Having a blog on your company website is an excellent strategy for driving more organic traffic and building a long-term relationship with your audience. However, in order to achieve these goals, you need to make sure you’re using your blog post format to make the article appeal to your audience.
You may be wondering, “isn’t the content within the blog more important than the format?”
Don’t get us wrong, content is critical. However, format is king.
In this guide, we go more into setting up your blog posts format to appeal to readers and ultimately drive more engagement on your site. We’ll talk about why it’s important, important pieces of research you need to conduct before outlining your blog, and finally offer you insights on a successful format.
Why Does Your Blog Post Format Matter?
The format of your blog post refers to the way you structure and present the content within your post. It includes the way you set up every element of your post – text, images, videos, lists, etc.
Think of the format of your post like the menu of a restaurant. Could you imagine if every dish was listed one after the other with no spacing, sections, or labels. The desserts were mixed in with the dinners, and the prices were all over the place. Just thinking about a menu like this makes us want to order somewhere else.
The same thing goes for your blog posts. An effective blog post format makes blog posts easy to consume.
The easier it is for readers to skim through your blog and find meaningful content, the longer they will stay on the page and engage with your website.
Example
Consider the following example from SEMrush. The example on the left is cramped, wordy, and seems like a lengthy read. The example on the right contains the exact same information, however, the nice format makes it more attractive to readers. The faster they can skim your content and find value, the more time they will spend on the post.
We want to make sure you know that there’s nothing wrong with writing the first draft of your blog out in a document like the example on the left did. As long as you edit and divide the information up to look more like the example on the right then your post will be much more consumable and successful!
Research: The Foundation of a Successful Format
Before we dive into the specifics of an effective format, let’s talk about research. There are 2 pieces of research that you need to conduct before (and during) formatting your blog.
SEO Keyword Research
When we refer to keywords, we’re talking about the most frequently searched for words and phrases related to a certain topic. With tools like SEMrush, you can look up the topic you’re writing your blog on and find exactly what phrases or key terms your audience is searching for.
Use the keyword that you find during research in your blog title, headlines, and subheadlines to help your article rank better and also engage your audience. You’ll engage your audience by addressing the exact topics and questions they care about.
Incorporating these researched keywords into key areas of your post not only helps with SEO but also improves the article’s readability. When readers quickly see that your content is relevant to their search, they’re more likely to stay engaged and continue reading.
General Topic Information
Look for 3-5 credible, (and preferably recently posted) resources to help guide your format and also offer accurate, recent information you can expand on in your writing. They don’t have to be direct competitors, just make sure they’re relevant and accurate to the subject you’re writing on.
These resources can serve as a foundation for your blog post, providing reliable data, insights, and examples to support your key points.
Additionally, the research helps shape your blog’s format by highlighting which topics deserve more focus and which can be summarized. By grounding your post in authoritative sources, you’ll not only offer valuable content but also improve your chances of earning backlinks and higher rankings in search engine results.
SEMRush Google Extension
There are many great resources you can invest in for your company to help your work be more effective and better reach your audience.
One of the best tools we make available to our copywriters is the Semrush SEO Google Drive Extension.
We write all of our copy in a Google Docs before posting it live to a website. This isn’t just to make it easy to collaborate, but also to ensure the content is SEO optimized before publishing. This tool gives you live feedback as to how you can improve your title, headlines, and content for Search Engines.
How to add the extension to Google Docs:
- Create a Google Doc
- Click on Extensions
- Click ‘Add-ons’
- Click ‘Get Add-ons’
- Search Semrush SEO Writing Assistant
- Use the Suggestions Within the Extension to Improve How Your Article or Webpage will Rank on Google!
Note: This tool is not free and does require payment.
How to Format A Blog Post
Now for the fun part – formatting your blog.
You can do this as you write or after, whichever works best for your process!
The key is, just as in the example above, to make your post more consumable and easier to navigate. Here are our top recommendations on how to accomplish this.
1.Choose A Clear, Strong Title
Your title is the first impression your post has with your audience. It’s what appears to viewers first on google search results, social media posts linked to your blog, and is ultimately what will make them decide to click and read your blog or leave and never come back.
