The world of digital marketing and content strategies have taken a significant turn in recent years. With more demonstrations and convenience, websites and blogs are trying to incorporate definite ways to maximize inbounds and outbounds.
For instance, a pillar page acts as a primary hub of content formations that gives fruitful insights on content assets and topic links. Topic clusters are a system of a single pillar page. Here, you have the liberty to develop a primary page revolving around a specific topic.
Under the introductory content and serviceable information section, you can link other sub-topics to allow a reader to travel across the website from one single website page. While other related topics link back to one particular pillar page, the pillar tends to reach each asset.
For a visitor, reader, or any potential customer, an organized way of putting up content is not just a pleasant sight but also provides a glee to some of the most marketers under Type A, which, in turn, keeps search engines like Google happy.
That is why a subtle and clean content strategy is the need of the hour.
Since Google, being the search engine giants, has altered the algorithms to support niche and topic-based content, developing pillar pages has become an essential requirement. This not only makes the work of content marketers easy but also allows them to maintain a higher SERP ranking.
What Is A Pillar Page?
One of the first questions that strikes you is ‘what is a Pillar Page.’ A website’s pillar page is a long-form and authoritative section of content on the website that addresses a particular topic. Such a division of content is organized comprehensively and logically.
The pillar pages’ objective is to address subtopics on the same page more granularly than usual. Furthermore, it becomes a strategic cornerstone, providing secondary navigation, which, in turn, allows website visitors to jump to subsections.
Through such a page, you can link to blog posts related to the primary subject and create topic clusters that can help visitors and readers to explore an in-depth knowledge of subtopics.
This not just makes your work a bit convenient but also makes Google understand the semantic relationship between the pillar page and subpages. Such a process results in higher positioning or rankings in search results.
Conceptually, the page makes complete sense. Develop an extended piece of content that becomes an authoritative section on the topic of your choice. However, building a pillar page from scratch is relatively more accessible and conveniently said than done.
Through the website’s pillar page, you can build a topic cluster. In short, the pillar page tends to cover everything about the topic on one single page. And, it provides a space for more in-depth and detailed blog posts.
These posts then hyperlink and further navigate you back to the pillar page. While a pillar page covers a specific topic, cluster content, on the other hand, addresses a keyword to the specified topic in-depth.
The idea behind creating a pillar page is to make it highly linkable concerning the broad section of content available on the page. The basic notion of a pillar page is to cover all the content to get highly linkable.
Such a method would allow the pillar page to link to external sites as a canonical resource to a specified topic. As a result, the website will have a pillar page, which would further categorize the content into an architectural firm like marketing, agency, and sales.
What Is A Topic Cluster?
The topic cluster is a collection of several interlinked web pages. These web pages are developed around the pillar content that targets a specific and broad topic. Furthermore, a topic cluster gets linked to many relatable but narrowly-focused pages.
Since it can be a bit technical, targeting all the subjects has a particular reason.
- Keyword rankings tend to become more fluid when you personalize the search. The positions of keyword rankings are difficult to calculate since the search engine giant tailors the search result to individual users.
- It is essential to know that the search engines understand the concepts that are semantically related. However, advanced algorithms surrounding search options are now better than before at understanding the result where several search terms revolve around the same thing. This implies that a piece of content that targets one keyword might rank for other related terms.
- Google, along with other search engines, happens to provide users with reliable and authoritative results. One such way to project your page’s authority to visitors, people, and bots is to develop accurate and useful content consistently revolving around a topic, instead of one-off pieces that target specific keywords
That is where the model of cluster topic comes into play. By utilizing topics, you would want to rank for, organize the scattering content in proper shape, and optimize it against particular keywords related to its parent topic. Post that, hyperlink these topics to your pillar page.
Through such a detailed model, site architecture becomes more deliberate and organized. After you have completed such steps, your content assets will be fine-tuned, help searchers understand your domain and link them back to the parent.
In simple terms, there are three essential components.
- Pillar content (pillar page)
- Hyperlinks
- Cluster content
Since we have understood the background on how pillar pages and cluster topics integrate through hyperlinks, let’s take a look at some of the top-ranking pillar page examples that do justice to the Ecommerce content strategies.
