Why did a topic become a heading instead of a page?

Every topic the map considers is tested before it gets its own page. The test is a rule, and the four checks are shown on the page with the record each one rests on.

The four checks

1. Demand. Measured monthly volume, a People Also Ask question on its results page, or a customer quote behind one of its phrases. Source: the keyword's volume and the stored results page.
2. A distinct entity and attribute. The pair has not already been taken by another page. Source: the mined attributes.
3. Results unlike the other pages. Fewer than three of its top ten results are shared with any page already accepted. Source: the stored results.
4. A clear query pattern. Its main phrase matches a template: what is, types of, how to, cost, best, versus, for a given audience, and so on. Source: the attribute's phrases.

Three of four make a page.

The one override

A topic whose results share five or more of the top ten with a page already accepted is the same results page. Two pages for one results page compete with each other, which is the failure practitioners report most often. That topic becomes a heading on the accepted page whatever the other checks say. The page's note says which page it folded into.

Where the heading went

Open the page it folded into. Under What the page must deliver it lists a section for the topic, and the page's brief carries it in the heading vector. On the Map tab, headings appear under their page.

Held in reserve

A topic that passed the test but fell outside the map's size is not a heading. It is held in reserve, listed on the Map tab under In reserve, and a larger map would give it a page.

When the split should happen after all

Results pages change. When a heading's topic starts to earn its own results, prepare a new version of the map and the test runs again on fresh results.