Law Firm Marketing Agency
Are you frustrated with content marketing? Do you feel like the algorithm changes every day and you don’t know how to keep pace? We’ve got a bona fide solution for you.
Your online visitors and Google will be equally impressed by pillar content. Pillar-cluster is a system for producing and organizing content that is easy to learn and implement. Attorneys can use this powerful model to rise in the rankings.
This article is a primer on the pillar-cluster content model for attorneys, including examples of pillar content, why pillar content will ignite your SEO, and best practices to get started with pillar content.
What is pillar content?
Pillar content is a cluster of related topics built around a core pillar, aka pillar-cluster content.
The pillar could be a practice area, like “family law in Florida.” Cluster topics might include “laws about custody in Florida” and “how to prepare for a custody case in Florida,” for example. This approach to content is called the pillar-cluster model.
In the same way a pillar holds up a house, pillar-cluster content can be the backbone of your SEO strategy.
Pillar pages and cluster pages serve different purposes.
Pillar pages are longer and fairly comprehensive—but they don’t cover the topic in-depth. The pillar page should answer basic questions about a core topic and then encourage people to click to a related cluster page for more detailed information.
Pillar-cluster content is both a content generation strategy and a site architecture foundation.
You have to create the right content using the right keywords. Then, you also have to organize your website in a way that helps people find related content using pages and hyperlinks.
For example, here is our pillar page on website design for attorneys. See how it’s general yet comprehensive, with tons of links to more specific topics?
Examples of pillar content in the legal field
Let’s say you’re a personal injury attorney. Here’s an example of what the pillar-cluster content model could look like for you.
Pillar page: car accidents
Cluster blog articles:
- What to do if you’re in an accident in a ride-sharing vehicle
- Whether you can collect for whiplash
- How long do you have to file a lawsuit following a car accident
- Tips for dealing with insurance adjusters and how to fight for denied claims
- What to do if you’re hit by an uninsured driver
- Mistakes after a car accident that could jeopardize your legal rights and compensation
- Types of compensation you might be eligible for and how they’re calculated
- How a lawyer helps you get compensation after a car accident
- What are your rights in a multi-car accident
- What evidence do I need to prove liability after an accident
- What are my rights after a hit-and-run
You could build up a bank of related content for other personal injury pillars, like medical malpractice, slip-and-fall, or product defects.
Why is pillar content so valuable?
Pillar-cluster content is good for your visitors and good for Google.
Improve your SEO with pillar-cluster content
Google understands related content. If you search for “shoes”, you will also get results for “boots,” for example. Publishing clusters of related legal topics can help more of your web pages rank higher on the SERP.
Think of pillar-cluster content like a field of wildflowers and Google is the honeybee. Pillar-cluster content allows Google to buzz from one page to the next, sipping information and forming a very clear picture of your website’s focus.
Showcasing your E-E-A-T and strategically linking between cluster and pillar pages provides a strong roadmap for Google—which is super helpful for SEO.
Pillar content fits the way people are searching for information online
Longer, more conversational search queries are becoming more common—and pillar-cluster content is the perfect solution for these types of queries.
People are changing the way they search in order to get better results the first time. This means that people are submitting highly specific queries and then skimming to find what they need fast.
By organizing your content into pillar-clusters, you’re helping people get fast, detailed answers to specific questions. Then, once you’ve satisfied users by providing immediate help, you can entice them into staying for a while by clicking around for more related information.
Best practices for pillar content
Pillar content should be intentional, comprehensive, and organized.
Intentional: Identify your pillar topics early on. Then, identify corresponding topics for blog posts. Don’t create random ad hoc blog posts! Think about what your users are searching for and what questions they have.
Comprehensive: Pillar pages should be at least 2,500 words. They should target the pillar topic and its related keywords, providing a general overview of the topic with clear headings.
Organized: All pillar pages should have links from the homepage and the navigation menu. On the page, content should be organized and linked in a way that makes it easy for users and search engines to find information quickly. This means headings, key takeaways, and hyperlinks.
Be very careful not to create pages that are too similar. This can result in something called keyword cannibalization where URLs compete against each other to rank—and then none of them do. Each cluster should be specific enough to earn its own ranking on Google.
Review and next steps
Pillar-cluster content can be a powerful tool, but you must be deliberate about content creation and organized about its publication.
At Omnizant, we specialize in creating content for attorneys that not only boosts SEO but also provides value to their online visitors. Get expert help with your digital presence and take your content marketing strategy to the next level.
Contact us to learn more about our digital marketing services for attorneys or request a quote.