What is content? How do we define something so broad? Learn how to map your website content for ultimate SEO success!

1. Mapping Content for SEO
What content are you creating and WHY?!
Paige Hobart
SEO Manager
@ Unily Intranet

2. “Content” for SEO
What is “Content”?
Content Maps for Websites
Pillar, Cluster, Cornerstone, Spoke, What??
Content & the Customer Conversion Funnel
Key Takeaways

3. What is “Content”?
⬤

4. “Content is information
presented with a purpose
distributed to people
in a form
through a channel”
Margot Lester, The Word Factory
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/
What is “Content”?
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/

5. “Content is information
presented with a purpose
distributed to people
in a form
through a channel”
Margot Lester, The Word Factory
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/
What is “Content”?
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/

6. “Content is information
presented with a purpose
distributed to people
in a form
through a channel”
Margot Lester, The Word Factory
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/
What is “Content”?
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/

7. “Content is information
presented with a purpose
distributed to people
in a form
through a channel”
Margot Lester, The Word Factory
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/
What is “Content”?
https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/

8. https://thewordfactory.com/what-is-content/
What is “Content”?
“Content is information
presented with a purpose
distributed to people
in a form
through a channel”
Margot Lester, The Word Factory

9. What is “Content”?

10. Let’s simplify this with our SEO hat on…
And start thinking about websites!

11. Content Maps for Websites
⬤

12. Basic Ecommerce Content Map
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion

13. Basic Ecommerce Content Map
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
website.com/
patent-leather-sandal-233618/
Individual products all need
at least one dedicated URL,
sometimes multiple for colour
and size variations.
The more rich this content is,
the more comfortable users
will feel buying your product.
Think videos, reviews, and
more! All will help with CRO.

14. Basic Ecommerce Content Map
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
website.com/
patent-leather-sandal-233618/
website.com/shoes/heels/
stilettos/
Individual products all need
at least one dedicated URL,
sometimes multiple for colour
and size variations.
The more rich this content is,
the more comfortable users
will feel buying your product.
Think videos, reviews, and
more! All will help with CRO.
Category pages are great for
driving organic or paid traffic
from Generic searches like
“red stiletto heels”.
This content should help
search engines & users
understand what groups of
products you sell. You can
also include helpful content
for users like sizing
information or deals.

15. Basic Ecommerce Content Map
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
website.com/
patent-leather-sandal-233618/
website.com/shoes/heels/
stilettos/
website.com/guides/shoes/
faux-leather-care/
Individual products all need
at least one dedicated URL,
sometimes multiple for colour
and size variations.
The more rich this content is,
the more comfortable users
will feel buying your product.
Think videos, reviews, and
more! All will help with CRO.
Category pages are great for
driving organic or paid traffic
from Generic searches like
“red stiletto heels”.
This content should help
search engines & users
understand what groups of
products you sell. You can
also include helpful content
for users like sizing
information or deals.
Genuinely helpful content for
your users or your
community. This content
should ideally be evergreen &
could rank for non-product
terms like “caring for faux
leather shoes”.
This content is a great way to
improve off-site SEO metrics
like links from press or
reputable sites.

16. Basic Ecommerce Content Map
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
website.com/
patent-leather-sandal-233618/
website.com/shoes/heels/
stilettos/
website.com/guides/shoes/
faux-leather-care/
website.com/news/can-you-walk-
in-cantilever-heels/
Individual products all need
at least one dedicated URL,
sometimes multiple for colour
and size variations.
The more rich this content is,
the more comfortable users
will feel buying your product.
Think videos, reviews, and
more! All will help with CRO.
Category pages are great for
driving organic or paid traffic
from Generic searches like
“red stiletto heels”.
This content should help
search engines & users
understand what groups of
products you sell. You can
also include helpful content
for users like sizing
information or deals.
Genuinely helpful content for
your users or your
community. This content
should ideally be evergreen &
could rank for non-product
terms like “caring for faux
leather shoes”.
This content is a great way to
improve off-site SEO metrics
like links from press or
reputable sites.
This content is your
opportunity to have an
opinion & really demonstrate
expertise in your industry.
Best placed in a blog or news
section, you won't want this
to rank in the traditional
sense, but could appear in
Google News or Discover.
Ideally, you would pair expert
authors with your PR team
(think Martin Lewis of MSE).

