Blogging is a powerful tool for increasing website traffic, boosting brand awareness, improving conversions, and positioning yourself as an industry authority. Long-form content, in particular, enhances SEO performance while providing valuable insights and solutions that address your audience’s needs.
Having a blog on your website is no longer optional in content marketing—it’s a key driver of brand awareness, organic traffic, and audience engagement. However, if you’re struggling to write compelling blog posts or your current efforts aren’t yielding the desired results, this checklist will provide you with 17 actionable best practices to help you create high-impact blog content.
In this checklist, you will find 17 actionable best practices to follow when creating blog posts.
Keyword research is a fundamental aspect of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), helping you understand the terms your audience searches for online.
Keyword research is the process of finding out what search terms your target audience is using on search engines so that you can optimise your website better with the data. It is usually conducted using keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Keywordtool.io, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, and Semrush.
At the same time, conducting keyword research can help you create highly relevant and valuable topics for your target audience.
Keyword research helps you uncover the most relevant topics for your audience based on their search habits. By identifying high-traffic, low-competition keywords, you can create content that aligns with audience interests while improving your website’s visibility. Use keyword insights to build content pillars—comprehensive topic clusters that address user needs while positioning your blog as an authority.
Creating blog post topics using keywords with a good search volume will help drive traffic to your site while also offering something of value to your audience.
Understanding the purpose behind a user’s search query is fundamental to creating content that ranks well and provides value to your audience. Search intent refers to the reason behind a user’s search and can be categorised into four primary types:
1. Informational Intent
Users are looking for answers, explanations, or guidance on a particular topic. These searches often include terms like “how to,” “what is,” “tips,” or “best ways to.”
Example Searches:
Optimisation Strategy:
Users are looking for a specific website, brand, or product page. They already know where they want to go but prefer searching rather than typing a URL.
Example Searches:
Optimisation Strategy:
Users are ready to make a purchase or take a specific action. These searches often include words like “buy,” “order,” “discount,” “sign up,” or “best price.”
Example Searches:
Optimisation Strategy:
Users are in the consideration stage and comparing products or services before making a decision. They search for reviews, comparisons, and the best options before purchasing.
Example Searches:
Optimisation Strategy:
Aligning your content with search intent ensures:
By tailoring your content strategy to match search intent, you can attract the right audience, boost organic traffic, and increase conversions effectively.
Another good way to check what people are looking for is to look at the “People also ask” feature in Google to discover more relevant topic ideas to include. This function shows what else is most searched for about a search already made.
Some great tools you can use to further generate topic ideas include AnswerThePublic and Ubersuggest. These tools generate related searches that are often made by users, which you can then create content around, increasing your relevance and quality.
Evergreen content remains relevant over time and consistently attracts searches, unlike trend-based topics that lose relevance quickly.
It is always good practice to include evergreen content in your blog as it can consistently bring traffic to your website. All you need to do is update your content now and again to update certain references or data, but the bulk of the article would remain unchanged.
An example of this would be how-to guides, interviews with subject matter experts, and articles offering tips and tricks. There will always be users searching for detailed explanations or instructions on a certain topic.
Before you start writing, be sure to create an outline of your proposed article. Having an outline can help you gauge the structure, flow, and ease of reading for your audience. Additionally, it helps you to stay on track when writing and avoids disorganization or going off-topic.
While an outline can be created however you deem fit, based on the content involved, it may be good practice to follow a generic outline, such as the one pictured above, to have a foundational structure for all of your blog posts.
After basing your content topics on the keyword research you would have conducted, it is important to include those related keywords throughout your article to improve your chances of ranking higher on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Ranking within the first page of Google could exponentially increase your website’s traffic, leads, and conversions, among many other metrics. As such, we recommend including your relevant keywords in the body text of your post, as well as the headings, subheadings, URLs, metadata, and even image names.
A meta description is a short, compelling summary of your blog post or webpage that appears in search results. It plays a critical role in attracting clicks, increasing engagement, and improving SEO rankings. A well-crafted meta description not only reflects the relevance of your content but also entices users to click on your link over others.
1. Include Primary and Secondary Keywords
Example: “Learn the top 10 SEO strategies to boost your website’s ranking. Discover expert tips on keyword research, link building, and on-page optimisation.”
2. Make It Persuasive and Action-Oriented
Example: “Want to rank #1 on Google? Follow these proven SEO techniques to drive more traffic and grow your business. Start optimising today!”
3. Keep It Concise (150-160 Characters)
Example:
✔️ “Boost your SEO rankings with our step-by-step keyword research guide. Find the right keywords, optimise content, and drive more traffic.”
❌ “This article provides an in-depth look at keyword research strategies to help your website rank higher on Google and improve organic search visibility.” (Too long)
4. Highlight Unique Selling Points (USPs)
Example: “Struggling with low website traffic? Our SEO guide reveals 5 powerful tactics that helped businesses increase their rankings by 250%.”
