginners
- Each of these is treated as its own keyword.
🧩 What Is a Keyword Cluster?
A keyword cluster is a group of related keyword ideas. Search Atlas groups them by how similar the terms are, so they can often be covered by one page. It does not guarantee that every keyword in the cluster has the same search intent.
- Example cluster: running shoes, best running shoes, top running shoes, running shoes for beginners
- Instead of writing four separate pieces of content, you can write one strong page that covers the whole group.
⚖️ Keyword vs. Keyword Cluster: Key Differences
- Scope: A keyword is one search term. A cluster is a group of related terms.
- Content planning: A single keyword suggests one topic. A cluster helps you plan one page that covers a topic fully.
- Efficiency: Clusters help you avoid creating several similar pages that compete against each other in search results.
- Search coverage: A page built around a cluster can rank for many related searches, not just one.
💡 Which Should You Use?
- Use a single keyword when you want to focus on one specific term or check how it performs.
- Use a keyword cluster when you are planning content and want one page to cover a whole topic.
For most content creation, working with clusters is a smart way to get more value from each piece of content and from your credits.
✅ Quick Tips to Get the Most From Your Credits
- Group related keywords into clusters before creating content.
- Check your credit balance regularly so you can plan ahead.
- Review your plan details before starting a large content project.
🛟 Need More Help?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team.