How to Write a Pillar Page that Generates Organic Traffic

A pillar page makes great website content when you run a business as you want to provide detailed information about the product or service. You can attract potential buyers to check out your page because it gives any information people need when they want to know about your business and product in general.

That’s why a well-written pillar page can be a game-changer for your website’s organic traffic. It helps establish your website as an authoritative source in your niche, and it can drive a significant amount of traffic to your website through search engines. So, both Google and customers find your content helpful and your pages often end up in the top search results.

What is a pillar page?

A pillar page is a long-form piece of content that provides an in-depth overview of a broad topic. It serves as the central hub for a collection of related subtopics, which are linked to the pillar page. The subtopics are typically covered in separate blog posts or articles, and they provide a detailed examination of specific aspects of the topic.

An engaging pillar page can help drive organic traffic and generate leads to your website for a few reasons. First and foremost, when you have an in-depth pillar page, you have set yourself as an authoritative source of your topic and niche. This can help build trust with your audience and make them more likely to return to your website for future content.

Moreover, your website can be easily discovered when your pillar page is deemed useful by the search engine. That’s because a pillar page often contains high-traffic, low-competition keywords that provide a comprehensive explanation of the topic. That way, you have a higher chance to rank on the first page of search results organically. This will drive more traffic to your site. 

5 tips to write an engaging pillar page

1. Understand your target audience

The first step in writing an engaging pillar page is to understand your target audience. You need to know what they are interested in, what questions they have, and what problems they are trying to solve. This information will help you create content that resonates with your audience and provides value.

When researching for your audience, consider checking out these elements to gain insights into who you are trying to target. 

• Social media analytics

Use analytics to learn about your followers’ demographics and interests on your social media platforms to identify common themes and interests.

• Keyword research

Make sure to use keyword research tools to identify popular search terms related to your product niche.

• Surveys

You may as well conduct surveys with your audience to understand their pain points and interests.

Example: The Cold Email Masterclass by Mailshake

Source: Mailshake

2. Choose a topic for your pillar page

Next, select a topic relevant to your target audience. Always make sure to choose a topic that addresses a pain point or problem that your audience is experiencing and trying to solve. 

Once you have identified a potential topic, conduct keyword research to identify high-traffic, low-competition keywords related to your topic. This will help you optimize the pillar page for search engines and increase the likelihood of it ranking well in search engine results pages (SERPs).

It’s also important to analyze competitor content to identify gaps in the market. Look for areas where your competitors have not covered the topic thoroughly or have missed important information. You can then create a more comprehensive and valuable resource for your audience.

Example: The Ultimate Guide to Digital Meetings by Slack

Source: Slack

3. Structure your pillar page

This step is critical in your pillar page’s making as it creates a logical flow of information that makes it easy for your audience to consume.

You can start by outlining the main topic clusters that you are covering on your pillar page. Each topic cluster should address a specific subtopic related to the main topic. For example, if your main topic is “digital marketing,” your topic clusters might include “search engine optimization,” “social media marketing,” and content marketing.”

Then, you can create subtopics for each cluster. These subtopics should provide a more in-depth look at each topic cluster and help support the main topic. Make sure that each subtopic is relevant to the overall topic and provides valuable information for your audience.

Lastly, organize the subtopics in a logical order. Consider how each subtopic relates to the other and organize them in a way that makes sense. For example, if you are discussing the history of digital marketing, you should start with the earliest methods and progress to the most modern techniques.

Example: The SEO’s Guide to Content Marketing by Moz

Source: Moz

4. Write high-quality content

Writing the right content that the audience wants is never easy, to begin with. You should create engaging content that is also informative and easy to read even when you want to repurpose a blog post. This is why your headlines and subheadings should be clear. A concise title helps your audience navigate your content and quickly find the information they are looking for. 

Use active voice and strong verbs when writing any piece of content. Active voice in writing makes it easier for readers to digest the information. You may avoid using passive voice or weak verbs entirely because they make wording sound dull. 

Additionally, you can incorporate data, statistics, and other credible sources to support your claims. This will help establish your pillar page as a reliable resource for your audience. And, always make sure to cite your sources and link to them where appropriate.

Example: The Beginner’s Guide to SEO by Ahrefs

Source: Ahrefs

5. Optimize on-page SEO on your pillar page

On-page SEO refers to the various elements on a web page that search engines use to determine the relevance and quality of the content, such as heading, keyword density, meta title and description, alternative text on images, and so on. Here are some key tips on how to optimize SEO on your pillar page:

• Add internal and external links
• Add images and video
• Use description meta tags and titles
• Optimize for mobile 

Example: The Ultimate Guide to Content Creation by Hubspot

Source: Hubspot

Conclusion

A pillar page helps provide readers with a complete understanding of the topic, especially about what you serve and offer. It also acts as a reference point for readers who want to explore specific subtopics in more detail. Thus, readers can have a quick guide to what they are going to learn on your website. 
When writing a pillar page, start with identifying your audience. You can then find the right topic needed for your customers. Next, you should structure your page before writing it and make sure you have optimized the page for search engines to discover it quickly. That way, people will find your content right away on search results, eventually generating organic traffic.