I know it's so boring to learn about SEO, too many articles made me got headache. I just try make it simple.
Some visualizations maybe a good idea, this channel is not for teaching people due my capabilities, I created it for simplify road map and archive.
Don't get me wrong I'm not guru, mentor, teacher or whatever you name it. Never stop to learn is my commitment.
So... Let's start it š
Blogs š
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https://freeadvertise.co.uk
https://safeshop.freeadsgroups.com
https://shoppings.freeadsgroups.com
https://blog6.freeadsgroups.com
https://travel.freeadsgroups.com
https://scam.freeadsgroups.com
https://lol.freeadsgroups.com
Group š„
t.me/advertisehereforfree
List of Groups:
https://telegra.ph/List-of-Groups-10-19
Or here:
https://telegra.ph/List-of-our-Free-Advertising-Groups---all-social-media-04-18
Some visualizations maybe a good idea, this channel is not for teaching people due my capabilities, I created it for simplify road map and archive.
Don't get me wrong I'm not guru, mentor, teacher or whatever you name it. Never stop to learn is my commitment.
So... Let's start it š
Blogs š
https://freeadsgroups.com
https://freeadvertise.co.uk
https://safeshop.freeadsgroups.com
https://shoppings.freeadsgroups.com
https://blog6.freeadsgroups.com
https://travel.freeadsgroups.com
https://scam.freeadsgroups.com
https://lol.freeadsgroups.com
Group š„
t.me/advertisehereforfree
List of Groups:
https://telegra.ph/List-of-Groups-10-19
Or here:
https://telegra.ph/List-of-our-Free-Advertising-Groups---all-social-media-04-18
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Lesson 1 :
My neighbor said:
WHAT IS SEO ?
SEO ( Search engine optimization ) is a set of rules for optimizing your website so that it can achieve higher rankings in search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing ) and drive targeted website traffic to your website.
My neighbor said:
WHAT IS SEO ?
SEO ( Search engine optimization ) is a set of rules for optimizing your website so that it can achieve higher rankings in search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing ) and drive targeted website traffic to your website.
What links mean for search engines
There are two fundamental ways that the search engines use links:
To discover new web pages
To help determine how well a page should rank in their results
Once search engines have crawled pages on the web, they can extract the content of those pages and add it to their indexes. In this way, they can decide if they feel a page is of sufficient quality to be ranked well for relevant keywords (Google created a short video to explain that process). When they are deciding this, the search engines do not just look at the content of the page; they also look at the number of links pointing to that page from external websites and the quality of those external websites. Generally speaking, the more high-quality websites that link to you, the more likely you are to rank well in search results.
Links as a ranking factor are what allowed Google to start to dominate the search engine market back in the late 1990s. One of Google's founders, Larry Page, invented PageRank, which Google used to measure the quality of a page based in part on the number of links pointing to it. This metric was then used as part of the overall ranking algorithm and became a strong signal because it was a very good way of determining the quality of a page.
It was so effective because it was based upon the idea that a link could be seen as a vote of confidence about a page, i.e., it wouldn't get links if it didn't deserve to. The theory is that when someone links to another website, they are effectively saying it is a good resource. Otherwise, they wouldn't link to it, much in the same way that you wouldn't send a friend to a bad restaurant.
However, SEOs soon discovered how to manipulate PageRank and search results for chosen keywords. Google started actively trying to find ways to discover websites which were manipulating search results, and began rolling out regular updates which were specifically aimed at filtering out websites that didn't deserve to rank.
This has also led to Google starting to discount a number of link building techniques that were previously deemed fine, for example, submitting your website to web directories and getting a link in return. This was a technique that Google actually recommended at one point, but it became abused and overused by SEOs, so Google stopped passing as much value from that sort of links.
More recently, Google has actively penalized the rankings of websites who have attempted such overuse of these techniquesāoften referred to as over-optimisationāin their link building. Googleās regular Penguin updates are one such example. Knowing which link building techniques to avoid and stay within Googleās guidelines is an important subject that weāll discuss later in this guide.
We don't know the full algorithm that Google uses to determine its search resultsāthat's the company's "secret sauce." Despite that fact, the general consensus among the SEO community (according to the 2015 Moz search ranking factors survey) is that links still play a big role in that algorithm. They represent the largest two slices of the pie chart below.
There are two fundamental ways that the search engines use links:
To discover new web pages
To help determine how well a page should rank in their results
Once search engines have crawled pages on the web, they can extract the content of those pages and add it to their indexes. In this way, they can decide if they feel a page is of sufficient quality to be ranked well for relevant keywords (Google created a short video to explain that process). When they are deciding this, the search engines do not just look at the content of the page; they also look at the number of links pointing to that page from external websites and the quality of those external websites. Generally speaking, the more high-quality websites that link to you, the more likely you are to rank well in search results.
Links as a ranking factor are what allowed Google to start to dominate the search engine market back in the late 1990s. One of Google's founders, Larry Page, invented PageRank, which Google used to measure the quality of a page based in part on the number of links pointing to it. This metric was then used as part of the overall ranking algorithm and became a strong signal because it was a very good way of determining the quality of a page.
It was so effective because it was based upon the idea that a link could be seen as a vote of confidence about a page, i.e., it wouldn't get links if it didn't deserve to. The theory is that when someone links to another website, they are effectively saying it is a good resource. Otherwise, they wouldn't link to it, much in the same way that you wouldn't send a friend to a bad restaurant.
However, SEOs soon discovered how to manipulate PageRank and search results for chosen keywords. Google started actively trying to find ways to discover websites which were manipulating search results, and began rolling out regular updates which were specifically aimed at filtering out websites that didn't deserve to rank.
