Pillar page vs landing page – what’s the difference?
The search engine mechanisms are improvement initiatives that tackle users’ behavior and intentions. But when was the last time you examined your content marketing strategy in the context of this shift? Have you reviewed and analyzed the structure and information shared across your site’s different parts?
Identifying the relationship between landing and pillar pages will help you determine how to capture, engage, and satisfy website users.
When it came to marketing content in 2006, the internet was a uniquely competitive industry. Composing 350-word blog entries with the proper mixture of links and keywords was enough to get in front of the target clients in the initial stages of inbound.
And then something strange happened!
Small or medium organizations in many industries have successfully implemented inbound marketing. The word got out. More businesses began to use the same practices, methods, and content types.
Today, the internet is flooded with content more than a decade later, and methods and tools that became part of the routine to an inbound expert are losing effectiveness. Search engines such as Google and Bing have started to sift through information for relevance, showing only what best matches the purpose of a user’s query.
And these shifts are being felt deeply. As per the 2018 Status of Inbound survey, improving their SEO and organic visibility is a key company priority for 61% of marketers. 6% (not a typo) say getting traffic and leads is one of their top marketing problems.
Organic real estate is shrinking in the online world. It is more difficult to get your content and responses in front of the right people and really generate net new website visitors. What should a content marketer do?
What’s a Pillar Page?
A pillar page, also described as a content pillar, is a website page that covers a major topic in-depth and is linked to a group of related information. Search engine crawlers prioritize websites with topic-organized content. It can help you rank for important inquiries to your company and its clients.
A pillar page summarises the entire issue on a single page, with space for additional in-depth reporting in more detailed blog articles (called clusters) that link back to the pillar page. While pillar pages cover a broad topic, “cluster” material delves further into individual keywords linked to that topic.
Imagine you wanted to design a pillar page about your broad topic, content marketing. You may look into clusters concerning blogging or social media posts that are more particular keywords inside the content marketing subject.
There are now two different types of pillar pages: resource pillar pages and 10x content pillar pages.
A resource pillar page is known for the following characteristics:
- Heavy on internal and/or external links
- “Bookmarkable” reference page
A 10x content pillar page is known for the following characteristics:
- Deep dive on a core topic
- The format is similar to an ungated ebook (usually with an option to download)
What Is a Landing Page?
Landing pages are basically website pages capable of converting visitors into leads and serve as the cornerstone of the marketer’s traditional conversational journey. Landing pages and associated forms operate as gatekeepers to some of your most valuable content offers instead of pillar pages designed on the philosophy of ungating your data.
- Depending on the specific asset on offer, the standardized flow of a conversion path that includes a landing page is as follows:
- The visitor is made aware of the content offered.
- After clicking a link, ad, or call-to-action button, the visitor is transferred to a landing page.
- They opt to complete the form on the landing page.
- The visitor is routed to a thank you page, where they can receive their offer or receive it through email.
You may have noticed that there are a lot of steps—a lot of chances for a visitor to perform the required task. Conversion optimization can serve you in framing your offers to best meet the tastes of your target audience, but it is not a panacea.
Several businesses have already declared the form dead, including marketers, salespeople, and service representatives from several businesses. The effectiveness of emerging conversational technologies such as bots and messaging applications appears to corroborate this assumption.
But there is still hope for long-time landing page fans. This is where the connection between landing and pillar pages comes into play.
It might often be tough to discern which topics or materials your website visitors find most engaging or useful. It takes time to create large pillar pages that score well for your intended broad topic or “head term.” You don’t want to expend all of your time and energy generating and ranking in a category that isn’t conducive to building relationships and powering your flywheel.
So what do you do?
If you already have landing pages and are just starting up with your pillar page approach, that’s fantastic. Landing pages and existing offers can provide you with a plethora of information about what your website visitors are interested in and willing to “pay” for using their personal information. This knowledge can assist you in understanding what areas your buyer personas are interested in and where you might wish to establish authority.
An inbound marketer’s core principle is repurposing. You’ve already generated longer form goods (like ebooks, white papers, etc.) that may be excellent pillar page material. Your landing pages can be used to evaluate new and potential pillar pages. However, the path to your pillar page may not always be so straightforward. Keyword research and reputation building can be time – consuming process and challenging.
How?
Determine which of your offers is significant enough to serve as the foundation of a pillar page. Then, gradually ungate your stuff into the prose of your landing page. The content that frames the transformation opportunity will evolve over time to become more of a resource. This is one of the most natural ways to turn a standard landing page into a 10x pillar page.
The opportunity for function conversion will most likely change as well. The forms that initially gated the information offered can now be used to download the offer, creating value for the visitor’s learning experience. You can finally get rid of it totally. You don’t really want to depart your pillars without conversion opportunities.
As a result, certain landing pages and their offers can progressively evolve into pillar pages. This will assist you in meeting the need to change user behavior. Is there any reason to create landing pages at all?
In short, yes.
Unlike pillar pages, which try to cover a wide range of topics, the beauty of landing pages is their concentration on a specific objective. If you’re conducting social media advertising, you can tailor the website to exactly fit the aim of the ad that your visitors clicked on. They ensure that your marketing activities stay adaptable and well-curated.
Content is a powerful marketing strategy Because it allows you or your employees to become knowledge brokers. You add value by offering your knowledge (and eventually your product) to help your visitors solve their problems. Furthermore, every corporation has expertise in something. This helps create a trust over time, which keeps the flywheel turning.
But you can’t even deliver the finest experience until you personalized it and know who you’re talking to. While developing pillar sites and topic clusters to raise awareness and education makes sense, having some of your most qualified offers as part of the information exchange is still beneficial.
Your conversion environment should not suffer due to the addition of this interesting new resource. Quite the contrary, in fact. Pillar pages allow you to provide quick value, build trust, and demonstrate your company’s credibility as an expert in a field. This, like the tide, should have a favorable impact on your conversion possibilities.
Furthermore, having a broad conversion environment that comprises both pillar pages and landing pages allows you to:
- Consider the various ways in which people choose to exchange information.
- Pay attention to the preferences of your website visitors.
- Get the data you need to keep nurturing your leads, prospects, and customers.
What Is the Difference Between a Pillar Page and a Landing Page?
While there are several differences between pillar and landing pages, here are 3 of the most essential.
Purpose
To put it simply, a pillar page uses SEO to attract visitors and educate them on a specific topic. A landing page is designed to convert visitors.
Design
Pillar page design is typically represented by a large, lengthy article. You’ll frequently encounter large pieces of text (remember, it’s roughly 3,000 words) with headings to make it easier to scan. You may also notice many new links to related topics in the sidebar.
Landing pages, on the other hand, tend to be text-light. They may include visuals, icons, and brief fragments of text to persuade visitors to convert. They usually include a form where you can input your name and basic contact information.
Stage of Buyer’s Journey
A pillar page nearly usually meets buyers during their awareness or contemplation phase. It’s a lengthy page with a lot of general information to help readers understand a subject. While it can and should include information regarding the product or service, its primary purpose should be to educate. On the other hand, a landing page can be tailored to any step of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to loyalty.
So, when are a pillar page and a landing page present on the same page? Some firms discover that having their landing page content and call to action (CTA) just above the fold and a pillar page below the fold yields excellent results. This allows users to take action without having to scroll much and offers the page excellent SEO value.
Conclusion:
A landing page is a separate web page designed expressly for a marketing or advertising campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” after clicking on a link in an email or an ad from Google, Bing, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or another comparable website.
While pillar content can help enhance your website’s SEO efforts, it also allows your firm to create trust with website users and inform prospective future buyers.
