SEO
How to Write a Blog Post (That People Actually Want to Read) in 9 Steps
Type a couple of hundred words and publish them somewhere—poof, you have a blog post. Or do you?
If a blog post is published and no one reads it, is it still a blog post?
Anyone can write a blog post. But not everyone can create one that people want to read.
In this post, you’ll learn how to write blog posts that actually get readers.
Let’s get started.
A proven topic is a topic that people want to read about.
If you’re familiar with the niche, then this shouldn’t be a biggie. You probably already have a lot of ideas you want to cover. Open Google Docs and write all of them down (use a notepad if you prefer analog).
Otherwise, there’s no better way to find proven topics than to write about topics people are searching for. After all, if there are many people searching for the same topic month after month, then it’s very likely it’s something they want to read about.
Here’s how to find these topics:
- Go to Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
- Enter a term relevant to your site or niche
- Go to the Matching terms report
- Switch the tab to Questions
Shop around a little and look for the topics that interest you. Make a list—5 to 10 should be enough to start with.
Ideally, they should have some traffic potential too. Our metric, Traffic Potential, is the estimated amount of search traffic you can potentially gain if you rank #1 for that topic. You can see if a topic has Traffic Potential by looking at the TP column.
With more than 4.4 million new blog posts published each day, your blog post has to stand out. Otherwise, it won’t get discovered and no one will read it.
The key ingredient here is novelty.
According to Julian Shapiro, there are five novelty categories:
- Counter-intuitive – “Oh, I never realized the world worked that way.”
- Counter-narrative – “Wow, that’s not how I was told the world worked!”
- Shock and awe – “That’s crazy. I would have never believed it.”
- Elegant articulations – “Beautiful. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
- Make someone feel seen – “Yes! That’s exactly how I feel!”
For example, check out this blog post by finance writer Morgan Housel:
He states something that is counter-intuitive to what most people know and think. The best idea or “truth” doesn’t win—instead, the best story does. This is incredibly compelling to people in his field of finance. Indeed, it stands out from the other news-based, fact-driven kind of articles they read.
Morgan does this all the time. He rarely writes about finance directly—instead, he’s always looking at the topic from the lenses of history, biology, anthropology, psychology, and more. It makes his posts unique, and the angle of his articles always stands out.
It’s what you must do. So take your time and think of an angle that is unique and novel to your target audience. Use these questions to get started:
- Do you have personal experience with this topic? For example, if you’ve successfully implemented the keto diet, you can write about your experience and how you did it.
- Can you interview experts? For example, you can interview an expert about the latest research and findings in the keto world.
- Can you crowdsource opinions and ideas? For example, if you’re writing about making keto-friendly ice cream, you can crowdsource recipes.
- Can you provide data or back your post with science? Consider running a study (if possible) or looking through scientific research papers.
- Can you be contrarian? Don’t be the devil’s advocate just for the sake of it. But if you truly have an opinion that’s opposite to everyone else’s, it can be a great angle.
Editor’s Note
If you’re blogging with SEO in mind, then you’ll likely have to match search intent. Search intent is the why behind a search query. We can look at the current top-ranking pages to figure it out.
Specifically, we want to understand the three Cs of search intent:
- Content type – Is there a dominant type of content on the SERP, such as blog posts, product pages, videos, or landing pages? If you followed step #1, this is most likely a blog post.
- Content format – Is there a dominant content format on the SERP, such as guides, listicles, news articles, opinion pieces, or reviews?
- Content angle – Is there a dominant angle on the SERP, such as freshly updated content or content aimed at beginners?
For example, let’s look at the topic of “date ideas”:
- Content type – They’re all blog posts.
- Content format – They’re all listicles.
- Content angle – A potential angle is “fun date ideas.”
If you’re writing about this topic, you may have to create something similar.
But note that this is not a rule but a guideline. Even if your post is ranking high on Google, it still has to stand out from the rest of the ranking articles. So it goes back to finding a novel and unique angle for your article. If you can create one that’s better than the other top-ranking articles, go for it.
