[Indygirl]

How do you keep your pillar pages from cannibalizing your service pages?

For example, let's say I'm a newborn photographer. My service pages are /newborn-photography-dallas, /newborn-photography-plano, /newborn-photography-frisco, etc.

From what I understand about pillar and cluster pages, I should write one very long blog post that covers every little thing about newborn photography. When to schedule, what to wear, how to prepare, getting siblings ready, studio vs. in-home, etc. Then, shorter blog posts getting more specific on each of those topics.

However, it seems like that pillar content would cannibalize my service pages. Would love some feedback on this. Thank you!

 

[Tim Kahlert]

Hey!

So those pages seem to be location pages, not really service pages. I don't know what kind of other services you offer but that's what I would focus on in the first place. (If you don't offer any other services, then that's fine) It would be interesting to know if you domain includes the main keywords or if it's a fictive domain name.

I think it can make sense to just write about your process to increase the chance for your landing page visitors to convert if they needed more info from your blogs or resources pages. When you've done that you can check out Search Console to see if there are any relevant keywords people searching for. Then you can create content around those topics that actually get real traffic.

However, I think in that industry your landing page is the most important asset and I would focus on improving it for conversions. (plus, create more service pages or other landing pages targeting those bottom of funnel keywords people search for (basically those with high buying intent) - I can imagine in that industry it's a lof fishing in differentr sections as people might now know that there is such a thing as newborn photography - they may search for birth photography, or family photography (and there is an intersection with your perfect audience that has a newborn), or other related keywords where your perfect audience might intersect.

The blog content should ideally be much more extensive and is not meant to convert. Just don't mention typically phrases that you would use on your local landing pages like "free quote" or "contact us" etc - typical things you wouldn't include in a blog article. If it's still cannibalizing you might need to change some of the wordings or redirect the whole article to the landing page - but only if it's really necessary.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[Indygirl]

Thanks Tim!

 

[citationforge]

You're right to be cautious. Here’s what I do: I keep the pillar page focused on education things like tips, prep guides, and FAQs. I avoid targeting local keywords there. Then, I let my service pages (like /newborn-photography-dallas) focus fully on location and booking intent. Link from the pillar to each service page with anchor text like “newborn photography in Dallas” to guide both users and Google. That way, the pillar supports not competes with your service pages.

 

[Indygirl]

You're right to be cautious. Here’s what I do: I keep the pillar page focused on education things like tips, prep guides, and FAQs. I avoid targeting local keywords there. Then, I let my service pages (like /newborn-photography-dallas) focus fully on location and booking intent. Link from the pillar to each service page with anchor text like “newborn photography in Dallas” to guide both users and Google. That way, the pillar supports not competes with your service pages.

Thank you so much! I appreciate that feedback.