Creating a pillar pages can be challenging but is a great way to boost your SEO. In this article we will look at some of the challenges and some tips on how to better create these topic pillar pages. Often times when it becomes too much work, organizations could end up with pillar pages that don’t create more traffic, or improve SEO because the core topic keywords aren’t compelling to their target audience.
1. Finding the right topic
This is a problem a lot of organizations have and that may be because they don’t have a content marketing plan that helps to target a specific audience.
Tips
Keep the topic narrow. Try something like, discussing an industry problem in length or answering a single question in a professional manner.
Listen to your customers. Review your online channels and so on and see what it is that your customers want to see more of and create a pillar page that provide that information.
Look at other content and channels for inspiration. If you have more than one channel and one is doing better than the other, be creative and maybe create a pillar page in the one that is not doing so well with links to the videos or content of the one that is.
2. The right topic key words and related keywords
This is a tough one, because you need to know your audience, what they like, don’t like, what key words they are likely to use and what not. There are lots of tools to help you see what key words your target audiences are using such as Moz Pro, SEMRush etc.
Tips
Use keywords your competitors aren’t using, as this will not build your ranking.
Try keywords that have a high monthly search volume, but do your research or you might end up with a
pillar page so unique no one will find it.
Ask you customers how they describe the topic you are going to turn into a pillar page and
you might find great keywords.
Use your keyword as much as you can on your website, social media platforms even brochures to create
recognition and make others familiar with it.
3. Choosing which existing content to leverage.
Now that you have your keywords and topic, it’s time to create content for the pillar page. It can look like a lot of work at first, with all the subtopics in a pillar page but when leveraged with the content you already have it becomes easier. Just always check to make sure the content and subtopics are in sync. Sometimes organizations who think it too much work can end up chucking random information in those pillar pages and the content may have zero to do with the topic at hand. They may just want to share a video or article they think will work with the topic but if you are not careful you might just leave the customer confused as to what the topic is and supposed to be.
Tips
Make sure to keep all content current. Update text, links etc. Keep subtopics focused on the main topic to make sure it stays uniform. If it is a great piece of content or video you can always share a link to it. Get outside your organization. Maybe ask some good customers to review the pillar page or pages and ask if they make sense and if the subtopic supports the main one.
4. Make long term content compelling.
This can be challenging when using your own content as leverage so try using graphics, bulleted list and relevant images. It is important to have these things as a pillar page that does not look inviting and is like a two-page article with no image or anything that makes it look compelling will leave your customers disappointed.
Tips
Assign someone to do a graphics refresh, this will help make the page more engaging and should be a priority.
Build a team with a graphics artist, insiders and outsiders that can review the page before it goes out.
Make sure the page is scannable and compelling.
With these helpful hints, it will be much easier to generate a great pillar page to be proud of. The key is to always remember that it comes down to what the customer wants to see, if they like it, they will share it and that in turn will generate more customers. So research your target audience/customer, that is the best tip we give.
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