Add Topic Silo
Add Topic Silo lets you grow your topical authority coverage by adding a new main topic pillar to a project that is already in the Topical Authority stage. The new silo goes through the full pipeline — topical research, keyword clustering, and map merge — and appears in the Planner alongside your existing pillars.
Use this page to learn how to add a silo, review and edit at each stage, and merge the results into your topical map.
What Add Topic Silo does
Section titled “What Add Topic Silo does”When you want to cover a new topic area, you no longer need to create a separate project. Add Topic Silo runs a scoped pipeline for a single new Main Topic and appends the results to your existing map.
The flow:
- Enter a new Main Topic name and optional seed keywords
- Review and edit the generated topic research
- Review and edit the keyword clusters
- Preview the new pillar in your map hierarchy
- Merge into your topical map
The flow is forward-only. There are no back buttons between stages. If you need to start over, cancel the silo and begin a new one from the input form.
After merging, the new pillar appears in your Planner, Scorecard, and Organizer like any other pillar.
Where to find Add Topic Silo
Section titled “Where to find Add Topic Silo”- Open your project in Floyi.
- Go to Topical Authority > Planner.
- Switch to the Organizer view.
- Click + Add Topic Silo in the Organizer toolbar.
The button only appears when:
- Your project is in the Topical Authority stage
- No other silo addition is already in progress for this project
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”Before adding a silo, your project needs:
- A validated Topical Map that has been promoted to Topical Authority
- At least one Topical Authority calculation run
You should also have your Brand Foundation and Buyer Personas set up so the research aligns with your positioning.
Step 1: Input
Section titled “Step 1: Input”When you click + Add Topic Silo, the Organizer content area is replaced by an input form.
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Main Topic | Yes | The name of your new pillar (e.g., “email marketing”, “content strategy”) |
| Seed Keywords | No | Comma-separated keywords to guide the research |
| Personas | No | Select personas from your brand to tailor the research |
The form shows an estimated credit cost for each stage. A credit notice below the Generate Topic Silo button confirms that credits will be deducted when you proceed. Actual costs depend on the topical research results and the number of keywords generated.
Click Generate Topic Silo to start topical research for the new Main Topic.
The Main Topic name must be unique. If a pillar with the same name already exists, you will see an error.
Step 2: Research review
Section titled “Step 2: Research review”After the research task completes, you see the results in the same views you already know from Topical Research:
- Silo view — kanban column showing the new Main Topic and its subtopics
- Outline view — hierarchical table with expand/collapse
- Spreadsheet view — flat table of all generated topics
You can:
- Rename, delete, or add topics using the inline context menu
- Switch between Silo, Outline, and Spreadsheet views
- Regenerate a specific level (ST3, ST4) if the results need adjustment
A summary bar shows the total count of subtopics at each level.
When you are satisfied with the research, click Continue to Clustering. A credit notice below the button confirms that SERP data will be fetched and keywords clustered, and that credits will be deducted.
Step 3: Clustering review
Section titled “Step 3: Clustering review”Floyi fetches SERPs for the keywords in your new silo and runs keyword clustering. This step costs credits — typically around 260 keywords are fetched and clustered for a single Main Topic. Once complete, you see the same clustering table used on the SERP Clustering page:
- Cluster number, cluster head, keyword, search volume, CPC, and similarity score
- Edit cluster head names inline
- Remove keywords you do not want
- Click any keyword to open the SERP data modal
- Re-cluster if you want to try a different grouping
A summary shows the total cluster and keyword counts.
When you are satisfied with the clusters, click Continue to Map Preview. A notice below the button confirms that topic hierarchy and URL slugs will be generated at no additional credit cost.
Step 4: Map preview
Section titled “Step 4: Map preview”The map preview shows how the new pillar will look inside your topical map. You see the same Organizer views you already use:
- Table view — indented tree with expand/collapse
- Columns view — Miller columns focused on the new pillar
- Tree view — visual tree diagram
Existing pillars are shown above the new one for context, but they are read-only and visually muted. The new pillar is fully editable — you can rename topics, reorder them, or add child nodes.