1. Colgate: Bad Breath
Colgate’s Bad Breath webpage exhibits one of the best examples of a pillar page. The webpage not only lays down a descriptive pattern on what is Bad Breath but also encapsulates several pointers like signs & symptoms, cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
Here, if the reader wants to understand the in-depth knowledge of how bad breath effects and work, along with preventive measures, they do not have to travel back and forth to various pages.
Furthermore, at the end of the page, Colgate has linked the pillar page with sub-topics that might interest readers in the same process.
Why is it a great pillar?
Colgate created one page to aggregate most of the topics that cover bad breath. The content characterization on the page is displayed in a logical order and will end up addressing most of the doubts.
It’s fun to read, effectively designed, and contributes to the content asset on the web. This pillar page is more likely to get several other links.
It does not end here. The ‘other info’ section under related conditions provides more sub-topics that the reader can go through. Such attributes also show the search engine that there are visible connections between the pillars.
2. AutoGuide: Top 10 Best Car Bike Racks
For any traveler who loves biking often faces issues of carrying a bike. But, when it is about essential roof gears and several other types, a pillar page like this can solve many problems and questions.
Even though you are looking for various types of racks to hold the bike in your car, getting the right one is always essential. The top ten best car bike racks by AutoGuide begins with different types of roof racks, followed by a table of content.
This table has a detailed list of content that, through a click, takes you to the selected section of the page.
Why is it a great pillar?
The internal linking done through the page is simple and does not involve any hassle for readers and visitors.
All the ten roof racks mentioned on the pillar page have a para of content with pros and cons at the bottom, followed by a shop now button, which allows visitors to read and purchase directly. Moreover, all the images redirect you to backlinks from where you can make a successful purchase.
3. Typeform: Customer Success
Typeform is responsible for creating some of the most attractive pillar pages in recent times. Not only do they have a profound set of colors to differentiate chapters and various units, but they have made the most of it by adding pretty UI elements.
The page has a meager section bar on the left bottom corner that allows you to keep track of content subjects while scrolling up and down. This progress bar is one of the best features of the page, making you see how far you are from the top and bottom.
At times, while reading extended content with a reading time of around sixty minutes, you might lose track of time or even miss out on where you left. Typeform makes sure that you do not drift away.
Why is it a great pillar?
Not only does this page have sticky chapters on tracking progress, but it also has colors to differentiate them. The designers working behind the website did a worthwhile job of utilizing colors to showcase quotes, chapters, and sometimes vital information that you might require.
It might be hard to read with too much text on the pillar page and look slightly cluttered. However, Typeform has worked hard to eliminate such a problem.
4. InStyle: The 50 Best Fashion Tips Of All Time
When it comes to fashion, people look for everything under one link. On the other hand, InStyle lays down a robust foundation for readers and visitors looking to buy and get educated with different styles and quotients.
The pillar page begins with a box of content, talking about tips and tricks of wearing a pair of jeans. After you have read through the opening para, InStyle shoots a link on how to cuff your jeans where readers or potential customers can educate themselves and check the backlink at the same time.
Why is it a great pillar?
The categorization of 50 best fashion tips has been stated creatively. When you hover a little through the page, you will come across the first tip title, under which there is a ‘shop it’ button, followed by a para. The internal linking strategy by InStyle is easy and convenient.
A reader can read through the content, follow the image that supports the content, and if required, they can shop the collection too. They display images of celebrities that exhibit trendy tips for you to acknowledge better.
However, after you have gone through all the fashion tips, the ‘popular in clothing’ section awaits your sight at the bottom, coupled with tabbed buttons under ‘all clothing’ topics.’
5. Grow Weed Easy: Tutorial - How to Grow Cannabis Indoors
Since alternative/natural substances like weed/cannabis and several other compounds raise a question of awareness and insight, it is essential to deliver education and basics.
However, Grow Weed Easy encapsulates the basics of weed and divides it into subsections and table of contents.
Right at the beginning of the pillar page, you will see a lengthy table of content to make it convenient and more accessible for visitors and readers to maneuver and select a piece of their interest. The page not only covers the initials on how to grow weed indoors but also explains the steps of growing in detail.