5. Use Emotional Triggers and Power Words
Example: “The ultimate content marketing checklist you need! Discover the must-know SEO tips and game-changing writing strategies.”
6. Ensure It Matches the Content
By crafting compelling, keyword-rich, and action-driven meta descriptions, you can improve your search visibility, attract more users, and enhance your website’s overall SEO performance.
Incorporating visual elements such as images, graphs, tables, and infographics enhances readability and retention. Well-designed visuals not only break up text-heavy sections but also improve engagement by presenting information in a digestible format. When used strategically, visuals can reinforce key points, improve shareability, and contribute to better SEO performance.
Infographics, in particular, also contain extensive information that is presented in a bite-sized and easily digestible manner, which makes them a great and interesting way to display summaries or lengthy information.
Visual elements play a crucial role in making your blog posts more engaging, memorable, and easy to digest. They break up large chunks of text, improve readability, and cater to different learning preferences. Beyond just aesthetics, visuals also enhance SEO, as search engines prioritise content with relevant images, videos, and interactive elements.
High-Quality Images:
Relevant and well-optimised images grab attention and reinforce key messages. Use original photos or high-resolution stock images to maintain professionalism and authenticity. Always include alt text to improve accessibility and SEO rankings.
Infographics:
Infographics are perfect for summarising complex data, statistics, or step-by-step guides in a visually appealing way. Readers are more likely to share infographics, increasing the chances of your content going viral. Tools like Canva, Piktochart, or Visme can help create professional-looking infographics.
Videos:
Embedding videos boosts engagement, retention, and time spent on the page. Tutorials, explainer videos, and behind-the-scenes content make your blog more dynamic. Consider using YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia to host videos for seamless integration.
GIFs & Animations:
Short, animated visuals add personality and movement to your posts. They can be used to illustrate processes, highlight important points, or add a touch of humour to keep readers engaged.
Screenshots & Step-by-Step Visuals:
If you’re writing tutorials or how-to guides, annotated screenshots help clarify instructions and guide users effectively. Markup tools like Skitch, Snagit, or Loom allow you to highlight key areas and add notes.
Interactive Elements (Charts, Graphs, and Polls):
Interactive content like embedded charts, graphs, and quizzes not only improves engagement but also provides personalised experiences. Tools like Google Data Studio, Flourish, or Typeform can help create engaging interactive visuals.
By incorporating a mix of static and dynamic visuals, your blog posts will not only be more engaging but also rank higher in search results and encourage social sharing.
Long-form content tends to perform better in search rankings and user engagement. Aim for blog posts of at least 1,500 words to provide in-depth insights, cover multiple aspects of a topic, and increase the likelihood of earning backlinks.
However, focus on delivering value rather than just increasing word count—clarity and relevance should always take precedence. When your content is longer, it provides more information for your readers and also offers more opportunities for backlinks. It is best practice to write long-form blog posts that remain on topic and are evergreen.
Subheadings help to break up your blog post copy into an organised and structured manner that informs your reader about what exactly will be discussed in your post. This also helps improve user experience when consuming your content, leading to an increase in time spent on your website.
Subheadings play a crucial role in both user experience and SEO. They help structure content, making it easier for readers to navigate while improving search engine indexing. When strategically placing keywords in subheadings, ensure they remain natural and relevant to avoid keyword stuffing. When relevant keywords are used in subheadings, it can help increase your rankings on the SERP.
When writing, always ensure that your paragraphs are kept to a maximum of three to four lines. Anything longer would make your paragraphs too long, and you would lose the interest of your readers. The key is to always keep them engaged. Sometimes, a paragraph can even be as short as a sentence.
Your blog posts should be easily readable for users. As such, consider using bullet points to break up information and make it easily digestible. This also allows your audience to skim your content easily and retain information faster.
With every blog post you create, be sure to categorise it accordingly. When you categorise posts by topic, author, or type, there is an ease of access for readers to find more of your posts.
This also structures your blog in an organised fashion, improving user experience
While your content may be extensive and jam-packed with knowledge, what is as important to your readers is who wrote it. Trusted sources, such as industry professionals and experts, are what individuals look for when searching for information or solutions. Having credible authors will help your organisation move closer to being an authoritative source of information in your industry.
It is important to have credible authors write your blog posts, especially in certain industries, such as finance and healthcare. These posts are considered “your money or your life” (YMYL) posts by Google, which means that the information provided in these posts can directly affect someone’s financial situation, health, happiness, or safety.
Getting experts to write your posts on such topics would not only tell Google your content is trustworthy and help increase the authority of your blog, but it would also tell your readers that they can trust your content, making it a win-win for everyone.
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What do you want users to do after reading your content? Whether it’s to follow your brand on social media, purchase a product, or engage your services, state it clearly without sounding as though you’re pushing for sales. Find a way to weave it seamlessly into your content and appeal to readers to fulfill your desired actions.