A general rule of thumb to follow is to keep your blog title around 60 characters (8-13 words).
You don’t want it to be too long, otherwise the title will roll off the page in search results. You also don’t want it to be too short, as this doesn’t allow you to effectively communicate the point of your post and also comes off as not as credible to readers.
🔥Hot Tip: If you struggle coming up with a title for your blog, utilize an online blog name generator such as this one from WIX. Simply enter your keyword, press a button, and get multiple ideas for your blog post title! Not all of them will be winners, but at the very least you’ll have some great titles to build off of.
2.Use Headers and Sub headers to Communicate Main Points
Headers (above for example) indicate a new section in your blog and should highlight the key discussion points of the section that follows.
Sub headers support those ideas and offer readers the gist of the content without making them read every word of the next paragraph.
An easy way to come up with the headers of your blog is to build them during the research phase and identify which keywords you feel communicate the main ideas of your blog.
Imagine if you only had the headers of your blog to teach your audience about your topic. What would they say? How would you break your topic down into small, easy to understand sentences? Use the answer to these questions to build out your headlines and subheadings.
Quick Guide to Header Structure:
H1: the articles title
H2: signals a new main section
H3: subtopics within a main section
Break Up Paragraphs With Engaging Content
Table of Contents
Improve your user experience by making it easier for them to navigate. Because blogs are more long form content and people have a short attention span, they want to find what they’re looking for or something that interests them asap. A table of contents is a great way to offer them that.
Bullet Points
Bullet points are great for grabbing attention as people are scrolling through a page.
In today’s digital world, people like to consume things fast. If they’re scrolling through a page, they want to find quality pieces of information that are quick and easy to read through. A bulleted list is perfect for this.
You can add a bullet list to almost any section on almost any topic. During the research phase, take note of the bulleted lists you see on competitors blogs or the resources that you use. See how they compile important information into a simple list and apply that to your own document.
Add Images
Why do we read picture books to children and not lengthy, wordy novels?
Why do we read picture books to children and not lengthy, wordy novels?
It’s because they’re entertaining and more fun. We’ve got some news for you, those preferences don’t go away when we become adults.
According to Optinmonster, blogs that include images are reported to get 94% more views.
Make the images you include in your blog relevant and, just as the storybooks did when we were all children, choose pictures that tell the story of your blog’s content.
Whether it’s a graph, infographic, example photo, or other imagery, including images throughout your blog will help it to be more engaging and successful to your readers.
Highlight Call to Action
Call to action (CTAs) are essential for reader engagement. As people are quickly scrolling and bouncing from site to site, strategically placing CTAs on your post encourages them to stay on your website and can guide them to the next step towards conversion.
Whether it’s downloading a free resource, subscribing to a newsletter, or contacting your business, make CTAs stand out and easy to see. Keep them relevant and use action oriented language to motivate readers towards clicking them.
Don’t Forget to Proofread!
Alright, so at this point we’ve covered the basics of what makes an effective blog format. It all comes down to whether or not your blog post is easy to skim and gather content from for your readers.
After you finish your blog, take a step back and read it to yourself. Do you find yourself struggling to stay focused during parts? Are there lengthy paragraphs you need to break up? Could you add additional images or bulleted lists anywhere? Do the headlines clearly communicate the section they precede?
Remember, the value of your content isn’t just in the information you provide, it’s in how easily your audience can access and understand that information. By ensuring your post is structured for quick navigation and engagement, you’ll make it easier for readers to absorb the insights you’re sharing and will ultimately improve both your content’s effectiveness and your audience’s overall experience.
If you’ve been struggling to produce blogs that are effective, don’t worry. We have a solution for you.
We’ve outlined four different types of blogs and are offering FREE downloadable templates to help you get started. These templates come with ready-made outlines—just open the file, fill in the blanks, and you’re good to go!
Don’t miss out on the benefits of having a blog that drives traffic and engages your audience. Use this free resource to streamline your writing process and make creating blogs faster and easier!
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