A summary shows what is being added: pillar count, cluster count, topic count, and page count.
When you are satisfied with the structure, click Add to Map to merge.
Step 5: Merge
Section titled “Step 5: Merge”When you confirm the merge:
- Floyi creates a snapshot of your current topical map (for rollback if needed)
- The new pillar nodes are appended to your topical map
- The Topical Authority hierarchy cache is refreshed
- You return to the normal Organizer view
A toast notification confirms the silo was added.
After merging
Section titled “After merging”The new pillar is now part of your project. A few things to know:
- No SERP data yet. New nodes appear as uncovered in the Planner and Scorecard. You need to trigger a SERP refresh to fetch SERP rankings and the optional AI search data for the new topics. This costs credits depending on the number of topics.
- Briefs and drafts. You can generate briefs and drafts for the new topics the same way you do for existing ones.
Resuming and cancelling
Section titled “Resuming and cancelling”Resuming an in-progress silo
Section titled “Resuming an in-progress silo”If you refresh the page, close the tab, or navigate to another section while a silo addition is in progress, your work is saved. Any running research or clustering tasks continue in the background.
When you return to Add Topic Silo, you always land on the input form. If there is an in-progress silo, you see a notice with two options:
- Resume — picks up where you left off, jumping to the correct stage with your data intact
- Start new — enter a different Main Topic. Floyi discards the existing silo before starting the new one.
Explicitly cancelling (discard)
Section titled “Explicitly cancelling (discard)”If you click the Cancel button inside the silo flow, Floyi discards the in-progress silo:
- The staging record is marked as discarded
- The new Main Topic entry is removed from your research data
- Any clustering results created for the silo are deleted
- If a research or clustering task is still running, it detects the discard and stops
- Your existing topical map is not affected
Cancelling is permanent — you cannot undo a discard. If you want to add the same topic again, start a new silo flow.
If you are unsure, navigate away instead of cancelling. Your progress will be there when you come back.
Edge cases
Section titled “Edge cases”| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Duplicate Main Topic name | Rejected at input — you see an error asking for a unique name |
| Task gets stuck (no progress for 30+ minutes) | The status endpoint detects the stall. You see Retry and Cancel options instead of the progress spinner. |
| Empty clustering result | The silo moves to a failed state with a message suggesting more seed keywords. Cancel and start a new silo with different seed keywords. |
| Another user edits the map during your silo flow | The merge checks the map version. If someone else changed the map, you see a conflict message asking you to refresh and try again. |
| Only one silo at a time | Each project allows one active silo addition. The button is hidden while a silo flow is in progress. |
Credit usage
Section titled “Credit usage”Credits are consumed at two points during the silo flow:
| Stage | What costs credits | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Research (Step 1) | Generating subtopics (ST2, ST3, ST4) for the new Main Topic | Varies by model; shown on input form |
| Clustering (Step 3) | SERP fetching + keyword clustering for ~260 keywords | 1 credit per keyword × model multiplier |
The input form shows a per-stage credit breakdown before you start. Each action button shows a credit notice so you know when credits will be deducted.
The following stages are free — no credits are consumed:
- Reviewing and editing research results (Step 2)
- Reviewing and editing clusters (Step 3 review)
- Building the topic hierarchy and URL slugs (Step 4)
- Previewing and merging the map (Step 4 and Step 5)
After merging, a Topical Authority refresh is a separate action with its own credit cost (5 credits per topic).
- Start with seed keywords. Even a few seed keywords help the research produce more focused subtopics.
- Edit at the research stage. It is easier to remove irrelevant topics before clustering than after.
- Check for overlap. Before adding a silo, review your existing pillars. If the new topic overlaps heavily with an existing one, you may get better results by expanding the existing pillar instead.
- Refresh selectively. After merging, you can refresh Topical Authority for the entire map or wait until your next scheduled refresh. The new topics will be picked up either way.