Why Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages Drive Content Success

A business website can have hundreds of pages.  But in the end, only a few matter — the pages that convert leads into sales.

Every other page on your website must encourage your readers towards those calls to action. Simultaneously, they must provide high quality content that’s structured to delight Google and other search engines.

One digital content structure achieves all of this: topic clusters and pillar pages.

This structure is the backbone of the CopyDash content strategy. We construct a series of rich SEO content clusters and connect them to one “tent pole” pillar page — it’s a format readers and search engines easily follow, interpret, and value.

Here’s a complete guide to structure your website’s SEO content around topic clusters and pillar pages:

• Identify pillar page content. A pillar page focuses on one core topic that’s essential to your brand. For example, CopyDash has 3 individual pillar pages for startup content strategy, scalable brand strategy and enterprise content management. 
• Develop topic clusters within each pillar content subject. Identify subtopic categories that fall under each pillar. Each specific topic should make sense within a linear journey towards your pillar page.
• Use your sales funnel to drive keyword research. Go beyond the topic — where are your readers on their buying journey? Separate each content piece into 4 categories: informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational.
• Create blog post and webpage copy for each topic cluster. Use your keyword research to create high quality content that directly addresses the search query that led your readers to you.
• Create an internal link strategy. Bind your clustered content strategy together with an internal linking structure that ties each blog post and webpage in each topic cluster together — and back to your pillar page for conversions.

Benefit from our expertise! Schedule a chat with our CEO & founder about topic clusters and pillar pages for your brand.

What Are Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages?

Cluster content creates groups of narrow topics that draw readers in at the beginning and middle of their sales journey. Nurture those readers with valuable information, then nudge them to other related content that drives them down the funnel.

Then, drive them from these cluster posts to the pillar post that unites them all — and give them that call to action.

Pillar pages are the backbone of your digital content. They focus on a broad topic which unites the topic cluster content surrounding it.

If your topic clusters are spokes on a wheel, pillar pages are the hubs which connect them all together. This allows your branded content strategy to scale with your business.

Let’s use “Content Strategy” as an example of pillar content. Here’s how topic clusters might look around that pillar piece:

Why Cluster Content and Pillar Pages Win on SERPs

The “pillar and content cluster” strategy, when done effectively, wins in organic search results. This is due to 4 key factors:

1. Excellent Structure: Search engines covet excellent structure and format. Pillars and clusters give Google a group of interconnected pages with coherent internal linking, valuable information and one unifying core topic.
2. Improved SEO: This excellent structure leads to improved SEO value. It also provides opportunities for your website to rank for both broad head keywords and specific long-tail keywords within the same cluster. The more relevant content you provide within a keyword category, the better you’ll rank on SERPs.
3. Better User Experience: Recent notes regarding Google Core Search Values indicate a strong preference for excellent user experience (UX). Sites that understand user intent and provide easy-to-navigate content structure are rewarded.
4. Stronger Distribution: The easier it is to read, follow and digest your content, the more inherently sharable it becomes. Clearly defined clusters also enable you to find and strategize ways to repurpose successful content.

How to Write Strong Pillar Page Content

What makes a core topic a strong candidate to become pillar content?

Every pillar page must check 5 boxes in order to be worth targeting:

1. Comprehensive: Every main aspect of your topic must be covered within the pillar page.
2. Content-Rich: If you can’t provide extremely valuable content regarding a particular topic, it’s not an effective pillar page for you. (Then again, every page should be valuable — more on this in a bit.)
3. Detailed: Be detail-oriented in your approach to pillar topic selection. Find a healthy balance between “too broad” and “too specific”, and walk that line.
4. Interconnected: Every cluster page associated with the pillar page must have an internal link directed towards it — and the pillar page should link out to related content on your site where appropriate.
5. Keyword Optimized: The broad keyword selected for your pillar page must follow the CopyDash system for vetting keywords: relevance, popularity, competition, and interest.

Broad keywords are great for pillar pages, but long-tail keywords are pure SEO gold for content clusters. Learn more about long-tail keywords!

3 Questions That Define Your Pillar Content

Use these 3 questions to guide, define and construct your pillar content.

1. What are people who type your primary keyword really searching for?

Understand user intent. Approach your website from their perspective, not yours. When someone types in the keyword that drives them to your pillar page, what do they want to see? What do they want to learn, and what do they expect to obtain?

2. Do I know enough to write about this subject with authority?

Google values authoritative content. So do humans. If you can’t give it to them, find another topic. 

There’s simply no way to fake expertise — not with AI, not with guest writers. Eventually, gaps in your knowledge show though. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is fine for junior high term papers. It doesn’t work on pillar pages.