This has also led to Google starting to discount a number of link building techniques that were previously deemed fine, for example, submitting your website to web directories and getting a link in return. This was a technique that Google actually recommended at one point, but it became abused and overused by SEOs, so Google stopped passing as much value from that sort of links.
More recently, Google has actively penalized the rankings of websites who have attempted such overuse of these techniquesāoften referred to as over-optimisationāin their link building. Googleās regular Penguin updates are one such example. Knowing which link building techniques to avoid and stay within Googleās guidelines is an important subject that weāll discuss later in this guide.
We don't know the full algorithm that Google uses to determine its search resultsāthat's the company's "secret sauce." Despite that fact, the general consensus among the SEO community (according to the 2015 Moz search ranking factors survey) is that links still play a big role in that algorithm. They represent the largest two slices of the pie chart below.
What you need to know about nofollow
There is an attribute that can sometimes be applied to links called the ānofollowā attribute. If added, you will not notice any difference if you're a user. But, if you look at the code of the link, it will look slightly different:
<a href="http://www.example.com" rel="nofollow">Example</a>
Note the addition of rel="nofollow". This tells Google not to pass any PageRank across this link to the target URL. Effectively, you're telling Google not to trust this link and to discount it from consideration. Therefore, it should not help the target URL to rank any better.
The main reason a site might use nofollow relates to scenarios in which that site lacks total control over the links that are added to its pages. In other words, they don't want to show Google a vote of confidence when they don't know whether or not they actually are confident. This is more common than you'd expect; here are a few examples:
Blog comments
Forum posts
Guest book comments
Editable Wiki pages (e.g. Wikipedia)
Yahoo! Answers
Guest post signatures
Users can freely add links to each of these places, and because of their size, it isn't really practical to moderate every single one of those links. So, in order to deter link spammers from taking advantage of a site's PageRank, the site will often choose to apply the nofollow attribute to all links posted by other users.
Another use for the nofollow attribute is for advertisers to use on links that have been paid for. So, if you buy an advertising banner on a website which links to you, Google says that the nofollow attribute should be added so that they know not to pass any PageRank across that link. The idea here is that you shouldn't benefit in the organic results by buying advertisements that include links on other websites.
More recently, Google has expanded this concept to included optimized links in press releases, article directories, and advertorials. These are all examples where the use of nofollow is entirely appropriate.
In terms of your work, you should know that links that have the nofollow attribute applied will probably not help your organic search rankings as directly as followed links. That isn't to say they're not worthwhile. After all, typical users don't notice whether a link is nofollowed or not, and may actually click through and visit your website even if it is. That is, after all, the point of buying advertisements online. That being said, for the purposes of link building, you want most of your links to be followed and therefore counted by Google. Looking for a way to indentify followed versus nofollowed links on a website? You can use the MozBar to highlight these links on any site.
There is an attribute that can sometimes be applied to links called the ānofollowā attribute. If added, you will not notice any difference if you're a user. But, if you look at the code of the link, it will look slightly different:
<a href="http://www.example.com" rel="nofollow">Example</a>
Note the addition of rel="nofollow". This tells Google not to pass any PageRank across this link to the target URL. Effectively, you're telling Google not to trust this link and to discount it from consideration. Therefore, it should not help the target URL to rank any better.
The main reason a site might use nofollow relates to scenarios in which that site lacks total control over the links that are added to its pages. In other words, they don't want to show Google a vote of confidence when they don't know whether or not they actually are confident. This is more common than you'd expect; here are a few examples:
Blog comments
Forum posts
Guest book comments
Editable Wiki pages (e.g. Wikipedia)
Yahoo! Answers
Guest post signatures
Users can freely add links to each of these places, and because of their size, it isn't really practical to moderate every single one of those links. So, in order to deter link spammers from taking advantage of a site's PageRank, the site will often choose to apply the nofollow attribute to all links posted by other users.
Another use for the nofollow attribute is for advertisers to use on links that have been paid for. So, if you buy an advertising banner on a website which links to you, Google says that the nofollow attribute should be added so that they know not to pass any PageRank across that link. The idea here is that you shouldn't benefit in the organic results by buying advertisements that include links on other websites.
More recently, Google has expanded this concept to included optimized links in press releases, article directories, and advertorials. These are all examples where the use of nofollow is entirely appropriate.
In terms of your work, you should know that links that have the nofollow attribute applied will probably not help your organic search rankings as directly as followed links. That isn't to say they're not worthwhile. After all, typical users don't notice whether a link is nofollowed or not, and may actually click through and visit your website even if it is. That is, after all, the point of buying advertisements online. That being said, for the purposes of link building, you want most of your links to be followed and therefore counted by Google. Looking for a way to indentify followed versus nofollowed links on a website? You can use the MozBar to highlight these links on any site.
How can link building benefit my business?
As we've discussed, links are a very important signal that the search engines use to determine rankings. So, we know that increasing the number of high-quality links pointing at your website can significantly increase your chances of ranking well.
There are other benefits to link building, though, that may be less immediately obvious yet still worthy of consideration.
Building relationships
Link building can often involve outreach to other relevant websites and blogs in your industry. This outreach frequently relates to the promotion of something that you've just created, such as a piece of content or an infographic. A common goal of outreach is to get a link, but there is much more to it than just this: Outreach can help you build long-term relationships with key influencers in your industry, and these relationships can mean that your business becomes highly regarded and trusted. This in itself is valuable, even if we forget link building for a moment, because we are creating genuine evangelists and advocates for our business.
