Do you want to write a blog post that will bring tons of traffic to your site?
A lively blog is a prerequisite for successful content marketing. We thought it was about time to share with you how we at Blogtec go about writing quality blog posts.
Here you will find the complete guide! In this article, we document the entire process in 7 steps. We will give you useful tips and a structure that you can use to blog professionally on any topic.
Step 1: Keyword Analysis
Let’s get started right away!
The ideal blog post starts with finding the right keyword. Unlike social media, blogging is not always about you. The idea is to find a topic that is associated with your industry. It is to impart knowledge and thus gain trust!
In most cases, when working with our clients, we do the topic identification and create a content plan. We perform a keyword analysis that is specific to the company’s niche and customer base.
For this blog post, our analysis revealed the keyword “blog post” as a suitable topic, among others. It has a relatively high search volume, attracts the appropriate group of users, and is not under the very toughest competition in the languages we focus on.
We decided: “blog post” should become the topic of our article. But what exactly is behind it? What kind of content will get us to the top of Google rankings?
Step 2: Determine Search Intent
A good blog post answers exactly the questions that users associate with the keyword and the topic.
The next step is to look at what the top pages in the search results for that keyword are writing about. This will tell us what content Google presents to its users for the corresponding search term.
There are many tools on the market that facilitate this step. Nevertheless, when preparing the article, no step leads past going directly to the Google search results and dealing with the competition.
Tip: Pay particular attention to the structure and headline choice of the posts in the top 10 on Google. If several pages follow the same model, this seems to meet the search intent. The same goes for the titles and meta descriptions of the different articles.
4 Different Search Intents
Depending on the direction the search intent goes, the structure and content of an article will change.
For the keyword “blog post”, the search intent is composed of 80% information search and 20% buying advice. Users here primarily want information but are also open to possibly spending money for assistance.
Here is a list of the 4 different search intents and their specifics. For what purposes do people use Google, and what does that mean for our blog post?
1. Navigation
Many people use Google for navigation. They already know where they want to go, but need help getting there.
Example search query: “blog post blogtec” / “adidas login”.
Here the user expects to either find directly the page he or she is looking for or pages that refer to his target by links.
2. Information Search
People use search engines to learn and educate themselves. An informative search intent aims to acquire knowledge.
Example search query: “how do I write a blog post?” / “where do adidas shoes come from?”
In this question, the search intent is clearly information seeking. Here the searcher expects scientific texts, facts and instructions.
3. Buying Advice
More and more internet users are also shopping online. Before they make a purchase decision, they inform themselves and compare products.
Example search query: “the best writers for blog posts” / “best adidas shoes 2021”.
Tests, testimonials and blog articles rank for these types of keywords. Links to direct shopping opportunities are not uncommon.
4. Transaction (Purchase)
If someone already knows exactly what they want, search engines like Google help locate the product.
Example search query: “buy blog posts” / “buy adidas shoes”.
For this type of search query, the manufacturers themselves usually rank, as do sites that list a variety of products.
Step 3: Outlining
The analysis of the search intent has now given us the direction in which we should outline our keyword. Before we get to write, we still need to prepare the text.
The ideal blog post gathers the information from other pages, brings everything together and makes it even better!
Just repeating what others have already written is not enough. You want your post to stand out. What you can do to bring your blog post to 110% is explained later in the text.
SEO Analysis
First, we need to complete the preparation cleanly. We have already defined the main keyword and determined the search intent.
Now we need to find out more sub keywords. These will help to create sub-categories for the article. There are many ways to do this. We want to introduce one that anyone can use without having to purchase a special tool.
Google Suggest is an efficient way to further determine the search intent and spot important sub-keywords. To do this, you type your keyword into Google and then press “space“. The search engine then makes suggestions for relevant search terms.
Google lists so-called snippets for many keywords. Under “People also ask” we can find further questions that can help us to structure blog entries in advance.
Finally, it is always worth taking a look at the end of the search results. There we can find yet another set of keywords that we should include in our article.
Content Research
A good article needs to be properly researched. It is necessary to collect facts and sources that should be mentioned in the article.
The perfect blog post includes outbound links that lead to reputable sources.
Important: When researching, we should pay attention to how long the competitor articles are in the top 10 rankings. Word count is an important factor in search engine rankings.
For our keyword “blog post”, we found that our article should be at least 2000 words long.
Planning Headlines
Now we need to plan the actual text. To do this, we sensibly divide the text into H1, H2, H3 and H4 headings.
The merging of SEO analysis and content research now takes place here. We want to write a user-friendly article and at the same time place important keywords to make it easier for Google to rank our work.
Blog Post Example: The Results Of Our Analysis [Summary].
SEO analysis, search intent and content research are now determined. Here are our results.
- Our focus keywords is “blog post” or “blog post writing”.
- The Search Intent is composed of 80% information search and 20% buying advice.
- The article should be at least 2000 words long.
- Important sub keywords are: blog post tutorial, blog post example, cost blog post.
PS: A detailed preparation contains some more steps to better determine the search intent and keywords. Since this is beyond the scope of this article, we have limited ourselves to what is important. You can find more information in our article on search engine ranking.
Our Blog Post Guide – Recommended Structure
We have now almost completed the preparation. Now we need to put the extracted information into a form. For this purpose, we have created a template for the structure, which can be applied to almost all keyword-based blog posts.
