There is no “one size fits all” approach to SEO and improving your website’s Google ranking. However, your website design should include high quality “evergreen content” (web content that remains relevant at all times) to help raise your online profile. Jude Mitcham from our Digital Marketing team explains.
If you’re using a WordPress website with a plug-in such as SEO Yoast, Rank Math, SEOPress, WP Meta SEO, Squirrly SEO, or similar, this type of high-quality content may also be marked as “cornerstone articles” or pillar content.
What is a cornerstone article or pillar page?
A cornerstone article (also known as pillar content or other terms by different tools) is usually a foundational piece of content that defines your specific product/service/brand. It clearly outlines, even to a visitor with no previous knowledge of your business, who you are and what you do.
Why do you need cornerstone articles?
Including cornerstone articles on your website helps users to find the information they really need. It also helps to enhance your website’s link structure, and ensure the presence of quality evergreen content, which helps to improve SEO, increase brand awareness, and establish brand authority. With the right content, your website will also receive more relevant site visitors.
What are my cornerstone articles?
To be effective, you’ll want to have several cornerstone articles that are based on the main themes of your website. Ask yourself: what are the first pages that I’d like a new visitor to view? These should be your most authoritative and important pieces of content.
Keyword research for your cornerstone articles
Think about your desired outcome of the article and what search terms people would be using to find it. Are enough people searching for that keyword to make this content worthwhile? Be sure to think about keywords when creating your cornerstone articles and choose the most appropriate and relevant keyword for your content.
Keep content relevant for SEO
You might have generated several posts on a similar subject, all featuring important keywords. You will need to prioritise in order to create and select your cornerstone article or pillar content.
Once you’ve chosen your cornerstone content, make sure it stays relevant, by regularly updating the pages as your business evolves. Note that the length of the article doesn’t matter to search, so long as it is relevant.
Your website landing page or homepage
The landing page or homepage of your website is the first thing any visitor will see so make sure the content is relevant and engaging, and that the page includes links to your cornerstone articles. This placement enhances the opportunity for more people to see it and notifies Google that it is important content, helping to increase SEO.
Linking to your cornerstones
When choosing cornerstone content, don’t forget about the rest! Make sure you optimise the content and link back to your cornerstone articles. This helps to remind search engines which pages are the most important and need to be seen.
If you know the theory but need help creating high quality evergreen content and cornerstone articles for your website, Molokini experts can help support you with content writing.
Contact us now.