Sending referral traffic
We've talked about the impact of links on your rankings, but what about the impact of links on referral traffic? A good link from a highly-visited website can lead to an increase in traffic, too. If it is a relevant website, chances are that the traffic is also relevant and may lead to an increase in sales, as well. Again, in this situation the value of a link isn't just about SEOāit's about customers. A great example of this in action was this guest post written by Michael Ellsberg on Tim Ferriss' blog. He also wrote a case study on Forbes explaining just how valuable this guest post was to him. "Thereās a big difference between being exposed to a large audience," he says, "and being exposed to a comparatively smaller (but still large) audience which is ridiculously passionate." In other words, the avid followers of a single blog were far more likely to take the advice of the blogger than (for example) viewers were to pay attention to the anchor on CNN, even if the latter group outnumbered the former.
Brand building
Good link building can help build your brand and establish you as an authority in your niche. There are some link building techniques, such as content creation, which can show people the expertise of your company, and this can go a long way toward building your brand. For example, if you create a piece of content based upon industry data and publish it, you have a chance of becoming well known for it in your industry. When you do outreach and try to get links to the content, you are showing your expertise and asking other people in your industry to help spread the word and show others the same.
An important note on link building vs link "earning"
Or, the importance of having webpages worth linking to.
Before building links, you need something of value to build links to. Often itās the homepage of your website. More often than not, though, you build links to specialized resources such as a blog post, tool, research study or graphic. Sometimes these assets exist long before you begin your link building campaign. Other times, you create these resources specifically with the goal of building links in mind.
This introduces the concepts of link earning and "deserving to rank." All link building campaigns must start with something worth linking to. Itās very difficult to build links to low-value webpages, but when you begin with something truly valuable that people find useful or share-worthy, link building is a much easier endeavor.
As we've discussed, links are a very important signal that the search engines use to determine rankings. So, we know that increasing the number of high-quality links pointing at your website can significantly increase your chances of ranking well.
There are other benefits to link building, though, that may be less immediately obvious yet still worthy of consideration.
Building relationships
Link building can often involve outreach to other relevant websites and blogs in your industry. This outreach frequently relates to the promotion of something that you've just created, such as a piece of content or an infographic. A common goal of outreach is to get a link, but there is much more to it than just this: Outreach can help you build long-term relationships with key influencers in your industry, and these relationships can mean that your business becomes highly regarded and trusted. This in itself is valuable, even if we forget link building for a moment, because we are creating genuine evangelists and advocates for our business.
Sending referral traffic
We've talked about the impact of links on your rankings, but what about the impact of links on referral traffic? A good link from a highly-visited website can lead to an increase in traffic, too. If it is a relevant website, chances are that the traffic is also relevant and may lead to an increase in sales, as well. Again, in this situation the value of a link isn't just about SEOāit's about customers. A great example of this in action was this guest post written by Michael Ellsberg on Tim Ferriss' blog. He also wrote a case study on Forbes explaining just how valuable this guest post was to him. "Thereās a big difference between being exposed to a large audience," he says, "and being exposed to a comparatively smaller (but still large) audience which is ridiculously passionate." In other words, the avid followers of a single blog were far more likely to take the advice of the blogger than (for example) viewers were to pay attention to the anchor on CNN, even if the latter group outnumbered the former.
Brand building
Good link building can help build your brand and establish you as an authority in your niche. There are some link building techniques, such as content creation, which can show people the expertise of your company, and this can go a long way toward building your brand. For example, if you create a piece of content based upon industry data and publish it, you have a chance of becoming well known for it in your industry. When you do outreach and try to get links to the content, you are showing your expertise and asking other people in your industry to help spread the word and show others the same.
An important note on link building vs link "earning"
Or, the importance of having webpages worth linking to.
Before building links, you need something of value to build links to. Often itās the homepage of your website. More often than not, though, you build links to specialized resources such as a blog post, tool, research study or graphic. Sometimes these assets exist long before you begin your link building campaign. Other times, you create these resources specifically with the goal of building links in mind.
This introduces the concepts of link earning and "deserving to rank." All link building campaigns must start with something worth linking to. Itās very difficult to build links to low-value webpages, but when you begin with something truly valuable that people find useful or share-worthy, link building is a much easier endeavor.
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How to Create Pillar Pages and Rank for High Volume Keywords
One of the ways to increase your chances of ranking for high volume keywords on Google is to create pillar pages and topic clusters.
Although this is not a new concept, with the latest changes to the Google ranking algorithm and the introduction of AI, it has become more important.
One of the characteristics of pillar pages (also referred to as long-form articles, content pillars or cornerstone content), that differentiates them from normal articles or blogs is that they are comprehensive, usually bigger in word length and they cover a particular topic (not a single keyword) in detail.
In this guide, youāll learn what are pillar pages, why they are important for modern SEO and the 10 steps to follow to create pillar pages for your website.
What are pillar pages?
Why are pillar pages important for SEO?
How to create pillar pages (10 Steps)
What are pillar pages?
A pillar page is a long-form content page that covers a specific topic in detail. It provides users with everything they need to know about the particular topic and links to related resources for further exploitation.
A pillar page can stand on its own or be part of a topic cluster. Pillar pages are used to target high volume topics and head keywords.
The main characteristics of pillar pages are:
THE COMPLETE SEO COURSEA step-by-step course on how to increase your traffic in 60 days or less.
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you will ever need to read!
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They are usually longer than normal blog posts.
Content is around a specific topic
The content is broken down into sections
Each section covers a specific sub-topic
Look at the diagram below to understand this better.
What is a Pillar Page
On the left, you can see how the structure of a pillar page looks like and on the right an example of how a pillar page about ācontent marketingā would look like.
Weāll see below, in the āhow to create a pillar pageā section, the process of choosing the right topics, headings, page title, URL and links for a pillar page.
Here is a real example of a pillar page published on this site on how to start an online business.
Example of a Pillar Page
Why are pillar pages important for SEO?
