Different kinds of content hubs
You can utilise many types of content hubs to arrange everything in your content marketing plan. The version you use is determined by your industry and the manner in which your audience wants to consume information.
Key Points
-
A content hub is a consolidated internet location with curated content on a given topic.
-
Creating a content hub has tremendous SEO benefits, including improved backlinks, search traffic, and leads, as well as greater authority and a stronger brand.
-
There are various sorts of content hubs, and the one you select should reflect the number of topics and subtopics you cover.
If you are in charge of your brand's digital marketing, your primary focus right now should be to create unforgettable digital experiences for your customers.
Every day, Google sends billions of visits to websites via organic search. If you want a piece of that pie, you need to go beyond product pages and longform content. Instead, provide customers with immersive, interactive digital experiences that please them and keep them coming back for more. How?
Introducing the content hub.
A content centre is far more versatile than a blog. It is a well-organized framework that fulfils and delights your audience throughout the client experience. Even better, it can be an SEO powerhouse, increasing your market share while driving tremendous traffic and conversions.
So, whether you want to increase your client base through subscriptions or raise brand awareness through additional touchpoints, a content centre is the way to go
Content Hub
A content hub is a consolidated internet location with curated content on a given topic. Creating a content hub has tremendous SEO Benefits, including improved backlinks, search traffic, and leads, as well as greater authority and a stronger brand.
Assume, for example, that you provide credit cards. You may create a content hub for information about:
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Credit ratings
-
Budgeting
-
Programs for Reward
-
Debt administration
-
Management of balance transfers
-
Calculating the balance payback
-
How to Choose the Right Credit Card for You
-
Etc
It is critical to understand that a blog is not the same as a content hub. Blogs are often organised in a linear fashion, with posts appearing in chronological order. They rsquo;re also extremely diverse.
A content hub, on the other hand, includes a broader range of material kinds. Everything from blog entries to films, webinars, podcasts, social material, research, presentations, data visualisations, infographics, courses, tools, downloadable templates, and so on could be included. What important is that all of the content is arranged around a single issue, not the format. And it's genuinely fantastic content!
The hub and spoke (also called topic clusters)
A single parent page dedicated to a topic and several static subpages that investigate subtopics are typical of the hub and spoke concept. A subject cluster is shaped like a hub and spoke model, with the pillar page relating to all of the subpages and vice versa.
When the parent and subpages are largely evergreen, the hub and spoke content hub works best. If you intend to add new subtopics and information on a regular basis, it can be difficult to keep all of the pages up to date and appropriately linked to one another.
Library of content
The content library model includes an index page that displays all of the topics and links to the subtopic index pages. Then, on each unique topic index page, there are links to its own subpages (articles, whitepapers, videos, etc.).
Assume you are in the business of selling ecommerce software. Your content library's subtopics could include:
-
Ecommerce
-
Merchandising
-
Navigation
-
Personalization
-
Inventory Control
-
Recommendations
-
Customer Service
Each of these would have its own index, with a variety of underlying information.
This type of content hub is useful if you cover a wide range of topics and need a simple way to organise everything. Because each landing page is accessible with a few clicks, it enhances your search engine optimization (SEO).
Topic entry point
A subject gateway is comparable to a Wikipedia page. Typically, each topic has its own page that includes:
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A synopsis/overview of the subject
-
Links to useful resources
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Links to new content on the subject that is dynamic
This format is very beneficial if you have a lot of content about a single topic. Those who are new to the subject can readily study the evergreen resources you mention, while those who are more knowledgeable can simply navigate to more recent stuff you've produced.
Database of content
A content database is a good approach to curate massive volumes of material that can be quickly sorted or filtered by a variety of themes, factors, or qualities. This type of page allows people to concentrate on what is most important to them.
If you are the CMO of a large company, for example, you may want everyone in your department to have access to all of your brand assets in one spot. Whether your VP of Digital requires consumer persona data or a strategist requires a logo, they can readily find it in a database such as a digital asset management system (DAM).
This content hub architecture allows visitors to easily filter through a large volume of content and discover exactly what they are looking for.
Why do you require a content hub?
Is it truly worth the time and effort to create a content hub? The short answer is ldquo;YES. Long-form content that focuses on solving your audience's concerns is excellent for brand awareness, brand loyalty, and organic search.
Stridec has produced two market share estimates that demonstrate the importance of producing detailed information. We looked at the beauty sector as well as the financial services area, and the results were identical. Organic search was controlled by online publishers who formed content hubs and issue clusters, pushing down established, billion-dollar companies.
Organic website traffic has increased.
A well-organized content hub enables you to increase website traffic from search engines. This is due to a number of factors.
