I don’t know about you, but I like having guaranteed ways to get traffic.
Sometimes my busy life as a mom and entrepreneur don’t leave much time to actually write (ironic, huh?), so I need every blog post to COUNT.
3 BEST BLOG POST FORMATS FOR GREAT TRAFFIC
I shared some of my favorite blog post formats in the form of Ad Network Challenge prompts for students of Adventures in SEO recently to see if the same formats work for them. Their assignments involved applying the course concepts to the specific blog post formats.
About 6 weeks after the challenge closed, I noticed many of the participants were announcing that they qualified for Mediavine, so I asked them to share what types of post formats worked best for them during the challenge.
This is what they told me (and it matches my own experience as well):
TRAFFIC GENERATOR #1: HOW-TO POSTS
How to (do anything) content is probably my very favorite type of writing to do. Simply because these posts are specific to one issue for one person and also lend themselves to monetization. Here’s an example of a How-To post if you’d like to see how I format mine: How to Make Your Stinky Car Smell Like New
It’s a silly concept but people love it, as you can see by the repin count! I follow the same general formatting rules every single time I write a How-To post.
You can even write How-To posts that promote affiliate products (and it really works to make sales IF you get a good number of eyeballs on it!). Here’s an example: How to Potty Train a Stubborn Child in 3 Days
TRAFFIC GENERATOR #2: LIST POSTS
List posts are probably the easiest type of post to write because you literally just outline a bunch of bullet points, throw in some heading and closing paragraphs and call it a day! Here’s an example of a simple list post and a longer one from my blog. The core format of both posts are the same…I just had more to say on one topic. 🙂
The hardest part about list posts is the keyword research because even though you can throw a quick list post together in no time, you still have to do a decent job with keyword research and be intentional about optimization in order to get organic traffic.
Sometimes I find that I need to bulk up my post after it’s done in order to have room for all of my intended keyword phrases (otherwise it can feel like keyword stuffing).
TRAFFIC GENERATOR #3: TUTORIALS
These are basically the same as How-To posts except I consider them ultimate How-To’s…meaning more step-by-step instructions rather than advice. Sometimes they can be as comprehensive as an ebook on the same topic would be.
I feel like something is usually produced (or installed) at the end of the instructions in a tutorial. Plus, tutorials sometimes come with additional resources to help complete the project.
Examples include: making specialty cupcake icing, learning how to use new software, craft projects, etc.
This is an example of a tutorial on my blog.
Tutorials can be on simple topics. As long as they are helpful and properly optimized for SEO, you WILL see traction from them.
As you can see from the shares on my DIY money notepad tutorial, even super-targeted niche tutorials can do well, so don’t be afraid to choose a tiny topic for a tutorial post. This post sells a LOT of Amazon products year-round.
THE KEYS TO MAKING THESE BLOG POSTS SOAR
Keeping these two things in mind will help you get the most out of every new blog post.
1) USE A SOLID METHOD OF FINDING THE BEST KEYWORDS FOR YOUR POST
Don’t just leave this to chance or you will just waste your time writing an amazing post that nobody sees.
Optimize your posts with keywords for Google and Pinterest. Getting free traffic from those two search engine giants is worth the time it takes to research great keywords and optimize your posts with the keywords you find.
Even these days, Pinterest can bring good traffic if you choose the right topics.
Adventures in SEO will help you with Google SEO.
2) YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR AUDIENCE FOR EACH POST SUPER TARGETED
If I could make this tip bolded, glittery, and flashing on your screen, I would!
This is the #1 issue I see with bloggers who struggle in Adventures in SEO. Their blog post concepts are just too broad. If you are having issues with traffic and don’t think this applies to you, I encourage you to dig deeper to find each post’s unique angle.
Below are a couple of examples of going too broad vs. dialing down the focus of your blog post titles:
- JUST OKAY: Special Needs Parent Isolation Issues (just based on the title, this post could apply to ANY parent of a child with ANY special need and doesn’t SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS why they’re isolated in the first place)
- WAY BETTER: How to Connect with Other Parents of Autistic Children (addresses an EXACT issue that parents of autistic children SPECIFICALLY will have)
Notice how the posts in these examples could be written the EXACT SAME WAY, but with a little re-packaging, the intended audience can understand that this post is for them!
- JUST OKAY: Plant Care Tips for Summer Days (a super helpful post! but who is the exact intended reader? A lady with an herb garden? Someone with a vegetable garden? A person with a water garden?)
- WAY BETTER: 7 Drought Tolerant Flowering Plants That Thrive in the Heat of Zone 8 (Now we’re talking! Anyone who lives in Zone 8 and loves flowering plants will be all over this post when they see it pop up in their Pinterest feed or pop up on Google when they search “drought tolerant flowering plants” 🙂
Do you see where I’m coming from in these examples?
That second How-To post and List post are infinitely more clickable than the original examples. This is probably why those kinds of posts help increase traffic so much – they simply convey audience appropriateness!
Try All Three Blog Post Formats for Guaranteed Traffic
Well, there you have it! The three best blog post formats plus best practices if you want a good chance at guaranteed traffic.
If you work on one or two posts of each type in the next month, I bet your efforts will result in a great injection of traffic later sooner than you think.
If you want even more guidance on this topic, I put together a guide that covers these 3 formats PLUS 4 more, including diagrams of how to lay out each type of post.
