You can create the most comprehensive pillar content on the planet, but without authoritative backlinks pointing to it, its potential to rank and dominate a topic is severely limited. Links remain one of Google's strongest ranking signals, acting as votes of confidence from one site to another. For pillar pages, earning these votes is not just about SEO; it's about validating your expertise and expanding your content's reach through digital PR. This guide moves beyond basic link building to outline a strategic, sustainable approach to earning high-quality links that propel your pillar content to the top of search results and establish it as the industry standard.
Link building for pillars should be proactive, targeted, and integrated into your content launch plan. The goal is to earn links from websites that Google respects within your niche, thereby transferring authority (link equity) to your pillar and signaling its importance.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: A single link from a highly authoritative, topically relevant site (like a leading industry publication or a respected university) is worth more than dozens of links from low-quality directories or spammy blogs. Focus your efforts on targets that pass the relevance and authority test: Are they about your topic? Do they have a strong domain authority/rating themselves?
Align with Content Launch Phases: - Pre-Launch: Identify target publications and journalists. Build relationships. - Launch Week: Execute your primary outreach to close contacts and news hooks. - Post-Launch (Evergreen): Continue outreach for months/years as you discover new link opportunities through ongoing research. Pillar content is evergreen, so your link-building should be too.
Target Diverse Link Types: Don't just seek standard editorial links. Aim for: - Resource Page Links: Links from "Best Resources" or "Useful Links" pages. - Educational and .edu Links: From university course pages or research hubs. - Industry Association Links: From relevant professional organizations. - News and Media Coverage: From online magazines, newspapers, and trade journals. - Brand Mentions (Convert to Links): When your brand or pillar is mentioned without a link, politely ask for one.
This strategic approach ensures your link profile grows naturally and powerfully, supporting your pillar's long-term authority.
Digital PR is about creating newsworthy stories from your expertise to earn media coverage and links. Your pillar content, especially if it contains original data or a unique framework, is perfect PR fodder.
A successful digital PR campaign can earn dozens of high-authority links and significant brand exposure, directly boosting your pillar's credibility and rankings.
Popularized by Brian Dean, the Skyscraper Technique is a proactive link-building method that perfectly complements the pillar model. The premise: find top-performing content in your niche, create something better, and promote it to people who linked to the original.
Step 1: Find Link-Worthy Content: Use Ahrefs or similar tools to find articles in your pillar's topic that have attracted a large number of backlinks. These are your "skyscrapers."
Step 2: Create Something Better (Your Pillar): This is where your pillar strategy shines. Analyze the competing article. Is it outdated? Lacking depth? Missing visuals? Your pillar should be: - More comprehensive (longer, covers more subtopics). - More up-to-date (with current data and examples). - Better designed (with custom graphics, videos, interactive elements). - More actionable (with templates, checklists, step-by-step guides).
Step 3: Identify Link Prospects and Outreach: Use your SEO tool to export a list of websites that link to the competing article. These sites have already shown interest in the topic. Now, craft a personalized outreach email: - Compliment their existing content. - Briefly introduce your improved, comprehensive guide (your pillar). - Explain why it might be an even better resource for their readers. - Politely suggest they might consider updating their link or sharing your resource.
This technique is powerful because you're targeting pre-qualified linkers. They are already interested in the topic and have a history of linking out to quality resources. Your superior pillar is an easy "yes" for many of them.
Certain types of content are inherently more "linkable." By creating these assets as part of or alongside your pillar, you attract links naturally.
Create Definitive Resources: - The Ultimate List/Glossary: "The Complete A-Z Glossary of Digital Marketing Terms." - Interactive Tools and Calculators: "Content ROI Calculator," "SEO Difficulty Checker." - Original Research and Data Studies: "2024 State of Content Marketing Report." - High-Quality Infographics: Visually appealing summaries of complex data from your pillar. - Comprehensive Templates: "Complete Social Media Strategy Template Pack."
These assets should be heavily promoted and made easy to share/embed (with attribution links). They provide immediate value, making webmasters and journalists more likely to link to them as a reference for their audience. Often, these linkable assets can be sections of your larger pillar or derivative pieces that link back to the main pillar.