The hardest part of writing is facing the blank page. It is possible to sit in front of your computer for six hours and churn nothing out. It happens to the best of us.
Creating an outline “solves” this problem. When you have an outline, you’re not writing from scratch. Instead, you’re filling the “gaps” in it.
What’s even better is that you don’t have to create the outline from scratch either. Spend enough time online, and you’ll realize that most blog posts’ structures are pretty much the same.
So don’t be afraid to use templates. For example, we use this template for almost all our list-style posts:
Here are three more templates for other blog post styles you can use.
When you have the skeletal structure in place, the next step is to figure out what you need to fill in, especially the H2s, H3s, H4s, and more. Here are some ideas to help you out:
A. Use your personal experience and expertise
Nothing beats your own experience and expertise. If you know there’s a right way to do something, use that knowledge to create your outline.
For example, I’ve been breakdancing for more than 10 years now. If I had to create a blog post on how to do the six-step, I wouldn’t even need to do any research—I can simply pour the information directly from my brain.
B. Run a content gap analysis
If there are subtopics that almost all the top-ranking pages cover, then it’s likely that they’re important to readers too.
Here’s how to find these subtopics:
- Paste a few top-ranking URLs for your main topic into Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool
- Leave the bottom section blank
- Hit Show keywords
- Set the Intersection filter to 3 and 4 targets
Here, you’ll see that these pages are ranking for subtopics like:
- What is inbound marketing.
- Inbound marketing strategies.
- Inbound marketing examples.
And more.
If you’re writing a blog post on “inbound marketing,” they’ll likely make good H2s.
Note that your goal is not to copy and rephrase the top-ranking pages. The internet’s full of that—cookie-cutter content no one’s interested in.
Your goal is simply to use top-ranking pages as inspiration. If they make good points, you can consider including them in your post. If they’re stating something that’s completely wrong, then even better—take the chance to correct the misconceptions.
With your outline in place, it’s time to flesh that skeleton out into a rough draft.
I write mostly in Google Docs. An immediate perk is that I can turn the headings I’ve created into actual headings. I just have to click the “Styles” dropdown on the menu and change them:
You’ll be able to see your outline on the side too:
From here, use your headers as a guide and write your first draft. This stage is all about “getting it out.” That means:
- Avoiding any interruptions to your writing.
- Not self-censoring as you go along.
- Not repeatedly rearranging your outline to make things flow better.
- Not rewriting the same sentence 10 times just because it “doesn’t read quite right.” 😅
I know, I know. It’s easier said than done. Still, try to minimize interruptions. There’s time to edit for perfection later—this stage is all about getting everything down on paper (or screen) so you have something tangible to work with. As author Shannon Hale writes:
I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.
One “trick” you can consider is to use the Pomodoro Technique. It’s my go-to if I’m stuck, distracted, or procrastinating.
The basic idea: Set a timer for 25 minutes, write as much as you can, then take a break for five minutes. Rinse and repeat. You can use a Chrome extension like Marinara to automate your Pomodoros.
Recommendation
- State the Problem
- Agitate the problem by digging more into the pain (felt by the reader)
- Offer a potential Solution
Here’s what it looks like in the wild:
“I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.”
Here’s the surprise: Even though the activity is known as “writing,” the magic is not in that. Rather, it’s in the editing phase where the true blog post appears.
This stage—after you’re done with your first draft—is all about editing, polishing, trimming, and rewriting.
My recommendation is to only edit after one or two days have passed. Why? Because you’re too emotionally invested when you’re first done drafting. The time gap will be helpful to remove this attachment so you can actually edit with fresh eyes.
Here’s what you can do during the editing process:
- Use Grammarly – Great for checking grammar mistakes.
- Read your draft out loud – Catch where it doesn’t flow well.
- Break up long sentences – Turn sentences with endless “ands” and “thats” into short, punchier ones.
- Add formatting where relevant – Images, GIFs, bullets, numbered lists, bold, italics, and more make your writing easier to read.
