Are pillar pages the secret to an on-page SEO strategy?

In our fast-paced and ever-evolving digital landscape, having a solid SEO strategy has become even more critical for businesses looking to grow their online presence. Pillar pages may be your solution to an increasingly complex problem.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising your website to rank higher in search engine results, ultimately driving more organic traffic to your site and increasing the visibility of your business. In this blog post, we explore the potential significance of seeking on-page SEO services to build your SEO strategy — for the sake of your digital marketing success.

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What are pillar pages?

One powerful SEO technique that has emerged in recent years is the use of pillar pages. Like one of ours here, pillar pages act as indexes to access multiple pieces of specific, in-depth content on one central topic. They cover all aspects of a particular subject and are based around topics which related subtopics or cluster content can link back to.

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What are the benefits of pillar pages for SEO?

Here's why pillar pages are one step to take — if not the most vital one — when looking to improve domain authority.

• They suggest thought leadership by covering broad topics thoroughly, evidencing your knowledge and expertise, and positioning you as an industry leader.

• Strong internal linking, creating a web of connections throughout your own website, will enhance your credibility with search engines. 

• The inevitable user-friendly experience will be appreciated by all visitors, benefiting from quick and easy access to content, keeping them on your site for longer.

• Content guidance can be provided to your team of writers, who can now share your clear path to success and contribute content to those specific topics.

• Assisting Google’s crawlers will mean better ranking on search results, so structuring your content in a logical and easy-to-read format isn’t only helpful for your readers.

How to create a Pillar Page

Now we know what they are and why they matter, let’s delve into the steps you’ll need to take to create your own.

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1. Research your topic.

Begin by researching a broad, top-level topic that matches your target audience's interests. For a digital agency, ‘digital marketing’ would be a suitable topic. For a palaeontologist, it might be: ‘dinosaurs’ or ‘ancient artefacts’.

2. Pick subtopics and / or clusters. 

Identify subtopics or related aspects of the main topic. For ‘digital marketing’, suitable subtopics or clusters might be: SEO, PPC, analytics, and so on. These sub-topics will be used to group content.

3. Find keywords and create content.

Use keyword research tools to identify high-volume, low-competition long-tail keywords related to each cluster — depending on the size of your business, pick ones you think you can compete in on difficulty, particularly if the number of searches for them is high and the difficulty low.

Then, create individual blog posts or content pieces for each of them. These will contribute towards a comprehensive pillar page that covers all aspects of the chosen topic. Make sure that the sub-topic content links back to the pillar page, and vice versa. This internal linking helps search engines discover the relationship between these pages and boosts your overall authority with Google.

4. Creating the pillar page.

You now have everything you need to create your pillar page! Picture it like a pyramid, with broad topics at the very top, specific content at the bottom, and sub-topics in-between. Start at the top and work your way down.

Play the pillar page game to win!

Pillar pages are a game-changer for ranking on Google. By grouping and structuring your content, adding internal links with the structure above in mind, you can establish true, strong domain authority — and ultimately build towards broader topics that would otherwise have been out of reach competitively.

Overwhelmed with SEO information? We offer a wide range of SEO services to put your mind at ease. For more SEO strategy insights, check out our five tips for successful SEO strategies.

It can be a lengthy process but, if you stick with it, you’ll be sure to see the results.