There are many reasons why pillar pages are important for your SEO and content marketing efforts. The most important are:
They provide both users and search engines with the content they want ā For some topics itās more convenient for users to have all the information they need on one page instead of browsing through different articles.
This is more convenient for search engines as well because it helps them serve users with results that keep them happy.
They can help you win featured snippets ā The way pillar pages are structured makes it easier for search engines to crawl and meet all requirements for appearing at the top of the search results in the featured snippet box.
Itās a great way to prove your expertise about a topic ā Google search ranking factors are heavily influenced by E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) and high-quality pillar pages are a great way to show to users and search engines that you are a trustworthy source for a topic.
Combined with a few quality backlinks, you can establish your website as an authority for a specific topic as well.
They can help you rank high for competitive keywords ā Pillar pages are usually long-form content pages and this allows you to naturally include related keywords in the content which increases topic relevancy that (under conditions) leads to higher rankings.
Also, pillar pages are more likely to attract natural links from other websites and mentions on social media networks that in-turn leads to increasing Google trust which results in higher rankings.
How to create pillar pages
These are the 10 steps to follow to cr
One of the ways to increase your chances of ranking for high volume keywords on Google is to create pillar pages and topic clusters.
Although this is not a new concept, with the latest changes to the Google ranking algorithm and the introduction of AI, it has become more important.
One of the characteristics of pillar pages (also referred to as long-form articles, content pillars or cornerstone content), that differentiates them from normal articles or blogs is that they are comprehensive, usually bigger in word length and they cover a particular topic (not a single keyword) in detail.
In this guide, youāll learn what are pillar pages, why they are important for modern SEO and the 10 steps to follow to create pillar pages for your website.
What are pillar pages?
Why are pillar pages important for SEO?
How to create pillar pages (10 Steps)
What are pillar pages?
A pillar page is a long-form content page that covers a specific topic in detail. It provides users with everything they need to know about the particular topic and links to related resources for further exploitation.
A pillar page can stand on its own or be part of a topic cluster. Pillar pages are used to target high volume topics and head keywords.
The main characteristics of pillar pages are:
THE COMPLETE SEO COURSEA step-by-step course on how to increase your traffic in 60 days or less.
Learn how to practically build a successful website or blog.The ONLY SEO Course
you will ever need to read!
DOWNLOAD NOW
They are usually longer than normal blog posts.
Content is around a specific topic
The content is broken down into sections
Each section covers a specific sub-topic
Look at the diagram below to understand this better.
What is a Pillar Page
On the left, you can see how the structure of a pillar page looks like and on the right an example of how a pillar page about ācontent marketingā would look like.
Weāll see below, in the āhow to create a pillar pageā section, the process of choosing the right topics, headings, page title, URL and links for a pillar page.
Here is a real example of a pillar page published on this site on how to start an online business.
Example of a Pillar Page
Why are pillar pages important for SEO?
There are many reasons why pillar pages are important for your SEO and content marketing efforts. The most important are:
They provide both users and search engines with the content they want ā For some topics itās more convenient for users to have all the information they need on one page instead of browsing through different articles.
This is more convenient for search engines as well because it helps them serve users with results that keep them happy.
They can help you win featured snippets ā The way pillar pages are structured makes it easier for search engines to crawl and meet all requirements for appearing at the top of the search results in the featured snippet box.
Itās a great way to prove your expertise about a topic ā Google search ranking factors are heavily influenced by E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) and high-quality pillar pages are a great way to show to users and search engines that you are a trustworthy source for a topic.
Combined with a few quality backlinks, you can establish your website as an authority for a specific topic as well.
They can help you rank high for competitive keywords ā Pillar pages are usually long-form content pages and this allows you to naturally include related keywords in the content which increases topic relevancy that (under conditions) leads to higher rankings.
Also, pillar pages are more likely to attract natural links from other websites and mentions on social media networks that in-turn leads to increasing Google trust which results in higher rankings.
How to create pillar pages
These are the 10 steps to follow to cr
eate a pillar page:
Decide what topics to target using pillar pages
Decide what format to use (Pillar page or topic clusters)
Perform keyword research
Create a content outline and write the content
Name your sections
Add Internal links to the different sections
Format the page
Promote your page (internally and externally)
Write content for the supporting pages
Add internal links back to the pillar page
1. Decide what topics to target using pillar pages
ļæ¼Find content topic ideas for pillar pages using Google Trends.
Obviously the first step is to decide what topic your pillar page should target.
This depends on the niche you are in and the topics/keywords already targeted by your existing content.
Some guidelines to follow:
Choose topics that are not too narrow ā if a topic doesnāt have a lot of sub-topics then it might not be ideal for a pillar page. A blog post for those topics might be enough.
Choose topics that have a high search volume ā Creating pillar pages take a lot of time and effort and itās not worth going after low volume keywords.
Choose topics that are relevant to your audience and business ā Choose topics that are relevant to what your audience might way to read and can potentially generate more conversions for your business.
Research your competitors ā A great starting point is to analyze your main competitors and find out for which topics they have pillar pages and which topics they could have pillar pages but they donāt.
These are great candidates to start with because they will generate a competitive advantage for you.
Avoid content duplication ā Before choosing a topic make sure that you donāt already have articles about the exact same topic published on your site.
The last thing you want to do create is to confuse search engines and run into duplicate content issues.
If you do have pages targeting identical topics then you can consider improving your existing articles and turning them into pillar pages, creating new content and redirecting the old pages to the new pillar pages (using 301 redirects) or choosing to go with topic clusters (more on this below).
HINT: You can read āHow to find new content topic ideasā for a step-by-step guide on how to go through the process of finding topics for your pillar pages.