- Pepper in “flow” – Wherever the opportunity arises, consider adding transition words and cliffhangers so that the rhythm of your post is not static.
You should also pay extra attention to your intro, as that is how your reader will decide if they will continue reading.
When you’re done with the self-editing, get feedback from someone else. If you have an editor to show your draft to, great. Otherwise, a friend or colleague works absolutely fine as well.
What’s important here is to get an impartial pair of eyes on your work.
Chances are that a third party will be able to point out things like logical loopholes and poor flow that you won’t be able to spot on your own.
We do this for every blog post at Ahrefs. We even “call out” the contributors:
When they’re done, incorporate their feedback where relevant. Build off their ideas and opinions to produce the best piece of work possible.
Take the time to think about each point that was made. Set aside your ego and really try to see things from a third party’s perspective: Which points do you agree with, which are you unsure about, and which do you definitely not agree with?
Make edits based on the suggestions you believe in and leave out the things you feel strongly against (but be sure to have a logical explanation for doing this). If you’re on the fence, it all comes down to how much you trust the person giving you feedback.
Also, be careful not to accidentally adopt the writing style of a third party, especially if they give feedback in long form or if you’re incorporating many of their suggestions. Again, if possible, take a break from drafting and work on something else. Then, when you come back to it, try and rewrite the section in your own voice and style.
Now is the time to rewrite sentences until they “sound right” or rearrange your points over and over again until they flow the best they can.
Keep getting feedback and revising your draft until you’re happy with the final product.
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.”
Your headline is one of the most important aspects of your blog post. It determines whether someone decides to click through and read. So you should take the time and polish it until it is compelling.
Don’t stop on the first headline you create. Come up with a few and see which one looks best. Viral site Upworthy notoriously created 25 headlines for each article it published.
I’m not asking you to create clickbait headlines like it. But the exercise can be a fruitful one. As singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran puts it, and I paraphrase, “It helps to clear the wastewater from the faucet.”
That said, here are some tips for writing better headlines:
- Use “power words” – Words like “remarkable” and “noteworthy” help trigger an emotional response. Sprinkling one or two can make your headlines more compelling.
- Add parentheses – Parentheses strengthen your title tag by adding the “icing on the cake.”
Even if you’re not blogging with SEO in mind, you’ll want search engines like Google to find your post and rank it. After all, Googling is still one of the major ways people discover new content to read online.
It’s a good idea to follow simple SEO best practices for every blog post you’re publishing. At the basic level, you should:
- Include the topic in the title – You’ve probably naturally included this while you were brainstorming your headlines. After all, if you’re writing about intermittent fasting, it’s difficult to not mention it. Don’t worry if you haven’t, though; a close variation works too.
- Write a compelling meta description – This is not a Google ranking factor, but it helps to “sell” your article in the search results.
- Use short, descriptive URLs – This type of URLs makes it easy for searchers to understand what your post is about. The simplest way is to make the slug your topic.
- Add alt text to your images – Google uses alt text to understand images. Create a concise but accurate one for every image you use.
- Link to internal and external resources – Cite other people where relevant. It’s also helpful for readers who want to learn more.
If you’re using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, installing plugins like Yoast or RankMath can make doing all of this a cinch.
Recommended reading: On-Page SEO: The Beginner’s Guide
You’re finally ready to publish your post!
Upload your post into your CMS. Or if you’re using WordPress and have some budget, consider using Wordable. This allows you to do a one-click upload from Google Docs into WordPress. Really easy.
Then give it another quick look to make sure all’s looking good. Finally, hit “publish”!
It’s the truth—blogging is extremely competitive today. Your content, no matter how good, will not be discovered by itself. You need to go out and let people know it exists.
Consider using some of these tactics to promote your content:
- Share it with your audience – You may think you don’t have an “audience,” especially if you’re just starting out. But you have friends, family, colleagues, and followers on existing social media accounts. Share it with them! They’ll be your biggest supporters. Then, over time, as you build up your audience (e.g., an email list), you can share your articles with them too.
