How do you choose effective topics for content pillars?
The most effective approach for selecting content pillar topics is identifying what your audience needs and merging that with your business objective. This aims to align efforts with desired audiences and objectives:
- Focus on your audience: You can find the most relevant search terms using Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Semrush that are related to your audience’s interests, needs, and pain points.
- Achieve business goals: Use the topics that relate to your area of expertise, products, or services.
- Look into competitors: Study what works for their audience to leverage potential content gaps.
- Consider SEO potential: Focus on topics that have the potential for organic search traffic to prove that they are of interest to the users.
What are the different types of content that can be created from a content pillar?
Content can be categorized into the following types:
- Social media posts
- Guides
- Tutorials
A core content pillar may facilitate the development of content adaptable to different platforms or preferences. This practice can contribute to reaching a larger audience and may affect how they understand your message.
How do you plan and create content clusters around a content pillar?
Here are the steps to follow as you create content clusters around a content pillar:
- Select a broad topic: Ensure it is relevant to your business and audience.
- Outline your cluster: Choose associated specific subtopics and relevant keywords.
- Create a hub page: This is the pillar page with comprehensive information about the main topic.
- Develop cluster content: Create supporting content such as blog posts or articles that dive deeper into the subtopics.
- Link internally: Make sure all cluster content is linked back to the hub and compare it to other content within the cluster.
Arranging and developing content clusters entails connecting related pieces of content to a primary pillar page. This arrangement could relate to search engine page understanding and user experience.
How often should you create new content pillars?
A comprehensive and valuable pillar comes from significant time and resource investments. If you want to establish authority in a new important area, if there’s a notable change in your business or audience requirements, or when your existing pillars are performing well, then additional pillars can be introduced strategically.
How do you measure the success of a content pillar strategy?
You can assess and understand its impact by tracking the following metrics:
- Analyze traffic from searches: Analyze the number of visits your pillar content receives through search engines.
- Assess SEO performance: Check the rank of your pillar page and related content’s positions in search engines for relevant keywords.
- Examine interaction metrics: Evaluate user engagement metrics like average time spent on page and the bounce rate.
- Evaluate the rate of goals achieved: Determine whether the content resulted in the intended outcomes, such as registration/email subscriptions or sales.
- Surveys: Use a survey or ask for feedback to evaluate your audience’s perceptions of your content.
How does a content pillar strategy differ from a regular content calendar?
The features that set them apart are highlighted below:
| Feature | Content pillar strategy | Regular content calendar |
| Focus | Core themes and topics | Individual pieces of content |
| Structure | Structurally branched off from a central pillar with supporting content | It can be more miscellaneous or diverse |
| Goal | Create credibility, enhance SEO, and offer value depth. | Maintain a consistent publishing schedule, often for social media or short-term goals |
| Timeframe | Long-term strategy | Short-term planning, often weekly or monthly |
| Brand Identity | Helps define and reinforce key areas of brand expertise | May not strongly influence the creation of fundamental brand concepts |
What are some common mistakes to avoid when implementing a content pillar strategy?
Consider these particular details when applying a content pillar strategy:
- Neglecting keyword research: Benefit from determining what keywords your potential customers search for.
- Forgetting to refresh evergreen content: Regularly review pillar content to ensure changing information does not compromise its relevance.
- Skipping research of the target audience: Focus on the people whose interests and needs your topics intend to cover.
- Over-structuring the content: Maintain a broad focus within pillar pages and use sub-pillar pages to analyze particular details of interest.
Conclusion
By organizing content into content pillars, their usefulness in increasing user engagement or improving SEO can be maximized. Conducting keyword research, tailoring content to the particular audience, and developing content around core ideas are some methods for creating assets that can improve user experience and search engine rankings. The content pillar approach can be used to build subject matter authority, increase content impact, and lengthen its lifespan.