2. Decide what format to use (Pillar page or topic clusters)
ļæ¼Topic Clusters
The next step is to decide what format to use for your pillar pages. There are two ways you can approach pillar pages.
Single Pillar Page
The first way is to have all content on one page, broken down into sections.
This is similar to the example demonstrated above. The main characteristics of this approach are:
You have a single page targeting one high volume topic.
The title of the page is general and contains the main keyword i.e. āThe Complete Content Marketing Guideā.
The URL of the page is an exact match of the main topic keyword. For example ā/content-marketingā.
The page URL comes directly after the domain name i.e. com/content-marketing
At the top of the page, you have a table of contents. Each item points to a section on the same page.
Each section is marked as an H2 or H3 header tag.
The page includes everything there is to know about the particular topic.
It has sections with related links (or āResources to learn moreā) that point to other pages within the same site or external sites, that cover a specific sub-topic in more detail.
Sub-topic pages link back to the main page using the main head keyword in the anchor text.
The page might have a structure and formatting that is different from your ānormalā articles. This is optional and not a requirement.
The page is regularly updated to remain relevant.
Topic Clusters
The second way is to go with the topic cluster approach. With this approach you have:
The main page that serves as an introduction to the topic.
The main page has a list of sections (sub-topics) that point to other pages within the same site.
Each sub-page covers a topic in detail.
The URL of each sub-page includes the URL of the main page (see diag
Decide what topics to target using pillar pages
Decide what format to use (Pillar page or topic clusters)
Perform keyword research
Create a content outline and write the content
Name your sections
Add Internal links to the different sections
Format the page
Promote your page (internally and externally)
Write content for the supporting pages
Add internal links back to the pillar page
1. Decide what topics to target using pillar pages
ļæ¼Find content topic ideas for pillar pages using Google Trends.
Obviously the first step is to decide what topic your pillar page should target.
This depends on the niche you are in and the topics/keywords already targeted by your existing content.
Some guidelines to follow:
Choose topics that are not too narrow ā if a topic doesnāt have a lot of sub-topics then it might not be ideal for a pillar page. A blog post for those topics might be enough.
Choose topics that have a high search volume ā Creating pillar pages take a lot of time and effort and itās not worth going after low volume keywords.
Choose topics that are relevant to your audience and business ā Choose topics that are relevant to what your audience might way to read and can potentially generate more conversions for your business.
Research your competitors ā A great starting point is to analyze your main competitors and find out for which topics they have pillar pages and which topics they could have pillar pages but they donāt.
These are great candidates to start with because they will generate a competitive advantage for you.
Avoid content duplication ā Before choosing a topic make sure that you donāt already have articles about the exact same topic published on your site.
The last thing you want to do create is to confuse search engines and run into duplicate content issues.
If you do have pages targeting identical topics then you can consider improving your existing articles and turning them into pillar pages, creating new content and redirecting the old pages to the new pillar pages (using 301 redirects) or choosing to go with topic clusters (more on this below).
HINT: You can read āHow to find new content topic ideasā for a step-by-step guide on how to go through the process of finding topics for your pillar pages.
2. Decide what format to use (Pillar page or topic clusters)
ļæ¼Topic Clusters
The next step is to decide what format to use for your pillar pages. There are two ways you can approach pillar pages.
Single Pillar Page
The first way is to have all content on one page, broken down into sections.
This is similar to the example demonstrated above. The main characteristics of this approach are:
You have a single page targeting one high volume topic.
The title of the page is general and contains the main keyword i.e. āThe Complete Content Marketing Guideā.
The URL of the page is an exact match of the main topic keyword. For example ā/content-marketingā.
The page URL comes directly after the domain name i.e. com/content-marketing
At the top of the page, you have a table of contents. Each item points to a section on the same page.
Each section is marked as an H2 or H3 header tag.
The page includes everything there is to know about the particular topic.
It has sections with related links (or āResources to learn moreā) that point to other pages within the same site or external sites, that cover a specific sub-topic in more detail.
Sub-topic pages link back to the main page using the main head keyword in the anchor text.
The page might have a structure and formatting that is different from your ānormalā articles. This is optional and not a requirement.
The page is regularly updated to remain relevant.
Topic Clusters
The second way is to go with the topic cluster approach. With this approach you have:
The main page that serves as an introduction to the topic.
The main page has a list of sections (sub-topics) that point to other pages within the same site.
Each sub-page covers a topic in detail.
The URL of each sub-page includes the URL of the main page (see diag
ram above)
Sub-pages have breadcrumb menus enabled that allow the users to easily go back to the main page.
Sub-pages link to the main page and vice versa.
Each sub-page has the structure and other characteristics of a pillar page as described above.
Which approach to use, single pillar pages or topic clusters?
Both methods work great but I personally like to go with the single pillar page approach. Itās not as complex as topic clusters and itās easier to maintain and update.
If you choose topic clusters and later you realize that you have chosen the āwrong sub-topicsā it might be more difficult to update than having all the content on one page.
I also believe the single pages (that are well organized) are more useful to users too. They can stay on a page for longer, print it (if they want), bookmark it and share it more easily.
Here are a few examples of single pillar pages that I have on my website that perform great on organic search.
SEO Checklist
SEO Strategy
SEO Tutorial
A good way to find out which approach to use is to search your topic ideas on Google and examine what type of content they rank on the top positions.
3. Perform keyword research
Once you know which topics to target with a pillar page and what format to use, the next step is to do your keyword research.
The purpose of keyword research at this stage is to find out which exact keywords to target in your pillar pages or topic clusters (whichever approach you choose, the keyword research process is the same).
Your keyword bucket should include both head keywords, long-tail keywords, and LSI keywords.