- Email people you mentioned in your content – Find the emails of those people you’ve cited or linked to and reach out to them. They’ll be happy to know they’ve been featured.
- Share your content in relevant communities – Facebook groups, Slack communities, Discord, Reddit, and forums—if you are a member of any communities, you can consider sharing your content there. But remember, don’t spam!
Recommended reading: 13 Content Promotion Tactics to Get More Eyeballs on Your Content
Final thoughts
Hopefully, this post has shown you writing a blog post that people want to read is not a difficult process. You can do it too.
Now, go on and get started—that blog post isn’t going to write itself.
Any questions or comments? Let me know on Twitter.
SEO
Competing Against Brands & Nouns Of The Same Name
Establishing and building a brand has always been both a challenge and an investment, even before the days of the internet.
One thing the internet has done, however, is make the world a lot smaller, and the frequency of brand (or noun) conflicts has greatly increased.
In the past year, I’ve been emailed and asked questions about these conflicts at conferences more than I have in my entire SEO career.
When you share your brand name with another brand, town, or city, Google has to decide and determine the dominant user interpretation of the query – or at least, if there are multiple common interpretations, the most common interpretations.
Noun and brand conflicts typically happen when:
- A rebrand’s research focuses on other business names and doesn’t take into consideration general user search.
- When a brand chooses a word in one language, but it has a use in another.
- A name is chosen that is also a noun (e.g. the name of a town or city).
Some examples include Finlandia, which is both a brand of cheese and vodka; Graco, which is both a brand of commercial products and a brand of baby products; and Kong, which is both the name of a pet toy manufacturer and a tech company.
User Interpretations
From conversations I’ve had with marketers and SEO pros working for various brands with this issue, the underlying theme (and potential cause) comes down to how Google handles interpretation of what users are looking for.
When a user enters a query, Google processes the query to identify known entities that are contained.
It does this to improve the relevance of search results being returned (as outlined in its 2015 Patent #9,009,192). From this, Google also works to return related, relevant results and search engine results page (SERP) elements.
For example, when you search for a specific film or TV series, Google may return a SERP feature containing relevant actors or news (if deemed relevant) about the media.
This then leads to interpretation.
When Google receives a query, the search results need to often cater for multiple common interpretations and intents. This is no different when someone searches for a recognized branded entity like Nike.
When I search for Nike, I get a search results page that is a combination of branded web assets such as the Nike website and social media profiles, the Map Pack showing local stores, PLAs, the Nike Knowledge Panel, and third-party online retailers.
This variation is to cater for the multiple interpretations and intents that a user just searching for “Nike” may have.
Brand Entity Disambiguation
Now, if we look at brands that share a name such as Kong, when Google checks for entities and references against the Knowledge Graph (and knowledge base sources), it gets two closer matches: Kong Company and Kong, Inc.
The search results page is also littered with product listing ads (PLAs) and ecommerce results for pet toys, but the second blue link organic result is Kong, Inc.
Also on page one, we can find references to a restaurant with the same name (UK-based search), and in the image carousel, Google is introducing the (King) Kong film franchise.
It is clear that Google sees the dominant interpretation of this query to be the pet toy company, but has diversified the SERP further to cater for secondary and tertiary meanings.
In 2015, Google was granted a patent that included features of how Google might determine differences in entities of the same name.
This includes the possible use of annotations within the Knowledge Base – such as the addition of a word or descriptor – to help disambiguate entities with the same name. For example, the entries for Dan Taylor could be:
- Dan Taylor (marketer).
- Dan Taylor (journalist).
- Dan Taylor (olympian).
How it determines what is the “dominant” interpretation of the query, and then how to order search results and the types of results, from experience, comes down to:
- Which results users are clicking on when they perform the query (SERP interaction).
- How established the entity is within the user’s market/region.
- How closely the entity is related to previous queries the user has searched (personalization).