Especially articles that have an informative character and are supposed to inspire a purchase can be structured very well this way.
The Idea
Every article should usually answer these three questions:
- What? (definition of the keyword)
- Why? (context of the keyword)
- How? (Guide to the keyword – reference to products and services)
In detail, it looks like this:
Introduction:
- Start with an exciting first sentence to grab the reader’s attention. Questions or controversial statements are suitable here. Our example: “Do you want to write a blog post that will bring you lots of visitors to your site?”
- Mention the main keyword at least once.
- Explain what the reader can expect from your article.
- Don’t write more than 170 words.
Main body:
- First, you explain your keyword/topic in more detail. Give a definition and go into more detail about what you will do in the article.
- Refer to your notes from the preparation. Create headlines that hit the search intent and include important keywords.
- Explain the “what?” and move from that into the “why?”.
- Finally, add your own contribution to the cause. This can be your knowledge, your product or your service.
- Put internal and external links to relevant sources.
End
- Write a summary of the article. Once again answer the questions: What? Why? and How?
- Use the main keyword at least once.
- End the text on a personal note. Link to texts that can further interest the reader or mention your product that is the solution to a problem.
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Step 4: The First Draft
Once you have created a structure, start writing. Most of the headlines should already be created at this point.
Now you fill the form with content. It is important to avoid perfectionism at this point. Although you have everything well planned out, a lot of things only come out when you are writing.
This is a beautiful characteristic of texts and writing in general. Everything starts with an idea. The practical implementation of this idea then leads to something new.
The main thing is that you write. Before you revise sentences, write everything down first. You don’t have to finish the whole text in one day. We wrote the first draft of this article in three days.
Just To Keep That In Mind …
A perfect blog entry consists of the following sections:
- Preparation = 25%
- Writing = 50%
- Editing = 15%
- Experience = 10%
Step 5: The Second Draft
When you have completed your first draft, you should leave your article for one night.
The purpose of the second draft is to approach the old text with a fresh perspective. You start with the first sentence and compare step by step whether text and preparation correspond to each other.
In the end, everything should fit together coherently. The introduction should already contain the essence of the article. The main part must be stringent and reader-pleasing. In the best case, everything comes to a rounded conclusion in the end.
Now the text is ready for editing.
Step 6: Editing
When the writing ends, a blog post is far from finished. Here are 3 steps you should follow when editing:
1. Check Spelling:
The first thing to do is to get the spelling to 100%. There are always careless mistakes or missing punctuation. Therefore, a spelling and grammar correction is part of every revision.
2. Set Links
A trustworthy blog post contains both internal and external links. In the best case, these were already planned in the preparation and noted during the writing.
Now the task is to distribute the links neatly throughout the text.
3. Insert Images
Inserting images gives you another chance to check the overall construct of the text. Images should not appear randomly but should be inserted purposefully.
Where in the article can images clarify the message? What is difficult to explain without pictures? Where can an image help break up the text and make the reading flow more pleasant?
Finally, everything fits. The article is neatly laid out in front of you. The transition from headline to headline works. Everything fits together. You’re done!
4 Ways To Get Your Blog Post To 110%.
As previously announced, here are 4 ways to make content stand out from the crowd.
Get Personal: Include personal experiences. If you want to get a message across, tell stories and talk about yourself. Then people will listen!
Add images, videos or special tools to the text: Many users only skim superficially over posts on the internet. An appealing design can encourage them to linger.
Feature your own product: Offer a solution that no one else has in this form. Blog posts are the perfect opportunity to promote your own service.
Write only when you have the energy: Take your time writing. To create the best blog post possible, you also need to be at your best state for writing.
If you want to learn more tips and tricks, you can read our blog article on content maintenance. Here, we mainly explain how you can optimize existing content.
Step 7: Stranger Eyes
A perfect blog post is never written alone.
At Blogtec, the writer, content manager and account manager share the work. In other companies, the process is even further divided. SEO briefing, content research, graphics and design belong to different departments there.
The content managers are our second level, who ensure the quality of each article.
Does the text comply with the SEO briefing? Are we using all the important keywords? Is the search intent being met?
Before the article is uploaded or submitted, it gets its seal of approval here in the final step.
Step 8: Reflection and Feedback
The end of one blog post is the beginning of another. It is important to give feedback to the writer in order to increase the quality in the next text or to praise.
At the same time, this gives the writer the opportunity to share impressions that came up during the writing process. The feedback sessions are a key point in our self-image at Blogtec. This is where we reflect!
To meet our requirements for perfect content, we regularly optimize our processes. Reflection at the end of a blog post helps highlight WHO we are as a company and WHERE we want to go.
Conclusion – How To Write The Ideal Blog Post?
If you follow this guide to writing a blog post, you will quickly see your first successes in Google Analytics. Our case studies show that SEO optimized posts, which offer added value for the reader, create more organic traffic for a website.
You answer a question or solve a problem on your page and the result is a steady stream of organic visitors. Content marketing of this type thus has an elementary advantage over other marketing channels such as social media.
Every visitor is a potential customer. Readers are already interested in your product, even before they come to your site. Then they find you and your blog during a search on the Internet. Your site provides them with an answer to their question. The trust is there. All you have to do is reach out. What are you waiting for?