Why is it a great pillar?
While you read the text and hover a little into the page, there are several instances where you will come across backlinks that link you to frequently asked questions and blogs that make sense.
The ‘How Long Until You’re Smoking Your Buds?’ section has a link that redirects you to how long does it take to grow weed. This makes the reader understand the topic extremely well.
Furthermore, growing cannabis basics have specific points linking to further inbound links, which, in turn, can help readers understand the factors in detail.
6. HubSpot: The Ultimate Guide to The Best Productivity Apps
At times, a pillar page can often belong to or look like a similar blog property for developing and building SEO authority. The pillar page by HubSpot is for productivity apps. This is a topic that can enable readers and visitors to place specific questions.
It has a featured image, blog-like title, and a byline like a particular blog article, which primarily belongs to a topic cluster. Such an internal linking exhibits the link between the pillar page and sub links present on the page.
Moreover, such a pillar page shows search engine giants about the authenticity of internal links.
Why is it a great pillar?
The CTA in a blue anchor text and downloadable content available on the pillar page tend to link to each page in the topic cluster. That occurs by utilizing the RSS feed right at the end of HubSpot’s pillar page.
The screenshot shown above shows you three sub-blogs directly linked with the primary topic - Best Productivity Apps. The related articles carousel allows a reader to reach out to every article in the cluster.
Not only does it enable a robust strategy in front of Google to acknowledge but also further strengthens the complete cluster in the same process.
7. Matthew Barby: Acquisition Strategies
What makes the acquisition strategies by Matthew Barby so alluring? He is HubSpot’s Director of Acquisition and a digital marketing consultant who has given a significant ground to HubSpot’s pillar pages and topic cluster strategy.
When it comes to the customer acquisition strategies pillar of Matthew Barby’s website, it provides resourceful insights, tactics, strategies, and tips for you to improve your customer acquisition tactics.
The easy maneuvering of the pillar makes it a useful yet dynamic page to check. Not only does the page have 21 strategies, but it also represents them in individual boxes filled with stats, sub-topic links, and screenshots/graphics.
Such a process makes accountability, hovering, and readability fun to go about.
Why is it a great pillar?
The strategies, tips, and tactics mentioned on the page are some of the best. Out of 20-odd ideas available on the page, a business can run any of them and observe beneficial results.
Even though the page claims a read of 85-minutes, you are bound to enjoy the insight you are going to absorb after reading. It would be time well invested. Moreover, when it comes to the resource ranks, their targeted term ranks no. 1.
The tag which says ‘last updated’ is not only smart but also signifies that these strategies are being regularly updated and well-maintained. Such a method allows you to build trust over a set of strategies.
So you know that these strategies do work today and are not an old blog with old tips and tactics.
8. 3PL Central: Third-Party Logistics Report
3PL Central is a platform that accommodates warehouse management. The platform utilizes a particular cloud to make jobs such as billing, inventory, and shipping convenient to track for specific businesses.
This firm consistently generates new pillar pages and topic clusters, which, in turn, have increased its website traffic around a staggering figure of 900% and the website’s conversions around 200%.
The pillar page by 3PL Central also consists of a set of cases for the products by 3PL to solve several logistical challenges that companies face in today’s date.
Following such a module, this pillar functions in two exciting ways. Initially, it tends to position the pillar as data resources that several other publishers get more interested in linking. That is, building backlinks critical to organic search ranking for 3PL Central.
Second, it happens to keep potential clientele alongside the latest challenges in warehouse and logistics management. Such a process helps in driving a significant value towards the product from several angles.
Why is it a great pillar?
Go through the entire pillar page by 3PL Central. You will come across many links that go out to several different pages where visitors and readers can get a reasonable amount of insight to a specified subject that a pillar touches through.
A handful of such links redirect readers and visitors to some of the contact forms and landing pages where readers can indulge in subjects.
Vibhav is the Co-founder of Outreach Crayon and CBO at Ebizon. He plays a key role in empowering retail clients to catalyze Digital Marketing, Mobile Commerce & other Futuristic technologies as their #1 competitive advantage.