One of the most effective content marketing strategies today is topic clustering. When done right, it helps you rank for multiple keywords, drive massive traffic, and boost your visibility significantly.
But to make it truly work, you need to craft the right pillar page. This article shares some of the most popular types you can incorporate into your search engine optimization (SEO) plan.
5 Best Pillar Pages to Enhance Your SEO Strategy
A “topic cluster” is a group of articles revolving around a central theme or topic. It has three basic elements that resemble a hub and spoke when illustrated:
- The pillar page serves as the hub that gives an overview of the entire topic, explains what it is about, and links to other related articles.
- The subpages or subtopics are the spokes that go into more depth and provide detailed information on individual elements of the topic.
- The content clusters are the link between subpages, pillar pages, and external links that help users navigate your website easily.
Today, pillar pages come in different forms, each with its own distinct features. Marina Turea of Digital Authority Partners (DAP) has already explained three of the most well-known. Our goal now is to expand some of these and add a few more.
1. Product Page Pillar: Make Your Brand Stand Out
A product pillar page is a content asset designed to provide valuable context about an entire product line. It serves as an authoritative, comprehensive reference for visitors who increasingly expect detailed information about what products are available, how they work, and where they can get them.
Further:
- A well-crafted product pillar page will both provide useful background context and function as the centerpiece of a larger strategy to support the marketing, sales, and customer support processes.
- It generally contains text and images, offering a clear overview of the entire product line while linking to more detailed product-specific pages, such as product reviews or how-to guides.
Example:
Let us say you are selling vintage T-shirts as your primary product line.
One example of a product topic cluster would include a main page detailing all available shirts, subpages that combine iconic designs with a type of T-shirt (e.g., ’90s vintage print tees), and then additional specific subpages about the different graphics or eras represented in the designs.
2. How-To Pillar Page: Help Users Solve a Problem
A how-to pillar page is a content hub that informs and educates your target audience about a particular topic. Its defining features include:
- Detailed instructions on one or more related topics, helping users understand how to accomplish those tasks
- A lot of visuals, from images to videos, to make the content more engaging and the directions easier to follow
- High-level overviews of the primary concepts related to that topic
- Links to further resources, including additional subpages about specific elements. For example, if you are a fashion brand and you want to help people understand how to style their summer wardrobe, your pillar page could have an overview
These pillar pages are great for boosting your informational keywords, which are key terms or phrases that help Internet users find answers to their queries.
Example:
You are a travel agency promoting a five-day Paris trip to your prospects and customers. A good topic cluster can include a pillar page about how to prepare for the holiday as a family, presented as a numbered list. Each list will then have a link to a subpage, such as “How to Pack Lightly for a Family Trip” or “The Best Places to Eat in Paris.”
3. About Us Pillar Page: Introduce Your Brand
Usually, an “About Us” page is short, especially if you are a startup or a small business. However, as you scale, you might want to dedicate certain subpages to essential subheadings to help your audience get to know more about your brand.
This strategy also works well if you are optimizing for Google because it helps you comply with the E-E-A-T guidelines.
Example:
What does an “About Us” topic cluster look like? The primary or pillar page can be a brief description of your company’s mission, vision, and values. From there, you can create subpages to explain more about your team members, focus on customer success stories, showcase awards or certifications, or provide details about collaborations with other companies in the industry.
4. Ultimate Guide Pillar Page: Educate Your Audience
The ultimate guide pillar page is an authoritative, comprehensive resource on a particular topic. It typically contains more detail than the website’s main navigation pages and helps users get an in-depth understanding of a concept or product without having to visit multiple unrelated webpages.
Many, including some marketers or writers, confuse this with the how-to page. However, a guide does not enumerate directions or instructions at all times. It can also be:
- A list of the most popular products in a certain category
- An overview of different types of products and features
- Potential uses for a product or service
Example:
You run an e-commerce business selling kitchen appliances. An ultimate guide pillar page can include detailed information about everything from kitchen essentials to advanced appliances, with links to subpages that go into detail about each item.
The subpages can include reviews, recommendations, and other relevant information to help users make informed decisions.
Alternatively, you could also include a page on energy efficiency or safety regulations for specific categories of kitchen appliances.
5. Location-Specific Pillar Page: Improve Your Local SEO
A location-specific pillar page is an incredibly useful tool for local business owners. It helps them assess inbound search opportunities and website traffic in the specific area they serve.
This type of page often
- Takes the form of a landing page or local directory, where businesses can showcase their product offerings and services;
- Contains pages dedicated to helping users understand the region and make connections with local businesses and service providers;
- Establishes your brand as an authoritative source in the area;
- Allows businesses to hone in their content and messaging to people in the specific region, providing calls to action tailored to local customers;
- Uses geographical keywords relevant to the region, such as city or zip code, which enables local search engines like Google Maps and Apple Maps to serve up the right content when someone within that region searches for it.
Example:
You own a cafe in San Francisco. Your pillar page can focus on the coffee scene in the city. The subpages can then highlight various products in every area. The options are “Where to Find the Best Drip Coffee in the Mission District” or “Best Types of Coffee for Remote Workers in the Bay Area.”
Summing Up
You can use pillar pages to increase website traffic, improve search engine rankings, and build trust with your audience. The key is to create content that is comprehensive, authoritative, and tailored to the needs of your readers.
Keep in mind that pillar pages should have a specific purpose, such as helping customers make decisions or educating them about a topic. If you are struggling to create clusters or want to simplify the process, call expert digital marketing firms for help.
Strategies such as an SEO audit and extensive keyword research can reveal information gaps that can let you create effective and high-value pillar pages.
