With so many aging services providers working to up their digital presence over the last year, the online competition is more ferocious than ever. One strategy that might help propel you to the top of the search engine results page is to create pillar content.
What the heck is pillar content, you might be asking yourself?
Good question! Here’s a quick look at what it is and an example or two you can try.
What is Pillar Content?
It might help you better understand what pillar content is if you think of it as a library. One filled with information, resources, and tools on a specific but broad senior living topic.
That broad topic is actually an overarching key word or key phrase. Typically you want something that is just two or three words.
But you’ll also want to make sure that broad topic (also referred to as the head term) is one that aligns with your content strategy. And be certain it is relevant to seniors, adult children, and other persona groups you are targeting.
Finally, and most importantly, that broad topic should have considerable search traffic.
Once you’ve determined the broad topic for your pillar content, the next step is to to create a list of of topics related to it.Think of those as the books, magazines, and other resources in the library.
These are the topics that explain all of the nuances of the broad term and allow visitors to self-educate.
Key to the success of this strategy is having a long-form article on the broad topic, and then using internal links from your core topics back to the head topic.
That seems fairly confusing when you read it, for sure.
Ready for an example or two? We know it’s something of a fuzzy concept, but these examples will bring it in to better focus.
Senior Living Pillar Content Examples
Example #1: Let’s say you are working on increasing your authority for the broad topic of “assisted living benefits.” We know it’s one families wonder about when they are early in their search. The monthly fees often seem high to them, so it’s important to show them the value.
Core topics to write about: While this one might vary a bit by brand, you can write about all of the ways seniors and their caregivers benefit from a move to assisted living. Those could include nutrition, fall prevention, isolation avoidance, fitness programs, social engagement, building new friendships, reduced stress for family caregivers, and more.
Example #2: Another example might be “Alzheimer’s safety.” Those of us who’ve had a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia know keeping them safe can be a challenge. It’s another broad term to consider if you have a memory care program.
Core topics to write about: This pillar content could tackle everything from Sundowner’s Syndrome to wandering, sleep problems, and decreasing agitation. Ask your sales team to come up with a list of memory care program benefits, and you’ll likely discover a few more topics that relate to safety.
Example #3: Another broad topic that gets a tremendous amount of search traffic is “cost of assisted living.” We know it’s a question that comes up very early in conversations with seniors and their families. That’s why it is another good one to consider.
Core topics to write about: Sure, you’ll want to at least share price ranges. If it’s not on the community pages directly, create a few blog articles that share ranges for the cities/states in which your communities are located. But don’t stop there. Write about options for financing assisted living, how to compare costs of staying home versus moving, Veteran’s Aid and Attendance, life settlement funding, and more.
Remember, you are always going to link from core topics back to the long-form article on the broad topic.
One last thing…
One last bit of advice is to start slowly and build. Identify all of your opportunities, then target one pillar at a time. Create informative, solid content that engages families.
Drop us a note if you need help creating content…