First, because of its hierarchical structure, a well-organized hub makes it easier for Google to grasp the objective of your site as well as the subject themes that you cover.
Furthermore, content hubs make it easier to rank for wide, high volume, and competitive keywords. As subtopic pages begin to rank for narrower, long-tail keywords, their page authority is passed up to the linked parent pages. And when the authority of the parent page grows, it is passed down to the subtopic pages.
Furthermore, Google is in the business of providing searchers with the most relevant, authoritative content for their specific query. A content hub allows you to completely cover topics and subtopics, displaying your experience, authority, and trustworthiness to Google.
Finally, a content hub boosts off-page SEO elements including backlinks, brand mentions, and social signals. All else being equal, more off-page signals from reputable sources translate into higher ranks.
Relationship building and branding
A marketing content hub is an excellent area to highlight features of your brand such as distinction, tone, personality, values, and so on. When compared to marketing tactics such as advertising or sponsorship, which do not provide nearly as much space and opportunity for highlighting your brand, this is a significant advantage.
Building relationships with folks in your target audience is the same. Many marketing methods are one-and-done propositions – people are either interested or they aren rsquo;t. A content hub, on the other hand, is intended to assist individuals in solving problems, answering questions, achieving more, and so on. This keeps customers coming back and allows you to build relationships over time.
A content centre also aids in the development of trust. When you create trust, you enhance the relationship and increase the likelihood that they will buy from you when the time comes.
Thought leadership Engagement of the audience
Having a comprehensive content hub allows you to exhibit your knowledge and thought leadership in your industry. When visitors see your greatest content up front and centre, they conclude you definitely have a wealth of information and are a reliable resource. This, in turn, keeps customers returning since they know they rsquo;ll always profit from your material.
The ability to identify with thought leaders is appealing to audiences. Consider the following individuals: Sara Blakely, Elon Musk, Barbara Corcoran, Jeff Bezos, Mary Barra, and Marc Benioff. They are all business executives, but they are also thinking leaders who have significant followings. We are inherently drawn to other people as humans, and we often prefer messages from individuals rather than organisations. A content hub provides an opportunity for your company's leaders to shine. It is an opportunity to develop a brand personality and transform it into a friendly brand.
All of this results in increased backlinks, brand mentions, social shares, traffic, and clicks.
Audience engagement
If you want to rank for relevant keywords, you need engage your audience. If Google observes users navigating over to other sites and engaging with those pages, it indicates that your content is highly relevant and matches the search intent.
By presenting content as a connected collection, a content hub promotes engagement. When there are so many ldquo;next step options in front of them, visitors are more likely to click through to related pages.
For example, if a visitor arrives at the content hub home page, they are likely to click on one of the themes displayed. If they get on a subtopic index page, they will most likely click through to a related subpage.
Generating leads
A content centre allows you to create more leads. With a hub, you can give relevant, high-value information at every level of the funnel. With a content centre, you can nurture prospects more efficiently and fully from the first time they visit your site until they are ready to buy from you.
High-quality material demonstrates your knowledge and fosters prospect trust. As a result, people are far more inclined to share their contact information in exchange for special content access. This stimulates your lead generating process and allows you to build stronger relationships with your target audience.
Link authority
Well-written content hubs frequently produce a large number of backlinks, which improves your organic performance. The idea is to engage your audience by providing high-quality information on themes that they are interested in.
Unilever, for example, has a multimedia centre called All Things Hair. It also serves as a comprehensive link magnet. Hundreds of in-depth articles, inspiration galleries, and step-by-step lessons from hair care brands including Dove, TRESemm eacute;, Toni Guy, and VO5 are available on the site.
All Things Hair is a source of hair news, styles, and trends, with everything from watermelon ombre strands to glow-in-the-dark locks, hair bun donuts, and disco buns. (They advertise themselves as the ultimate source for #hairspiration.)
The content strategy appears to be successful. In abundance.
At the time of writing, the site receives organic traffic from over 970,000 keywords. The huge quantity of ranking keywords is attributed in part to the site receiving links from over 2,200 domains.
Online sharing, and increased reach
Content hubs are interaction hotspots. They serve as the focal point of your marketing efforts, bringing together your best material. They also garner a lot of attention because they are based around long-form content rather than product or service sites.
Consider this. Are you more inclined to share a product page, a 500-word listicle that skims the surface of a subject, or a 5,000-word guide that covers every angle and answers all of your questions?
According to one SEMrush analysis, long-form content generates 4X the number of online shares and 3.5X the number of backlinks as short-form content.
Positive user experience
Google places a high value on user experience (UX). They want to provide search results that are useful, relevant, and entertaining. That is exactly what a content experience hub provides.
