What Are Content Pillars and How to Build Them in Your Company

Creating content can be draining at times. You might have a lot of ideas in your mind but still, struggle to put them to work. Don’t worry; you can overcome this scenario by sorting out your thoughts and making a proper pattern to follow when it comes to content creation. This is where the content pillars come into play.

Content strategy is nothing without a content pillar. Hence, in order to execute your content creation plans, you need to build a content pillar first. Wondering what it is? Please continue reading to learn about content pillars and how to build them. Let’s dig in without wasting a second.

What is a Content Pillar?

A content pillar is a thorough study of a particular subject, also known as the center of a content hub. Content pillars serve as a platform where a reader can find all the information they require, all in one place. It may be divided up into numerous cluster pages and may be repurposed as more compact material to cover the core topic in depth.

Why Are Content Pillars Important?

Content pillars improve SEO ranking and drive traffic growth. They demonstrate your subject matter expertise, and the interlinking imposed in the content aids in providing context for search engines. These are the significant factors that make the pillar-cluster model a successful SEO tactic.

Besides, with their extensive topic coverage makes the content pillars and clusters more valuable in terms of elevating the ranking and establishing your authority. From one concept or theme, content pillars can produce a large number of subtopics. Additionally, clusters are excellent for focusing on long-tail keywords and sub-topics that your visitors are interested in, such as frequently asked questions, offering you a good amount of fresh concepts for content creation and ranking prospects.

Types of Content Pillars:

There are three major kinds of content pillars which are stated below. However, to decide the appropriate one, you must consider what your audience is searching for to get fruitful results.

The “What Is” content pillar:

A “What Is” pillar page aims to describe thoroughly, outline, and explain a topic, as the name suggests. This approach can indeed be useful if you’re aiming to rank for a targeted keyword at a beginning audience. You can divide the themes or the subtopics into sections and chapters if the subject matter is extensive enough.

The “Guide” content pillar:

A “guide” content pillar page generally aims to provide the reader with complete knowledge of a subject and all the information they require on it. Topics such as “the ultimate guide to building content pillars” are among the often-used themes for guide pillar sites. In addition, the guide’s cluster pages will delve deeper into various aspects of the primary topic and offer authoritative treatment of any queries or particular subjects that readers may be curious to learn more about.

The “How-To” content pillar:

The “How-To” pillar page aims to educate and empower readers by showing them how to complete a task or find a solution. Consider writing a guide or instructional that explains all your audience needs to know about how to do a task. The “How-To” offers more specific information than the guide pillar page, which only covers a general subject.

This is important since online information searches have changed, resulting in search algorithms changing as well. Keywords and general phrases are no longer the only search terms used. Either use voice search since they are short on time or long terms such as: “What is the ideal strategy for content pillars?” So think smart and brainstorm everything before putting your words on the page.

How to create Pillar Content?

Now that you know everything about content pillars let’s learn how they can be created. Consider the following steps:

Step 1: Choose one topic to start on

As discussed above, to create a pillar page, you first need to have one topic in mind. At the initial stage, you need to think about the big picture rather than considering the keywords only but obviously within what you can handle. For instance, if you take “Sales” in particular, then it would be a wrong choice as even if we take sales in general, then we have so much information to cover, which won’t be possible for your page to handle. Also, it would be great if you opt for a topic that already has a good ranking on Google. Doing so will boost your SEO rank as well.

Step 2: Conduct a Keyword Research

Keywords are still in the game when it comes to successful pillar content strategy. However, you need to consider your theme and subtopics before getting your hands on keyword research. There is a possibility that you may build out your website and later determine high search volume keywords that could be used under each subtopic. Therefore, please ensure using both related phrases and long-tail keywords to boost your organic traffic.

Step 3: Choose your Subtopics

Now you will need elements to support your pillar content strategy to make it a success. Subtopics will ensure that your audience gets to know about whatever they’re looking for. Moreover, consider having blogs on these topics. Linking the blogs on your pillar page will help your visitors engage well.

Step 4: Begin Drafting

Start gathering your data and creating your content now. You may also dissect, reuse, and update material from an older eBook and match it with your most recent keyword research and subject areas. Ensure you have inbound links to a webpage or blog post beneath each sub-topic as you write so the reader may get more information when they need it. Additionally, integrating your material together improves your search engine ranking.

Now you may know the importance of content pillars in the creation process. Consider the suggestions stated above while you attempt to make your upcoming content. We assure you’ll witness how it streamlines the process of content creation.