Creating an online blog can be quite an exciting experience. Regardless of whether you want to share your thoughts with the world or expand your business site with a new and informative section, knowing how to structure your blog content is vital for your website’s online popularity, satisfied visitors, and SEO score. In fact, most successful social media marketing campaigns rely on a structured framework for their content strategy, and this is where content pillars shine.
In the following paragraphs, we share what content pillars are and how to use them in crafting your website content, so you get the most out of your website.
What are Content Pillars
You have likely stared at your content calendar, unsure of what to write next. The majority of bloggers, digital marketers, and business owners have hit the wall, so you are not alone. In such situations, content pillars come in handy, as they serve as a backbone for your website’s content creation process.
In plain words, content pillars are a set of relevant themes for your website and business that serve as a foundation of your content strategy. Think of these pillars as large topical categories under which smaller content ideas take place. For example, a fitness studio might use these sample content pillars: Workout Routines, Nutrition Tips, Mental Wellness. Then, under each pillar, a more precise topic takes place. For example, under Workout Routines, the studio adds topics such as Routines for Weight Loss, Routines for Bulking, and Routines for Cardio. Then, within these sub-categories, you can add your focused articles and publications that revolve around the main topic. In the context of a fitness studio, within the Routines for Weight Loss category, which stays under the Workout Routines pillar, you can add an article such as this one – Why HIIT Workouts are so Popular and are they Effective for You?
A visual representation of the content pillar structure looks like this:
And when applied to the fitness studio example, it looks like this:
Such an approach towards your website content is effective for several reasons. First, it organizes your ideas and helps you come up with content ideas more easily. Second, it is very effective for SEO, as search engines love well-structured websites. Also, such a structure makes it very easy for your website visitors to quickly have a notion of what your content is all about and to search for a given article quickly and easily.
Types of Content Pillars
Your content pillars will always depend on your brand, audience, and business goals. This means that different types of formats can be effective for various niches and businesses, and although there is no one universal formula, we share some of the most common types of content pillars that can be applicable for your website and business niche:
Guides. These are comprehensive long-form articles that introduce your readers to a broad theme or topic. In this context, guides serve as a pillar article that you can update over time and link to some complementary posts on the same topic. For example, one such pillar article can be “What is SEO and How Does it Work“. It will serve as the central hub regarding everything about the topic of SEO, including explaining what keywords are, what backlinks are, and what internal links are. Also,it will connect other relevant publications within the same topic with links, like “What are Keywords” and “What is Keyword Stuffing“. Pillar guides are very effective for establishing topical authority and also help you with search visibility.
In a simple visual example, all this means that your pillar article is present, and you expand its content with focused short articles that remain under the main pillar category and link to it:
“What Is” type of articles. There are numerous occasions in which your target audience may want to get a quick and precise answer to a given question. For example, where to set the Google Analytics 4 Code. Such publications help you define various concepts in simple terms, give context, and link to your website’s other content pillars and deeper resources. Such articles might not be as extensive and detailed as the guide pillar articles, but they are important for your content pillar strategy, as they help visitors retain interest in your website’s content.
“How To” type of articles. These are instructional posts that help your readers solve a problem or complete a task. An example of such an article can be “How to Upload Your Content Calendar in Google Sheets” or “How to Access WordPress Admin Panel with Critical Error Warning.” Such articles can help you deliver practical value to people who search for solutions online and also enhance the content pillar model by linking these how-to articles in one big cluster under a big category.
When blended, these types of content create a well-structured system of content pieces that enhance user experience, send signals to Google that your website is well-built, and help with retaining visitors across your pages.
How to Create Content Pillars On Your Website
Although building a strong content pillar strategy won’t happen overnight, with enough planning, research, and consistent execution, you can build a pillar system quite quickly. We share our ideas on how to create content pillars, incorporate them into your website, and enhance your content creation process.
Step 1: Audit Your Website
Start by examining your already existing content pieces – blog posts, landing pages, videos, case studies, and others and examine which ones bring the most traffic to your pages. A quick way of analysing is by using an analytics tool. Search for:
- Patterns such as subjects you covered well.
- Gaps such as topics you haven’t covered, but your audience expects from you.
- Top performing pages – filter the publications that bring the most traffic and find what makes them so successful. The insights you gather can then be used for new content ideas that are also effective.
Step 2: Research Your Target Audience
Your content pillars should be aligned with your audience’s needs, expectations, and pain points. The more you know about them, the more effective your pillars will become. Alongside the classic age/gender/location details, you should also extrapolate data about their preferences, psychological and physical needs, how they find your product, and how they believe you can help them. Such insights can help you shape your products and services in a way that is more appealing to them, but also mold your content pillars in a way that is most useful to them.
