# Quickstart Guide!

Here's the OFFICIAL onboarding for TMAI!

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/f53a589c9d3c4ac399becff71453e33b?sid=6470a372-1a42-4da9-8b7e-561ea38fcf69>" %}

1. If you haven't already, sign up for an account at <https://topicalmap.ai>
2. Head to yours <https://topicalmap.ai/maps> page
3. Click the "add new map" button
4. Name your map (whatever you like)
5. Enter your niche (see next page for more tips here)!
6. Choose an output language
7. Choose the amount of topics (this is a *general* setting, rather than a *precise* number, etc)
8. Choose whether you'd like to edit the topics & subtopics BEFORE generating the map (see below)
9. Click submit
10. Wait a few mins
11. Browse your new map, click to copy to clipboard, or download the .CSV file!

### Using the "Edit subtopics" setting 👇

If you choose "yes" to editing the topics and subtopics, you'll have an extra step after hitting the submit button.

<figure><img src="/files/lBzmglAkoxinO9oGQkof" alt=""><figcaption><p>It might look a tad different, based on how often Pete updates this ;)</p></figcaption></figure>

To edit the subtopic or parent topic, simply click the words and start typing.

(Clicking away or pressing 'tab' saves this!)

To delete a subtopic/topic, click the red 'remove' button.

To add a new subtopic/topic, click the 'add' button towards the bottom, **then click the PLACEHOLDER topic and start typing!**

When you're done, hit submit to generate the map with the microtopics, etc.


# What makes a good "niche?"

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/de926edb1ae647ce82cb83aeca5a77cb?sid=f4571985-f174-47e3-9115-7b14f52d1e0b>" %}

Also, here are some actual guides on *choosing* a niche:

* <https://bloggingguide.com/how-to-choose-a-niche-for-your-blog/>
* <https://ahrefs.com/blog/blog-niche/>


# Project Folders

A way to organize your maps!

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/790788f033084b9987ea395f88d6fd2b?sid=72948dbf-404d-4cfb-bd48-55b292dbb5c6>" %}


# Your account


# Affiliate Program


# What's an SEO topical map?

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/786efdd926a44e9c8f4df879315d04e6?sid=285a266e-a2bb-4982-b0a9-d73a3d8859ed>" %}


# SEO Map settings

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/11df33bbee3b45a0aa3d1c1a99372f72?sid=ac621e69-6bef-4480-875c-21e47e6b7e08>" %}

### Map Name

This is just for your reference. Name it whatever you like!

### Niche

The broad "parent topic" of your website, business, brand, etc.

If you're a beginner blogger or not sure where to start, [see this guide on choosing a niche.](https://docs.topicalmap.ai/tutorial/what-makes-a-good-niche)

Example niches:

* digital marketing
* table tennis
* dog food
* pet snakes
* computer game shortcuts
* VPN tools

**TIP:** We suggest keeping the niche REALLY broad. It's better to let the AI come up with TOO MANY ideas, rather than too few.

### Language

The language that the AI *should* return.&#x20;

Under the hood, this basically functions as a *translation* and does **NOT** affect the actual topics generated.

### Country

The topics, subtopics, etc, will be *slightly* geared towards this country.

**Note 1:** This SHOULDN'T affect the output language, but sometimes the AI gets confused here.

**Note 2:** This SHOULD be a "slight" targeting, but sometimes the AI goes overboard and tries to make ALL topics related to the country.

**Note 3 for 'Cluster Views': Choosing a target country does NOT affect the search volume metric shown. TMAI shows the global monthly search volume.** (This is as of August 2024, and will hopefully change as we update this!)

### Amount of Topics

The general size of the map. Choosing fewer topics yields fewer subtopics & fewer microtopics, but the results will likely be more relevant.

Choosing *more* topics yields more subtopics & microtopics, but the results might be more 'creative.'

🧧 **CREDITS:** The amount of topics you choose will cost less/more credits.

### Model

The AI model that will be used under the hood. Generally speaking, the more expensive & larger models (Claude 3 Sonnet & GPT-4o) should perform better, although a bit slower.

We believe the smaller models still perform excellently for most tasks, but you should test for yourself & your niche!

🧧 **CREDITS:** The AI model you choose will affect credits.

* Claude 3 Haiku & GPT-4o-Mini = 1 credit
* Claude 3 Sonnet & GPT-4o = 2 credits

### Generate cluster view with metrics?

If you select yes, you will get **both** the normal view with topics, subtopics, and microtopics, **as well as** a completely new map 'view.'

This view will show a bullet point list (with child lists), with...

* Broad clusters of topics, with a meta title example and URL structure (hard silos)
* Subtopics, with a meta title & URL structure
* A primary keyword & related keywords for each subtopic
* Global monthly search volume for each keyword, pulled from Google Keyword Planner
* An AI-generated 'relevance' score.