Build a "Resources" or "Tools" Page: Consolidate these assets on a dedicated page on your site. This page itself can become a link magnet, as people naturally link to useful resource hubs. Ensure this page links prominently to your core pillars.
The key is to think about what someone would want to bookmark, share with their team, or reference in their own content. Build that.
This is a relationship-building and link-earning tactic in one. By involving other experts in your content, you tap into their networks.
Expert roundups not only earn links but also build your brand's association with other authorities, enhancing your own E-E-A-T profile.
This is a classic, white-hat technique that provides value to website owners by helping them fix broken links on their sites.
Process: 1. Find Relevant Resource Pages: Identify pages in your niche that link out to multiple resources (e.g., "Top 50 SEO Blogs," "Best Marketing Resources"). 2. Check for Broken Links: Use a tool like Check My Links (Chrome extension) or a crawler like Screaming Frog to find links on that page that return a 404 (Page Not Found) error. 3. Find or Create a Replacement: If you have a pillar or cluster page that is a relevant, high-quality replacement for the broken resource, you're in luck. If not, consider creating a targeted cluster piece to fill that gap. 4. Outreach Politely: Email the site owner/webmaster. Inform them of the specific broken link on their page. Suggest your resource as a replacement, explaining why it's a good fit for their audience. Frame it as helping them improve their site's user experience.
This method works because you're solving a problem for the site owner. It's non-spammy and has a high success rate when done correctly. It's particularly effective for earning links from educational (.edu) and government (.gov) sites, which often have outdated resource lists.
Guest posting on authoritative sites is not about mass-producing low-quality articles for dofollow links. It's about strategically placing your expertise in front of new audiences and earning a contextual link back to your most important asset—your pillar.
Target the Right Publications: Only write for sites that are authoritative and relevant to your pillar topic. Their audience should overlap with yours.
Pitch High-Value Topics: Don't pitch generic topics. Offer a unique angle or a deep dive on a subtopic related to your pillar. For example, if your pillar is on "Content Strategy," pitch a guest post on "The 3 Most Common Content Audit Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)." This demonstrates your expertise on a specific facet.
Write Exceptional Content: Your guest post should be among the best content on that site. This ensures it gets engagement and that the editor is happy to have you contribute again.
Link Strategically: Within the guest post, include 1-2 natural, contextual links back to your site. The primary link should point to your relevant pillar page or a key cluster piece. Avoid linking to your homepage or commercial service pages unless highly relevant; this looks spammy. The goal is to drive interested readers to your definitive resource, where they can learn more and potentially convert.
Guest posting builds your personal brand, drives referral traffic, and earns a powerful editorial link—all while showcasing the depth of knowledge that your pillar represents.
Not all links are good. A healthy link profile is as important as a strong one.
Regular Audits: Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console (under "Links") to review the backlinks pointing to your pillar pages. - Identify Toxic Links: Look for links from spammy directories, unrelated adult sites, or "PBNs" (Private Blog Networks). These can harm your site. - Monitor Link Growth: Track the rate and quality of new links acquired.
Disavow Toxic Links (When Necessary): If you have a significant number of harmful, unnatural links that you did not build and cannot remove, use Google's Disavow Tool. This tells Google to ignore those links when assessing your site. Use this tool with extreme caution and only if you have clear evidence of a negative SEO attack or legacy spam links. For most sites following white-hat practices, disavowal is rarely needed.
Reclaim Lost Links: If you notice high-quality sites that previously linked to you have removed the link or it's broken (on their end), reach out to see if you can get it reinstated.
Maintaining a clean, authoritative link profile protects your site's reputation and ensures the links you work hard to earn have their full positive impact.
Link building is the process of earning endorsements for your expertise. It transforms your pillar from a well-kept secret into the acknowledged standard. Your next action is to pick your best-performing pillar and run a backlink analysis on the current #1 ranking page for its main keyword. Use the Skyscraper Technique to identify 10 websites linking to that competitor and craft a personalized outreach email for at least 3 of them this week. Start earning the recognition your content deserves.