Users may locate anything they need pretty fast because the content is thorough and well-organized. The experience naturally leads to multi-page visits because the structure is hierarchical and interrelated.
When consumers enjoy your website, it improves your organic search rankings.
Wine Folly rsquo;s ldquo;WINE 101: Beginners Guide To Wine is a wonderful example of a visually beautiful and easy-to-navigate content centre. All of the text is simple to read, and there are several internal links to other related pages.
How to Build a Content Hub
Following that, I'll go through some content hub best practises so you can establish your own.
1. Create a list of subjects for content hub pages.
Begin by brainstorming the various themes that will be covered in the hub. The idea here is for each topic to be broad enough to cover various subtopics while not being so broad that a person has to click through multiple pages to locate what they rsquo;re searching for. The goal is to develop a framework in which every page can be located with a few mouse clicks.
Your content hub strategy should also be in line with the products or services you offer. But don rsquo;t be too pushy! L rsquo;Oreal rsquo;s Makeup.com nbsp;content hub focuses on educational content to assist audience members in applying makeup. Lowe's nbsp;DIY Projects Ideas nbsp;hub contains a wide range of valuable home improvement content.
2. Classify relevant subtopics
Following the identification of the numerous themes to be covered, you must map out the many subtopics.
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Some simple ways to accomplish this include:
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Entering a topic into a keyword research tool, such as Ahrefs, and then examining similar keywords and themes
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Entering a keyword into Google and then reviewing related queries and questions
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Entering a topic into nbsp;Answer The Public nbsp;and then examining the results
-
Investigating customer survey data
Check with your sales and support teams to learn about the issues that consumers frequently bring up.
Pay attention to the search volume for each subtopic as you research it. If the volume isn rsquo;t high enough, mix it with other subtopics. If the volume and difficulty are too great, it should probably be its own topic rather than a subtopic.
3. Structure and design the hub to provide an excellent user experience.
When it comes to a content hub website, as previously stated, user experience is critical. To truly benefit your site visitors, your hub must be built and structured in such a way that it is simple to understand, simple to browse, and simple for users to discover exactly what they are searching for in just a few clicks.
It may be useful to utilise mind mapping tools to imagine how all of the pages will be related to one another.
4. Decide on a technology stack for content marketing.
Producing, distributing, and advertising your digital content centre involves a lot of moving elements. Fortunately, there are a variety of technological platforms that can make each stage easier to manage.
A project management application, such as Welcome or CoSchedule, can assist you in keeping everything running smoothly, from creation to publication to promotion.
Content marketing systems like as Contently and Skyword offer high-value content development even if you do not have an in-house team.
Material Management Systems (CMS) such as Nuxeo and Contentful enable you to publish and arrange your content in ways that delight both users and Google.
Grammarly nbsp;assists you in making your writing clear and grammatically correct. It detects and captures typos, sentence structure issues, and more.nbsp;The Hemmingway App nbsp;aids in the clarity of your writing by highlighting lengthy, difficult sentences, and common errors.
5. Identify your content types.
The next stage is to identify the many types of content that could be included in a global content centre.
Consider which formats will be useful to your clients at each point of the buying experience and for each search phrase. Are they more interested in long-form articles, interactive tools, or visual content?
-
Blog entries
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FAQs
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Whitepapers
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Guides to Comparison
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Videos that explain things
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Webinars
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Exemplifications
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Podcasts
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Courses
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Tools
6. Establish internal connections
Make careful to incorporate pertinent internal links to other content as you produce each piece of content. Each topic page should, at the very least, connect to each subtopic page, and vice versa. Beyond that, seek for additional internal links, particularly to relevant subtopics.
Just make sure that every internal link is appropriate so that it does not come across as spammy.
7. Include conversion events and call-to-actions (CTAs).
Each piece of content should have a suitable conversion event or CTA based on where it is in the customer journey.
For example, content at the start of the journey could include a CTA to join your email list. A component in the midst of the journey could include an invitation to register for a webinar. A bottom-of-the-funnel component could invite a person to schedule a demo, use a ROI calculator, or plan a sales call.
8. Carry out strategic outreach
Your work is not done once you've created your content centre. You should market the hub through strategic outreach in addition to constantly replenishing it with new high-quality content pieces. Brands frequently disregard or do a poor job of content promotion. Make it a vital stage in the process instead, and give it the time and resources it requires.
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Strategic outreach can take various forms, such as:
-
Using your own social media presence to promote
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Collaboration with influencers to promote the material
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Collaboration in marketing with business partners
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Getting employees to distribute stuff from their personal social media profiles
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Pay-per-click or remarketing campaigns
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Marketing via email
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Quora, Reddit, and relevant Facebook Groups are all good places to start.
-
Etc.
