Pillar page

It tells search engines where your topic starts. Your spoke pages then rank for the long tail and send context back to the hub.

It helps users. Someone on "/guides/seo" can scan a clear overview, then click "On‑page SEO", "Technical SEO" or "Link building" without getting lost.

It prevents thin, overlapping posts. You decide the boundaries once, then add focused pages that do not cannibalise each other.

1. 1

   Pick one broad search

   Choose a head term like "email marketing" or "page speed" that a single product page cannot satisfy. The pillar targets this broad query.

2. 2

   Map 6 to 12 spokes

   List subtopics users need: for "page speed" that may be "Largest Contentful Paint", "render‑blocking resources", "image optimisation" and "third‑party scripts".

3. 3

   Set URLs and scope

   Use a clean structure, for example "/guides/page-speed" for the pillar and child paths for spokes, like "/guides/page-speed/image-optimisation".

4. 4

   Write the overview

   Cover definitions, key steps, common pitfalls and links to each spoke. The pillar should be worth reading on its own, not a link list.

5. 5

   Publish spokes and link both ways

   In each spoke, link back to the pillar with descriptive anchor text. From the pillar, link to each spoke near the relevant section.

A fixed example: "/guides/page-speed" introduces Core Web Vitals and links to "/guides/page-speed/largest-contentful-paint" and "/guides/page-speed/third-party-scripts". Each spoke links back with "page speed guide" as anchor text.

• Search Console, Performance: the pillar should earn impressions on the broad query and related head terms. Spokes should pick up specific queries.
• Search Console, Pages tab: check clicks per spoke. Low‑click spokes may need clearer links from the pillar or tighter titles.
• Search Console, Queries tab on the pillar: confirm the intent is informational. If transactional queries dominate, you built a landing page, not a pillar.
• Internal links: the pillar should have links in and out to every spoke. Fix any orphan spokes.
• User paths: in product analytics, see if readers click from the pillar to the right spoke and return. Add short summaries above each link if they do not.

A healthy set: the pillar shows rising impressions with steady clicks, spokes gain clicks on long‑tail terms and time on page is higher than your average article.

• A thin hub: a list of links with no overview. Write sections, definitions and short how‑tos before you list links.
• Too many spokes at once: start with six to twelve. Beyond that, split into a new cluster or the hub becomes vague.
• Mixed intents: do not cram pricing tables or CTAs meant for "/pricing" into a pillar. Keep it informational and navigational.
• Duplicate blurbs: avoid copy‑pasting the same paragraph on every spoke. Summarise each spoke uniquely on the pillar.
• URL sprawl: do not scatter spokes across "/blog/" and "/guides/". Keep one structure so crawlers and users see the set.
• Unclear anchors: link with specific text like "Core Web Vitals guide" rather than "read more".