Pillar Page: Everything you need to know

Your website visitors have a lot of questions, and you have the answers. However, attracting your target audience to your website and keeping them interested can be difficult.

Building pillar pages and topic clusters is the most effective content marketing strategy for increasing traffic and engagement.

These provide a deep-rooted foundation to help you establish your inbound marketing strategy.

In this article, we’ll explain what topic clusters and pillar pages are, the steps you can take to create engaging pillar pages, and their benefits.

What are topic clusters in SEO?

A topic cluster is a group of content assets that cover a wide range of topics. These content clusters provide contextual support for all pages within a subject area.

All key information is displayed within the pillar page. However, readers can explore topics further through related terms through subtopics, strategically interlinked content pages, and cluster pages.

Essentially, your website readers will be able to access more information about a particular subtopic. Additionally, it helps establish the foundation for a strong internal link structure.

When creating topic clusters for SEO, it’s important to create effective pillar pages that contain comprehensive information about a particular topic.

Separately, you need to create a cluster page with relevant information.

Finally, strategically place anchor text to hyperlink your cluster pages to your pillar pages.

Note: Google recommends keeping your anchor text concise and on-topic.

Three components of a topic cluster

A topic cluster consists of the following components:

1. Pillar pages that cover core topics: Pillar pages should broadly cover the user’s intent. This provides enough value for readers to click through and move on to the next relevant piece of content, no matter where they are in the buyer journey.
2. Clusters – Support for pages to cover topics in detail: Clusters focus more specifically on user intent. It’s not just about finding long-tail keywords to rank for. Clusters go deeper into specific topics that support the main topics covered on the pillar pages.
3. Internal linking pages: Cluster pages that link to pillar pages send a signal to search engines that the pillar page is the most important page in the group. Pillar pages that link to cluster pages pass permissions to the cluster page. Each link must have anchor text so search engines can understand what’s behind it.

Now that you understand topic clusters, let’s learn about pillar pages.

What is a pillar page?

Pillar pages provide complete coverage of a wide range of topics, with all aspects of a topic explained on one page. This page links to topic cluster blog posts that explain specific areas of the topic in more detail.

Pillar pages cover a wide range of topics, while cluster content dives deeper into specific keyword-related topics. These pillar posts are longer than your average blog post because they cover all aspects of a topic.

However, each aspect is not explained in detail. Instead, cluster content is designed to flesh out each part by adding more details to help the reader fully understand the subtopic.

Let’s say you’re creating a pillar page about “Facebook Marketing.” This post provides a thorough overview of how to use Facebook to market your products and hyperlink key pieces of cluster content.

Below are some examples of support pages as clusters or content headings that you can add to your pillar pages.

• How can I increase my Facebook posts through ads?
• How do I run Facebook ads?
• How do I run a retargeting campaign?
• Best practices for writing ad copy
• The best way to use Facebook Groups for marketing

Pillar pages serve as a 101 guide to Facebook marketing, while cluster content details each specific component of Facebook marketing.

How do pillar pages help improve SEO?

Pillar pages have many benefits that can help improve your SEO, including:

#1. Pillar pages that improve user experience

A content strategy also provides a better user experience for your visitors. Adding strategic internal links to your core posts provides useful content and creates a better user flow.

This makes your site more user-friendly and can generate higher conversion rates. A high engagement metric tells search engines that your page has value, which can increase your search rankings.

#2.Improve your site structure with pillar pages

Pillar pages help you consolidate similar subjects and build hierarchical maps to improve your website’s site structure. Search engines index pages, determine expertise, and choose the best URL for your search query.

#3.Pillar pages can rank for a large number of keywords.

Pillar pages are more likely to rank higher for keywords with high search volume. This is because it covers more topics and therefore can rank for more search queries on a single page. Users looking for a more general search may want an overview of a specific topic.

#4.Pillar pages generate more backlinks

Pillar pages thoroughly cover a specific topic, making them prime candidates for other platforms and websites to share your content.

This helps generate backlinks as other websites share your pillar content and link to your webpage.

Backlinks help improve your SEO because every backlink is seen as an expression of trust that you are providing high-quality, relevant content to your target audience.

