To ensure engagement with your audience, regardless of the content size and topic, here are some basic tenets that all blog posts should have. You already know that good blog posts require planning and effort. But even the most well-thought-out posts will fall flat if it lacks the following fundamentals.
An essential step in ensuring you increase the number of visitors and your blog’s visibility is establishing a solid foundation. The following 10 tips enable you to achieve precisely that.
Key Things To Include In Every Blog Post
1. A Captivating Title
First and foremost, you need a catchy heading that accurately reflects the content of your post. It should also be interesting enough to generate clicks. Despite your blog content being impeccable, it will go unnoticed because of a sloppy headline. So, it is imperative to have a compelling title for every blog post.
You can use online “title generators” to generate click-worthy headlines. Using numbers, a positive or negative word, and power words (words that persuade readers to take action) like ‘FREE,’ ‘BECAUSE,’ and so on increases your click-through rates while ranking in SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Pages).
Note: Don’t give the same title that someone has already used because Google may not rank yours for different reasons. Even if they do, it is hard to get the click. Your blogging, so be creative.
2. Visual Content
A picture is worth a thousand words. So tell – would you see a picture or read a thousand words instead?
People expect varieties of rich media including images and videos. Even our school textbooks and newspapers have images for visualizing stories that aid in better understanding. They are appealing to our eyes and create a bigger impact. Ensure you add at least 3 images to every blog post.
Tip: It is good to have at least one pinnable image that will redirect to your Pinterest account.
3. Table Of Contents
Once people are on your page, they should be able to understand what it’s about quickly. The table of contents is an organized listing of all the headings and subheadings in chronological order that illustrates an overview of what one can expect. It enables readers to navigate to any specific section of their choice quickly. It is practical, neat, and convenient while reading longer-form content.
4. Headings & Short Paragraphs
Most people tend to lose interest while reading long paragraphs of text. They usually skim through the content most of the time to grasp the essence/context. Formatting and styling the content with H1, H2, and paragraph tags by grouping relevant topics contributes to a better user experience and appreciates the reader’s time. It is one of the best practices to follow for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Eliminating grammar and spell checks are also equally important.
Using keywords in the headings is one tip that will help you rank up. Headings are also displayed in SERPs as jump-to links.
5. Lists
Bullet points and numbered lists are our favorites. They are concise, to-the-point high-quality content that encourages the reader to extrapolate the necessary information. The paragraphs’ sentences look better when replaced with a valuable takeaway, presented in a list format.
6. Inbound And Outbound Links
Interlinking relevant blogs allow your visitors to navigate to other blogs and stay longer, thereby increasing the session time. Concerning SEO, redirecting to third-party websites with higher domain authority (DA) increases your DA and page authority (PA) and helps Google understand your site’s architecture better.
Referring to other related articles and websites adds more context to associated topics.
Note: Have at least one link referring to your own blog post and another redirecting to external sources.
7. 1000+ Words
Google prefers in-depth articles. Longer lengthy articles help Google understand your topic better. The more elaborate the content is, the more knowledge and value it can provide. It also increases engagement and conversion rates.
At the same time, always keep in mind – “Quality over Quantity.” Readers never want “fluff”. Don’t produce irrelevant, exaggerated, or even redundant content to meet the targeted word count. Under no circumstance will you ever sacrifice quality.
At times it will feel like long-form content are a drag to read. As aforementioned, to increase engagement and an active read, you can make long-form content a quick read with headings, lists, images, and shorter paragraphs, as discussed above.
8. Social Media Sharing Icons
My blog post looks awesome and informative. But how do I share it with my friends?
Many might not copy the link and send it across. So it would be better to include social media sharing icons that will enable readers to share instantly.
It is essential to make the visitors feel welcomed by providing the best possible content coupled with a seamless and friendly user experience.
9. FAQ Blocks
Most Google queries are in the form of questions. FAQs have separate sections on the first page of the google results page. An FAQ block also has the added advantage of catering to readers who are more attracted to the short answers than to read the entire article. This also increases the probability of a click-through rate.
10. Strong Call To Action
The Call To Action (CTA) directs the users on what to do next. It encourages immediate action by prompting an invitation. Every user engagement is crucial. Give your audience a reason as to why they should take action and the benefits of doing so.
Few CTAs include subscribing to the newsletter, commenting, following on social media, and buying merch (products or services). So ensure you add them.
We hope these fundamental tips give you a clearer picture of the mandatory steps that need to be taken for every blog post. Ensure you incorporate these tips as you’re writing. If you have any questions with respect to blogging or travel, do comment below. We are always delighted to help you!