Enhance Your B2B Content Marketing & SEO Strategies with Pillars

Hey, marketing professionals — Have you noticed a dip in your website traffic? Are you using AI-generated content to meet Google's Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) guidelines? If so, this could be why you’re page traffic has been in a slump. 

(Or just one of the many reasons depending on archaic practices that took place before you started the company.)

How Does Google’s E-E-A-T Impact B2B Content Marketing? 

E-E-A-T is a concept used in Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines to help human evaluators assess the quality of search results.

While E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor, content that demonstrates high E-E-A-T is more likely to rank well because it aligns with what Google wants to surface in search results: high-quality, relevant information from credible sources.

You would think AI would be the end-all, be-all in credibility but alas, it’s not - it’s just regurgitated information that’s curated from other credible (and not credible) websites. That paragraph above, for example, is almost word-for-word what Google Gemini spit out when I asked it if it knew what Google’s E-E-A-T was. 

(Editor’s Note: Now I want to know, should I have quoted that second paragraph? Is this plagiarism? AI is just one giant can of worms!)

Not only does this copy/paste method raise “ethics” concerns but it also makes you sound less credible when 30 other websites are sharing the same inaccurate information. So how do you create E-E-A-T content while still using AI? By developing a pillar-based content marketing strategy that's highly focused on SEO and E-E-A-T principles.

AI can be a helpful tool when laying the foundation for creating pillar-based content marketing & SEO strategies. Using Gemini, I prompted it to help me develop a pillar-based content approach that can “arm you with SEO best practices to help your B2B brand dominate search engines and establish thought leadership.” (I stole that from Gemini, can you tell?) 

(Another editor’s note: I’ve sprinkled in my tips and tricks because I’d feel like a hypocrite posting something that was AI-generated without spicing it up.) 

How to Develop a Pillar-Based SEO & Content Marketing Strategy

Here are my 6 easy steps for implementing a pillar-based SEO and content marketing strategy:

1. Conduct thorough audience and competitor research

2. Analyze your content (and competitors too) for gaps to take advantage of/optimize for SEO

3. Define your brand’s pillar topics

4. Create supporting topic clusters

5. Produce and promote content

6. Monitor and update as needed

But it’s not really that simple. So I’ll break down the approach in more detail. 

(Pro Tip: See how I provided a list immediately after the H2 header. DO THAT! It’ll help you rank well on search pages because people are looking for quick, high-quality answers to their questions. If it piques their interest, they’ll click through to learn more and then you can capitalize on more SEO techniques through the longer-form blog.)

1: Know Your Audience, Know Your Keywords

The first step to take when creating your pillar-based content and SEO marketing strategy is to conduct thorough audience and keyword research. 

Audience Segmentation — Understanding the specific needs and challenges of your customer segments is crucial. Conduct market research, analyze customer data, and leverage social media to understand their pain points.

Once you understand your market segments, create customer/audience personas that will help guide your messaging as you move forward. When it comes to B2B marketing, especially in Mid-Market to Enterprise-level organizations, focusing on the value over the features is a MUST! So make sure that’s built into your persona profiles.  

Keyword Research — Go beyond basic keyword research tools, like SEMrush! Explore industry publications, competitor websites, Google Trends, and forums to identify long-tail keywords with high intent that resonate with your target audience. 

Consider incorporating question-based keywords to target prospects actively researching solutions; you can do this by analyzing Google’s “People also ask:” to get ideas. Additionally, you can look at “Related Searches” to see how people are searching for terms related to your keyword.

2: Take Stock of Your Content Through Audits & Competitor Gap Analyses

Once you’ve gotten a better understanding of the audience you’re marketing to, it’s time to review your content — and your competitors’ content as well. This will help you understand the types of content you currently have and how your competitors use the same content in different ways, or different content altogether. 

Content Audit — Conduct a thorough audit of your existing content. Analyze performance metrics, identify outdated information, and assess content gaps. This would also be a good time to identify any pieces of AI-generated content, this way you can work on a plan to proactively update these items and start to rank higher in Google’s search results.

Competitor Gap Analysis — Uncover your competitors' content strengths and weaknesses by analyzing their pillar pages, cluster content, and overall content marketing strategy. Identify opportunities where you can create content that fills the void and offers superior value to your audience. 

When it comes to your content and competitor analyses, I suggest making a dashboard in Excel or Sheets that will act as a “CMS” of sorts. This will allow you to product manage the removal and editing of existing content easily, while also keeping you organized and focused.

3. Build B2B Your Pillar Topic & Content Themes

Based on your keyword research, audience analysis, and competitor gap analysis, identify 3 to 4 core content themes that will serve as your content pillars. 

