Pillar content can do wonders to your site’s search rankings, and for this reason, pillar pages are taking the SEO world by storm. A pillar page (aka a power page or content pillar) is a robust page on your site that acts as a centralized hub comprising cluster pages, and resources that give detailed information on a specific topic.
With an effective design, a pillar page can become a great resource for prospects and customers and help improve your search engine rankings!
Read on to learn more as we explain the benefits of pillar pages and how to create them.
Benefits of a Pillar Page
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Pillar Pages Are Effective for SEO
The major benefit of an effective pillar page strategy is SEO performance. The organization and tidiness of a site are key in pleasing search engine algorithms. Using pillar pages in your content marketing strategy makes it easy for readers to find all blog content around a single pillar.
Search engines will appreciate that you have organized your content by keywords and used an internal link strategy to help users find the appropriate content easily. They will reward you for it, and the algorithm will mark your website as trustworthy and worth higher rankings
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Pillar Pages Create Cleaner Website Hierarchies
A site hierarchy is the structure of your website and governs other aspects such as content organization. As a road map for your entire website, a pillar page touches on all the content available on the site for a particular topic. Additionally, it also links to more comprehensive information for all the related content on the website.
Pillar pages bring a level of organization that makes it convenient for your audience to find what they are searching for, thus boosting user engagement.
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Pillar Pages Target Contacts in Various Lifecycle Stages
Each customer takes their own journey from when they first interact with your brand and enter your website to when they eventually become a customer. Some visitors may be early in their journey and looking for education, while some may be further along and looking for a product or service to solve to their problem. A pillar page can serve various stages of visitors allowing them to take the route that leads to their unique desired results.
Steps to Creating an Effective Pillar Page
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Identify a Broad Topic
The first step is to identify a relevant topic specific to your industry. It should be broad, evergreen, and one that you wish to build authority around.
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Identify your Topic Clusters
Next, choose a series of topic clusters that support your broad topic. Typically, 2-3 words with high monthly search volume (200 or more monthly searches). Subtopic should be strong enough to stand on their own with enough detail for a blog or a video.
Here’s an example:
Broad Topic: Inbound Marketing
Topic Clusters: Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, Content Offers
Cluster Content: 10 Examples of Content Offers -
Complete the Topic Cluster
Use a series of hyperlinks to connect cluster content and pillar pages (link both ways) for the convenience of the searcher and search engine.
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Create Cluster Content
The next step is to create content based on the cluster topics. Ensure you include the phrases and keywords in the main body and subheads as you create the blog posts. Wherever possible, use questions and answers, numbered lists or bullets to format the page, making it easy for your audience to digest. Videos and images are also essential where applicable to convey ideas better and improve the page’s SEO.
Seek Expert Assistance!
Businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of pillar pages in improving SEO efforts, building trust with an audience, and informing prospects. But you need expert keyword research and website development to get the best outcome.
At Brainstorm, we will learn about your goals and recommend how inbound marketing can help acquire prospective customers for your business.
Contact us and speak to our experts today.