What is a Pillar Page and Why Should You Use It in Your SEO Strategy

Anyone who has their finger on the pulse of SEO understands that its a heartbeat that’s continually changing. As a result, any savvy marketer should make it their business to stay abreast of these changes and adjust their content accordingly. Pillar pages have emerged as a viable SEO strategy that has arisen as a result of Google’s ever-changing algorithm and variations in the way users conduct searches. This means that digital marketers will have to adjust the way they present their content to continue to rank, as well boost rankings.

What is a Pillar Page?

A pillar page is a page that presents a comprehensive yet general overview of the content on your website. The page will cover every aspect of a particular topic without going into too much detail. However, the page provides an opportunity to glean more detailed information about a topic through links to various blogs or cluster content, that expounds on various topics that fall under the same umbrella, in a more detail.

In essence, a pillar page is the master page that will cover all related topics or cluster content, under one umbrella page. The pillar page will touch on all related cluster content without going into too much detail. However, links from the pillar page to cluster content will allow a user to get more detailed information on a particular topic. Pillar pages are :

• Comprehensive content that allows an audience to gain a good understanding of a topic
• Provide Links to content geared toward more detailed information
• Longer than blog posts
• Provide hyperlinked chapters at the top of the page

Image Credit: https://blog.hubspot.com/

Why are Pillar Pages Effective for SEO?

Simply speaking, Google favors well-organized websites that allow it to ascertain what the site is about. Pillar pages effectively organize your web content and allow Google to quickly determine the subject matter and rank it. This is significant because Google doesn’t favor sites that have subject matter that is difficult to determine. Google handles sites like these by ranking them poorly.

Another benefit that pillar pages provide is a more organized and user-friendly experience for your audience. The pillar page acts as a roadmap for the rest of the site by touching on all the content present on the site. The pillar page also includes links to more detailed information for all the related content on the site. This level of organization makes it easy for your audience to find what they are looking for which boosts user engagement. In addition, there are other SEO benefits that pillar pages provide. Pillar pages:

• Create concentrated information on a single topic that Google will rank favorably
• Concentrates an overview of all the web content on one page and provides links for a more in-depth explanation

Google’s Search Algorithm has Changed

The way people conduct searches has changed, largely due to the voice search feature that continues to grow in popularity. This more conversational style of searching for something has created a change in Google’s search algorithm. Unfortunately, when Google’s search algorithm changes, it can negatively impact your search rankings. As a result, it’s a good idea to keep up with the changes and create content that will continue to rank well with Google.

Every marketer wants their website to show up on the first page of search results. However, this requires tweaking your content so that it’s favorable to Google and adapts to current trends. Google’s search algorithm is capable of associating strings of words with the implied idea versus just focusing on a keyword that will return a lot of generic results.

Users Want Specific Results that Filter Out Generic Search Results

Google’s algorithm has also changed because there is a great deal of content, not all of it qualitative, and users want more specific search engine results for their queries. In other words, users want to be able to uncover search results that are as specific as possible. Another factor that Google’s search algorithm has taken into consideration is the fact that users don’t want to hunt and search for the information they are seeking. Many users read headlines to blog posts and Google’s featured information to quickly get the information they are looking for. As a result of changes in search patterns and trends, Googles algorithm takes into consideration:

• Keywords aren’t being used as much
• People are using longer conversational search queries as a result of voice search features
• Users want more specific search results without having to wade through generic search results

Changes in Googles Search Algorithm have made Pillar Pages Effective for SEO

The benefits of pillar pages are twofold. Pillar pages help you to effectively organize your web content which upgrades the whole user experience. Your audience can easily navigate your website to find what they are looking for. Plus, users can check out your pillar page as a guide to everything available on the website and use the kinks to conveniently explore all the content. The convenience and ease that a well-organized website affords the user only enhance user engagement. In addition, Google favorably ranks websites that utilize pillar pages because the web content is well organized and much easier for Google to decipher. Plus, Google also favors highly concentrated web content.

Google has to sift through a lot of content to return accurate search results. In addition, Google’s algorithm is an everchanging force because of emerging changes in search behaviors and user preferences. Changes in technology have created a shift in how people conduct searches. Voice search has become both popular and convenient when it comes to search queries. However, this change has created a shift in Google’s algorithm that places more emphasis on conversational search phrases instead of keywords.

Plus, Google has improved its search algorithm to return more specific results that keep users from having to sift through a bunch of generic results. Pillar pages make it easy for Google to determine what your sites all about and rank it. Plus, a well-organized site enhances the overall user experience. Any marketer that wants to continue to rank high in Google should consider using pillar pages as a viable SEO strategy although the benefits extend beyond search rankings.