I’ve also observed that there is a correlation between extended brand searches and how they affect exact match branded search.
It’s also worth highlighting that this can be dynamic. Should a brand start receiving a high volume of mentions from multiple news publishers, Google will take this into account and amend the search results to better meet users’ needs and potential query interpretations at that moment in time.
SEO For Brand Disambiguation
Building a brand is not a task solely on the shoulders of SEO professionals. It requires buy-in from the wider business and ensuring the brand and brand messaging are both defined and aligned.
SEO can, however, influence this effort through the full spectrum of SEO: technical, content, and digital PR.
Google understands entities on the concept of relatedness, and this is determined by the co-occurrence of entities and then how Google classifies and discriminates between those entities.
We can influence this through technical SEO through granular Schema markup and by making sure the brand name is consistent across all web properties and references.
This ties into how we then write about the brand in our content and the co-occurrence of the brand name with other entity types.
To reinforce this and build brand awareness, this should be coupled with digital PR efforts with the objective of brand placement and corroborating topical relevance.
A Note On Search Generative Experience
As it looks likely that Search Generative Experience is going to be the future of search, or at least components of it, it’s worth noting that in tests we’ve done, Google can, at times, have issues when generative AI snapshots for brands, when there are multiple brands with the same name.
To check your brand’s exposure, I recommend asking Google and generating an SGE snapshot for your brand + reviews.
If Google isn’t 100% sure which brand you mean, it will start to include reviews and comments on companies of the same (or very similar) name.
It does disclose that they are different companies in the snapshot, but if your user is skim-reading and only looking at the summaries, this could be an accidental negative brand touchpoint.
More resources:
Featured Image: VectorMine/Shutterstock
SEO
Google Rolls Out New ‘Web’ Filter For Search Results
Google is introducing a filter that allows you to view only text-based webpages in search results.
The “Web” filter, rolling out globally over the next two days, addresses demand from searchers who prefer a stripped-down, simplified view of search results.
Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison, states in an announcement:
“We’ve added this after hearing from some that there are times when they’d prefer to just see links to web pages in their search results, such as if they’re looking for longer-form text documents, using a device with limited internet access, or those who just prefer text-based results shown separately from search features.”
We’ve added this after hearing from some that there are times when they’d prefer to just see links to web pages in their search results, such as if they’re looking for longer-form text documents, using a device with limited internet access, or those who just prefer text-based…
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 14, 2024
The new functionality is a throwback to when search results were more straightforward. Now, they often combine rich media like images, videos, and shopping ads alongside the traditional list of web links.
How It Works
On mobile devices, the “Web” filter will be displayed alongside other filter options like “Images” and “News.”
If Google’s systems don’t automatically surface it based on the search query, desktop users may need to select “More” to access it.
Screenshot from: twitter.com/GoogleSearchLiaison, May 2024.More About Google Search Filters
Google’s search filters allow you to narrow results by type. The options displayed are dynamically generated based on your search query and what Google’s systems determine could be most relevant.
The “All Filters” option provides access to filters that are not shown automatically.
Alongside filters, Google also displays “Topics” – suggested related terms that can further refine or expand a user’s original query into new areas of exploration.
For more about Google’s search filters, see its official help page.
Featured Image: egaranugrah/Shutterstock
SEO
Why Google Can’t Tell You About Every Ranking Drop
In a recent Twitter exchange, Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, provided insight into how the search engine handles algorithmic spam actions and ranking drops.
The discussion was sparked by a website owner’s complaint about a significant traffic loss and the inability to request a manual review.
Sullivan clarified that a site could be affected by an algorithmic spam action or simply not ranking well due to other factors.
He emphasized that many sites experiencing ranking drops mistakenly attribute it to an algorithmic spam action when that may not be the case.
“I’ve looked at many sites where people have complained about losing rankings and decide they have a algorithmic spam action against them, but they don’t. “
Sullivan’s full statement will help you understand Google’s transparency challenges.
Additionally, he explains why the desire for manual review to override automated rankings may be misguided.
