Pillar content refers to a substantive and informative piece of content on a specific topic or theme that can be broken down into many sections or subtopics. It is a fundamental component of content marketing and SEO strategy that serves as the foundation for a content cluster or a web of related content. The main goal of pillar content is to provide comprehensive coverage of a broad topic, making it extremely valuable for search engine optimization as it helps establish a website’s authority in its industry or subject area.
Application:
To effectively implement pillar content in an SEO strategy, begin by selecting a broad topic that is relevant to your target audience and pertinent to the business or industry. This topic should be expansive enough to support numerous related, but more detailed, subtopics. Craft the pillar content to be the ultimate resource on this chosen topic, thereby ensuring that it’s insightful, well-researched, and empathizes with the users search intent.
The content should be longer than typical blog posts, often exceeding 2,000 words, to adequately cover all aspects of the topic. Ideal pillar content is evergreen, meaning it provides sustained value over time and can be updated to remain current and relevant. Employing strategic internal linking within pillar content not only helps distribute page authority across your site but also provides users with a pathway to discover more detailed, related content, enhancing their user experience.
Additionally, format the pillar content to improve readability, using headers, subheaders, bullet points, and images to make the information accessible. Integrate relevant keywords naturally throughout the text while ensuring that the language remains engaging for the reader.
Once the pillar content is published, continue to support it by creating cluster content, which consists of related articles or pages that go into further detail on the subtopics mentioned. Link these pieces back to the pillar content to create a network of interrelated content, which can significantly boost a website’s visibility and authority on the chosen topic. It’s important to regularly revisit the pillar content to update it with fresh information, ensuring it remains a valuable resource that maintains its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Technical SEO Aspect:
From a technical SEO perspective, ensure that the pillar content is formatted with proper HTML tags, such as for the title and H2 or H3 for subheaders, to help search engines understand the structure of the content. The URL structure should be straightforward, often containing the primary keyword for the topic. The page should be optimized for mobile devices, load quickly, and include metadata, such as meta descriptions and title tags, that accurately reflects the content of the pillar page. Utilizing schema markup or structured data can also improve how search engines interpret and display the content in SERPs.
Overall, pillar content is a central part of a content marketing and SEO strategy; it is designed to be a comprehensive hub of information on a key topic, from which all related content links back, thus establishing a websites expertise, authority, and trustworthiness in its field.