Back to blog
It’s no surprise that it can be a challenge for websites to rank high within search engine results. With the amount of content out there fighting for everyone’s attention, it can be hard for your website’s content to stand out, let alone be one of the first options available when someone searches for a topic relevant to your business. What if there was a way to improve your chances of ranking higher within search results by not only creating high-quality and helpful content, but also by the way you structure the pages and internal linking of said content together?
That’s where pillar pages come in! In this blog, we’ll go over what pillar pages are, their benefits, and how to create and optimize a pillar page to help give your website’s content a chance to rank higher within search results.
Understanding the Concept of a Pillar Page
A pillar page is a comprehensive, long-form piece of content that serves as the central hub for a specific topic on your website. It covers all the essential aspects of the topic and provides in-depth information to users. The purpose of a pillar page is to provide a valuable resource to visitors and establish your website as an authority on the subject.
By creating a pillar page, you can organize and structure your content in a way that makes it easy for both users and search engines to navigate. It helps in improving user experience by providing a one-stop solution for all the information related to a particular topic. Additionally, a well-structured pillar page can also boost your website’s SEO by consolidating relevant information and generating backlinks from other pages on your site.
To create an effective pillar page, you need to choose a topic that is broad enough to cover multiple subtopics but still relevant to your website. It should be a topic that your target audience is interested in and aligns with your business goals. By selecting the right pillar topics, you can attract more organic traffic to your website and engage users with valuable content.
The Benefits of Creating a Pillar Page
There are several benefits of creating a pillar page for your website:
Improved SEO
A pillar page helps in improving your website’s search engine optimization by consolidating relevant information on a specific topic and generating backlinks. It allows search engines to understand the structure and hierarchy of your content, making it easier to index and rank your pages within search engine results.
Enhanced User Experience
By providing a comprehensive resource on a specific topic, a pillar page improves user experience. Visitors can find all the information they need in one place, saving them time and effort. It also helps in reducing bounce rates (the percentage of users who leave after visiting a single page of your website) and increasing user engagement.
Increased Organic Traffic
A well-optimized pillar page can attract more organic traffic to your website. When users search for related keywords, your pillar page has a higher chance of appearing in search results, driving more targeted traffic to your site.
Establishing Authority
By creating a pillar page, you can establish your website as an authority on a particular topic. When visitors find valuable and comprehensive information on your site that answers their questions, they are more likely to trust your brand and return for future content. This can also help increase the chances of them becoming a future customer!
Internal Linking Opportunities
A pillar page provides opportunities for internal linking within your website. You can link to relevant subtopics and blog posts, creating a hierarchical structure that helps search engines and users navigate through your content easily.
How to Find Pillar Topics for Your Website
Now that you know the benefits of creating a pillar page for your website, it’s time to find the right topics to create one around! Here are a few tips you can use to help find pillar topics for your website:
Research Your Audience
Understand your target audience’s interests, pain points, and the topics they are actively searching for that are relative to your business and the problems your products and services solve. Use tools like Google Analytics, keyword research tools (such as SEMRush and Google Trends), and social media listening to gather insights.
Explore Industry Trends
Stay updated with the latest trends, news, and developments in your industry. Identify topics that are currently popular or emerging and align with your business goals.
Analyze Competitors
Study your competitors’ websites and identify the topics they have covered extensively. Look for gaps or areas where you can provide more comprehensive and valuable information.
Keyword Research
As mentioned above, conduct keyword research to identify high-volume and relevant keywords related to your industry. Look for keywords with a good balance of search volume and competition (how difficult it is to rank high for a specific keyword).
Consider Evergreen Topics
Choose topics that are evergreen and will remain relevant over time. These topics have a higher chance of attracting consistent traffic and engagement, helping increase your website’s chances of ranking higher within search engine results.
By following these steps and conducting thorough research, you can identify pillar topics that will resonate with your audience, align with your business goals, and provide long-term value for your potential customers!
Structuring Your Pillar Page for Maximum Impact
With your topic research completed, it’s now time to start building out your pillar page! The overall structure of your pillar page is not only important to help visitors find specific information more easily, but to ensure it’s well optimized for search engines. To structure your pillar page for maximum impact, consider the following guidelines:
Clear and Logical Organization
Divide your pillar page into sections and subtopics. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to create a clear and logical structure. This makes it easier for users to navigate and find the information they need.
Table of Contents
Include a table of contents at the beginning of your pillar page. This allows users to jump directly to the section they are interested in, improving user experience. Including a table of contents can also help increase the chance of your page appearing within a featured snippet containing your table of contents in Google search results, which in turn can help increase the chances of someone visiting your pillar page.
Internal Linking
Incorporate internal links to relevant subtopics, blog posts, and resources within your pillar page. This helps users explore related content and improves SEO by establishing a hierarchical structure.
Visual Elements
“Include visual elements such as images, infographics, and videos to enhance the readability and engagement of your pillar page. Visuals break up the text and make the content more visually appealing.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Optimize your pillar page for mobile devices. Ensure that the page is responsive and loads quickly on different screen sizes. This is crucial as mobile usage continues to rise. You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to see how well your pillar page runs on mobile devices, as well as see what can be improved.
By structuring your pillar page effectively, you can maximize its impact on both users and search engines. A well-organized and visually appealing page improves user experience, encourages engagement, and boosts SEO.
Optimizing Your Pillar Page for SEO
Another important step to take when creating your pillar page is to make sure its SEO is fully optimized, as doing so gives your pillar page more of a chance of ranking higher within search results. To optimize your pillar page for SEO, follow these best practices:
Keyword Optimization
Incorporate relevant keywords naturally throughout your pillar page. Include them in headings, subheadings, body text, and image alt tags. However, avoid keyword stuffing and prioritize readability.
Meta Tags
Write compelling meta titles and descriptions that accurately represent the content of your pillar page. Include relevant keywords to improve visibility in search engine results.
URL Structure
Create SEO-friendly URLs for your pillar page. Use descriptive words and hyphens to separate words. Keep the URL concise and avoid using numbers or special characters.
Page Speed
Optimize your pillar page for fast loading speed. Compress images, minify CSS and JavaScript files, and leverage browser caching to reduce page load time.
Social Sharing Buttons
Add social sharing buttons to your pillar page to encourage users to share the content on social media platforms. This can increase visibility and drive more traffic to your page.
By following these SEO optimization practices, you can increase the visibility and ranking of your pillar page in search engine results. This, in turn, leads to more organic traffic and higher engagement.
It’s more important now than ever to create helping and high-quality content for potential customers to find online. Through the creation of pillar pages, you can help improve the chances of having said content be found!