What Is Cornerstone Content and How To Use It To Rank Higher

Staying ahead of the content game is nothing short of an art form. It’s not just about what you say; it’s about how and when you say it. Enter the triumvirate of content strategies: Cornerstone, Evergreen, and Flagship content. These three pillars form the backbone of a robust content marketing strategy, each with its own unique strengths and purposes.

But here’s the million-dollar question: which of these content heavyweights truly reigns supreme in the world of digital influence and engagement? Strap in, because we’re about to unravel the secrets behind Cornerstone, Evergreen, and Flagship content to help you discover the unbeatable champion for your content marketing kingdom. Let’s dive in! 🚀📚

Pro insight: Cornerstone content is favorite because it is a post or page within your site that is deemed most important, most valuable to your readers, and which you wish to rank highest in.

But check out below all the info you need for all three of these types of content.

Cornerstone vs Evergreen vs Flagship Content

These types of content appear to be the same in what they provide your readers, and well, they are. But, they do have slight differences when it comes to how they act for your site.

Flagship Content – Content that is your best or single masterpiece content, perhaps the holy grail of your site. You may think of it as the biggest, fastest and most impressive ship of your entire fleet.

Cornerstone Content – Your website’s most unmissable (or best) content that is most read, shared, and relevant posts, which can be educational or entertaining.

Evergreen Content  – Content that provides definitive answers, overall explanations and can be considered everlasting and accurate throughout time.

NEW! Pillar Content – This is a slightly newer term relating to top-level pages of content that is authoritative focusing on a single aspect of a topic and answering all questions relating to it.

Confusing a bit, still, right? They all are quite similar in a way. But, the evergreen content is perhaps the most common term today used in describing these types of posts.

Content Creation Ratios

The content creation ratio will help you create the perfect mix of information for your visitors. Generally, your site should consist of content in the following ratios

• 1-5% or 1-2 Flagship content articles
• 10% Cornerstone content articles
• 20% Evergreen content articles

The remaining 65%-70% of your remaining content should be dynamic content, videos, industry news, original & targeted, entertaining, educational, shared partnership, trending, guides, opinion based, expertise, and time-relevant.

You can offer these types of content through free and open, or downloadable (freemium) formats where they must provide some type of personal data to get such as their email.

3 Flagship Content Examples

Creating a single masterpiece is something you will discover over time because it will be the content on your site that gets the most traffic, engagement and backlinks to.

Some examples of Flagship content are:

1. Full in-depth product comparisons with a chart (ex Smartphones)
2. Impressive Q & A with a top influencer in the industry with tons of information and actionable steps for readers to take
3. A page showcasing a product or service that is the best of the best in your biz

5 Cornerstone Content Examples

You can most likely make a big jump in traffic to your site when you offer amazing cornerstone content and start sharing them. Here are 5 must-have cornerstone content examples for you to create.

1. How To blank..blank…blank (one for each related service)
2. Top <Service> Benefits and Features (detailed outline)
3. Create a collection piece (5 Favorite Kitchen Color Themes)
4. Resource or Tool List Every Reader Should Know
5. Most Popular Tips for (Input Customer Type and Popular Product)

Create a Cornerstone List

Be sure to create a simple page that highlights all your cornerstone content. Some may choose to utilize this as an opportunity to create a “Start Here” or “Begin Here” page for new visitors.

6 Evergreen Content Examples

Evergreen content can be used in many ways on your site, including monetizing and lead generation through freebies.

Here are some examples of Evergreen content:

1. Beginner’s Guides
2. Tutorials
3. Terms, Definitions and Terminology
4. Historical or Origins Stories
5. Problems and Solutions (Past and Resolved)
6. Facts and Case Studies