**NOTE:** The search volume metric also includes Clickstream data, in addition to Google Keyword Planner data. 9 times out of 10, this doesn't make a difference. For some keywords (such as NSFW keywords that Google might not show data for at all), this might give a more accurate search volume.

🧧 **CREDITS:** Generating a cluster view increases map credit cost.

### Edit subtopics before generating map?

If you select yes, the AI will generate a short list of subtopics (under your main niche topic), that you can edit.

You can...

* Edit subtopic text (as well as the parent topic text) by clicking the text and typing
* Remove subtopics (using the delete icon)
* Add a subtopic manually (it'll have placeholder data which you can click to edit)
* Generate more subtopics with AI (which you edit further)

🧧 **CREDITS:** Generating more subtopics marginally increases the map credits used.


# Sitemaps

(add, edit, where to find .xml URL)!

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/1fc02430a59748e4b0b165ddc5e526e0?sid=ed7024e6-d33d-4f8f-bd37-3de8d890374f>" %}

For more information on finding your Sitemap .xml URL, [check this out!](https://seocrawl.com/en/how-to-find-a-sitemap/)


# ACTION: How to use the map

How to export & analyze data, and what to do NEXT!

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/f317e86669bc45f9b1ac0a9a222b5478?sid=13f62b3b-4abe-4e47-8ee5-e48264ba0a78>" %}

### How to use TMAI's output

-Use this as a starting point (first 5 hours of KW research)!

-2nd step = analyze topics, subtopics, and pages based on your knowledge, instinct, and plan.

-Personally, I like to run SEO reports last.

-Worry less about KEYWORDS, more about TOPICS/PAGES.

### Here's a quick graphic I drew to illustrate a site structure.

<figure><img src="/files/PkgtDAr4HXXDDEH2Cim7" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Every shape on this graphic is a post/page/url on your website.

This is just a base rule! Of course you will deviate from it when it is relevant to the user.

***

The "topics" could be categories on your site, or something similar. They link down to subtopics ("silos").

The "subtopics" are more specific and link up down and sideways.

The "p" stands for "post." These are obviously even more specific topics that link up to the subtopics as well as sideways between them.


# What's a social-first map?

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/70daefa0a9c54f21859648a2c41dde33?sid=1e4ee16c-70fe-479d-bb2d-41c0e1af204e>" %}

Simply put, this map gives a lot of TOPIC IDEAS for social media! (aimed to grab attention, rather than address search queries a la SEO).

These topics could be blog posts, or social media content themselves!


# Social-First Map Settings

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/dddd10b6562b4d5da50aa194cb5b7df8?sid=f6a7edd0-9b3e-4903-a5c0-7c84a7bb234e>" %}

### Map Name

This is just for your reference. Name it whatever you like!

### Niche

The broad "parent topic" of your website, business, brand, etc.

If you're a beginner blogger or not sure where to start, [see this guide on choosing a niche.](https://docs.topicalmap.ai/tutorial/what-makes-a-good-niche)

Example niches:

* digital marketing
* table tennis
* dog food
* pet snakes
* computer game shortcuts
* VPN tools

**TIP:** We suggest keeping the niche REALLY broad. It's better to let the AI come up with TOO MANY ideas, rather than too few.

### Language

The language that the AI *should* return.&#x20;

Under the hood, this basically functions as a *translation* and does **NOT** affect the actual topics generated.

### Country

The topics, subtopics, etc, will be *slightly* geared towards this country.

**Note 1:** This SHOULDN'T affect the output language, but sometimes the AI gets confused here.

**Note 2:** This SHOULD be a "slight" targeting, but sometimes the AI goes overboard and tries to make ALL topics related to the country.

**Note 3 for 'Cluster Views': Choosing a target country does NOT affect the search volume metric shown. TMAI shows the global monthly search volume.** (This is as of August 2024, and will hopefully change as we update this!)

### Amount of Topics

The general size of the map. Choosing fewer topics yields fewer subtopics & fewer microtopics, but the results will likely be more relevant.

Choosing *more* topics yields more subtopics & microtopics, but the results might be more 'creative.'

🧧 **CREDITS:** The amount of topics you choose will cost less/more credits.

### Model

The AI model that will be used under the hood. Generally speaking, the more expensive & larger models (Claude 3 Sonnet & GPT-4o) should perform better, although a bit slower.

We believe the smaller models still perform excellently for most tasks, but you should test for yourself & your niche!

🧧 **CREDITS:** The AI model you choose will affect credits.

* Claude 3 Haiku & GPT-4o-Mini = 1 credit
* Claude 3 Sonnet & GPT-4o = 2 credits

### Edit subtopics before generating map?

If you select yes, the AI will generate a short list of subtopics (under your main niche topic), that you can edit.

