When it involves writing a weblog put up, there are a number of codecs you should use—and all of it is dependent upon the objective of your article and what your viewers is searching for.

Listed here are some fashionable varieties of weblog posts to know, together with examples of learn how to use them:

  1. How-to guides
  2. Content material hubs
  3. Expanded definition posts
  4. Listicles, aka checklist posts
  5. Expanded checklist posts
  6. Information
  7. Information research
  8. Case research
  9. Cheat sheets and checklists
  10. Templates

A how-to put up gives a sequence of particular, chronological steps on learn how to obtain a objective. It’s sometimes structured like so:

Infographic showing structure of a how-to guide

For example, this put up is titled “The way to Select the Proper Phrases for Search engine optimisation” and reveals you learn how to obtain that objective by a four-step course of:

  • Step 1 – Discover key phrases with search visitors potential
  • Step 2 – Create content material that aligns with search intent
  • Step 3 – Make sure the key phrase has “enterprise potential”
  • Step 4 – Ensure you can rank for the key phrase

We then elaborate on every step by exhibiting you learn how to execute it.

Within the case of the first step—discovering key phrases with search visitors potential—we advised utilizing key phrase analysis instruments equivalent to Google Key phrase Planner and Ahrefs’ Key phrases Explorer and then elaborated on how every device works.

Excerpt of an Ahrefs article talking about GKP and Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

Finest practices

  • When chronicling your steps, be as particular as doable. Take into account that your reader could ask, “How? Why?” after which fill these gaps to make your how-to information substantial.

A content material hub is an interlinked assortment of content material a couple of subject. 

Typically, you will have a number of weblog posts in your web site a couple of subject—let’s say Search engine optimisation—however they aren’t housed in a single place. That’s the place a content material hub is available in: It’s strategically constructed to spice up your website construction for extra visitors, hyperlinks, and topical authority.

In easy phrases, a content material hub includes three elements:

  1. Your hub web page – A high-level information in regards to the overarching subject (e.g., Search engine optimisation). It often contains hyperlinks to subtopics which might be generally break up into chapters.
  2. Your subpages – These are in-depth guides about elements of the primary subject. Every of those guides is break up into but extra chapters.
  3. Hyperlinks – These join the subpages to your hub web page. The hub web page hyperlinks to all of the subpages, and every subpage hyperlinks again to the hub.

It might be just a little complicated, so let’s take the instance of our newbie’s information to Search engine optimisation. That is our hub web page:

Hub page of beginner’s guide to SEO

We first give the reader an summary of what Search engine optimisation is. That is adopted by six hyperlinked chapters (with descriptions for every). Clicking on every of those chapters brings you to their respective subpages.

So if we click on on chapter 1 (How Search Engines Work), the reader is taken to the subpage—which is break up into but extra chapters so to simply hone in on a selected subtopic.

Subpage of "How Search Engines Work"

We’ve additionally included a hyperlink for every subpage to attach it again to our hub web page.

Link that brings user back to hub page

Finest practices

  • Map out a construction to make sure your content material hub is nicely organized

Example of content hub in flowchart form: "Keto Dieting" is in the middle and branches out to pictures of different fruits and vegetables

  • When you’ve got a subject in thoughts however aren’t certain learn how to construction it, comply with these steps:
  1. Go to Ahrefs’ Content material Explorer
  2. Enter your search time period (e.g., “hyperlink constructing”)
  3. Take a look at the highest outcomes to see how different web sites construction their content material hubs/guides
Content Explorer search results

3. Expanded definition posts

Expanded definition posts are considerably just like how-to guides. The distinction is they begin by specializing in the what earlier than the how—as a result of generally, you wish to perceive a subject in higher depth earlier than attending to the actionable bit (i.e., the how-to).

