How to Write Pillar Content- A Guide to Writing Content That Ranks
It is a well-known fact that content is the basis of SEO (search engine optimisation) success. According to the HubSpot State of Marketing Report 2021, about 82% of companies reported using content marketing.
Yet, only 29% of marketers agree that their organisations were greatly successful with content marketing in the last 12 months.
Why is that? The answer is simple — It is hard to create quality content.
Any business can produce mediocre and generic blogs. But quality content requires hard work and a well-thought-out strategy. Further, the problem is putting more emphasis on quantity rather than quality. When people search the internet, they look for solutions to their problems.
You can resolve their problems, provide value and create content that engages readers if you know how to write pillar content.
Pillar content lays the foundation to help you become an industry expert. It builds trust with your audience and can boost your sales, setting you up for business success. Wondering what is pillar content and how it can help?
Let’s find out!
What is Pillar Content?
Pillar content, or cornerstone content, is a digital marketing tool that provides consistent brand messages about a topic. It is a content piece that is comprehensive and in-depth and covers topics within a niche or industry.
You can take your pillar content and break it down into smaller parts, like eBooks, reports, or long-form web pages. This way, you can write more valuable content for your audience. Besides, it is typically evergreen, meaning it remains relevant and beneficial over a long time.
It is a thorough resource addressing the target audience’s basic questions and concerns. It provides invaluable information, solves their problems, and positions you as an authoritative source. Think of pillar content as the heart of your content strategy, connecting all your related blog posts, articles, and content pieces, called cluster content.
Here are some top characteristics of pillar content:
· Table of contents
· How-to
· Guides
· Definition, or “what is” articles
· Roundup articles of examples or tools
· A mix of top-of-funnel, middle-of-funnel, and bottom-of-funnel content
· Linked to cluster content
· Includes a call-to-action
What is Cluster Content?
Marketers use cluster content to strengthen their pillar page. It involves detailed blog posts that link back to the central pillar content. These clusters must target specific long-tailed keywords related to the main topic and other related themes.
Further, this approach improves the user experience by allowing readers to explore various posts for more in-depth information. They address all related search queries to enhance the effectiveness of your pillar content strategy, helping your pages rank higher.
It improves the website’s structure, as you can interlink URLs in an organised and easy-to-navigate manner, making it a vital part of the pillar content strategy.
How to Write Pillar Content That Drives Traffic
The best method for writing pillar content is to map out a plan and create a clear pillar content strategy. For this, you can follow the below steps on how to write pillar content that will resonate with your audience and rank on search engines.
Identify Pillar and Cluster Topics
The first step is to identify the pillar and cluster topics. You can use keyword research tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to find broad terms with enough search volume to be effective. The search volume level can vary depending on your topic, ranging from a few thousand searches per month for niche topics to tens of thousands for general topics.
To choose the right topic for your content pillar, ask yourself these questions:
· Do our readers care about this topic?
· Does this topic directly relate to a service or a core area of focus for us?
· Does this topic have a substantial search volume?
· Is the topic broad enough?
Another free tool available is AnswerThePublic, which taps into search engines like Google to gather information on phrases and questions people search for in connection with your pillar content.
Draft Pillar Content and Subtopics
Start working on your pillar content after finding topics and keywords. Keep in mind that pillar content should be authoritative. So, it must be comprehensive, engaging, and helpful enough for the readers to save, read, and share.
With this aim, you can craft content based on these general guidelines:
· Attention-grabbing headline: Headlines create the first impact on people about your content. So, ensure to entice them with it to start reading.
· Captivating hook: Start your pillar content with a fact, analogy, or anecdote. It should grab attention and spark interest, motivating to read more and explore further information.
· Organise the content structure: Create a seamless reading experience for your reader by adding sub-headings, images, bullet points and enough white spaces. Remember that no one enjoys reading a chunk of 200-word text.
· Use statistics and facts: Pillar content should be research-driven. You can include facts to add credibility to your pillar content.
· Include a call-to-action: Conclude your article with a clear call to action that drives the audience towards the next step in their journey.
Measure the Results
After you review and publish your pillar and content clusters, it’s time to track results. The metrics you track depend on your company’s goals. But here are some general metrics you can scan to measure outcomes.
· You can track the source referral report to see how many people visit your site through emails or social media posts.
· You can also check the engaged time to know if they are reading and enjoying what you put on your website.
· Track the last post attribution to ensure your content drives the readers through your marketing funnel.
Update Pillar Content Regularly
Lastly, remember to keep your pillar content up to date. Most fields and niches are dynamic and change every few years or months. So, your content should always have the latest and most vital information your reader should know.
Suppose you write articles about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and wrote an extensive, crucial article about SEO strategy about five years ago. The information and techniques you discussed then will differ from how they should be in 2023.
Besides, Google’s rules for ranking websites, the best ways to do SEO, what’s standard in the industry, and how people behave online change constantly. So, updating these articles regularly to include these changes is vital to keep them relevant.
Best Pillar Content Examples
To better understand pillar content and why it’s effective, let’s look at some leading pillar content examples.
Moz — The Beginner’s Guide to SEO
The blog “The Beginner’s Guide to SEO” on Moz’s website is an excellent example of pillar content that sheds light on the SEO basics in an easy-to-understand and simple format.
It starts with a brief introduction that helps the reader learn about SEO. Later, the blog introduces chapter overviews with precise headings with links to the complete chapters.
Next, the content includes helpful links and images with the text that splits into short paragraphs. It also has bullet points and subheadings to make things easier to read and follow. Plus, there’s an SEO glossary listing vital words used in the content divided into sections.
This content is so good that it ranks at the top of Google SERPs for keywords “SEO” and “keyword research.”
HubSpot — The Who, What, Why, & How of Digital Marketing
HubSpot’s “The Who, What, Why, & How of Digital Marketing” is another example of top-ranking pillar content featuring in top SERP results for the keyword “digital marketing.”
The content covers all aspects of digital marketing, including what it is, types of digital marketing, what a digital marketer does, and examples of digital marketing.
The blog broadly answers all the questions that might pop up in a reader’s mind when searching for digital marketing. It saves detailed information for follow-up blogs linked to and from the pillar content.
Creating Pillar Content for Long-term Success
Now you know how to create pillar content and what it can do for your marketing efforts — you know it’s an invaluable tool for the business. Pillar pages can help build website traffic, acquire leads, craft overall content marketing strategy, and much more.
While creating pillar content can be time-consuming, it’s all worth it.
It helps you become a trusted source of information, foster loyalty, and form lasting connections with the audience.
Use the above steps and pillar content strategy to power your marketing initiatives and see the results!
Want to create top-performing pillar content that positions you as industry authority? Drop us a message here.
Or book a FREE 30-minute call with us for a more detailed consultation on how to power up your business with expert content marketing.