You can read āHow to perform keyword researchā for step-by-step instructions on how to find the best keywords.
For the purpose of creating pillar pages, you need to have the following ready:
Your main head keyword ā For example, ācontent marketingā, āemail marketingā, āpaleo dietā, āmake money onlineā. āStart an online businessā. Etc.
As explained above, this will be used in your URL and page title.
Related Keywords to use as sections ā Each head keyword has a number of keywords (usually have volume keywords too) that are strongly related to the main topic.
These will be used as the section headings (for single pillar pages) or as individual page titles for topic clusters.
HINT: Great candidates for the sections are keywords that Google displays in the āPeople also askā and āRelated Queriesā sections.
Long-tail keywords ā Long-tail keywords are keywords related to the main keywords that have a lower search volume but higher intent.
These keywords can be used to make your content SEO friendly and are also great candidates for creating supporting articles.
In other words, you can use long-tail keywords in your content and create stand-alone articles that you can use to link back to the main pillar page.
4. Create a content outline and write the content
The next step is to create a content outline and write the content.
Create a Content Outline
Creating a content outline is optional but highly recommended. I personally always follow this process before writing a new pillar page or blog post.
I found that spending some time thinking about your content and page structure before you start writing, saves you a lot of time in the end and makes writing easier and faster.
You can use the content outline to:
Define your headings
Select which existing pages on your site to link to as additional resources.
Decide what each section will cover and which keywords it will target
Your findings from doing analyzing your competitorās pages
Other ideas you may have about the design on the page
Images/studies you will use to make your content more interesting
Write the content
Now itās time to write the content for your pillar page or sub-pages.
Content length ā Although content length is NOT a google ranking factor, a pillar page is expected to have a lot of content because it covers a range of topics in detail.
There is no definite guideline on how long (in terms of words) to make your content. It largely depends on the topic.
A few t
Sub-pages have breadcrumb menus enabled that allow the users to easily go back to the main page.
Sub-pages link to the main page and vice versa.
Each sub-page has the structure and other characteristics of a pillar page as described above.
Which approach to use, single pillar pages or topic clusters?
Both methods work great but I personally like to go with the single pillar page approach. Itās not as complex as topic clusters and itās easier to maintain and update.
If you choose topic clusters and later you realize that you have chosen the āwrong sub-topicsā it might be more difficult to update than having all the content on one page.
I also believe the single pages (that are well organized) are more useful to users too. They can stay on a page for longer, print it (if they want), bookmark it and share it more easily.
Here are a few examples of single pillar pages that I have on my website that perform great on organic search.
SEO Checklist
SEO Strategy
SEO Tutorial
A good way to find out which approach to use is to search your topic ideas on Google and examine what type of content they rank on the top positions.
3. Perform keyword research
Once you know which topics to target with a pillar page and what format to use, the next step is to do your keyword research.
The purpose of keyword research at this stage is to find out which exact keywords to target in your pillar pages or topic clusters (whichever approach you choose, the keyword research process is the same).
Your keyword bucket should include both head keywords, long-tail keywords, and LSI keywords.
You can read āHow to perform keyword researchā for step-by-step instructions on how to find the best keywords.
For the purpose of creating pillar pages, you need to have the following ready:
Your main head keyword ā For example, ācontent marketingā, āemail marketingā, āpaleo dietā, āmake money onlineā. āStart an online businessā. Etc.
As explained above, this will be used in your URL and page title.
Related Keywords to use as sections ā Each head keyword has a number of keywords (usually have volume keywords too) that are strongly related to the main topic.
These will be used as the section headings (for single pillar pages) or as individual page titles for topic clusters.
HINT: Great candidates for the sections are keywords that Google displays in the āPeople also askā and āRelated Queriesā sections.
Long-tail keywords ā Long-tail keywords are keywords related to the main keywords that have a lower search volume but higher intent.
These keywords can be used to make your content SEO friendly and are also great candidates for creating supporting articles.
In other words, you can use long-tail keywords in your content and create stand-alone articles that you can use to link back to the main pillar page.
4. Create a content outline and write the content
The next step is to create a content outline and write the content.
Create a Content Outline
Creating a content outline is optional but highly recommended. I personally always follow this process before writing a new pillar page or blog post.
I found that spending some time thinking about your content and page structure before you start writing, saves you a lot of time in the end and makes writing easier and faster.
You can use the content outline to:
Define your headings
Select which existing pages on your site to link to as additional resources.
Decide what each section will cover and which keywords it will target
Your findings from doing analyzing your competitorās pages
Other ideas you may have about the design on the page
Images/studies you will use to make your content more interesting
Write the content
Now itās time to write the content for your pillar page or sub-pages.
Content length ā Although content length is NOT a google ranking factor, a pillar page is expected to have a lot of content because it covers a range of topics in detail.
There is no definite guideline on how long (in terms of words) to make your content. It largely depends on the topic.
A few t
ips to consider:
Search Google for related topics and examine the content length of the pages that appear on the top positions.
Donāt forget that users donāt like to spend hours reading about a topic. If thatās the case then you better write a book or an online course to give them all the details and use pillar pages to offer them the most important points.
Donāt write more content than you need for the sake of SEO. I repeat that word count is not a ranking factor. Write enough to answer a userās question or give them what they really need to know about a topic.
Optimize your content ā Follow basic on-page SEO and content SEO best practices to optimize your content so that search engines can understand it better.
HINT: You can read and replicate my 10 step process for writing SEO friendly blog posts
Showcase your expertise ā I mentioned above that one of the benefits of pillar pages is that they allow demonstrating your authority and expertise about a topic.
This is to be shown through the quality of your content. If you are an expert on the topic, make sure that you tell users about your experience and showcase any credentials that can prove your expertise.
