The days of keyword-stuffing are over. Quality content is now the priority.
Need more quality content? You will not be able to rank on the first page of keywords.
What is quality? Your content perfectly matches the intent of your keyword and is more informative than the pages that rank highest for the term.
It’s not the end of it.
The marketing world has been catching up to this trend, but only recently did they realize the importance of content pillars.
Content pillars allow you to create comprehensive digital resources that cover every aspect of the subject.
How does that work? What you need to understand about content pillars and your digital strategy.
What is a content pillar?
Content pillars are articles that cover a topic in its entirety. The main section provides a general overview. The piece is then broken down into content clusters for a deeper dive.
The resulting article should cover the topic better than any other source, making your site the definitive resource on the subject.
Content cannot simply be a part of the site – it must also satisfy the search intent. This will make a real difference to your ranking and readers’ lives.
Aim to tell your readers everything they need to know.
The content should also:
- It should be easy to understand and read
- You can use images, graphics, and video
- Stats from reliable sources are appropriate
- Avoid typos and other errors
- Include both internal and external links
Remember to focus your content on the keyword and its semantic counterparts. How else will your customers be able to discover and enjoy the pillar content?
Evergreen vs. The importance of timely content
As with any content, you must decide if you will go for a current approach or an evergreen one.
Evergreen content will remain relevant for the foreseeable future. Since the information surrounding that subject never changes, it is easy to create static resources for all time.
On the contrary, timely content will cover a topic that changes constantly, such as breaking news, scientific studies, and tech updates. Your content needs to evolve as the information changes rapidly.
There needs to be a rule you can follow to decide whether or not to create content pillars with evergreen content vs. timely content.
Search intent. Consider why readers may search for the main keyword of your content pillar.
Do they, for example:
- You want to know more about a historical event and the events that led to it. The only way to ensure your content remains relevant is by creating evergreen content.
- You can follow the court case and find out who wins. Please set up a content pillar and update it along the way.
- Do you need solutions for a constantly changing industry, such as cybersecurity, travel, or automotive? Create pillar pages that combine evergreen content with timely material.
The content created for pillars can be evergreen even after the event has ended. Only one question remains: Will your readers return to this content in the future to examine past events?
How to create a content pillar strategy
Are you ready to create an effective content pillar strategy to help your brand succeed? Follow these simple steps to make your content brief.
Decide Your Core Topic
Your content pillar pages should be centered around topics relevant to your brand.
You’ll need the following:
- You can audit your entire content
- Analyze your competitors
- Conduct customer research
- Consider your customer’s pain points
What are the gaps you have in your content? What could you do to improve the pages that you already have? What are you doing to help your customers in their buying journey?
After identifying a few topics, research to determine if your research can improve.
Search for the keyword in your topic. You can check the top five pages and see what they say about the issue. Then, consider if you think that you could improve.
If you answered yes, move on to see if there is enough interest in the topic to make it worthwhile.
You can do this by looking at the volume of searches and the keyword’s competitiveness. Examine the Domain Authority for the top five pages of your topic.
What is the perfect keyword? The ideal keyword is one with high search volume, low competition, and domain authority numbers that match or fall below those of yours.
Identify Compelling Cluster Content
Your page’s foundation is the main topic of your content pillar. There are subtopics within that topic to explore. This is also called your cluster content.
You might write a page about “dog obedience training” and include subtopics such as:
- Top dog obedience commands
- Positive training methods vs. balanced techniques
- Dog training rewards and tools
- When should you start training your dog?
- Training challenges: How to overcome them
- How to prepare your dog for obedience tests
- Popular dog obedience tests around the world
- The most effective rewards for dogs
You aim to put all the information your readers need on one page. You can use your research from the previous step and the competitors’ pages to help you achieve this. If you need help, Google can help.
Search for your topic using the keyword. Look at the autocomplete suggestions to get an idea of the possible directions that your content can take.
Then, look at the section “People Also Ask” in the middle of the page. After that, you can also check the Related Searches section at the bottom.
Write your creative brief and finish it.
Fill out all the other sections in your creative brief.
- Keywords that are both main and semantic
- Internal links that are relevant and of high quality
- Reputable external links
- Distribution plan with promotional text
List any collaborators you will include in your pillar content and their social profile information.
It’s now time to get started. Start at the top or jump right into a cluster of content you are familiar with. You can choose. While you are doing that, make sure to cover each topic thoroughly while still making it enjoyable to read.