How to Create Content Pillars That Drive ConversionUnderstand Your Target Audience. Cubing main content pillars. Reuse existing content in new formats. Think of it as a destination that provides all the key information, in depth, enough data to revisit, a guide, a mini-encyclopedia, a “101” guide, so to speak.
The next step is to collect all the possible questions that your pillar page will strive to answer and use them to design the article structure. According to our research, 47% of articles with advanced heading structure (H2 + H3 + H) belong to the highest performing organic content group. Contrary to what you may have heard, keywords aren't dead. You'll still need them to succeed with your pillar content strategy.
Look at your topic and subtopics and roll up your sleeves to research keywords. The high-volume search keywords included in each subtopic will help you create your page and the things you'll need to cover to create a complete guide. Gather your research and start developing your content. You can also drill down, recycle and update the content of an old eBook and align it with your updated keyword research and topics.
As you write, make sure you have internal links under each subtopic to link back to a page on the site or a blog post and allow the reader to discover more information when they need it. In addition, linking your content allows you to rank better in search results. In simpler terms, a pillar page is an overview of a specific topic. You can think of it as a summary or a roadmap.
We create pillar pages for each of our main focus areas. The link to the content of the pillar is a range of content that covers individual and more specific subtopics, also known as cluster content. Each cluster topic page for the pillar focuses on providing more detail for a specific long-tail keyword related to the parent topic. The column links to each grouping page, and each grouping page links back to the column with the same hyperlinked keyword.
Your goal is to rank well in search engines for each core topic. Top topics are the strategic sweet spot for achieving search engine rankings. When creating your first group of topics, I recommend creating a 10 times larger content pillar page. A 10x larger content pillar page is a deep dive into a central topic.
The format is similar to that of an undated e-book or guide, with a downloadable resource packed with the contents of the page for people who want to print or save the information. An efficient way to create the 10x larger content pillar page is to create the downloadable resource. If you have one, deconstruct it into a 10 times larger content pillar page. The result? Since the launch of our 10x larger content pillar page, the Wild We Wander website has seen a significant increase in organic traffic from search engines.
A content pillar is in-depth, informative and authoritative content on a topic that covers all the essential aspects of the topic. The content pillars are 3 to 5 topics that your brand will discuss, amplify and create content on a constant basis on social media. As social media strategist Christina Galbato explains: “You might hear them called content categories or content groups. They all mean the same thing.
The content in your pillar must satisfy both the intent of your users and be structured accordingly for search engines. Subtopic content is the foundation of the mountain: the content you create weekly, such as blogs, videos, etc. On the other hand, if you lack existing content to support a pillar page, you may need to reverse engineer this process. This will allow you to find gaps in your search strategy, as well as point out important words and phrases to target in the content of the pillar you create.
The role of pillar content is to cover the core topic broadly while at the same time converting visitors into leads (or whatever your conversion goal is). That's why having a definitive content distribution plan should be a vital part of your content marketing strategy. Know that this only applies when you want to create your content pillar around the main topic of your business. There are a number of channels and methods to promote both internally and externally the content of your pillars.
The Top of Your Mountain is a resource-driven pillar page that serves as a library to showcase your highest-performing content on a specific topic. Keep in mind that these visuals are perfect for sharing on social media, email marketing, and other channels to promote pillar content. You'll be able to see exactly what your posts look like before they go live and get a holistic view of whether you're striking the right balance between the pillars of your content. All of this works to ensure that you're actually creating content that people want to see, rather than content designed specifically for search engines.
It's best to focus your time and energy on creating your first group of related content that links to a pillar page for a central topic. In addition, since you want to promote your pillar content as an authoritative resource, you'll also want to have a strategy for acquiring backlinks from high-quality sources. Don't exclusively present your pillar content as a package, identify cluster-specific topics, pages, visuals, and other elements that might be of interest to a potential backlink customer. Creating content pillar ideas is a winning strategy for achieving top search rankings, but a lot of research needs to be done on keywords in these plans.
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