These simple factors make the content better and create trust between you and your users.
Research studies and original data ā One way to create content that will attract links from other websites is to back up your claims with research studies or better include original data.
For example, a pillar page about ācontent marketingā that includes content marketing statistics from recent research studies is more likely to get the attention of other users than a pillar page which doesnāt include data evidence.
10X better than your competitors ā Iāve mentioned many times so far that looking at your competitorsā content is a good way to understand what type of content to create.
Something that is more important is to make sure that your content is 10X better than what is already published. If you create something that is similar to existing content then there is no incentive for users or search engines to prefer your content.
When we say, make your content 10X better we mean:
More thorough and informative
Less biased
Takes a different angle on the topic than existing content
Better design
Faster
With better visual elements
5. Add visual elements
The next step is to add visual elements to your pillar page to make the page more interesting and easier to read.
Visual elements can include:
Videos
Images
Podcasts
Infographics
Graphs
To take advantage of the visual elements for SEO purposes, make sure that you include the relevant ALT text for images and schema markup for videos and podcasts.
Also, donāt forget that a lot of images and videos will slow the page loading speed (especially on mobile.
It is highly recommended to use an image compression plugin to optimize the size of the images and also a lazy loading plugin or wp-rocket to make sure that visual elements will not negatively impact speed.
6. Optimize for the Google featured snippet and sitelinks
Now that you have your content ready, there are two more tasks to complete before publishing.
The first is to optimize your page to be eligible for a Google featured snippet and site links and second to work on the page formatting (step 7 below).
Optimizing for the Google featured snippet is an advanced SEO technique but yet, itās easy to implement.
What is a Google Featured Snippet?
The top position of the Google search results is sometimes occupied by one or more featured snippets instead of a normal listing.
A featured snippet is more dominant and occupies more real estate in the search results making it attractive to users.
For example, if you search Google āHow to become an SEO expertā, youāll most probably get a listing like this which shows you a list of steps to follow.
ļæ¼Lists in Google Featured Snippet
If you search for technical SEO, youāll get a featured snippet that looks like this.
ļæ¼Example of a Google Featured Snippet
To make your pillar page eligible for a featured snippe
Search Google for related topics and examine the content length of the pages that appear on the top positions.
Donāt forget that users donāt like to spend hours reading about a topic. If thatās the case then you better write a book or an online course to give them all the details and use pillar pages to offer them the most important points.
Donāt write more content than you need for the sake of SEO. I repeat that word count is not a ranking factor. Write enough to answer a userās question or give them what they really need to know about a topic.
Optimize your content ā Follow basic on-page SEO and content SEO best practices to optimize your content so that search engines can understand it better.
HINT: You can read and replicate my 10 step process for writing SEO friendly blog posts
Showcase your expertise ā I mentioned above that one of the benefits of pillar pages is that they allow demonstrating your authority and expertise about a topic.
This is to be shown through the quality of your content. If you are an expert on the topic, make sure that you tell users about your experience and showcase any credentials that can prove your expertise.
These simple factors make the content better and create trust between you and your users.
Research studies and original data ā One way to create content that will attract links from other websites is to back up your claims with research studies or better include original data.
For example, a pillar page about ācontent marketingā that includes content marketing statistics from recent research studies is more likely to get the attention of other users than a pillar page which doesnāt include data evidence.
10X better than your competitors ā Iāve mentioned many times so far that looking at your competitorsā content is a good way to understand what type of content to create.
Something that is more important is to make sure that your content is 10X better than what is already published. If you create something that is similar to existing content then there is no incentive for users or search engines to prefer your content.
When we say, make your content 10X better we mean:
More thorough and informative
Less biased
Takes a different angle on the topic than existing content
Better design
Faster
With better visual elements
5. Add visual elements
The next step is to add visual elements to your pillar page to make the page more interesting and easier to read.
Visual elements can include:
Videos
Images
Podcasts
Infographics
Graphs
To take advantage of the visual elements for SEO purposes, make sure that you include the relevant ALT text for images and schema markup for videos and podcasts.
Also, donāt forget that a lot of images and videos will slow the page loading speed (especially on mobile.
It is highly recommended to use an image compression plugin to optimize the size of the images and also a lazy loading plugin or wp-rocket to make sure that visual elements will not negatively impact speed.
6. Optimize for the Google featured snippet and sitelinks
Now that you have your content ready, there are two more tasks to complete before publishing.
The first is to optimize your page to be eligible for a Google featured snippet and site links and second to work on the page formatting (step 7 below).
Optimizing for the Google featured snippet is an advanced SEO technique but yet, itās easy to implement.
What is a Google Featured Snippet?
The top position of the Google search results is sometimes occupied by one or more featured snippets instead of a normal listing.
A featured snippet is more dominant and occupies more real estate in the search results making it attractive to users.
For example, if you search Google āHow to become an SEO expertā, youāll most probably get a listing like this which shows you a list of steps to follow.
ļæ¼Lists in Google Featured Snippet
If you search for technical SEO, youāll get a featured snippet that looks like this.
ļæ¼Example of a Google Featured Snippet
To make your pillar page eligible for a featured snippe
t, use the following tips:
Add lists in your content using <ul> and <li> HTML tags
Keep the list formatting simple (no custom bullets, arrows or another styling)
Add a relevant title for each list
Format the list title to be an H2 or H3
Add the list(s) at the beginning of the page when possible
Optimize your pillar pages for sitelinks
Besides optimizing your pillar pages for featured snippets, you should also optimize them for page sitelinks.
Page sitelinks appear below in the search snippet below the meta description. They look like this:
Post sitelinks in Google Search Results
Follow these tips:
Each sub-section of your page should have a heading wrapped with an H2 or H3 tags
For each heading add an āidā attribute
Add a table of contents on top of the page (like in this article)
Add internal links to the different section from your table of contents
Look again at the first diagram for a visual illustration.
