Pillar Pages are more than just “pretty long blog posts”. They are a detailed version of a particular topic relevant to your brand, with enough information to allow a reader to process the same and revisit it again and again. Similar to how a reader would read a book divided into chapters, Pillar Pages are arranged based on topic clusters. It’s a modern method used by content marketers and a terrific approach towards a brand’s overall SEO plan.
When it comes to content marketing, there is no limit to the kind of content you can implement for your brand. There’s so much potential, plenty of strategies, and vast information at your disposal. It ultimately boils down to how you package the information and bring out the best of your brand, while also generating some business out of it. For websites, the way to go is through content SEO – the ultimate SEO strategy that has quality content backed by keywords and a strong site structure.
More often than not, brands focus on their landing page without feeling the need to optimise other pages too, including their blogs. The idea is not to stuff it with every useful keyword possible, but to add quality content that would help a user while also satisfying Google’s caveats about readable, engaging content.
(Read: ‘SEO-Friendly Content: Traversing the Landscape of Content Marketing’.)
Understanding Pillar Content
Pillar Content is a content marketing strategy used not only to provide more information presented in chapters or a novella-like format but it is also used as a strategy to optimise a brand’s website. In other words, it’s an SEO plan that requires a bit of work and research, but the results are worth it!
It isn’t uncommon to find brands focusing only on blogging and revamping their website content in a bid to satisfy their SEO plan. But, imagine a number of these similar blogs all clubbed together and presented as one consolidated page on the website.
This consolidated page on the website allows the brand to showcase their best in fine detail while also bringing in some form of engagement by including infographics, videos and tools such as quizzes and polls that are more than just ornamental; they present something for everybody. In other words, it stands tall as a pillar and leaves you with ample information with plenty more room for details.
But, Isn’t Blogging Enough?
Content marketing, over the years, has become more fluid prompting marketers to try out all kinds of methods to drive traffic to a brand’s website. In addition to this, algorithms have been changing, too. Therefore, while there are numerous ways to effectively optimise a brand’s website, marketers know that a foolproof SEO plan would include content that would have users spending more time reading, which would translate to better traffic. The typical choice would be to update blogs periodically. In fact, the Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2020 states that nearly 80% of companies use blogging as a part of their marketing strategy to acquire customers and push for some much-needed brand awareness. But, are blogs enough?
Unfortunately, the answer is no – blogs are never enough, especially if you have both B2B and B2C clients. In fact, in 2019, the Content Marketing Institute reported that 73% of B2B marketers think that blog posts and articles are the most effective content types for demand generation. But, only 27% of these marketers rate their company’s content marketing efforts as extremely successful or very successful, satisfied with blogging alone. With these statistics in mind, it sure helps to have a metaphorical pillar to cater to all the points you are hoping to create with your content marketing strategy. The best part is, it involves research – content and keywords – and understanding what would work best for your readers. So it’s not just about your brand, it’s also about disseminating information which would encourage readers, whether they are your target audience or not, to go through the entire pillar and revisit the content, improving your brand recall.
Coming Up With The Ultimate Pillar Page
Strategies for Blogging and Pillar content are different, even though the latter, more often than not, relies on the former for content, hyperlinking, keyword insertion, etc. But ultimately, the best way to work on your Pillar Content is to put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Here are the five must-dos!
- When coming up with your article topic, ensure it has a high search volume. For example, if you’re into real estate, a topic on Home Loans (which drives considerable search volume) can be the topic under which you discuss different types of home loans and their benefits, with each subtopic also given titles with high search volumes.
- Once you’ve understood what your readers would want to read, you can then start working on your pillar articles. You may have a bank of content thanks to the existing blog posts. If so, great! Don’t just write the same content again for your pillar pages. Instead, put up an abridged version and link to the original blog posts. That way, you give your readers the choice to navigate from the pillar page to the specific blogs, if they are looking for more detailed information.
- Leverage this pillar content across all social media platforms including LinkedIn.
- Keep updating your pillar content. Especially if you have hyperlinked other blogs, you can keep updating the keywords and the titles, and add more timely and relevant information.
- Finally, it’s not enough to have good content and keywords any more. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes, think of how it should be presented. The key is to encourage the reader to keep navigating from one topic to another quite easily, whether it’s being read from a laptop, mobile or a tablet. Visualise this presentation, test it on a few non-marketing professionals, and work on something that brings all your ideas to life with enough infographics, videos, GIFs, audio, et al.
At Mot Juste, we put ourselves in your customer’s shoes and generate content on behalf of your brand. With our efficient A-team consisting of content writers, SEO specialists, UX designers and social media specialists, we can elevate your brand’s website to a whole new level with the pillar page – the ultimate step towards an optimised, Google-friendly website!
FAQS
Q1: What is pillar content and how is it different from a regular blog post?
A pillar page is a comprehensive, long-form content resource that covers a broad topic in depth, organised into topic clusters – similar to chapters in a book. Unlike a regular blog post, it serves as the central hub that links out to multiple related, detailed blog posts.
Q2: How does a pillar page help with SEO?
Pillar pages strengthen a website’s SEO by organising content around topic clusters with high search volumes, improving site structure, increasing the time users spend on the site, and signalling to search engines that the brand has deep expertise on a given subject.
Q3: Is blogging alone enough for a good content marketing strategy?
No. While 73% of B2B companies think that blog posts and articles are the most effective content types for demand generation, research shows that only 27% are satisfied with the results of their blogging alone. Pillar content provides the structural depth that standalone blogs cannot.
Q4: How do you come up with a strong pillar content topic?
Choose a topic with high search volume that is broad enough to have multiple subtopics, each of which also carries meaningful search volume. For example, a real estate brand could build a pillar around Home Loans, with sub-articles on different loan types and their benefits.
Q5: How should pillar content be kept up to date?
Update the pillar page regularly by refreshing keywords and titles, adding timely and relevant new information, and revisiting any hyperlinked blog posts to ensure they remain current and accurate. Consistent updates keep the content competitive in search rankings.