If you haven’t heard, hubs are an effective strategy for improving internal linking, keyword rankings, and increasing organic traffic. Our clients often ask us questions about the different types of content hubs and how to choose the best one. With several types and so many different names for each, it can be daunting to know where to start.
In this post, I’ll summarize the key differences between each hub with a comparison table and provide examples of the different types of content hubs.
What Is a Content Hub?
A content hub is a home to organize content about a common topic. It involves an internal linking strategy where content links back to a central hub page and, ideally, other related content.
How to Create the “Right” Content Hub for Your Needs
To determine which content hub to choose, start by determining why you need one and evaluating your existing solutions (e.g., blog, resource center, etc.). Also, consider your KPIs, user journeys, and the resources needed to build your hub and content.
Here’s a comparison table to help summarize the key differences between each content hub (this table compares the landing page of the hub only):
| Good For | Content Hub Type | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Hub | In-Context Hub | Content Library | Content Database | Topic Gateway | Topic Matrix | |
| Internal Linking | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Backlink Generation | X* | X | X* | |||
| Topical Authority | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Lead Generation | X | |||||
| User Engagement | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Organic Traffic to Hub | X | X* | ||||
| Single Topic | X | X | X | |||
| Multiple Topics | X | X | X | X | ||
| Organizing | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Organizing >1K Pages | X | X | ||||
| Organizing Different Content Formats | X | X | X | X | ||
| Resource Intensive | X | X | X | X | X | |
*It will ultimately depend on the hub: topic, search intent, and content on the hub page.
6 Types of Content Hubs and Examples
If you’re debating between several hubs or unsure what each entails, here’s a summary of the six common types of content hubs, along with examples of each. These examples include common content hub types we frequently see and work on within the digital marketing industry.
1. Main Hub (a Variation of Hub-and-Spoke)
Main Hubs are parent pages, known as the “hub,” that act as a home or library to organize related content, known as the “spoke” pages. Since the focus is on housing and organizing content, there isn’t much or any copy on these hub pages.
Main Hubs vary in design, layout, and complexity. It can be as simple as a landing page with a list of spoke pages or a landing page with a grid containing cards representing and linking to each spoke.
Main Hubs are one variation of a Hub-and-Spoke content strategy. There’s another variation that we call “In-Context Hubs” at Portent. I’ll cover that one next.
Examples of Main Hubs
Additional Examples:
2. In-Context Hub (a Variation on Hub-and Spoke)
In-Context Hubs are evergreen articles with extensive in-line internal linking and mini navigation to encourage users to visit other related pages. Because of the evergreen content and article format, this type of content hub tends to perform better for organic traffic as it’s more likely to rank for relevant keywords than a landing page without content.
This is another form of a Hub-and-Spoke. However, this hub is not ideal for organizing large amounts of related content. There’s an opportunity for an “Additional Resources” section; however, space can be limited, so relying on this section to incorporate a long list of related content (4+ pages) is not ideal.
In-Context Hubs are by far the simplest; add a few links here and there, and poof, you have an In-Context Hub. Extra credit for you if you include a table of contents and a mini information architecture (IA) for users to navigate to spoke pages.
Examples of In-Context Hubs
Additional Examples:
- The Balance – “How to Make a Budget”
- Allure – “The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Skin Care”
- Squarespace – “How to Build a Website”
3. Content Library
Content Libraries organize content by categories and subcategories with links to related content. Unlike Main Hubs, Content Libraries likely consist of content spanning multiple topics.
Jimmy Daly from Animalz put it best: blogs should be treated as libraries, not publications that organize content in reverse chronological order.
Content Libraries will likely require resources and approvals from higher-ups to implement it as it requires re-doing the blog’s homepage.
Examples of Content Libraries
Additional Examples:
4. Topic Gateway
Topic Gateways are advanced forms of blog category pages or Main Hubs. These hubs tend to have copy to describe the topic and links to related content.
As Kane from Content Harmony said, “Topic Gateways are like blog category pages on steroids.”
Depending on how intricate you want the Topic Gateway to look, it may require resources and approvals to implement.
Examples of Topic Gateways
Additional Examples:
5. Content Database
Content Databases are hubs for organizing multiple topics and types of content. They include a mini IA or filters for the user to discover content. This type of hub encourages users to explore content and find what’s most relevant to them.
For SaaS companies, a Content Database can be a Resource Center where users can browse various content formats, such as white papers, ebooks, guides, webinars, and blogs.
This is one of the more complex content hubs to implement, as it will need its own mini IA and filters.
Examples of Content Databases
Additional Examples:
6. Topic Matrix
Topic Matrixes are hubs that organize large amounts of content using the same template and layout.
Although Topic Matrixes most commonly exist as templated category pages with limited content, there are instances of Topix Matrixes that do have content (e.g., Mayo Clinic’s “Diseases and Conditions” example and the content linked).
The IA is a significant component of Topic Matrixes, which supports large amounts of content. As such, this type of hub will require collaboration from multiple teams: product, design, and development, to name a few.
Examples of Topic Matrixes
Additional Examples:
- Zillow – “Seattle WA Real Estate & Homes For Sale”
- Uber Eats – “Washington Food Delivery & Takeout”
- Mayo Clinic – “Diseases and Conditions”
To Wrap Up
Content hubs can be extremely powerful as an organic strategy when executed correctly. Use the comparison table above to help you determine which content hub best suits your needs. When you’ve made a decision, check out our blog post on how to create a content hub and all that it entails.
