What are Pillar Pages and Topic Clusters?
Pillar pages and topic clusters are two types of website content: the content of a pillar page is meant to teach or cover a broad topic, whereas topic clusters are groups of content that dive deeper into a pillar page’s content.
One of the strongest tenants of search optimized content has to do with relationships. The relationship between topics, keywords, written content, video, links, and more give search engines context. When you’re planning out your SEO content – both pages and posts – pillar pages and topic clusters are extremely useful.
They allow you to create a hierarchy of content; making it so that some content branches off others. Together, they help you paint a broad and comprehensive picture of the topic you want to rank for. Not only that, content makes more sense to users when there is a clear and easy to follow relationship between posts and pages.
What is a Pillar Page?
Pillar Pages can be called many things. Cornerstone content, Skyscraper content, Pillar content, etc. Regardless of what you call it, it serves a specific purpose: Pillar pages cover a broad topic in depth on one singular web page. It’s the central place to provide all the information a reader may need on a topic.
Think of a Pillar Page like a 101 class. After taking a 101 class, you should have a pretty solid understanding of the topic. And you should be able to dive into more specific classes with a baseline understanding.
What does a pillar page contain?
- They can be focused on a product or service, they can be a how-to guide, or they can be a teaching tool.
- Pillar Pages are usually long – around 2,000 words – but there is not one “best” length.
- A Pillar Page should link out to other webpages to provide context and additional information.
How do Pillar Pages help SEO?
Pillar pages help with link building, earning authority, and providing easy to follow information to readers.
Search engines want to serve users websites that are experts. By using Pillar Pages and their subsequent Topic Cluster pages, you can create a lattice of information that proves to Google and other search engines that you have spent time and energy searching and teaching all the necessary information someone would want.
Pillar Pages are key for organizing your content in a way that readers can follow. They aid you in creating content people want to read. The metrics that follow – higher traffic, lower bounce rates, more linkbacks – all help boost SEO value.
What is a Topic Cluster?
A Topic Cluster is a group (or cluster) of content that is grouped around another more broad piece of content. They tend to be ways that readers can understand more about a certain topic. They drill deeper, answer more specific questions, and add to a broader understanding.
Think of Topic Clusters like classes in a degree program. If you’re majoring in Microbiology, you wouldn’t take one long class every day all year just called Microbiology. Instead, you would take multiple shorter classes, like microbial genetics, virology, and microbial physiology. Each class would allow you to gain a comprehensive understanding of that facet of Microbiology. They may connect or overlap, but they are easier to digest separately.
How do Topic Clusters help SEO?
Topic Clusters add credibility and authority to your hub of content. Search engines want to be able to guarantee that your site is a reliable and knowledgeable source of information. The websites and webpages that really know their stuff get higher search results.
Adding more Topic Cluster pages over time shows your users as well as search engines that you have a deep understanding of a topic, thus adding more SEO value to your website. Just make sure that you’re linking back to your Pillar Page from your cluster pages. And make sure you update your Pillar Page to link out to new cluster pages.
What is the difference between Pillar Pages and Cluster Page?
Simply put, cluster pages branch off from Pillar Pages. A Pillar Page isn’t one unless it’s got cluster pages to link out to. And a cluster page is just a page unless it strategically links back to a pillar page that relates to it’s topic.
How do you create Pillar pages and topic clusters?
Together, Pillar Pages and Topic Clusters create a network of content that can help you chase specific SEO goals. They can affect both the web copy and web content on your website. Here’s how you may sit down to plan out this network.
To create a strong group of interconnected pillar and cluster pages:
- Research your primary keyword and pick the one you want to go for
- Find variations and questions related to the main keyword
- Create a well-optimized pillar page and publish
- Write blog posts centered around the variation and question keywords
- Publish the blog posts at a regular frequency
First, find your primary keyword
This is the broad, short, high-difficulty, high-competition keyword you may be trying to rank for. It’s your dream keyword or phrase. For example, maybe you make and sell skincare products that specialize in healing and preventing acne. You may pick a phrase like “best acne skincare.” This is what you believe your ideal customers are using to search for your product.
This is a very broad topic. Use a tool like SEM Rush to research that keyphrase and see how hard it will be to rank for.
This phrase has a high difficulty level, but a fairly low volume. From this, we can assume that there is a small but passionate audience for this topic. Developing some high-quality content about it will be a good idea. And this phrase will make a good focus for your Pillar Page.
Find keyword focuses for Cluster Pages
SEMRush will also tell us some information about related or specific topics people search for, related to this one.
This section can help you zero in on good topics for cluster pages. Especially the Questions section. They are about your Pillar topic, but are more specific. From this example alone, I can see that a post about Korean skincare specifically would make a good post idea. Choosing “View All” will give me a list of even more questions.
Create your Pillar Page
Spend time and focus creating your Pillar Page. Make sure it’s well researched and the information it contains is accurate. It can be an SEO optimized blog post or web page.
Either way, it should follow all on-page SEO best practices. It should be:
- Comprehensive
- UX-friendly
- Well-structured
- Easy to read
- Accessible
- Optimized for mobile
Use images, infographics, and video to make the information engaging. Make sure that it contains links to other pages on your site, as well as other relevant pages on the web.
Create your cluster pages
The pages you create to populate your Topic Clusters should be value-focused content, related to your Pillar topic, targeting a popular keyphrase your target audience is using.
These pages should be created in a similar fashion to your Pillar Pages: They should be highly researched, well-written, optimized for SEO, and enjoyable to interact with. While a Pillar Page is published once, cluster pages should be scheduled out over a period of time. For example, you might choose to write and publish a blog post once a week or once a month.
Finally, make sure you’re tracking and reporting on the success of these pages. Use metrics that matter to you. And come back later to refine your strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a good idea to have a pillar page as a “page”, like a landing page. Then, publish topic clusters as blog posts that all link back to the pillar page.
There is no limit the number of cluster pages you can produce. However, they should be relevant and high quality. It’s better to have a handful of very strong cluster pages than thousands of weak ones.
There is no one right answer, but for most content, 3-5 links per 1,000 words is a good standard. The links should provide useful information and value to the content. If the link isn’t necessary of helpful, don’t include it.
Because blog post content is often viewed as time-sensitive, pillar pages work best as pages. A “page” is usually considered to contain long-term “permanent” content.
