Write Pillar Articles For Long Term Traffic
Saturday, February 4th, 2006We all know the best blogs are the best because of good content. Whenever you ask an expert for their one major tip on how to get more blog traffic they will tell you to write good content. Okay, so we know this, but let’s look a little deeper.
What Is A Pillar?
A pillar is the foundation for a structure that carries weight and provides the main support. Without pillars the foundation collapses. The same holds true for blog traffic if you are aiming for long term stability and growth. You need pillars, but in this case you need “content pillars” since blogging is all about content.
There is a style of blogging that is very much based on news. Whatever is happening in the moment is written about by the blogger. Sometimes a blogger can bring together views and news from many sources, often gleamed from tracking RSS feeds from various news sources online, adding a touch of personal opinion and presented in easy to digest summary posts.
This is a fine strategy if you don’t care too much about long term growth. If you can commit yourself to maintaining news posts and keep your knowledge and your blog up to date you can build quite a good following of readers. The problem is that when you stop posting often or your motivation moves elsewhere you largely have a blog full of old news and your traffic will start to dwindle as a result.
Content Pillars
This is where content pillars come in. A content pillar is a major article or feature that has long term value, which is not time or event dependent. The most common form of content pillar on a blog is a how-to article written in a tutorial style. Often the more practical the better.
Good examples include “how to choose the best domain name” or “how to repair a leaky tap”. These topics are going to remain interesting and valuable to people long after they are posted. Even if you stop blogging altogether chances are your traffic to these posts will remain relatively stable. In this sense your blog becomes a resource, not just a news distribution point.
To apply this principle to your blog all you need to do is sit down and churn out some quality articles specifically teaching your audience something relevant to the topic you blog about. Don’t just rehash what other bloggers are doing or give your opinion of current events, create something of “pillar” quality and your traffic will increase as will the long term value of your blog.
Of course that’s not to say you can’t write a blog purely for news, just be clear on your purpose for blogging and be especially careful if your goals are long term and your motivation is short term.
The best blogs usually offer a mix of the two types of content - “ageless” instructional pillar articles mixed with a good helping of current events. As I mentioned in the The Evolution Of Blog Traffic, pillar articles are often the linchpins for your explosive growth periods and it’s very hard to grow big without them.