To get the most out of audience research, use tools and sources like:
- Search data (by adopting tools such as Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush).
- Comments and reviews (what people think about your business, products, and services).
- CRM data (sales data and customer pain points).
- Community feedback (for example, insights from social media discussions via various social media tools).
Step 3: Define Content Pillars
Now that you know more about your audience and the type of content that generates traffic, it is time to start shaping your pillars. For starters, focus on outlining 3-5 pillars, as more can dilute the impact of your content strategy.
To define a pillar, blend the insights you got from audience and content analysis, and add your business goals and your expertise. Now look for recurring insights, ideas, and topics that can be combined into one big category. Once you come up with an idea, boom! You’ve got your first pillar category created. Repeat to process until you have 3-5 pillar categories. For now, these are more than enough.
After you come up with a list of pillars, it is time to think of a post that encompasses everything about this general category. For example, if one of your pillars is “Workout Routines”, then you should create a guide or a large article explaining everything about this topic – cover ideas such as what a workout is, why people should work out, how a workout changes our body, how workout contributes to better well-being, and so on. Once you finish this vast article, you have created your first pillar. Congratulations!
Step 4: Define Your Cluster Map
Now, the next step is to create numerous smaller articles that revolve around the topic of the pillar article and expand it even further. For example, you create snorter articles such as HIIT for Beginners, What are Tabata Workouts, and How to Stretch after a Workout, and link these articles to your main one. This approach helps you build a well-structured system of content that is relevant, categorized, and useful for your potential audience. For example, you can add such types of publications:
- FAQ Posts
- WHAT IS articles.
- HOW TO articles.
- Comparisons of concepts, ideas, products, and services.
- Case studies.
Don’t forget to link these to your main pillars for optimal SEO impact.
In the example of Workout Routines, smaller articles can include topics such as:
- Workout Routines for Weight Loss
- 10-Minute Routines
- HIIT for Beginners
- What Supplements to Take after a Workout
Step 5: Plan Your Revised Content Calendar
After you have created a pillar article, subarticles, and linked them within the system of your website, it is now time to organize these publications into a structured content calendar. Such a calendar not only acts as a reminder of what to publish and on which days. A well-structured content calendar can also help you balance the content themes, assign responsibilities, and align your content strategy with your overall business strategy.
Although there is no single tried-and-tested method, you can do the following:
- Publish different pillar articles and different smaller publications every week, so you keep your website visitors engaged with diverse content. Also, don’t forget to include these publications in your social media marketing strategy for an even stronger impact.
- Or, for example, you can try to dedicate an entire month to a single topic and therefore publish content only from one pillar. With this approach, you can solidify your topical authority – a great approach to boost your SEO score.
Whichever method you choose, you should remember that consistency is key. Periodic publications in your content creation process can help you keep your team aligned and ensure that your audience remains satisfied with new content often.
Step 6: Include Pillars Within Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Don’t limit to publications only on your website’s blog. Your posts can bring more traffic and convert more customers if they are included in your social media marketing campaign. To benefit from such an approach, make sure to include your pillars and related articles within your social media publications, so you reach a wider audience. For example, you can do the following:
- Break your large How-To guides into simple step-by-step Instagram carousels, or short TikTok videos that urge users to open the full article within your website.
- Share informative case studies on your LinkedIn thread, so you can highlight a challenge and a solution you provided, so B2B and B2C audiences know that you are an expert in a given field.
- Take key ideas from your pillar articles and share them on X and Facebook, so you cover different topics constantly and again prompt the audience to open the full article on your website.
The idea is to align a format with a theme, so it fits a given audience. For example, visual-heavy tutorials can have an impact on Instagram, while in-depth insights and analyses can convert better on LinkedIn. Always remember to link to the post on your website, so the social media publications become a gateway that drives the audience to the next step in the customer journey of becoming a paying client.
Conclusion
Creating an online blog is way more than publishing posts. It is about creating a structured system that supports your business’s long-term goals. This is where content pillars come in handy. By defining main topics and categories, then breaking them into subcategories, and then creating topic-related and relevant articles, you have the chance to enhance your site visitors’ browsing experience and greatly enhance your SEO score.
Content pillars are not just a shallow content tactic, but a long-term investment that can help your brand grow. In fact, each successful blog and reputable website on the web invests in such an approach, because time has shown that content pillars are directly connected to more visits, engagement, and better conversion rate.
Start working on your first content pillars today, and watch how much easier and more consistent your content creation process becomes – try out our free web hosting plan and launch your project today.