Pillar pages are both a work of art and a traffic driver, making it essential that you put a lot of love and care into them.
To do this, you’ve got to be creative. However, sometimes creativity can be hard to come by, and you may be struggling to think of the right topic or design for a pillar page of your own. When this happens, it can be extremely helpful to look at examples of successful pillar pages.
Lucky for you, we went ahead and compiled a list of great examples. No need to thank us; instead, just sit back, relax, and let your mind wander as you gaze upon the modern marketing genius that is the pillar page.
What Is a Pillar Page?
Before showing you some pillar page examples, here’s a beginner’s rundown on what a pillar page is.
A pillar page is the foundation on which a topic cluster content strategy is built. The purpose of a pillar page is to provide information on a broad topic that allows you to link several other pages on your site.
Pillar pages are important for SEO for several reasons. First and foremost, they allow you to organize the information on your site and eliminate redundancies in your content. This helps give your website a more defined “image” that will generate more relevant leads.
Pillar pages are also typically much bigger than a regular blog post -- think 10x the size -- giving you plenty of opportunities to work keywords into your copy. Just be sure you don’t overdo it, or your page could be flagged for keyword stuffing.
It’s normal to have several pillar pages visible in the main navigation of your website, especially if you specialize in many different industries. In fact, the more well-developed pillar pages you have, the better.
Pillar pages provide several benefits, such as:
- Helping create valuable leads
- Building credibility with your audience
- Creating a one-stop knowledge center for your visitors
- Improving your ranking in search engine results
- Generating backlinks
But what does a great pillar page look like? Below are 5 examples.
5 Great Pillar Page Examples
Below are five examples of great pillar page design, content, and navigation:
- Typeform: Brand Awareness
- HubSpot: Content Marketing Strategy
- The Atlantic: Population Healthier
- ProfitWell: SaaS DNA Project
- IMPACT: Content Style Guide
1. Typeform: Brand Awareness
Ain’t she a beauty? Typeform’s color palette catches the eye in a pleasant way, and the structure of the page is craftily designed.
Beyond how easy this page is on the eyes, it’s also super easy to navigate. The table of contents is right there at the top-left of the page when you arrive, and follows you as you scroll down the page. The content is also delivered in a logical manner that makes the information easy to consume.
Lastly, Typeform’s links are consistent throughout the page, and the majority of them lead their readers to a direct solution for a specific pain point.
2. HubSpot: Content Marketing Strategy
HubSpot, the rightful king of the pillar page throne. HubSpot’s always a good model when you need pillar page examples.
HubSpot pillar pages, and in this case, its content marketing strategy pillar page, always find a way to educate the audience quickly while providing an abundance of information. One way HubSpot does this is by providing a downloadable version of the page’s topic at the top of the page. This serves as a quick-win for both HubSpot and the visitor -- HubSpot collects an email address, and the user gets a to-go version of the content.
HubSpot also makes tremendous use of chapter links that allow visitors to quickly access the information they seek.
3. The Atlantic: Population Healthier
The Atlantic’s pillar page is a great example of how visuals can contribute to user experience. The way the page’s graphics transition and zoom around flawlessly as you scroll through the information is stunning, and keeps you genuinely engaged throughout.
If you haven’t seen this pillar page yet, you seriously need to.
4. ProfitWell: SaaS DNA Project
This pillar page from ProfitWell is a fantastic example because of how pertinent the information is. It provides great tips on SaaS content marketing while also giving you advice on the tactics you should avoid.
Sometimes knowing what NOT to do is just as important as knowing what to do. And providing this type of direct, honest information helps build trust with your audience.
5. IMPACT: Content Style Guide
IMPACT’s content style guide pillar page is unique, and truly holds more information than most other pillar pages out there. This is a result of its downloadable offerings that pop up frequently throughout the content.
IMPACT offers plenty of examples and templates that are available to download to help you start your own content style guide. IMPACT also did a great job with the structure of this pillar page, as the information is broken up enough that the reader can come up for air from time to time. Big, boring chunks of text tire a reader, and increase your page’s bounce rate.
Inbound Loves Pillar Pages
Pillar pages are not just part of a website marketing strategy; they play a large role in any inbound/content marketing strategy. They boost user experience, drive traffic to your site, and provide several engagement opportunities for your visitors.
To learn more about creating a content marketing strategy, download our free guide:
How to Audit your Online Marketing
If you are executing digital marketing, congratulations! You are most likely already one step ahead of your competition, and making strides to meaningfully connect with prospects online. But, how do you know if you’re seeing continual success year over year, and improving your metrics?
Without the tools in place to analyze and benchmark your efforts, it is impossible to scale your online marketing and ensure continuous success.