Two different things. A site could have an algorithmic spam action. A site could be not ranking well because other systems that *are not about spam* just don’t see it as helpful.
I’ve looked at many sites where people have complained about losing rankings and decide they have a…
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 13, 2024
Challenges In Transparency & Manual Intervention
Sullivan acknowledged the idea of providing more transparency in Search Console, potentially notifying site owners of algorithmic actions similar to manual actions.
However, he highlighted two key challenges:
- Revealing algorithmic spam indicators could allow bad actors to game the system.
- Algorithmic actions are not site-specific and cannot be manually lifted.
Sullivan expressed sympathy for the frustration of not knowing the cause of a traffic drop and the inability to communicate with someone about it.
However, he cautioned against the desire for a manual intervention to override the automated systems’ rankings.
Sullivan states:
“…you don’t really want to think “Oh, I just wish I had a manual action, that would be so much easier.” You really don’t want your individual site coming the attention of our spam analysts. First, it’s not like manual actions are somehow instantly processed. Second, it’s just something we know about a site going forward, especially if it says it has change but hasn’t really.”
Determining Content Helpfulness & Reliability
Moving beyond spam, Sullivan discussed various systems that assess the helpfulness, usefulness, and reliability of individual content and sites.
He acknowledged that these systems are imperfect and some high-quality sites may not be recognized as well as they should be.
“Some of them ranking really well. But they’ve moved down a bit in small positions enough that the traffic drop is notable. They assume they have fundamental issues but don’t, really — which is why we added a whole section about this to our debugging traffic drops page.”
Sullivan revealed ongoing discussions about providing more indicators in Search Console to help creators understand their content’s performance.
“Another thing I’ve been discussing, and I’m not alone in this, is could we do more in Search Console to show some of these indicators. This is all challenging similar to all the stuff I said about spam, about how not wanting to let the systems get gamed, and also how there’s then no button we would push that’s like “actually more useful than our automated systems think — rank it better!” But maybe there’s a way we can find to share more, in a way that helps everyone and coupled with better guidance, would help creators.”
Advocacy For Small Publishers & Positive Progress
In response to a suggestion from Brandon Saltalamacchia, founder of RetroDodo, about manually reviewing “good” sites and providing guidance, Sullivan shared his thoughts on potential solutions.
He mentioned exploring ideas such as self-declaration through structured data for small publishers and learning from that information to make positive changes.
“I have some thoughts I’ve been exploring and proposing on what we might do with small publishers and self-declaring with structured data and how we might learn from that and use that in various ways. Which is getting way ahead of myself and the usual no promises but yes, I think and hope for ways to move ahead more positively.”
Sullivan said he can’t make promises or implement changes overnight, but he expressed hope for finding ways to move forward positively.
Featured Image: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock
How to Use Keywords for SEO: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
Advertising on Hulu: Ad Formats, Examples & Tips
18 Events and Conferences for Black Entrepreneurs in 2024
Best WordPress Plugins of All Time: Updated List for 2024
Updates to data build service for better developer experiences
The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing
Shopify Could Be Undervalued Based On A Long-Term Horizon
Low Risk, High Reward YouTube Ads alexking
5 Must See Telegram Plugins for WooCommerce
IAB Podcast Upfront highlights rebounding audiences and increased innovation
-
SEO7 days agoHow to Use Keywords for SEO: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
-
MARKETING5 days agoAdvertising on Hulu: Ad Formats, Examples & Tips
-
MARKETING2 days ago18 Events and Conferences for Black Entrepreneurs in 2024
-
WORDPRESS5 days agoBest WordPress Plugins of All Time: Updated List for 2024
-
MARKETING6 days agoUpdates to data build service for better developer experiences
-
MARKETING7 days agoThe Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing
-
WORDPRESS6 days agoShopify Could Be Undervalued Based On A Long-Term Horizon
-
PPC6 days agoLow Risk, High Reward YouTube Ads alexking
You must be logged in to post a comment Login