7. Page formating
The last thing to do before hitting the publish button is to revisit your page formating.
This step is optional, itās up to you to decide if you want your pillar pages to have a different format than the rest of your site pages. I prefer to use the same format across all my pages because itās easier to manage but you can follow a different path.
One example of a pillar page that has a unique format is this from Typeform
Pillar page Formatting Example
Regardless of what design format you choose to follow, you need to make sure that:
The page loads fast and looks good on all devices (especially mobile)
Itās easy for people who like to do skim reading
Your headings for the different sections are formatted differently from the rest of the content
Any images or videos are properly optimized (alt text, schema, image compression)
The page has a default featured image and it looks good when shared on social media networks.
8. Promote your page (internally and externally)
Once you get into this point, congratulations! Youāre ready to hit the PUBLISH button and provide your users with a remarkable piece of content.
Publishing your pillar page is not the end of your work. You now need to promote your page both internally and externally. Letās see what this means.
Promote your page Internally
As soon as you publish the page, search engines will get notified through your sitemap and in a matter of hours, they will index your new page.
To help them understand the importance of your page, and at the same make it easier for your users to find the page, you need:
Add a link pointing to your pillar page from your homepage.
Add a link pointing to your pillar page from your blog main page
Add your pillar page to your sidebar (if you have sidebars)
Add your pillar page to your main menu and footer
Find related articles on your website and add internal links to your pillar page
Donāt omit this step, itās important to give the right signals to search engine crawlers to let them know that this page is important for your site.
Promote your page Externally
You also need to promote your page on the Internet and try to get the attention of other bloggers with the ultimate goal of getting links and mentions.
This is part of what is known as off-page SEO and can positively influence your rankings in the short term but also long term.
Follow these tips:
Send out a newsletter and inform your subscribers
Publish your page on Facebook and use Facebook ads to promote the page to your existing audience (retargeting) and to new audiences
Promote your page on Twitter (multiple times) and through twitter paid ads
Promote your page on other social networks related to your niche (LinkedIn, Pinterest)
If your pillar page includes case studies, research or original data that can get the attention of the press, you can also write a press release and distribute it to all major networks.
If you added external links on your page, make sure that you contact the website owners and let them know about it. They will most probably share the page on their networks and some may even link back to it.
Add lists in your content using <ul> and <li> HTML tags
Keep the list formatting simple (no custom bullets, arrows or another styling)
Add a relevant title for each list
Format the list title to be an H2 or H3
Add the list(s) at the beginning of the page when possible
Optimize your pillar pages for sitelinks
Besides optimizing your pillar pages for featured snippets, you should also optimize them for page sitelinks.
Page sitelinks appear below in the search snippet below the meta description. They look like this:
Post sitelinks in Google Search Results
Follow these tips:
Each sub-section of your page should have a heading wrapped with an H2 or H3 tags
For each heading add an āidā attribute
Add a table of contents on top of the page (like in this article)
Add internal links to the different section from your table of contents
Look again at the first diagram for a visual illustration.
7. Page formating
The last thing to do before hitting the publish button is to revisit your page formating.
This step is optional, itās up to you to decide if you want your pillar pages to have a different format than the rest of your site pages. I prefer to use the same format across all my pages because itās easier to manage but you can follow a different path.
One example of a pillar page that has a unique format is this from Typeform
Pillar page Formatting Example
Regardless of what design format you choose to follow, you need to make sure that:
The page loads fast and looks good on all devices (especially mobile)
Itās easy for people who like to do skim reading
Your headings for the different sections are formatted differently from the rest of the content
Any images or videos are properly optimized (alt text, schema, image compression)
The page has a default featured image and it looks good when shared on social media networks.
8. Promote your page (internally and externally)
Once you get into this point, congratulations! Youāre ready to hit the PUBLISH button and provide your users with a remarkable piece of content.
Publishing your pillar page is not the end of your work. You now need to promote your page both internally and externally. Letās see what this means.
Promote your page Internally
As soon as you publish the page, search engines will get notified through your sitemap and in a matter of hours, they will index your new page.
To help them understand the importance of your page, and at the same make it easier for your users to find the page, you need:
Add a link pointing to your pillar page from your homepage.
Add a link pointing to your pillar page from your blog main page
Add your pillar page to your sidebar (if you have sidebars)
Add your pillar page to your main menu and footer
Find related articles on your website and add internal links to your pillar page
Donāt omit this step, itās important to give the right signals to search engine crawlers to let them know that this page is important for your site.
Promote your page Externally
You also need to promote your page on the Internet and try to get the attention of other bloggers with the ultimate goal of getting links and mentions.
This is part of what is known as off-page SEO and can positively influence your rankings in the short term but also long term.
Follow these tips:
Send out a newsletter and inform your subscribers
Publish your page on Facebook and use Facebook ads to promote the page to your existing audience (retargeting) and to new audiences
Promote your page on Twitter (multiple times) and through twitter paid ads
Promote your page on other social networks related to your niche (LinkedIn, Pinterest)
If your pillar page includes case studies, research or original data that can get the attention of the press, you can also write a press release and distribute it to all major networks.
If you added external links on your page, make sure that you contact the website owners and let them know about it. They will most probably share the page on their networks and some may even link back to it.
About the author
Alex Chris - Digital Marketing Consultant and author. Alex has more than 18 years of practical experience with SEO and Digital Marketing. Connect with him on Twitter.
Alex Chris - Digital Marketing Consultant and author. Alex has more than 18 years of practical experience with SEO and Digital Marketing. Connect with him on Twitter.