You can...

* Edit subtopic text (as well as the parent topic text) by clicking the text and typing
* Remove subtopics (using the delete icon)
* Add a subtopic manually (it'll have placeholder data which you can click to edit)
* Generate more subtopics with AI (which you edit further)

🧧 **CREDITS:** Generating more subtopics marginally increases the map credits used.


# ACTION: How to use the map

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/6c15f22559ab427a8213578de3d8d8b8?sid=a6bc9088-6b81-4dbc-833f-69e55b0d6519>" %}


# What's a product map?

A mega list of useful information for ANY PRODUCT in your business/niche.

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/c7e79fe01eae4b8c899be55bbd011cf1?sid=75210b1a-26b5-46dc-8008-54b3e58cf2c8>" %}


# Product Map settings

How to generate a product map in TMAI!

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/64d72088d2b44de0ae4e25c00344279a?sid=c8f9d087-e6e7-4f4a-913f-12bd29e1db89>" %}


# ACTION: How to use the map

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/cd9a86846fc448ecafa076920d36f894?sid=fb62d7ee-7bda-4c38-9c01-aec2421dc14f>" %}


# What's a question map?

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/d190cc1ef2704db8adbdba75c73cfa54?sid=10667b8d-bbaf-4d0a-8f59-fc67c18ec645>" %}


# Question Map settings

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/9f19ec4ad33e437c9b9f9b472ff5c44f?sid=a6e8ada5-28cb-4cf4-a3c5-1e6eb090a052>" %}


# ACTION: How to use the map

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/d6b8231668f84591ae50b366255083c7?sid=15f057c1-bfa3-44f3-ad1a-32aa46cef582>" %}


# What's a keyword map?


# Keyword Map settings


# ACTION: How to use the map


# What's a news map?

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/144c39c0b57d456b9d4163e881bb1e91?sid=2d6ad5e3-bdc2-473c-a3e8-db2f96877894>" %}


# News map settings

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/aac088308017494aa40b2f5826f047d1?sid=98acab29-902b-4149-a11c-c203fef6b84f>" %}


# ACTION: How to use the map

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/d9d64e1a79e247278fc3f3807d3e1dba?sid=b9e48afe-900d-4329-ad2b-a0605e2b5999>" %}


# Changelog

A log of...changes.

### January 17, 2025

* **Updated OpenAI's o1 model -** which is faster and better! It's their flagship "reasoning model"

### November 1, 2024

* **Map Suggestion -** on the /maps dashboard, you can now click a button that'll analyze your current maps and give a suggestion for what to run next!

### October 28, 2024

* **Sitemaps! =** You can now pull URLs from your sitemap (or a competitor), and the AI will consider this during map building

### October 1, 2024

* **New Map type =** News maps!

### September 18, 2024

* **New Map type = Question maps!**

### September 13, 2024

* **Add 'product type' option** for product maps.

### September 12, 2024

* Removed 'get cluster map' option for social maps.

### September 9, 2024

* Various improvements and bug fixes!

### September 3, 2024

* **Product Maps (beta) -** You can now enter your niche and generate a HUGE list of product ideas, complete with title ideas, taglines, pain points, topics to consider, and more.
* **Delete maps in bulk -** new menu item when you select maps on the /maps page
* When maps are selected, you can now create a new folder with them in it.

### September 2, 2024

* **Added Finnish & Greek** languages
* **On the /maps page, you can now see which maps have cluster views, and which have errors.**

### August 30, 2024

* **Added new filter buttons** - the old ones weren't very clear.
* **Moved the action menu -** it's now in the top-right in a button, which is more intuitive.

### August 29, 2024

* **Added error handling—**&#x49;f an error occurs, there's now an 'error note' that displays what happened. We also fixed a bug that was consuming credits even when errors occurred!
* **Add a new view for cluster maps, as well as a Download Cluster .CSV action!**

### August 26, 2024

* **Project folders -** added the ability to create/remove/edit map folders!
* **Download Cluster .CSV -** now you can download the list of keywords (primary and related), as well as the topics, URLs, meta titles, etc

### August 22, 2024

* **Copy microtopic to clipboard -** you can now click a microtopic and it copies to the clipboard immediately
* **Form Design -** Updated the design of the 'new map' forms to be sleeker and easier to navigate.

### August 19, 2024

* **Cluster View -** Added a new way to view SEO maps, which now includes search metrics (global monthly search volume) from Google Keyword Planner
* Lots and lots and lots of *small,* behind-the-scenes updates, including better error handling.

### August 5, 2024

* Added Romanian as a language

### July 23, 2024

* **Add new GPT-4o-mini AI model,** which only uses HALF a TMAI map credit
* **Added shortcut for creating a submap,** based on a selected microtopic.