When it comes to blog posts, the first thing readers naturally gravitate toward is the headlines. As such, it is necessary to include headlines that are sure to grab a reader’s attention.
Headlines should always be keyword-optimised to increase your chances of being relevant and appearing higher on the SERP. At the same time, avoid using clickbait and ensure that your headlines truly reflect the content written.
1. Use Numbers to Attract Attention
Example:
2. Use Power Words to Evoke Emotion
Example:
3. Keep It Concise (Ideally Under 60 Characters)
Example:
✔️ “How to Write Blog Posts That Rank & Convert”
❌ “A Comprehensive Guide on How to Write Engaging Blog Posts That Drive Traffic and Convert Readers” (Too long)
4. Optimise for SEO With Target Keywords
Example:
5. Create Intrigue Without Clickbait
Example:
6. Make It Actionable & Benefit-Driven
Example:
7. Use Brackets or Parentheses for Added Impact
Example:
By optimising your headlines with numbers, power words, and action-driven language, you can attract more readers, improve search rankings, and increase content engagement.
Be sure to include links to other pages within your website or to external sources. Internal linking helps to send more traffic to various sections of your website, while external linking helps to build relationships with other websites, thereby improving your chances of gaining backlinks.
Incorporate internal links to guide readers to related content on your site, enhancing navigation and engagement. External links to authoritative sources add credibility and context to your content.
Always proofread your content thoroughly for grammar, punctuation, and clarity. Reading aloud can help identify awkward phrasing or inconsistencies. Additionally, using editing tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor can refine readability and eliminate errors. Ensuring factual accuracy by cross-checking sources will also reinforce credibility.
Information and sources should be double-checked as well, with facts backed up by reputable sources. Readers appreciate high-quality work and as such, you should always strive to create blog posts that are well-written, informative, comprehensive, and authoritative.
It is crucial to post regularly on your blog. When you are consistent in your posting, it could encourage readers to keep coming back to your website to gain more information and knowledge.
Finding the right balance in your posting frequency is crucial. While infrequent posting can reduce audience engagement and search visibility, excessive posting may overwhelm readers, leading to content fatigue. Aim for consistency by maintaining a structured content calendar—publishing high-quality blog posts weekly or biweekly is an effective strategy for most brands. We would recommend publishing a new blog post at least once a week.
That being said, it depends on the size of your business and the industry you are in.
Find out what works best for you and stick to that.
One of the best ways to stay consistent in your posting schedule is to create a content calendar and stick to it. Check out our Guide to Creating a Content Calendar to learn how.
As with any piece of content, you have to analyse the effectiveness of a blog post in achieving its desired goal. With every published blog post, evaluate and analyse its performance to determine what works or does not work for your blog.
Continuously analyze your blog’s performance using tools like Google Analytics. Identify patterns in high-performing content—do certain topics, formats, or tones resonate more with your audience? Similarly, assess underperforming posts to pinpoint gaps or areas for improvement. Use these insights to refine your content strategy, ensuring future posts align with what your audience finds most valuable.
Utilise tools like Google Analytics to keep track of your website and content performance. A free tool, Google Analytics tracks all traffic on your website and uses that data to provide insights on your performance.
Reports they provide include metrics such as “Page Visitors” and “Time Spent on Page,” which can help you gain a deeper understanding of how well your content is performing.
If you would like to learn more about how Google Analytics can help you optimise your website, check out our Digital Marketing Analytics & Optimisation (Google Analytics 4) Course.
While this checklist covers essential best practices, blog optimization is an ongoing process. Staying updated with evolving SEO trends, audience preferences, and content formats will help you continuously improve and adapt.
If you want to master all things blogging, check out our Copywriting and Content Writing course, where you will be guided by an industry expert on how to craft compelling, engaging content.
We also hold a Certified Digital Marketing Strategist (CDMS) V2 Programme, which covers the following seven modules:
The completion of these modules will lead the learners to attain a Certified Digital Marketing Strategist V2 Certificate. All of these courses are WSQ-accredited, and eligible learners can receive SkillsFuture subsidy.
Article Written By
Chris is a senior Marketing & Communications professional with over 31 years’ experience as both an in-house practitioner and as a consultant servicing clients from a wide range of industries. He possesses the unique combination of strategic, creative, technical and writing skills critical for today’s integrated marketing needs. Chris is currently also the lead trainer for the Copywriting and Content Writing Course here at Equinet Academy.
Article Written By
Chris is a senior Marketing & Communications professional with over 31 years’ experience as both an in-house practitioner and as a consultant servicing clients from a wide range of industries. He possesses the unique combination of strategic, creative, technical and writing skills critical for today’s integrated marketing needs. Chris is currently also the lead trainer for the Copywriting and Content Writing Course here at Equinet Academy.
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