Overview

In this tutorial, we will dig into the strategy behind creating blog content and how to best utilize Carrot’s automated content library feature. This training is only relevant as a part of the overall Lead Generation Hub strategy, so dive into that training first to have full context on where blog posts fit into building online traffic, leads, and authority.

Over recent months/years, Google has changed how it looks at websites and tends to look for the “topics” the website is an expert in. A properly executed blog strategy will “cluster” your topics so Google can see what your site is about more easily, avoid cannibalizing your primary keywords on your location/niche pages, and increase your overall rankings. Let’s dive in!

The Purpose of a Blog

Regardless of the industry you’re in or the audience you’re targeting, the purpose of a blog post is two-fold:

• To attract new site visitors through long-tail keyword
• To build up the overall credibility & authority of your site.

Having a mix of blog posts aimed to rank well in Google for niche phrases and blog posts aimed at building credibility and trust to your website visitors is ideal.

Ideal Blog Structure

Pillar Pages

The first component of an ideal blog structure is a Pillar Page.

Your Pillar Content (which can be formatted as a page or a post) is the foundation on which a topic cluster is built. Pillar pages cover all the aspects of the topic at hand in one central location but take a broader approach. These pages should cover a specific topic broadly, while the cluster content should dig into the specific keywords related to that topic. They should always go after “long-tail keywords” and never compete for the same keywords as your location pages or home page. If your location page is optimized for “sell my house fast in [location],” none of your niche/pillar posts or blog posts should be optimized for the same phrase, as it’ll confuse Google and hold back both pages from ranking well.

The ideal length of a pillar page is anywhere from 1,500 – 2,000 words.

This is more of a general rule than a hard and fast rule. The more competitive and the better content you’re competing for w/ for those phrases, the more high quality and robust the content will need to be. If all of the other articles going after “selling my flood-damaged house in Houston” are 500 words and not great… you can likely beat them with an 800-1k word article. But to be sure, aim at 1,500 – 2,000 words.

Blog posts that are part of a topic cluster should be optimized for specific long-tail keywords as part of your strategic content pillar. These posts should always link back to the pillar page.

To learn more about the ideal blog structure, check out this post by Hubspot.

Long-Tail Keyword

With real estate, pillars tend to be the “niches” you do business in.

Topic Clusters

A Topic Cluster is a collection of blog posts focusing on specific keywords related to your “pillar” topic.

People are submitting longer, more conversational Google searches. Topic Clusters are a way of organizing your blog content so that more of your pages rank well with Google. Following the Topic Cluster model allows you to rank for these new types of search queries that leads are submitting.

The ideal length for a blog post is ~ 800 – 1,500 words.

Cluster content you create or optimize should go into depth on just one area mentioned on the pillar page.

For example, if you have a pillar page on “Luxury homes for sale in Roseburg, Oregon”, a cluster content page could detail the 5 best neighborhoods to buy luxury homes in Roseburg. Another cluster content (blog) could be how to finance a luxury home in Roseburg, etc.

Using the Topic Cluster Model

Step #1: Choose the broad topics that you want to rank for

• As we mentioned earlier, these are the niches you help your client in.

Step #2: Create blog content based on the specific keywords related to those topics

• One Pillar Page that is 1k-2k words that cover the topic broadly optimized for the overall topic
  • “Selling a flood-damaged house in Houston”
    • Briefly discusses the topics below + a great into and summary/conslusion
    • Each section should link to it’s corresponding cluster blog post below
    • Add the keyword you’re going after into the Carrot SEO Ranking Tracker
• 3-6 “cluster” topic blog posts that are 800-1,500 words that dig into each element of the topic deeply (these are examples below. They may or may not be actual articles you’d want to write)
  • “When is a house considered flood-damaged?”
  • “Do I need to fix up a flood-damaged house before I sell it”
  • “Will insurance cover a flood-damaged house in [location]”
  • “Can I still live in a flood-damaged house”
    • Add the keyword for each topic blog post you’re going after into the Carrot SEO Ranking Tracker

Step #3: Link all of your blog content back up to the pillar content

• …and to each other to create a more robust internal linking strategy that Google will love.

Topic Cluster Example #1: Investor who only operates in Denver, CO

Topic Cluster Example #2: Investor who operates in multiple states

Internal Linking

Internal linking between content on a website is important. This has been true for 8+ years. It helps Google spider your website more easily and tell the topic of each post/page and what content is tied to other content. Just like backlinks from one site to your site are important, internal links between high value pages/posts makes a substantial difference in search engine rankings. In the study illustrated below, it showed an average higher ranking in search engines based on the number of internal links in their content.

Best Practices For Internal Linking In A Blog Post

Position your authority link within the first two paragraphs of your blog–the higher it is on the page, the more value Google will deem it to be (and ensure readers see the link prior to clicking away). As a best practice, the authority link should be well integrated into the content rather than presented as spammy phrasing such as “Click HERE to sell your house NOW”. As an example: “We hear from a lot of people stuck with an inherited home in Orlando, FL” 

External Linking

Know of a trusted authority or local resource that can be used to supplement your blog post content? Localize your post and link out to their website! Whenever your content is linked to an organization, government entities, resources, services, or established companies outside of your Carrot site, it adds credibility to the post for site visitors as well as search engines. This can also be a good opportunity to establish backlinks with other businesses or simply highlight your knowledge of the market. 

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