What Is a Pillar Post? (And Why Your Blog Needs One)
If you’ve spent any time reading about blogging, you’ve probably come across the term “pillar post.” And if you’re like most new bloggers, you nodded along and kept scrolling without really knowing what it meant.
No judgment, it’s one of those phrases that gets thrown around a lot without much explanation.
A pillar post is actually a pretty simple concept, and once you understand it, it changes how you think about your entire content strategy.
What is a Pillar Post?
A pillar post is a long, comprehensive post that covers a broad topic in your niche. It’s the post you’d send someone who asked, “where do I even start with this?”
Think of it as the foundation of a content topic.
It gives your reader a full overview, and everything else you write on that topic supports it and links back to it.
How is it Different from a Regular Blog Post?
A regular blog post goes deep on one specific thing. Like:
- How to make a sourdough starter.
- The best budgeting apps for beginners.
- Five ways to grow your email list.
A pillar post is the bigger picture.
It introduces the topic, covers the key points, and points readers to your other posts for more detail.
You’re not trying to cover everything in depth, you’re giving them the map.
A Real Example
Here’s a real example on how to use this practice.
Say your blog is about personal finance.
One of your content pillars might be budgeting.
Your pillar post could be something like “How to Budget When You’re Just Starting Out” which would cover a complete overview of budgeting basics for beginners.
Under that, you’d write supporting posts like:
- The best budgeting apps for beginners
- How to build an emergency fund
- How to stop overspending on groceries
- Budgeting on a variable income
Each of those posts goes deep on one piece of the topic.
The pillar post ties them all together.
When a new reader finds your blog and lands on that pillar, they get the full picture, and they have somewhere to go next.
Why Pillar Posts matter for Growth
So, why do pillar posts matter for blog growth?
First, they tend to rank well in search engines.
A comprehensive post that covers a topic thoroughly gives Google or Bing a clear signal about what your blog is about.
Second, they keep readers on your site longer.
When your pillar post links to five other posts on the same topic, a reader who’s interested in that subject has a reason to keep clicking to cover all of the topics they want in one session.
And third, they give your content a structure to build around.
Instead of publishing random posts and hoping they connect, you’re building something intentional, one supporting post at a time.
How to Know if a Post Should be a Pillar
This is the golden question! How do you know if a blog post should actually be a pillar post?
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Is this topic broad enough that I could write multiple posts about it?
- Would a brand new reader land on this and get a solid overview of the topic?
- Could I see myself linking back to this post from a lot of other posts I write?
If you’re answering yes to those, it’s probably a pillar post. If the topic is more specific or narrow, it’s likely a supporting post that lives under one of your pillars.
What to do Next?
Now that you know what a pillar post is, the next step is figuring out what your pillars actually are.
Go back to your blog topic and ask yourself: what are the three to five big themes my blog covers? Those are your pillars!
From there, your pillar posts practically write themselves.
If you want help mapping it all out, my Content Cluster Blog Planner walks you through building your pillars and brainstorming the posts that go under each one.
And if you’re wondering how pillar posts and content clusters are related, that’s exactly what the next post covers!