Consider both the immediate and long term when promoting your work. Paid advertising, for example, can be an excellent strategy to immediately get your content hub in front of a large number of eyes and create social shares. Longer-term techniques, such as link building, help to enhance organic search traffic in the long run.
9. Evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the content hub
The final stage is to measure your results and then adjust the hub for improved performance.
Some SEO metrics to keep an eye on are:
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New referring domains that point to your content hub parts
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First impressions (via Google Search Console)
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CTR (via Google Search Console)
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Rankings for keywords
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Natural traffic
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Views of videos
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Conversions that occur naturally
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Pages served per organic visit
Take appropriate action depending on the data to improve the functioning of your hub. For example, if a page's CTR is low, try improving the title and meta description to make it more clickable.
3 Excellent instances of content hubs
Sometimes watching someone else climb a mountain is the best way to learn how to accomplish it yourself. So, to get you started, here are some examples of the top content marketing brands.
Red Bull's content centre
Red Bull is one of the best instances of a content centre. What makes it so distinct? Because their primary website serves as a content hub
When you visit their webpage, you will be presented with events, stories, films, charity-driven activities, and more. The material of the Red Bulletin magazine is likewise mixed in with the others.
Furthermore, everything can be filtered by topic in addition to various content forms. If you enjoy skateboarding, there is a filter for that. Not a fan of skateboarding? What about cycling, motocross, music, wakeboarding, or other high-adrenaline activities? Everything is there.
According to SimilarWeb, the site receives around 7 million visitors every month. More than 78,100 websites link to Red Bull rsquo;s content, which helps to increase Red Bull rsquo;s organic search results. This resulted in organic traffic from over 3 million searches.
DIY Projects and Ideas from Lowe's
Lowe's DIY Projects Ideas is another excellent example of a content centre. It rsquo;s chock-full of how-to articles, buying tips, inspiring content, and a calculators, videos, and tools library fit for any weekend warrior.
Do you want to renovate your kitchen? Lowe's has got you covered. Their content hub includes 51 ldquo;how-to articles, 22 buying instructions, 23 pages of ideas and inspiration, and a variety of calculators. And that's just in the kitchen. The content is similarly strong in 41 different topic areas, ranging from bathrooms to insulation to roofing.
The content centre has resulted in 22,700+ backlinks from over 3,600 domains, which has aided Lowe rsquo;s organic search performance.
Brands of Software and Technology
More instances of amazing content hubs may be found in the software and technology industries. There is a lot of variation and differentiation, but they all tend to expand their content types much beyond just posts and articles.
The Magento Resource Library, for example, contains a massive 21 topics! They also offer a variety of formats, such as analyst reports, articles, ebooks, manuals, infosheets, infographics, videos, and webinars. As a result, Magento's library has received traffic from over 9,000 keywords and backlinks from over 1,300 third-party websites.
Airtable, a database builder, is another example. Their distinct approach makes extensive use of templates as part of the main navigation of the site.
Airtable Templates nbsp;has 22 topic areas with almost 200 templates. In addition, Airtable Universe nbsp;provides an easy on-ramp to database usage using community-built templates. For instance, in the Health and Self-improvement sub-section, there are 177 database templates.
The two template libraries generate organic traffic from over 30,000 keywords and have garnered brand links from over 1,400 websites.
The Support Center, which supplements Airtable's content arsenal, provides manuals, webinars, articles, FAQs, applications, automations, scripts, and more, serving as an extra content hub for the brand. This has resulted in over a thousand additional websites directing traffic to Airtable.
Talk about SEO muscle!
The Benefits of a Content Hub
Whether you want to create a hub-and-spoke content model, change your main website into a content portal like Red Bull, or go with any other type of knowledge hub, a well-organized content hub will better satisfy both your site users and Google.
A content hub allows you to share your expertise with prospects and customers, thereby growing your brand and developing a closer relationship with your target audience.
From an SEO standpoint, a content hub allows you to present your material in a highly structured manner, making it easier for Google to determine your areas of expertise and authority. It also allows Google to clearly see the topics you cover, as well as the relationship between any supporting content. Furthermore, because of its nature, a content hub organically attracts backlinks, which can assist increase your organic search results.
Consider going ldquo;all in on a content hub if you rsquo;re ready for your content to dominate your product or service category in Google.
Learn to Dominate Your Product or Service Category in Organic Search with a Strategic Content Hub and crush your content marketing goals.
FAQs for content hubs
What exactly is a content hub?
A content hub is a consolidated internet location with curated content on a given topic.
What are the advantages of content aggregators?
Creating a content hub has tremendous SEO benefits, including improved backlinks, search traffic, and leads, as well as greater authority and a stronger brand.