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independence4 unconnected · 1 more author in those circles
applies to

b2b and consumer, no audience needed

confidence

high

evidence

7 claims · 5 articles · 4 receipts

window

2017-09-16 → 2024-07-01

4 builders who never spoke to each other

Give every topic a hub and link the cluster into it

Pick a small number of core subjects, give each a pillar page, and point every article on that subject at it so internal links concentrate rather than scatter. Reach the hubs from top-level navigation, and give category pages something beyond a list of recent posts. Branch into neighbouring topics instead of writing again on the same one, and if you pay for a rebuild, hire people who understand structure rather than only appearance.

The method

  1. 01

    Organise the site around a small number of core subjects, giving each one a hub page that links out to every article on it, so internal links concentrate authority on those hubs.

  2. 02

    Build a curated hub around each product pillar that has real search volume: answer the beginner question, raise the stakes, then branch into every adjacent question in small chunks.

  3. 03

    Build clusters of related articles that link to each other instead of standalone posts on unconnected subjects.

  4. 04

    Collect the solution, use-case, alternative and industry pages under top-level navigation items so both crawlers and visitors can reach them.

  5. 05

    Give a category page something beyond the latest posts: links down to its subcategories, and a related bar inside articles pointing at the nearest alternatives.

What it returned

  • Welsh settled on six core topics with a pillar page each, after examining the site structures of Mark Manson and James Clear, both of whom go deep on a handful of subjects.

  • Hotjar built hubs around heatmaps and session recordings, and it now takes the top organic slot for the query heatmaps, plus heatmap tool and heatmaps guide.

  • He treats everything else agencies pitch as secondary to these steps.

  • Glen Allsopp points to subcategory links on Digital Trends categories, an extra navigation bar inside Bicycling.com articles and a related bar on PCMag, against the fact that most category pages carry nothing but a list.

Sources

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

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More in seo

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the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

963 corroborated plays to draw from · 3 a week

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.