These themes should be broad topics encompassing the key challenges and opportunities facing your target audience within the B2B space.

Example Pillar Themes for a Telecomm Company:

• Pillar 1: Internet Services

• Pillar 2: Networking Services

• Pillar 3: On-Demand Services

You’re probably thinking, these are pretty lame pillar themes, but think of pillar-based marketing as an organization chart that sets the foundation for your content. You have the stuffy CEOs at the top (pillar topics) and the young, energetic interns at the bottom (engaging content).

4. Create Supporting Cluster Topics

Once you have your most important topics as your pillars, you’ll then create supporting “cluster” topics to provide even more detail into those pillars. These clusters can also serve as mini “pillars” themselves.

Using the example above, here’s how the clusters would look:

Example Pillar Themes for a Telecomm Company for its Networking Services:

• Pillar 1: Internet Services

  • Cluster Topic 1: Fiber+ Internet

  • Cluster Topic 2: Internet On‑Demand

  • Cluster Topic 3: Dedicated Internet Access

• Pillar 2: Networking Services

  • Cluster Topic 1: IP VPN

  • Cluster Topic 2: SD‑WAN

  • Cluster Topic 3: Ethernet

• Pillar 3: On-Demand Services

  • Cluster Topic 1: Internet On‑Demand

  • Cluster Topic 2: Ethernet On‑Demand

  • Cluster Topic 3: IP VPN On‑Demand

Each pillar will be supported by a cluster of in-depth, informative content pieces that address specific aspects of the broader theme. While the example above provides the bare minimum, these cluster content pieces offer a fantastic opportunity to target those long-tail keywords with high intent. 

5. Create Content & Build Your Brand’s Authority and Visibility

You’ve identified your pillars and cluster topics, but what types of content should you create to boost engagement on your website?

Types of B2B Content Formats for the Best Engagement 

Buyer's Journey Stage	Most Effective Deliverables
Top of Funnel (Awareness)	Blog posts: Great for grabbing attention and educating potential customers about telecom challenges and solutions. Infographics: Eye-catching and easily digestible, ideal for sharing on social media and raising brand awareness.
Middle of Funnel (Consideration)	Webinars featuring industry experts: Webinars allow for in-depth discussions and establish thought leadership. They're a good option for engaging qualified leads who are actively researching solutions. E-books: Offer valuable, downloadable content that dives deeper into specific topics. They can be gated to capture leads and nurture them further.
Bottom of Funnel (Decision)	Case Studies: Showcase the success of existing clients and build trust by demonstrating the value proposition of your telecom solutions.

Leverage social media platforms, like LinkedIn, and industry-specific forums to promote your pillar and cluster content. Consider influencer marketing partnerships with B2B thought leaders in your niche. Develop targeted email marketing campaigns segmented for different B2B customer segments.

Additional factors to consider:

• Target audience segment: The specific needs and preferences of different segments within your audience might influence which format resonates best.

• Content length and complexity: Tailor the content complexity to the audience's level of technical expertise.

• Content promotion strategy: Consider how you'll promote each deliverable to reach the right audience at the right time.

By offering a mix of content formats catering to different stages of the buyer's journey, you can effectively engage your B2B audience and move them toward conversion.

6. Measuring SEO Success & Refining Your Content Marketing Strategy

Track the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to gauge the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy: 

• Monitor website traffic

• Lead generation and conversion rates, 

• Content engagement metrics (downloads, shares, webinar registrations)

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Remember, SEO is an ongoing process. Regularly analyze performance data, adapt your strategy based on new trends, and continue to create high-quality content that provides genuine value to your target audience. 

Moral of the Story: AI Can Benefit Your Pillar-Based Content Marketing Strategy, But You Still Need a Human’s Touch

By implementing a well-defined pillar-based content marketing and SEO strategy, you can establish your B2B brand as a thought leader within your industry and demonstrate Google's E-E-A-T principles. 

• Expertise: Focus on creating content written by subject matter experts within your B2B niche. Encourage authors to showcase their credentials and experience.

• Experience: Leverage case studies and client success stories to demonstrate your company's experience in solving B2B challenges.

• Authoritativeness: Build backlinks from high-authority industry publications and websites. Partner with B2B thought leaders for guest blogging opportunities or co-created content.

• Trustworthiness: Maintain transparency and accuracy in your content. Cite credible sources and data to support your claims. Foster audience trust by addressing their pain points and offering genuine solutions.

Over time, you'll develop a loyal and engaged audience, attract qualified leads, build trust, and achieve your B2B marketing goals. And remember, AI can have its advantages but you need to go through the output with a fine-tooth comb and edit as necessary.

If your organization wants to overhaul its SEO and content marketing strategy, contact me today, I’m open to work!