Pillar Page and Topic Cluster: Two Key SEO Concepts in 2023
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 6:57 am
The way we search the web is changing. With the rise of voice assistants, queries are more conversational, more comprehensive, longer. We no longer type in just one keyword.
For example, instead of searching for “ Japanese restaurant ,” you might ask your smartphone, “ Find a Japanese restaurant near me .” Today, 50% of online searches are three words or more, and 20% of mobile queries are voice-based.
This makes sense, since there is a plethora of content available online. It is therefore in our best interest to refine our queries to obtain the most relevant results possible.
This is also why Google, the leading search engine in France, ensures israel telegram the quality of search results. In 2021, the Californian firm made more than 4,300 improvements to its search engine for a total of just under 750,000 tests.
User habits are changing, and so is Google. What about your business? Has your content strategy changed in recent years? Have you been keeping up with SEO trends?
With longer queries and more efficient algorithms, your SEO strategy must adapt.
But, it's more complex than a simple choice of keywords. It's the entire structure of your content that must be transformed, particularly with the emergence of two key concepts for SEO in 2023: pillar pages and Topic Clusters.
Definitions: pillar page and topic cluster
Before going any further, let's take stock of these two concepts: the pillar page and the topic cluster.
A pillar page is a relatively long piece of content dedicated to a specific topic, called a topic cluster .
The pillar page should allow a reader to have a global understanding of the topic you are dealing with. It is therefore a central content around which all the more in-depth topics relating to the topic gravitate.
To be clear, a pillar page deals with a broad topic, while topic cluster pages focus on specific keywords.
Let’s take an example to understand this better.
Example of pillar page and topic cluster
You run a gym and want to improve its visibility on search engines. To do this, our SEO experts will add a blog to your website to publish articles on fitness and health.
Since you have a large cardio area in your gym, we want to position you on the term (or keyword) "cardio training". Therefore, this will be the theme of our pillar page: we will address the concept of cardio training in a complete and in-depth manner. We talk, for example, about its main principles, benefits, exercises, heart rate, common beginner mistakes, etc.
Then, we create a series of more specific articles: this is our topic cluster (thematic group). All these topics must be related to cardio training. They are first linked in substance: each blog article is optimized on a specific keyword , related to cardio training. They are also linked in a concrete way: your secondary topic refers, thanks to a hyperlink , to the pillar page "cardio training".
This internal mesh is essential to indicate to Google and Internet users the connections between your different web pages. This structure will strengthen the authority of the pillar page and, even more so, improve its visibility in search engines. You therefore have a better chance of appearing in the first positions, and this, as soon as a user launches a query related to cardio training: they can come across any of your topic cluster articles.
So, topic clusters improve the natural referencing of more web pages, and make it easier for Internet users to find information. No matter what they are looking for, they can find it on your website.
Why does this SEO strategy work?
digital marketing, seo, google
The SEO strategy based on pillar pages and topic clusters works because it is in line with current user search habits:
1 in 5 Internet users uses a voice assistant to search online.
More than half of the queries contain three words or more.
A page in first position on Google ranks for 400 keywords on average.
The rise of voice search
Virtual assistants like Siri, Google or Alexa are gaining popularity. More and more of us are using them, including for online searches. This has an impact on SEO optimization .
The query formulations are more natural, more conversational. Thus, Google offers results capable of specifically answering the questions asked. This is why complete pillar pages and well-optimized topic clusters increase your chances of appearing at the top of search results: you assert yourself as an expert on the topic searched for.
voice search seo
For example, instead of searching for “ Japanese restaurant ,” you might ask your smartphone, “ Find a Japanese restaurant near me .” Today, 50% of online searches are three words or more, and 20% of mobile queries are voice-based.
This makes sense, since there is a plethora of content available online. It is therefore in our best interest to refine our queries to obtain the most relevant results possible.
This is also why Google, the leading search engine in France, ensures israel telegram the quality of search results. In 2021, the Californian firm made more than 4,300 improvements to its search engine for a total of just under 750,000 tests.
User habits are changing, and so is Google. What about your business? Has your content strategy changed in recent years? Have you been keeping up with SEO trends?
With longer queries and more efficient algorithms, your SEO strategy must adapt.
But, it's more complex than a simple choice of keywords. It's the entire structure of your content that must be transformed, particularly with the emergence of two key concepts for SEO in 2023: pillar pages and Topic Clusters.
Definitions: pillar page and topic cluster
Before going any further, let's take stock of these two concepts: the pillar page and the topic cluster.
A pillar page is a relatively long piece of content dedicated to a specific topic, called a topic cluster .
The pillar page should allow a reader to have a global understanding of the topic you are dealing with. It is therefore a central content around which all the more in-depth topics relating to the topic gravitate.
To be clear, a pillar page deals with a broad topic, while topic cluster pages focus on specific keywords.
Let’s take an example to understand this better.
Example of pillar page and topic cluster
You run a gym and want to improve its visibility on search engines. To do this, our SEO experts will add a blog to your website to publish articles on fitness and health.
Since you have a large cardio area in your gym, we want to position you on the term (or keyword) "cardio training". Therefore, this will be the theme of our pillar page: we will address the concept of cardio training in a complete and in-depth manner. We talk, for example, about its main principles, benefits, exercises, heart rate, common beginner mistakes, etc.
Then, we create a series of more specific articles: this is our topic cluster (thematic group). All these topics must be related to cardio training. They are first linked in substance: each blog article is optimized on a specific keyword , related to cardio training. They are also linked in a concrete way: your secondary topic refers, thanks to a hyperlink , to the pillar page "cardio training".
This internal mesh is essential to indicate to Google and Internet users the connections between your different web pages. This structure will strengthen the authority of the pillar page and, even more so, improve its visibility in search engines. You therefore have a better chance of appearing in the first positions, and this, as soon as a user launches a query related to cardio training: they can come across any of your topic cluster articles.
So, topic clusters improve the natural referencing of more web pages, and make it easier for Internet users to find information. No matter what they are looking for, they can find it on your website.
Why does this SEO strategy work?
digital marketing, seo, google
The SEO strategy based on pillar pages and topic clusters works because it is in line with current user search habits:
1 in 5 Internet users uses a voice assistant to search online.
More than half of the queries contain three words or more.
A page in first position on Google ranks for 400 keywords on average.
The rise of voice search
Virtual assistants like Siri, Google or Alexa are gaining popularity. More and more of us are using them, including for online searches. This has an impact on SEO optimization .
The query formulations are more natural, more conversational. Thus, Google offers results capable of specifically answering the questions asked. This is why complete pillar pages and well-optimized topic clusters increase your chances of appearing at the top of search results: you assert yourself as an expert on the topic searched for.
voice search seo