How to Write a Blog Post: The Definitive Guide

Tap Into User-Generated Content for Ideas

Find your target audience in subreddits, Facebook Groups, and industry forums.

See what they care about.

For example: You’re a salon owner.

You might join a Facebook Group like this:

Look for insights like this:

And this:

And this:

That’s three blog topics right there:

1. Hair Porosity: What It Is and Why You Should Care
2. Benefits of Rice Water in Haircare
3. The Ultimate Guide to Frizzy Hair

The key?

Find groups where your target demographic hangs out.

Then look for patterns. And posts with lots of traction.

You’re sure to have popular blog topic ideas in no time.

Use Semrush for Competitor Insights

It’s time to steal your competitor’s best topics.

Grab a competitor’s blog URL and pop it into Semrush and hit “Search.”

Then, hit “Traffic Analytics” on the left-side menu. And the “Top Pages” tab at the top.

You’ll see the exact content that’s worked best for that blog (in terms of direct, referral, social, search, and paid traffic):

Leverage Conference Agendas

This is quickly becoming one of our FAVORITE ways to find killer topics.

First, head to a conference website in your niche.

Go to the agenda page:

You’ll see topics that people are paying to learn more about:

A bonus idea:

Pop the conference agenda page into the Google Keyword Planner and select “Use only this page”:

And click the “Get results” button.

You’ll get a list of targeted keyword ideas straight from Google.

Template #1: Expanded List Post

What It Is

A regular list post. But better.

List posts are a blogging mainstay.

And for good reason:

They’re a collection of bite-sized tips that people can use to get a specific result.

The issue is that traditional list posts usually leave out key details, like how to implement each tip.

The Expanded List Post is completely different.

With the Expanded List Post, you give LOTS of detail about each item on your list.

Why It Works

Normal lists posts aren’t actionable. They make the reader do a ton of extra work.

For example, let’s say the first tip from a list post is: “Eat Eggs at Breakfast.”

Well, that leaves out A LOT of important info, like:

• What time should I eat?
• How do I cook the eggs?
• What about organic and free-range eggs?
• Can I eat anything with the eggs?

Well, the Expanded List Post answers all of those questions and more.

That way, your reader doesn’t have to fill in the blanks.

Real Life Example

A while back we published 19 NEW SEO Techniques.

This Expanded List Post is extremely successful.

To date, it has over 14k social shares.

And 5.5K backlinks from over 1.1K domains:

Our secret?

Unlike most list posts, we gave people detailed steps for each tip:

Template #3: Tools of the Trade

What It Is

A “Tools Of The Trade Post” is a list of tools that you recommend.

To be clear:

These tools DON’T have to be software.

A “tool” can be a morning routine, a foam roller, or a B12 supplement.

As long as the tool helps your reader solve a problem, you’re good.

Why It Works

Strategies are hard.

Approaches are tricky.

But using tools is EASY.

(In fact, the number one question we get is: “What SEO tools do you recommend?”)

That said:

Finding the right tool can be REALLY hard.

That’s where your “Tools of the Trade” post comes in. It’s a hand-picked list of the best tools, all in one place.

Real Life Example

A while back, we published a blog post called How to Learn SEO In Record Time.

It was a list of “tools” (resources) to help people learn SEO.

It didn’t go viral or anything. But it did get over 2K shares.

Template #5: The Complete List

What It Is

A Complete List is like an ultimate guide in list form.

So instead of a guide with steps, you list every…

• Tip
• Item
• Tool
• Technique
• Strategy
• Example
• Case study

So it’s all in one place.

Why It Works

First off, Complete Lists have a legit “WOW” factor.

(A list of 200+ anything is impressive.)

Second, you’re curating scattered information on a single page.

Real Life Example

In 2018, we published 41 Best SEO Tools (Free & Paid).

It’s a huge list of 41 SEO tools.

(Yup, we personally tried each and every one of them.)

But we didn’t just list a bunch of tools and call it a day.

We made sure to highlight each tool’s strength and call out our favorite features:

The post has been a traffic MAGNET for Backlinko.

In fact, over 6,000 people visit that post every month:

Start by Looking at the SERP

Search for your topic or primary keyword.

Look at the titles on the search engine results page (SERP).

Google will show you what searchers are interested in.

You don’t want to copy anything that’s already in use. But use results as inspiration to build on what works.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a blog about lead nurturing.

You might see SERP results like this:

This list is a great start for crafting your own version that will stand out!

In B2B? Use These Proven Headline Phrases

If you’re in B2B, you know that clickbait titles don’t work that well.

Fortunately, the BuzzSumo study mentioned earlier also analyzed a subset of B2B post titles.

And they discovered that these 20 phrases work GREAT in B2B:

Try a Proven Formula

These proven arrangements of words can help your headlines stand out:

The Keyword-Colon Formula

The formula: [Content Topic]: [Actionable promise]

Why it works: It directly addresses the topic, hooking the reader with an actionable promise.

Examples:

• Local Keyword Research: 4 Easy Steps to Attract More Customers
• Google E-E-A-T: How to Create People-First Content
• Small Business Marketing: 6 Proven Strategies for More Reach
• Law Firm SEO: A 5-Step Guide to Getting More Leads and Clients

List or Number Formula

The formula: X [Unique Adjective] [Topic]

Why it works: Lists are compelling in part because human brains love complete stories. Readers naturally want to see what made the list.

Lists also provide clarity and set expectations in a way audiences like.

Examples:

• 5 Powerful Local SEO Tools to Get More Customers
• 22 Proven Content Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Strategy

The Keyword-Question Formula

The formula: [Keyword Question]? [Promise]

Why it works: Directly acknowledges the question and hooks the reader with a simple promise.

