Cornerstone Content Definition

Cornerstone content is best thought of as foundational content, i.e., the content on your website that provides essential, indispensable information for your target audience. Cornerstone content typically answers common questions about your products and services, acts as a guide to solve problems, educates readers about a relevant topic, or all of the above.

Cornerstone content isn’t usually a “regular” blog post (although cornerstone content is often found on a blog). Consider the difference between a time-sensitive blog post about a holiday sale versus a long and detailed blog post explaining exactly how a customer can solve a problem directly related to the product or service the business offers—the latter of the two might be considered a cornerstone piece.

It’s also worth noting that cornerstone content is also often an index page—a single page on a website that links to other useful material related to the same topic. Organizing your content in this way increases the value of shorter or less-detailed sub-pages by making them easier for visitors to browse and also helps people understand how the subject matter fits into a bigger overarching concept.

Cornerstone Content Example

A business decides that they want to improve their content marketing efforts. The business writes a detailed “how to” guide that answers several common but complex consumer questions. Throughout the guide, they link out to other blog posts which provide additional details on topics mentioned. The business gets the word out about their new piece of cornerstone content through social media, their email marketing list, and word-of-mouth.

Since the content is of such high quality, it naturally compels readers to share it on social media, link to it from their own sites, and become qualified leads themselves.

Why is Developing Cornerstone Content Important in Strategic Marketing?

Content Creation

Once you’re comfortable creating general content for your website, creating cornerstone content is likely the next step as it will further cement you as an authority in your industry.

Customer Experience

Cornerstone content is a fantastic way to enhance the customer experience since it’s likely to be a genuinely helpful resource that sets you apart from your competitors.