Right here’s the way it’s structured:

Infographic showing structure of an expanded definition post

Our weblog put up titled “What Is a Backlink? The way to Get Extra Backlinks” is one such instance of how this construction will be put to follow:

  • Introduction, then desk of contents—bulleted abstract of what you’ll be taught
  • [H2] Why backlinks are vital 
    • [H3] Rankings (elaborate)
    • [H3] Discoverability (elaborate)
    • [H3] Referral visitors (elaborate)
  • [H2] What makes a superb backlink? 
    • Elaborate with H3s as above
  • [H2] The way to examine for backlinks 
    • Elaborate with H3s as above; add screenshots the place essential
  • [H2] The way to get extra backlinks 
    • Elaborate with H3s as above
  • Conclusion: Your remaining ideas

It’s pretty simple. Inform the reader what to anticipate, clarify why the subject is vital and what they will do with it, then provide some steps on learn how to obtain a sure objective across the subject.

Finest practices

4. Listicles, aka checklist posts

Listicles—also called checklist posts—sometimes function one tip, method, or level per paragraph. They’re typically used for non-chronological recommendation however, generally, have a poor popularity as a result of many publications use the format for clickbait tales.

This BuzzFeed article precisely captures one occasion of how the format is used:

Excerpt of a BuzzFeed article titled "32 Cheap Things To Treat Yourself To Right Now"

The descriptions under every subheading are stored quick in order that readers can rapidly seize info in a concise method with out having to remain on a web page for too lengthy. Listicles may additionally be image-heavy.

Excerpt of an image-heavy BuzzFeed article

Regardless of the poor rep that checklist posts could carry, they are often helpful for readers who’re searching for fast solutions to sure questions—as within the case of this Search Engine Journal weblog put up titled “21 Net Directories You’ll Nonetheless Wish to Use.” This can be a good instance of how an Search engine optimisation or advertising and marketing listicle ought to be written:

Excerpt of an SEJ article

Finest practices

  • We advocate not utilizing sensationalist wording in your headline (like this BuzzFeed article). As an alternative, guarantee your headline captures precisely what the weblog put up is about.
  • You possibly can be taught extra about one of the best practices of crafting listicles right here.

An expanded checklist put up mimics the format of a listicle. The distinction is that this format is best suited to extra complicated subjects—so every pointer on the checklist is beefed as much as higher clarify a tip or thought.

Example of expanded list post about copywriting

It’s additionally why we don’t publish all that many checklist posts on the Ahrefs weblog; Search engine optimisation is a fancy subject to unpack when in comparison with “lighter” content material, such because the “greatest cafes in Singapore.” 

The weblog put up you’re studying now can also be an instance of an expanded checklist put up.

Finest practices

  • Since expanded checklist posts are lengthier than listicles, use photographs and H3s (a subsection that sits underneath your subheading) to interrupt your factors up. This very subsection is a H3.

Newsworthy weblog posts comprise time-sensitive info that’s related to what you are promoting and/or trade. This contains industrywide modifications or developments that will have an effect on your readers (or be of curiosity to them), in addition to firm or product updates.

Naturally, the piece of reports you’d wish to share ought to be disseminated as quickly as doable, and, ideally, earlier than different publications. That is particularly so if you happen to’re protecting industrywide modifications.

For instance, let’s say Apple intends to announce the launch of its Mac Studio and Studio Show by way of a press launch.

That very same press launch is first shared with a number of publications and stored on embargo (i.e., to not be printed till a sure date and time). Based mostly on the knowledge, media retailers can construct a narrative and schedule the information for publication—within the case of “quickest fingers first.”

Except of Google SERP on Apple's Mac Studio

Being fast to publish a newsworthy story additionally places you in good standing together with your target market, who could over time regard your weblog as a dependable and credible supply of data. To attain this, it is advisable be constant in publishing correct and well timed content material. 

Finest practices

  • Use the inverted triangle so your most vital info is up prime
Inverted pyramid. "Need to know" at top, then "nice to know" at bottom

Information research are a good way to earn backlinks.