### July 21, 2024

* **Updated the user interface for maps!** There are cleaner controls (and layouts), plus the first iteration of "filtering" through your map data.

### July 15, 2024

* **Added annual pricing plans**, which give 2 months free!

### July 10, 2024

* **Added more languages -** including Chinese, Japanese, Polish, and more!

### July 8, 2024

* **Map type "social-first" -** we've added an ENTIRELY new map you can generate! Instead of SEO keywords, this map generates "social first" content ideas. These articles work perfectly for sharing on Facebook (or elsewhere). **For building our algorithms, we analyzed about 6 "social-first" niche sites from proven creators.**&#x20;

### June 27, 2024

* **Added OpenAI models** - I added both GPT-4o (the latest and greatest AI model from OpenAI) and the tried-n-true faster model, GPT 3.5 Turbo. I might add GPT-4-Turbo in the future.

### June 24, 2024

* **New AI Models -** Besides Claude 3 Haiku (fast & lightweight model), we added the new Claude 3.5 Sonnet model (currently the top AI model, period). This new model uses two TMAI map credits rather than 1. This will likely increase in the future.

### June 20, 2024

* **Edit subtopics before generating the map -** BIG update to TMAI. You can now have the AI generate the initial topics & subtopics, and then edit/add/delete them before generating a map.

### June 16, 2024

* **HUGE Behind-the-scenes change** - the core functionality of creating maps now happens in a Serverless Edge function--rather than on the TMAI server. This means that TMAI is now faster and has far fewer crashes (this was starting to happen more and more as the user base grew).

### June 12, 2024

* **Amount -** The "new map" process now includes an "amount of topics" setting. Handy if you'd like the AI to stay more strict, relevant, and specific (less creative).

### June 6, 2024

* **Multilingual outputs**—You can now choose a "language" for the outputs. If your language isn't supported, EMAIL ME!
* **Added feedback form**

### June 5, 2024

* **Map page formatting -** I moved around some things to make the UI/UX more intuitive, changed the button colors, and made the sidebar sticky!
* **/maps now has a search functionality -** You can quickly search and filter through your maps now!

### June 1, 2024

* Started changelog (2 months after launching app lol)


# Feedback, bugs, and ideas form!

If you'd like to...

* Leave some feedback
* Inform us about a bug/error
* Give us a sweet idea on how to make TMAI better

We created a form for that!

[Click here to access the Google form.](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfr7taLDTGeJjtsrRkHJxDw_xokTccOGADSEN1-Uy11lVoZIg/viewform?usp=sf_link)


# "I can't log in!"

### If you are a new customer who just signed up...

1. First, did you go through the checkout process and pay? There are no free trials to TMAI at this time.
2. If you paid, you should've been taken to a specific page to create a TMAI account. If you have never seen this page, email <pete@doyouevenblog.com>! There could've been an error, and We'll create your account.
3. If you paid and created your TMAI account but are having trouble logging in, email <pete@doyouevenblog.com> and try to be as specific as possible about what's happening. We'll get you sorted out!

### If you have PREVIOUSLY used Topical Map AI and can't log in...

#### GOOGLE AUTH METHOD 👇

1. **Triple-check your login email.** Note that it COULD be different than your *Stripe* email. You might check your email inbox for the initial welcome email that we sent out.
2. If you're 100% certain of your email, email <pete@doyouevenblog.com> with your email and he'll fix it!

#### MAGIC EMAIL LINK METHOD 👇

1. **Triple-check your login email.** Note that it COULD be different than your *Stripe* email. You might check your email inbox for the initial welcome email that we sent out.
2. Try using a laptop, NOT a mobile device, to request the link and click it!
3. Make sure all of this is happening in ONE browser (i.e., not Chrome AND Safari)
4. Check your spam folder.
5. If you're 100% certain of your email and still can't get in, email <pete@doyouevenblog.com> with your email and we'll figure it out!


# "My map is stuck on 'in progress!'"

This is likely an AI error, and you should just delete that map and run the niche again.

TMAI should **NOT** have used up any of your map credits, but if you think it did, email <pete@doyouevenblog.com> and I'll look into and refund your credit!


# "My map is blank."

There's an error here, and you did nothing wrong.

And WORST of all, this likely used one of your map credits!

**Email <pete@doyouevenblog.com> with a screenshot, the map name, the niche, etc., and I'll refund your map credit.**

In the meantime, try rerunning the map.


# "I'd like a refund, please."

Here's a short version of our refund policy (full version here: <https://topicalmap.ai/terms>):

1. If you signed up/paid less than 30 days ago, you may request a refund.
2. If you signed up/paid more than 30 days ago, there are no refunds.

Simple enough, right?

To request a refund, email <pete@doyouevenblog.com> and he'll get you taken care of ASAP.