Blog writing.
Everyone’s doing it, from angst-filled teenagers to bestselling authors.
Because everyone and their mother has a blog, you might be thinking that it’s not that hard to break into the scene and make a splash. And if you’re a writer looking to make a quick buck on the side or a content marketer looking to drive traffic to a client’s website, blog writing seems like an easy way to get start cultivating an audience.
But there’s more to it than you think.
Sure, it’s easier to turn out a good article if you’ve got a writing background, but blog writing is a bit of an art form with its own unique conventions and purpose.
Writing for a blog isn’t like writing a book, or a short story, or even a newspaper. The internet audience is fickle and fussy. Writing for them means using every inch of space on their screen effectively and making an impact while you have their attention.
This means that a big part of what elevates a good piece of writing into a good blog article is the format.
Why do blog formats matter?
Formatting makes a huge difference when it comes to blog posts.
It’s not enough to have good information. Making good content means presenting that information in a way that’s easy to read and engaging.
You only have a short window to keep your audience with you. Formatting your blog for on-page SEO means carefully considering the layout and function of the words and other elements in your article and optimizing them for ease of reading.
Things like meta-descriptions, easy-to-skim headings, and even quick load speed help to boost your article’s rating because they make it more likely for a reader to read the content.
When we’re talking about formatting and blogging, people usually focus their goals on ranking their content on the first pages of search engines. However, you should be looking at this from a different perspective.
Ranking isn’t a goal you should be pursuing. Instead, it is the result of good SEO and reader-focused content strategies, blog format included
Things like the tone of voice, the writing style, and the visuals you use are all essential in making sure that you send people the right message through your content. Whether you’re writing for a client or for yourself, blog formatting should never be neglected.
How to format a blog post for SEO
Getting your article to rank isn’t some esoteric skill.
There are small techniques and tricks you can integrate into your workflow to optimize your article and make it easier to read for both your audience and the search engine.
For example…
1. Start with a title
Now, if you’re coming in with a writing background, you might already have a preferred workflow. I know lots of writers who prefer to work backward and do the opening section and title last.
But I’m telling you – when it comes to blogs, working on the title first wins you half the battle.
Have a look at some of my blog titles.
What do you notice?
Clear, descriptive, plain English. Your blog title should tell you exactly what you’re going to be talking about.
When you define your title, what you’re actually doing is setting the boundaries of your research and defining its scope so you can easily get rid of the information you don’t need
You’ll save so much time as a result and avoid falling into those four-hour research holes for something you won’t even include in the article.
Titles also serve to set the tone and catch the reader’s eye. It’s worth spending a bit of time tuning it to fit your or the client’s brief.
For example, an article on giving feedback for a client who wants a more formal tone can be something like:
- X Ways to Give Employees Actionable Feedback
- How to Give Productive Feedback in the Workplace
If you’re going for a more casual laid back tone, you might instead title it:
- X Ways to Give Employees Feedback (that won’t make them cry)
- X Super Simple Tips on Giving your Employees Feedback
Your page title can also define the blog format.
If your title is “X ways to Y”, your content is going to take the form of a list with numbered headings. A How-To post usually lays things out in a step-by-step format. And if you’re doing a piece titled “Best X products on the market”, your format will center around points you’re reviewing or specific brand names.
But be careful!
Don’t make your titles too long. There’s a sweet spot for both human readers and SEO when it comes to titles that are grabby, descriptive, and easy to understand. The ideal length is between 50-60 characters. Here’s a handy dandy tool that lets you know if you’re over or under the ideal character length.
2. Use headings and subheadings
It’s good to get into the habit of using H1’s, H2’s and etc. to mark out your sections.
Just highlight the text you want as your heading and assign them. Here’s how you can do that on google docs.