At Ahrefs, we’ve run greater than a good variety of information research over time—a lot of which have introduced us traction on our socials.

However don’t merely cobble information from a number of sources and declare it as yours. As an alternative, determine on what you wish to first research.

A method to do that is by recreating outdated research, which yow will discover utilizing Ahrefs’ Content material Explorer:

  1. In Content material Explorer, enter a search time period like [industry] + “research,” [industry] + “survey,” [industry] + “analysis,” or [industry] + “information”
  2. Set the filter to an In title search
  3. Set the Revealed filter to an older date vary (e.g., 2010–2015)
  4. Type the outcomes by referring domains
Content Explorer search results

From right here, you’ll be able to determine fashionable and/or outdated research to recreate and write about as weblog posts.

Finest practices

  • Create graphs so readers have a concise overview of your findings

Pie chart showing 7.4% of top-ranking pages have no title tags

Extra Examples

Case research take a look at real-life experiments or companies which have succeeded in utilizing sure ways or methods. They’re efficient as a result of readers are extra inclined to purchase into info when it’s backed by proof.

On this case research of fintech firm Clever, we explored 5 the explanation why its Search engine optimisation technique is so admirable:

Except of an Ahrefs article showing five reasons why Wise's SEO strategy is good

We additionally weaved in our product—the Ahrefs toolset—the place we may.

Excerpt of an Ahrefs article talking about content optimization for featured snippets

To your case research to be efficient, it has to offer the reader some “wins”—clear takeaways that they will apply to their enterprise. Ideally, you need to function a enterprise that’s both well-known or has a novel sufficient promoting proposition to entice readers to click on on the weblog put up.

Finest practices

  • Give readers some clear takeaways (e.g., Oatly Search engine optimisation Case Research: 5 Classes You Can Be taught From the Oat Drink Big and Its IPO) so that they’re extra more likely to learn your weblog put up

9. Cheat sheets and checklists

Cheat sheets and checklists are basically the identical factor and should embody a transparent breakdown of the steps required to succeed in a objective.

Not like how-to guides, which can generally be ambiguous in explaining how one thing works, checklists and cheat sheets are efficient as a result of they let you know precisely what it is advisable obtain one thing.

Right here’s a concise Search engine optimisation guidelines we crafted for a weblog put up. We later repurposed the guidelines as a tweet:

Within the above weblog put up, we shared that our Search engine optimisation guidelines helped develop our weblog to over 640,000 month-to-month search visits. Then we shared that very same guidelines with customers earlier than going right into a breakdown of every of the weather within the cheat sheet.

Finest practices

  • Organize your checklists/cheat sheets in chronological order in order that the reader is aware of precisely learn how to attain a objective

Just like what the title suggests, template weblog posts embody templates on learn how to obtain one thing—as within the case of this weblog put up on learn how to create a one-page advertising and marketing plan.

We advocate utilizing this format:

  • What’s [topic]?
  • Why is [topic] vital?
  • How can I make [topic] work for me?
  • Template

You possibly can share your template at first of the article, which is what we usually do, or on the backside of the weblog put up.

Excerpt of an Ahrefs article about a one-page marketing plan

There are additionally a number of methods to let readers entry your template: We often provide it as a free, copyable template (by way of Google Docs), however you might determine to create a downloadable template as a substitute.

Finest practices

  • Hold your template easy and arranged, with guiding questions or suggestions for open-ended fields
Example of a simple and organized template

Remaining ideas

These templates should not the be-all and end-all with regards to writing a superb weblog put up.

Attempt to combine issues up relying on what you assume works greatest. For example, this information to creating Search engine optimisation-friendly URLs begins with a step-by-step information, then seems at some greatest practices in a listicle format.

It’s all about experimenting and determining what your readers need, so don’t restrict your self.

Have questions or feedback? I’d love to listen to them on Twitter

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