Silo or Pillar content? Know your niche!
Hi, WA Friends
If you're getting sick of or even a little annoyed at all my guitar player blogs, here's something a little more "helpful" in the spirit of Google's new algorithm rollout.
Are you writing content on your site using "topic silos?" Do you write "pillar" content? Maybe a combination of both? It can depend on your niche and your particular audience.
I write a lot of siloed content for similar articles on my guitar website. The idea is to choose a topic in a category and create similar articles around that. It can give Google the impression that you are an "authority" in your field. So, you could write a series of articles on what type of food cats prefer most in the summer months or anything like that.
Many people in the WA community have written about this. Here's an example from two articles I wrote this week pertaining to one type of guitar being able to sound like another.
Should you write one extensive article, which in this case would have been over 5,000 words, or two "siloed" articles (remember, Google doesn't really care about word count, it's quality, uniqueness, and "helpfulness" that counts)?
So, instead of writing an article on "Can a Gibson Les Paul guitar sound like a Fender Stratocaster guitar and vice versa" (I know it's over 60 characters), I wrote two separate 2,500-plus word articles, and Google listed them together in a hierarchy on page one.
Therefore, if searchers find one, they will likely see and read the other. It also has the potential to improve your SEO for the topic.
Instead of writing individual "siloed" articles, the other way to do it is to combine all the topics in a category into one huge 10K to 20K "pillar article," something like "The ultimate electric guitar sound comparison guide." That also has the potential to rank very well, perhaps even a lot better, but you have to know your niche and your particular audience.
For example, most rock guitar players that I know (and I know a lot of them) tend to have rather short attention spans (including me, sometimes). So it's unlikely they will want to sift through a monstrous article, even if it has a table of contents.
They just want a quick answer with some cool-looking images so they can get back to cranking up their Marshall stack and blowing the windows out of their apartment! Of course, I've never done anything like that! 😎
So, know what your readers want, siloed or pillar content, or a mixture of both?
Keep On Rockin'! 🤘
Frank 🎸
Recent Comments
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Some interesting information Frank, I wasn’t familiar with the term siloed
But this is helpful to know about.
Susan
Hi, Susan
Some experts favor a "silo" structure while others favor a "pyramid" structure. You can Google both, but they are closely related.
I haven't restructured my website into any particular format. I simply try to write groups of individual articles that are closely related, whenever it makes sense.
Google often puts them together in their search rankings the way you see it in my guitar example above.
Perhaps you can give it a try and see how it works for you.
Frank
Hi Frank…this sounds like a good idea to try. I guess the trick is to not overlap similar content between closely related articles. Thanks 👍🏻
Thank you for the info … you wouldn’t have noticed if the windows blew out, you would have been immersed in your music 🤣
I have one of the best imaginations, if I read, think, or even see something I can use my imagination and see more, it’s like a movie in my head
Very interesting Frank!!
I'm all too familiar with Pillar articles but have never heard of the term "siloed" articles before...
By this I take it you mean just a basic informational piece??
If so, then a mixture of both as long as they help our audiences is the way to go in my opinion my friend!!
Keep on Rocking... but I don't need to tell you that!!!
Hey, Nick
To be silo articles they should be closely related to the same general topic but somehow different in terms of content.
For example, in the two guitar articles I wrote, even though it looks like it's the same content flipped backwards:
Les Paul guitar --> Stratocaster guitar
Stratocaster guitar --> Les Paul guitar
Making a Les Paul sound like a Strat requires an entirely different approach and equipment than making a Strat sound like a Les Paul, therefore very different but closely related content.
I can guarantee you that any serious guitar play that owns one guitar would want to know how to make it sound like the other AND will also read the second article about the guitar he/she doesn't even own.
That's because I know my niche and how my audience thinks.
The pillar content articles also rank great. It depends on the particular situation. In my opinion, ideally you should have a mix of pillar and siloed content.
Frank
Appreciate the info Frankie,
I'm off to dip at least my toes in the sea water now, if the PP wants to swim a bit more.... well i am going to get a little wetter than I originally expected!!
Take care my friend!! :-)
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Excellent information here, Frank! On an aside, I KNEW you had a Marshall Stack in your apartment!🤣🤣
Jeff🎸
Thanks, Jeff! 😎
FYI: It was a vintage mid-60s Marshall Plexi stack that I bought when I was doing some clinical training in Chicago. I lived all alone in a luxury apartment owned by a friend.
The building manager kept calling him In Rhode Island to complain about the "noise level," but I wasn't playing much louder than 50 to 60 dB.
I finally figured out his work schedule and played when he wasn't around. 😎
Frank 🎸
Whew! I thought you were referring to the Wall of Amps on one of your posts! Good on you for finding a work around!
Jeff😎🎸
I don’t actually have a “wall” of Marshall amps but I have one stack, 5 combos, and a stereo tube amp with EL-84s in my recording rack, fed by a DigiTech pre-amp & multi effects unit.
The recording amp powers two Marshall 4x12 cabinets with green backs, so I guess I have two Marshall stacks. 😎
It was still something that came into my mind when I wrote that, my friend!
Jeff🤣🎸