Examples:

• What is an H1 Tag? Best Practices & Examples for SEO
• What Are URL Parameters? A Guide for Marketers and SEOs

Optimize for Emotional Marketing Value (EMV)

Every copywriter knows that emotional headlines get LOTS of clicks.

And now there’s data to back this up.

CoSchedule published a blog post headline study.

Specifically, they analyzed a million headlines for emotional marketing value (EMV).

And they found a clear correlation between high EMV and social shares.

You can measure your EMV score using this tool from the Advanced Marketing Institute:

Just pop your headline into the tool and you’ll get your EMV score.

At Backlinko, we try to get our EMV score to at least 25%.

We even have a few headlines with an EMV score of 70%+.

Limit Your Intro to 4-7 Sentences

Let’s face it:

No one likes long blog post introductions. Like this:

That’s why we try to limit our intros to under ten lines.

For example, the intro from this post is only eight lines:

In our experience, four to seven sentences is more than enough to hook people and get them excited for the content they’re about to read.

End with a Transition

We like to end intros with a transition sentence.

In our experience, a transition helps push people to read the next section.

Here’s an example from an article on SEO tools:

Keep Your Paragraphs Short

Want people to read your content? Avoid giant walls of text.

Here’s an example:

Instead, stick to paragraphs that are one to two sentences long.

Like this:

Why is this important?

Short paragraphs are easier to read.

(Especially on mobile devices.)

Keep Your Voice Active

If we could give you ONE writing tip for writing blog posts it would be:

Use the active voice!

Seriously.

The passive voice is just… lame.

On the flip side, the active voice is crisp and clear.

Write Like You Talk

This is the holy grail of engaging writing.

But it’s not easy.

(Especially if you took English classes in high school.)

This will help:

Read your post out loud.

Come across something that sounds weird? Scrap that sentence.

To replace it, explain the same thing out loud. Use THAT language instead.

You’ll probably find it sounds a lot better.

Ease the Reader’s Next Step

The reader just finished an article on a topic they care about. A topic that you’re an expert in.

It’s a match made in heaven.

Continue your now-established relationship with the reader by making it easy for them to put your advice into action.

For example, if your blog reviewed 10 tools, use your conclusion to narrow it down to the top two. Now they know which to try.

If you have just taught them link-building strategies, recommend an easy-to-implement strategy for them to use first.

Here’s an example from our article about URL parameters:

Recommending a next step helps readers more easily reach their goals.

And see you as a partner in their efforts.

Common Conclusion Mistakes to Avoid

These are mistakes people frequently make when writing conclusions.

Don’t:

• Say “in conclusion”
• Drag it out. Be as brief and direct as possible
• Use generic headings like Wrapping Up, Final Thoughts, or Conclusion
• Just restate the main point of the post
• Write “Now you know how to …” and then wish the reader luck (too generic)
• Save anything important for the conclusion. If it’s really important and relevant, it needs to be much earlier in the article

Here’s an example of a conclusion that does a lot of these:

The heading is generic.

The content is flowery and summarizes the post.

It doesn’t suggest a next step.

It doesn’t recommend the next resource.

Here’s an example of a conclusion that works a lot better:

It has a specific heading focused on helping the reader make a decision.

It gets straight to the point with a clear next step.

There’s a strong call to action for the next resource.

Keep Your URLs Short

There’s no doubt about it:

When it comes to SEO, short URLs work best.

There are two reasons that short URLs outperform long URLs.

First off, your URL helps Google understand your page’s topic.

In fact, Google officially recommends short, descriptive URLs.

Second, people use URLs to help them decide what to click on in the search results.

If your URL is insanely long, people are less likely to click on it:

Include Your Keyword in the Title Tag

This couldn’t be any simpler.

Include your exact keyword in your title tag.

Look at this post as an example: The 17 Most Important SEO Tips for Higher Rankings.

Our target keyword is: “seo tips.”

So we included that keyword in our title tag:

And WordPress page title:

Add Internal Links

Internal linking might be the most underrated SEO strategy on the planet.

And it isn’t complicated.

Whenever you publish a new post, add two to five links to older posts:

You can also go back to older posts and link to your NEW post.

For example, when we published The Definitive Guide to Keyword Research, we linked out to related content:

And we added a handful of internal links to the new guide:

How Content Transformation Works

Let’s say we want to make a YouTube video about backlinks.

Back in the day, we’d open up a blank Google Doc and start on our outline.

Instead, we’re going to use Content Transformation.

That means starting with existing content. In this case, an old blog post:

And we pull a piece out of the blog post that works for our video. Like this strategy on link roundups:

And, using that portion of the blog as a starting point, we write a video script for our YouTube post:

Even though this video was mostly repurposed from existing content, it got 20k views in its first 30 days:

Not bad.

Use Facebook Retargeting

Yup, Facebook’s organic reach is lower than low recent years.

That said:

You can still get in front of your fans… with boosted posts.

(And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.)

The secret?

Retargeting.

Here’s the exact process:

First, add Facebook’s Meta pixel to your site.

Next, share your blog post on Facebook.

This will get you a handful of likes and comments. That’s good. It pushes more people to engage with your post later on.

Now that you have some social proof, boost your post. And ONLY target people that visited your site in the last 30-60 days.

That’s all there is to it.

Share Content on LinkedIn

If you’re in B2B, you NEED to hop on LinkedIn.

Unlike Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn organic reach is GREAT.

For example, here’s one of our older LinkedIn posts:

That single post got 56,872 views.

Insane.

To be clear:

Not every LinkedIn post does this well.

For example, this post was kind of a dud:

But over 13k views is still WAY more than we’d get on almost any other social network.