What is Pillar Content and how to write a good Pillar Content
Pillar Content is a frequently used term in the field of digital marketing. Companies like Digileap Marketing provide a great service with creating an Search engine optimisation friendly website. If you want to utilize digital marketing to increase the traffic on your company’s website, Pillar Content is something that you should know about. Let us then start by clarifying about the meaning of Pillar Content.
Meaning of Pillar Content
Pillar content simply means a web page that explains about a topic in as much detail as possible. All the particulars of a topic are covered for the readers. Every possible question that a person can have about a topic is answered in the web page. This page has a greater word count compared to the usual blogs. It ranges from 2500 to 5000 words.
Forms of Pillar Content
Pillar content are of the following forms:
Service Pages
A Service Pillar Page provides information on a particular product or service of a company. This page can be used to talk about the uses and specifications of a product. Examples can also be used to explain the product or service.
Resource Pages
A Resource Pillar Page provides information that is relevant to a particular topic that is searched by a user. The page should have engaging content that should be interesting for the user to read. It usually has a lot of links that lead to other useful resources.
10X Pillar Pages
A 10X Pillar Page is made to be ten times better than the page which appears at the top of the search results. A particular keyword is chosen and is used many more times in the new page compared to the one in the search results. This would make the new page come to the top.
Pillar Content and Topic Clusters
A usual Pillar Page contains pillar content in the centre, with clusters of related topics nearby. The topic clusters are links that will take the user to the page explaining that particular topic. Those pages can themselves have Pillar content. Several content pages can exist with their own topic clusters.
Importance of Pillar Content and Topic Clusters for SEO
In the present days, most of the people are searching for pages with detailed information. They want to click on websites that will provide them with all the information in a single page. They want this so that they do not have to search for different information separately. Google wants to optimize the search results such that this need of theirs is satisfied. This is how Pillar Content is important. It has a huge amount of content in one place. Since it also contains a lot of links, it is mostly displayed at the top in the search results. Let us elaborate these for a better understanding.
Improvement in Relevance
When fulfilling the needs of users which they haven’t even asked for, it results in a better experience of the website. Users can navigate easily on the website to search for the information that they want. This model makes it easier for Google to determine what exactly the content on the website is about. It then helps Google provide the most accurate results for a given search.
Increase in Authority
Content that is of great quality never gets old. Your website becomes a constant source for people seeking information. It’s like you become a leader in the content writing industry. Becoming a genuine source that people can trust is not easy but once done properly, it can lead to fruitful results.
Increase in Traffic and number of Shares
Content that has a word count of more than 3000 words results in an increased number of traffic and shares. It is obvious since a lot of information which is relevant to the users is available in a single page. As users spend a lot of time going through the various information in the page, the SEO rating further increases.
How to Write a Good Pillar Content
Once there is a good clarity about what Pillar Content is, you can start creating Pillar content by following these steps:
Core Topic
The first thing to look at would be the target audience. Studying their interests and what they like to search about is crucial for this. You have to think about who the brand’s target audience will be and what questions they need answered to decide the core topic.
Subtopics for Cluster Content
You need to first look at the content that you have already written. The content which already exists on the website can be linked from the pillar page. Identifying what subtopics have not been covered yet is also essential. For examples, if a mental health website wants to make a pillar content on the importance of mental health, the subtopics can be impact of mental health on society, impact of mental health on physical health, assumptions of society on mental health, etc.
Keyword Research
Research about the various keywords related to the topic and include them in the content. Also, check out the keywords used by the competitors and how it helps them with their SEO. While writing the content, also keep in mind about your own SEO rating. One keyword could have been missed by the competitors, but it could still give good results since it would have a good search volume.
Page Outline
Table of Content
Including a table of content in the start of the website is a neat way to present the content. It should provide links to the various sections of the content. That makes it easier for the user to find the information that he or she requires.
Definition
A basic definition of the main topic in your own words can be included. It makes a good start for the blog or article. Also, it gives a good intro to the user about the topic.
Headings
The headings should include the keywords that are necessary for a good SEO rating. They can be decided to craft an outline of the content. The content has to be valuable to the reader and should come to the top in the search results.
Citations
It might be helpful to mention trusted sources in your website so that the information on your page looks trustworthy. Decide on which links to include in the page.
Links and Media
Decide where you can add attractive graphics and images that make the content presentation much better and engaging than just blind text. Videos can also be added if required. Do not forget to link the content back to the pillar content as new pages and content are created.
Proofreading and Review
Once the content writing task is completed, it is now time to review. Make sure the content is free of any grammatical errors. It should be easy enough for the conventional users to understand. Also, check if all the required information has been covered well enough. If any particular topic is left out, that can be included in the page too. Long paragraphs can be broken up into parts for an easy understanding. Check if any additional subtopics can be included to present the content in a neater manner.
Promotion
Once all these steps are completed, its time to publish the blog or article! It can either be included in your company’s website or in a newsletter. Page performance should be monitored using data driven insights.
Pillar content can take some time to create and implement, but when done properly, it gives really good results. Companies like Digileap Marketing provide services that help companies maintain a good SEO friendly website.
