Cornerstone content is the foundation of your content marketing plan.
It will help you establish a clear picture of the specific problems you can solve for potential customers.
As I said in Your Cornerstone Content Blueprint: Answers to 9 Common Questions, it can also help you achieve some even bigger goals, including:
Getting links to your website
Finding new readers
Attracting subscribers
Ranking in search engines for competitive keywords
Highlighting archived material
Accordingly, cornerstone content is vital for both seasoned bloggers and anyone launching a brand-new website.
In this article, we’re going to explain the 11 essential ingredients of a cornerstone content page and present everything you need to know in a handy infographic.
If you want to work on your own site’s cornerstone content with the help of the Copyblogger team, sign up for our Content Challenge below the infographic.
1. Keywords
The first step is keyword research.
A cornerstone content page will help you rank for keyword phrases in search engines.
Select 8 to 12 keyword phrases and create a cornerstone content page for each one.
Your group of keywords will also loosely define your area of expertise, which helps you build authority.
2. Headline
The headline for a cornerstone content page is built around a keyword or keyword phrase. Look at these examples from our own cornerstone content pages:
Content Marketing: How to Build an Audience that Builds Your Business
Keyword Research for Web Writers and Content Producers
Landing Pages Turn Traffic into Money
Each keyword phrase begins the headline, but remember that the rules of good headline writing still apply.
Also, the