Steps to create a great pillar page

If you start with a blank document, how do you build great pillar pages that drive traffic and increase shareability?

Let’s take a look at the steps to building a quality pillar page.

Step 1: Identify your main keywords

You can guess the keywords for your pillar pages, but it’s much better to use actual data from SEO tools like Semrush and Ahrefs.

For example, Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool leverages trusted data sources and machine learning algorithms to provide up-to-date information on search volume and other keyword metrics.

Look for major keywords with high search volume. Since a lot of content is written on the pillar page, you can target difficult keywords.

That being said, you don’t want your primary keyword to be too broad. For example, your entire website might be built around social media marketing or digital marketing.

Instead, choose a narrower topic like Facebook marketing or content marketing.

Step 2: Find related topics and keywords

Once you’ve selected your main keywords, take the time to figure out which subtopics fall into the categories of your main topic.

Google’s People Also Ask section can help you find relevant topics and keywords.

You can find relevant pillar pages and posts that are already ranking for your primary keywords.

Next, take a look at what topics are covered and look for gaps in information that you can fill in with your pillar pages.

Step 3: Decide what external or internal content to link to

Check out the content you’ve already published on your site. Start making a list of all the relevant content you’ve already written about your topic. Choose the one that performs best.

If you don’t have many content assets, create a list of subtopics to add in the future. You can always create these blog posts and update your pillar pages later.

Additionally, you can fill in gaps in your content by adding authoritative external links.

Note: Be sure to link to authoritative sites that are relevant to the topic of your pillar page.

Step 4: Create a catchy heading and create a table of contents

Writing headlines that grab your audience’s attention is critical to reducing bounce rates and increasing session rates.

According to Backlinko, blogs with long headlines get more shares on social media than blogs with short headlines.

Draft at least six headlines for each blog and finalize the one you think is most relevant and catchy.

Apart from this, having a table of contents on every blog you create improves navigation, allowing readers to jump to the section they want to read by simply clicking on the header without scrolling.

Step 5: Create a pillar page

Now you can start creating your page. Refer back to your internal assets and keyword research when writing.

Consider running your copy through an SEO platform like Clearscope or Surfer SEO to ensure it includes all the necessary secondary keywords to support your primary keyword.

But remember, don’t just stuff your content with keywords unnecessarily. Content should be created first for readers and then for search engines.

Step 6: Consider the design of your pillar pages

Consider what your pillar pages will look like. Avoid endless blocks of text that can discourage or overwhelm your readers. Instead, add visual elements like videos, images, and infographics to break up the text and provide a visual explanation of your topic.

Step 7: Create a compelling call to action

Always include a compelling call to action to keep users interested in your content. Your CTAs should encourage readers to download your eBook or case study, sign up for your newsletter, or schedule a demo with your sales team.

Benefits of having a strong pillar page

#1.Create better content

Finding topics to write about can be difficult if your field of expertise is not popular. Pillar pages take the guesswork out of figuring out what to write.

It creates a unified topic for writing blog posts and provides a roadmap for your content team to follow.

Well-organized content makes it easier for readers to use and increases engagement. Because pillar pages are interlinked, these support pages can help keep visitors on your site longer.

#2.Boost EAT

Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (EAT) is essential to rank your website on Google. The EAT score has a significant impact on a page’s performance in search rankings.

Pillar posts and topic clusters check all the boxes for creating EAT-worthy content. By providing extensive information on a particular topic, you are proving that you are an expert in that particular field.

When visitors spend more time on your page, they know you’re a trusted source of information, and more people can see your core posts.

#3.Lead generation

The higher your search ranking, the more visitors you will receive. Increasing traffic and engagement increases your chances of converting them into leads.

Being recognized as an authoritative expert on a particular topic puts you at the forefront of your customers’ minds.

By combining a lead nurturing strategy with consistent support pages, you can convert more leads into paying customers.

summary

Pillar pages can significantly improve your website’s search rankings due to their long-form content, keyword focus, and structural support.

When you devise a strategy for pillar pages and topic clusters, you can effectively and comprehensively cover your topic and answer all of your potential buyers’ questions.

You might also be interested in some of these powerful content creation tools.