Do you want your organization to be known as THE expert in your field? Do you want to be the stand-alone resource for your audience?
A transformative way to set your organization apart and drive engagement is to develop a pillar page on your website.
Captivating your audience and drawing them to you instead of your competitors is an ongoing process. Searching for the right expertise can be a daunting task — there are so many resources to choose from. Set your organization apart with a top-notch pillar page.
What is a pillar page?
A pillar page is a centralized spot on your website dedicated to a main resource that aligns with your organization’s expertise. It covers a broad area of knowledge, offering valuable insights to your audience.
Within the pillar page, more specific and tailored subpages are embedded, creating a holistic hub of information. Think of a pillar page as a one-stop shop for people seeking comprehensive information on a subject.
Why does it matter?
Pillar pages work wonders for your website’s search engine optimization (SEO).
Over 70% of Google searches result in a click on the first page, and only 6% of people are willing to continue searching on the second page, according to Linkedin. Being on the first page of Google is crucial to your organization’s visibility. A pillar page is one of the best ways to put you on top.
The strategic linking between the pillar page and its corresponding subtopic pages sends a strong signal to search engines that your website provides a wealth of information on a given topic. This improves credibility and puts you closer to the top of search results, driving more visitors to your site.
Your audience will also thank you for your tailored, organized, and detailed web of expertise available all in one centralized location. Rather than searching through pages and pages of scattered information, your audience can rely on the pillar page to provide a comprehensive overview and an organized array of in-depth subpages. This accessibility and convenience foster engagement, as users spend less time searching, and more time exploring all the resources you have to offer.
How does Noel & Co. help clients develop a pillar page strategy?
A successful pillar page strategy requires market research, testing, and iterating.
Here are some key steps that Noel & Co. recommends:
- Identify the specific topic
- Determine the most significant value propositions that align with your organization’s expertise. Hone in on the topic or topics that you love to talk about, and topics that your audience is actively seeking information about. Start by choosing the most relevant one. And, in the future, it’s okay to eventually develop more than one pillar page.
- One thing to be realistic about is whether people will truly use search for specific services. If you’re in a service-based industry without much differentiation from your competition, it may not be worth investing time into this strategy.
- Conduct market research to determine your angle and the most relevant title for the pillar page you want to create
- Figure out who else is talking about the topics you’re interested in. What are they doing well? What can you do better? Determine whether your topics are searchable and in demand. Then, understand how you plan to differentiate and/or gain relevancy in the marketplace.
- Typically to narrow down a title, we’ll use a search engine research tool (like Semrush, Ahrefs, or even Google Search Console, which is a free option) to figure out what term is most relevant to include in the title. For example, for a financial institution we worked with, we did research to figure out if was it more relevant to title their pillar page “Small business loans in NC” or “Capital in NC.”
- Create a framework
- Develop the structure and layout of your pillar page, ensuring it provides a comprehensive overview of the topic. Make it as accessible as possible with intuitive navigation between subpages and a natural progression of information. Clear categorization is key.
- A great tool to help with this is “Answer the Public.” It can help you determine how many searches are happening around a topic, what people are specifically asking about, and whether this search could actually drive potential qualified leads to your organization.
- Pro-tip: AI could be a fantastic tool to help you craft a comprehensive outline when trying to map out “all things related to ____ (your topic).”
- Curate the subtopic pages
- Stemming from the comprehensive overview, craft the tailored and specific content for each of the subtopic pages. Each subtopic page should be a deep dive into a specific area, detailing all the best insights and resources valuable to your audience.
- Also, take the time to gather other relevant resources around this topic that AREN’T written by you. Search engines are looking for the true “ultimate guide.” Given that, the content you feature on your pillar page should be a mix of your own generated content as well as a curation of the other best resources available on the topic you’re writing about.
- SEO!
- Incorporate relevant keywords, tags, and optimized headings in your pillar page and subtopic pages to enhance their visibility in search engine rankings. The internal linking between subpages establishes a strong connection between all areas of your expertise on this topic. All of this tells search engines to put you on top.
- Iterate and update
- Keep your pillar page up to date with the latest information, industry trends, and emerging insights. Continuously expand your resources to stay the most relevant and provide fresh value to your audience. As a bonus, search engines recognize when pages are being updated.
What does the final product of a pillar page look like?
We worked with Unity Web Agency while they developed The Content Creator’s Ultimate Guide to Web Accessibility.
Their Ultimate Guide to Web Accessibility is a carefully crafted hub containing all of their expertise. As an organization dedicated to creating accessible websites, a guide to web accessibility is the perfect choice for its pillar page. Importantly, the guide itself is designed to be accessible!
Within their main pillar page, their users can easily navigate to subtopic pages on the importance of alt text, accessible design principles, assistive technologies, and more. That way, if a user is looking for a specific piece of information, the subtopic page is clearly categorized and easy to find.
Plus, their pillar page has driven real, tangible results. Within the first 90 days of their pillar page going live, Unity Web Agency landed its largest client EVER from a “cold lead” that was using a search engine to identify web agencies with expertise in web accessibility!
Are you ready to get on the first page of Google & drive customers directly to your organization?
Schedule a call today to get started on your pillar page strategy!