Guides · First steps

Your first pillar page

How to choose, create and configure a pillar page in 4Linking. It's the first step in building an Internal linking architecture that works.

6 min read For everyone
01 — Before you start

Which page should be a pillar?

A pillar page is a strategic page on your site that you want to receive more internal links than the rest. The more linked it is, the more important Google considers it. That's why choosing well which pages are pillars is the first real SEO decision you make with 4Linking.

Typical pillar page candidates:

  • Long guides on your site's central topic (1,500+ words, in-depth content).
  • Commercial landing pages for your main product or service.
  • Important categories that group a lot of related content.
  • Pages that already rank well and you want to reinforce so they climb further.

What shouldn't be a pillar:

  • Individual blog posts (unless they're recognized pillar pieces).
  • Legal pages (privacy, cookies, terms).
  • Process pages (cart, checkout, thank-you).
  • Pages with thin content or that change frequently.
How many pillar pages to have Between 3 and 10 for a normal site. If everything is a pillar, nothing is: you dilute the idea. The free version of 4Linking allows up to 2 active pillars; enough to start testing the system before investing in a paid plan.
02 — Step by step

How to create your first pillar page

You've already decided on the page. Let's go to the plugin.

  1. Open the pillar pages panel In your wp-admin, go to 4Linking → 4Linking. You'll land on the Pillar pages screen by default. If not, click the "Pillar pages" tab.
  2. Click "New pillar page" The button is at the top right. A modal opens with the fields to fill in.
  3. Fill in the fields You need the exact URL of the page, its language and optionally the related keywords. The details are in the next section.
  4. Save Click "Save pillar page". You'll see the new entry in the list.
List of pillar pages in 4Linking with total counters and links received by each pillar
List of pillar pages in 4Linking

Once created, the pillar page becomes a preferred target of internal linking: when you create rules or when the semantic engine (in paid plans) detects relationships, the links will go primarily toward your pillars.

03 — Configuration

The fields of a pillar page

These are the fields you'll see in the form. Most are optional; the only essential one is the URL.

URL *
The full URL of the page or post on your site that you want to mark as a pillar. It must exist in your WordPress; if it doesn't, the plugin won't link it.
Language
Critical if your site is multilingual (Polylang). Each pillar belongs to one language and only receives links from content in that same language.
Name
An internal label to identify the pillar in the panel. It isn't used publicly. Use something clear like "Technical SEO guide" or "Product landing".
Related keywords
A list of keywords that orbit around the pillar's topic. Useful above all if you use semantic linking (paid plans). In the free version it's optional.
04 — Verify

Check that the pillar page receives links

At first your pillar will show 0 incoming links. That's expected: you haven't yet created any rule pointing toward it. You'll see that in the next guide.

Once you create rules and start generating links, you'll be able to audit each pillar individually. Click on your pillar's link counter in the list and a side panel opens with the detail:

Detail panel of a pillar page showing the posts that link to it and the keywords used
Incoming links panel of a pillar page

In this panel you see: the total number of incoming links, how many distinct posts link to it, which keywords have been used as anchor text and the average links per post. It's the view you need to understand whether your pillar is receiving the authority you expected.

05 — Issues

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Marking too many pages as pillars

If everything is a pillar, nothing is. Google detects a flat architecture and you lose the benefit. Stay between 3 and 10 pillars even if your plan allows unlimited.

Incorrect URL or one that doesn't exist in WordPress

If the pillar's URL doesn't correspond to a real post or page, the plugin won't be able to link it. Copy the URL from the browser after visiting the page, don't type it by hand.

Wrong language assigned on multilingual sites

If your site is in English and Spanish and you mark a pillar as "en" when the page is in Spanish, it won't receive links from Spanish posts. Verify that it matches the real version of the page.

Marking an orphan page as a pillar

The pillar starts working when you create rules that point toward it. Until then it won't have incoming links, even if it's well configured. That's normal at first.