17. This Also Works With Services…
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
Technical SEO Auditing SEO
What are SERP Features?
/
SERP Features Glossary
5 things to check with the
Google Helpfulness Update
By Paige Hobart

18. Or Properties…
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
Individual property page
3 bed, semi-detached houses
in Shoreditch
What are ‘help to buy’
properties?
Interest rates will rise to more
than 4% next year and remain
there into 2024

19. And Even Non-Transactional Sites…
Evergreen
Content
Categories
Timely
Expert Opinion
website.com/research/amr/
antimicrobial-resistance-in-uk-
cattle/
website.com/research/amr/
website.com/news/european-
union-publish-one-health-
action-plan/
This content, much like
individual products, may
appear in Google for longer-
tail, evergreen searches.
Non-transactional sites can
also still utilise categorisation
to improve SEO performance.
Grouping guides,
whitepapers, opinion pieces,
research, and more, into
categories increases the
likelihood that your content
will be found in search
engines.
This timely content is STILL
your opportunity to have an
opinion & really demonstrate
expertise in your industry.
Even if you are a non-transactional website like a news publisher, charity, or research provider,
using proper structure will enable users to find your content

20. Whatever you sell or provide,
these “content” types are the basic building blocks
to an SEO-friendly website
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion

21. But There’s Still Loads More Content To Consider…
Individual
Products
Categories
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
Timely
Expert Opinion
Contact
us
Thank
you
Login
T&C’s Careers
Cart

22. But There’s Still Loads More Content To Consider…
Images
Product
Description
Videos
Reviews
FAQs
Related
Products
Individual
Products

23. Pillar, Cluster, Cornerstone,
Spoke, What??
⬤
⬤ ⬤

24. Pillar, Cluster, Cornerstone, Spoke, What??

25. Content Hierarchy & Linking!
Comprehensive
Car Insurance
Electric Car
Insurance
Young Driver
Car Insurance
Over 50’s Car
Insurance
Electric
Car
Schemes
Are
Electric
Cars
Good?
Cheapest
car models
to insure
2022
Learner Driver
Car Insurance
Cheap
cars for
1st time
drivers
Car
Insurance
Fraud at an
all time
high
Petrol
prices
finally drop
after years
of rising
Car
Insurance

26. Content &
The Customer Conversion Funnel
⬤

27. Stop creating content
for contents sake!
⬤
⬤

28. So Products, categories, evergreen & timely…
Bottom of funnel Hygiene content is pretty easy to map to our original Product & Category pages.
But Hook and Hero content could really be evergreen or timely or neither or both!

29. In fact, Hero content might not be on the website at all!

30. https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6933357303857348610/
David Bain takes this even further with the
PUMP & FUNNEL Model (which I LOVE!)

31. And I took it a tiny bit further still…
https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6933357303857348610/

32. Creating a detailed map of your
content against your customer funnel
can really help you home in on
what you’re producing and why.
Ensuring each content type has a core
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

33. Start With The Heart <3
https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6933357303857348610/
Individual
Products
Categories
The heart, cornerstone, pillar or whatever you want to call them – these are your conversion pages.
These are the pages you need to function as a business, no matter what that business is.

34. Help & Hub
https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6933357303857348610/
Evergreen
Guides &
Resources
“Genuinely Helpful” is a phrase I want more SEO’s to have at the front of their mind.
This is where your guides, resources, FAQs and even off-site content still helps drive customers
and potentially SEO value through to your website.
Help and Hub content doesn’t necessarily relate to pages on a website – FAQs could be a part of every page, and your
YouTube Hub could sit entirely separately!

35. Hot & Hero
https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6933357303857348610/
Hero content is almost always big budget,
awareness-driving activity to make a real
splash. It usually one, big effort ‘thing’.
Hot is where that Timely Expert Opinion
content lives. Work with PR to iteratively get
your authors out there, contributing to the
wider community and driving awareness.

36. Happy & Human
https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6933357303857348610/
Happy & Human are where
David takes the customer life
cycle to the next level. Really
thinking about retention, not
just acquisition.
“Delight” your new customers
with Happy content; welcome
videos, training, and a dash of
“theatre”.
Use loyal customers to create
Human content like case
studies, personal videos and
more. Turn those customers
into brand advocates!

37. Key Takeaways

38. “Content” for SEO
⬤ Start with your basic building blocks
⬤ Always ask ‘why am I creating this content??’
⬤ Give your content KPIs
⬤ Stop creating content for content’s sake!