3. Can I build out enough related pages?

If there isn’t enough relevant content to surround your pillar page, you might have the wrong primary topic.

A great topic or popular keyword can be an important piece of your content strategy. It can be a powerful centerpiece of an individual content cluster. 

But if it doesn’t spawn multiple related clusters and provide conversion opportunities, it isn’t pillar content.

Pillar Pages and the “10x Content” Myth

I’ve seen many articles discussing the “10x content rule” of pillar pages. Specifically, they suggest that the copywriting and overall content quality on your pillar pages must be 10x better than all other copy on your website.

I find this concept pretty dumb.

Yes, it’s vital your pillar page copy is optimized to compel readers to convert. But what about the 50%+ of organic search users who find your website through blog posts and other subtopic pages? 

If the copy on each cluster page isn’t great, no one’s sticking around to read your pillar content. 

There’s no reason a quality content development agency or content marketer can’t deliver “10x content” on all your pages. 

3 Hallmarks of a Great Content Cluster

Whether you sell landscaping equipment, bake bread or provide B2B consulting, the connective tissue that creates a great content cluster remains the same.

Here are 3 attributes of a smart topic cluster strategy:

1. Meticulous keyword selection. It’s one thing to notice a popular keyword and write relevant content about it. It’s quite another to find an underserved keyword cluster and enrich it with valuable content for its searchers. Spend the extra time and find these diamonds in the rough.
2. Progressive content pieces. Think of each subtopic as a series of articles that tell a linear story. Introduce your reader to the topic with one article, build with articles that address relevant questions, and conclude with actionable steps.
3. Natural opportunities for internal linking. Organic search results get eyes on your website. Internal links keep those eyes locked on your content, passing readers from one page to the next. 

Internal (passing) links are vital to the CopyDash content process. They’re a big reason why our average time on page is nearly 4x longer than industry standard.

Let’s look at each of these 4 hallmarks of great cluster content in more detail.

Build Keyword Clusters Around Your Sales Funnel

Think about keywords through the lens of your sales funnel.

How do these search queries speak to the intent of your readers? What stage of the buying journey are they on when they make the search?

Let’s say you run a landscaping company, and decide on a content cluster about the benefits of native plants. You identify three strong keywords that offer opportunities for SERP success:

• what are native plants
• native pollinator plants
• native plant nurseries near me

Each keyword signifies a different phase of the buying journey. “What are native plants” indicates your reader is just browsing for top-level information. This makes a great gateway topic for the top of your sales funnel.

“Native pollinator plants” is more specific, and indicates your reader wants to take a deeper dive on specific local plants that benefit wild pollinators. This article should target the middle of your sales funnel — for readers who already have an interest in the topic, but require more research.

“Native plant nurseries near me” names a specific type of business and local search intent. These local SEO keywords indicate a readiness to make a purchasing decision. Frame content for this article at the bottom of your sales funnel, and offer opportunities to convert or buy.

Create Progressive Subtopic Article Content

Now that your keywords (and their position in your sales funnel) are selected and defined, it’s time to tell a linear story with your subtopic articles.

Your article flowchart should look like this:

Informational articles lead to research articles. Research articles lead to commercial articles. Commercial articles lead to transactional pillar pages.

Ultimately, all roads leads to your pillar page. Make sure every article or webpage within a cluster offers direct access to its relevant pillar — do this with internal links.

Define An Effective Internal Link Building Strategy

A quality internal linking structure is essential for both readers and search engine visibility.

Users experience enhanced navigation through a logical content journey. They’re also far more likely to spend more time on your website if they’re guided from page to page.

Search engines discover and index your pages more efficiently by following your trail of internal links. These links help a search engine crawl to define relevant keywords, distribute link authority across your site, and understand your website’s structure.

Every content piece within your cluster should include at least 3 links:

1. A link to the piece “before it” in your linear story;
2. A link to the piece “after it”; and
3. A link to the appropriate pillar page.

Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages Equal Visible Content

Topic clustering ensures that readers and search engines can browse batches of related content easily. Add internal links to guide from one page to the next in a logical way. 

Add pillar pages as “tent poles” to prop up your clusters around one main topic. Then, use call to action (CTA) text on each cluster page to drive traffic to the endgame — the value proposition on your pillar page.

Bind these clusters together — and to the appropriate pillar page — with a series of logical internal lilnks. Search engines will understand your keyword intent and site hierarchy, and readers will take an enjoyable, logical journey through your content.

CopyDash creates compelling website content based around pillar pages that drive conversions for your brand. Start your content journey now — it takes less than 90 seconds!