What is a pillar page?

Pillar pages are an in­no­v­a­tive concept for struc­tur­ing content and op­ti­miz­ing SEO pages. They are cen­tral­ized, thorough pages that cover a broad topic and serve as a hub for related subpages. When used right, they can improve your search engine per­for­mance.

What is the de­f­i­n­i­tion of a pillar page?

Pillar pages are a central part of content marketing and SEO. They form the foun­da­tion of a content strategy aiming to provide com­pre­hen­sive in­for­ma­tion on a specific topic without going into too much detail. Pillar pages give an overview of a broad topic and serve as an anchor for a variety of related content that is more specific.

The word “pillar” reflects the part they play in the structure of a website. Pillar pages serve as a strong, struc­tur­al column on a website. Related content (called topic clusters) is grouped around the pillar page, which in­ter­nal­ly links to the clusters.

What are topic clusters and pillar content?

Pillar pages are at the center of a topic cluster strategy. Topic clusters are col­lec­tions of content grouped around a central topic. The core topic is discussed on the central pillar page. The topic cluster consists of various kinds of content related to a subtopic, which is referred to as cluster content or cluster pages. Each of those pages focuses on specific subtopics or keywords that are related to the main topic.

For example, say there’s a pillar page on the topic of digital marketing. The pillar content would include extensive in­for­ma­tion on that over­ar­ch­ing topic, while the topic clusters would provide in­for­ma­tion on subtopics like SEO, content marketing, social media marketing and pay-per-click ad­ver­tis­ing. The cluster pages delve deeper into those areas and link back to the pillar page.

Why are pillar pages and topic clusters important?

Pillar content and cluster pages can play a big role in improving search engine rankings. Due to their detailed coverage of a topic, pillar pages are relevant for a variety of different searches. This increases their chances of ranking well in search results. And internal linking between pillar pages and cluster pages spreads that link authority across the entire website, which also improves the ranking of in­di­vid­ual pages.

Moreover, the clear nav­i­ga­tion structure of pillar content (including its use of bread­crumb nav­i­ga­tion) increases user friend­li­ness. Users can find the content they are looking for more easily, which also leads to longer dwell time and lower bounce rates. Those are both factors that search engines consider when rating a page’s quality. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, a pillar page’s com­pre­hen­sive coverage of its topic and topic clusters increases the authority of the site.

How to create a pillar page

Creating a pillar page requires careful planning and execution, as it will play a key part in your content strategy. You’ll also need to regularly check and update your pillar content to ensure that it remains relevant. We outline the most important steps below.

Step 1: Find a topic

Choose a topic that’s relevant to your target group and offers suf­fi­cient subtopics for cluster pages. The topic should be broad enough that it can support a large number of related articles but specific enough that it has a clear focus. Do some keyword research to identify relevant keywords that will come in handy when you’re choosing topic clusters.

Step 2: Develop topic clusters

Create an overview of all the subtopics that come together to form the main topic. Consider making a mind map for this. Choose a specific focus for each subtopic. The subtopics should be in­ter­est­ing for your target group and have enough substance to stand on their own as content. If a subtopic isn’t relevant enough for your target group or isn’t sub­stan­tial enough, it likely doesn’t make sense to give it its own cluster page.

Step 3: Create content

As soon as you’ve finished your strategic planning, you can start creating content. First sketch the main points for each cluster page. That way you’ll ensure that the main content on the pillar page doesn’t go into too much detail or overlap too much with the cluster pages. Cluster pages can use a variety of formats, from blog posts to videos to in­fo­graph­ics.

Step 4: Create clusters

Start building clusters from your pillar page by linking to the subpages. Don’t forget to link back from the cluster pages to the pillar page. You don’t have to wait until all the cluster pages are finished – you can expand a cluster bit by bit.

Step 5: Update pillar page and topic clusters

In the SEO world, your work is never really finished. You should con­tin­u­ous­ly analyze the per­for­mance of your pillar page and update it as necessary. The same goes for your cluster pages. Over time, subtopics that weren’t so relevant when you created the page might gain im­por­tance.

Example of a pillar page and topic cluster

Let’s say you’re creating pillar content on digital marketing. The pillar page will serve as a com­pre­hen­sive resource for all aspects of digital marketing. It will offer your target group a detailed overview of various strate­gies, tools and trends in digital marketing and serve as a launching point for more specific, in-depth content. It will cover basic concepts and link to more detailed cluster pages that talk about specific marketing channels and strate­gies.

Content on the pillar page:

1. In­tro­duc­tion to digital marketing: What is digital marketing?
2. Overview of digital marketing channels: SEO, social media, email marketing, content marketing, PPC (pay-per-click)
3. De­vel­op­ing strate­gies in digital marketing: How to develop digital marketing strate­gies
4. Metrics and analytics: Overview of tools and methods for measuring and analyzing per­for­mance
5. Future trends in digital marketing: Insight into emerging tech­nolo­gies and trends

The following cluster pages will then delve deeper into the aspects of digital marketing that were mentioned under the heading “Overview of digital marketing channels.” Each page will offer specific, detailed in­for­ma­tion and link back to the pillar page.

• Cluster page “SEO basics and best practices”: This page will provide a thorough in­tro­duc­tion to SEO and an SEO guide for small companies. It covers important strate­gies and methods for good search engine rankings and discusses key concepts such as keywords, op­ti­miza­tion of on-page elements and backlinks.
• Cluster page “Suc­cess­ful social media campaigns”: This page will talk about how to strate­gi­cal­ly use social media channels and show how they can be used for different target groups and marketing goals.
• Cluster page “Email marketing strate­gies”: This page will focus on creating email marketing campaigns. The reader will be taken through the process step by step, from creating email content to building effective email sequences that move the recipient to action.
• Cluster page “Content marketing for brands”: This page will provide an extensive guide to de­vel­op­ing and im­ple­ment­ing content marketing strate­gies. Readers receive a detailed overview of the various kinds of content, from blog posts and articles to videos and in­fo­graph­ics.
• Cluster page “Un­der­stand­ing and im­ple­ment­ing PPC ad­ver­tis­ing”: This page will cover all the most important aspects of PPC ad­ver­tis­ing, from the basics to advanced tech­niques. First it will discuss the basics of how pay-per-click ad­ver­tis­ing works. Then it will explain how it can be used to steer users to a website or landing page.

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