There are aspects of your post you will want to make sure are in place, before you hit that publish button. When you take the time to write a blog post you want it to be the most successful and effective as it can be.
Putting a blog post out, doesn’t magically receive blog traffic. You have to make people want to read the content you create. So having a checklist to ensure your blog post has all the essentials to succeed is a great way to boost your blog engagement.
I have 7 areas of interest that you should check/include in your blog post before it goes live.
Photos
Blog posts that are just reams and reams of text can put off some readers. Having photographs where they are your own or stock images, help make the post more appealing. If you are writing about a product or an experience, having photos about the subject will help readers relate more to your writing. If you do not have a photo you would like to use, you could always use a Pin for Pinterest you have created or your featured image.
Headings and Sub-Headings
How many times have you been put off by large paragraphs of text? Whether your post is a useful tips post such as this or a piece on an experience, using quotes, headings or sub-headings are great to make the post less daunting to read. It can also help your readers to identify the information they wanted to read from clicking on your post.
Linking other content
When you are writing a blog post you might have previous content that you have shared that will compliment your post. It can be helpful to your readers and can help boost your blog traffic. With sharing links to your content, products or other creators you need to make sure they are correct and not broken, as that can affect your DA score.
Featured Image
I personally have to include a featured image. When promoting your blog post on social media and I share the link the image appears also. It is much more visual pleasing than a link with just text. Also if you are sharing a review of a product for example, it will encourage people to click on your link. It definitely looks more professional. In this space you can use stock photos if you want, just make sure you credit the original creator.
Categories and Tags
When you have written a blog post, placing it into a category is helpful for your readers. If they click on your blog looking for blogging tips for example, they can search that category and it makes it easier for your readers to navigate through your blog content. Using tags can again help promote your blog post and make sure the tags are relevant.
I am not an expert by any means, however ensuring I have these aspects for my blog post definitely impacts my blog traffic and engagement.
I have learned over the years of blogging, that working on these aspects of a blog post can help boost engagement and traffic on your blog.
What aspects of a blog post are a must to include for you? Do you use featured images? I’d love to hear in the comments.
I’ve actually been trying to use more headings and subheadings cause it makes it read better!
Definitely!
Great points! I’m responsible for launching a new site at work and am in close contact with our coders every day. And that has made me realize just how important such little things as using correct headline structure in a post can be. Little things that have a big effect in the long run 🙂
That’s great! I bet you have some great tips then. Can you link your blog so I can have a read x
This is such a helpful post! 💕 A must for me is always saying “Hi” or “hello” at the start of a post to create a friendly atmosphere although sometimes I haven’t done that and it feels freeing to just jump into writing the body of the post ✨😂
Really helpful post and great tips! I like to use a photo for about every 1 or 2 paragraphs of text as I feel that gives a good balance to the post. I don’t usually use the subheadings or headings presets, usually I will just bold and maybe italic it to separate it from the rest of the text 💛
Emily M x
http://www.princessemilym.wordpress.com
Thank you for reading and commenting! ☺️
This is a really useful post, thank you for sharing your tips Lauren! You make a great point about photographs and headings, big chunks of text can be quite overwhelming but images and titles can break things up and make it easier to read. I always thought tags were a bit of a pain, but I’ve noticed that some of my tags I’ve used have come up on searches back to my blog so I think they are well worth taking the time to do. Thanks for sharing, fab post! <3 xxx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
Definitely, they are a bit of a pain, but having them definitely helps! Thank you for reading and commenting xxxx
This is a ticklist which is so necessary for ALL bloggers. I sometimes forget to do some of these and so i need to remind myself of these!
Thanks for sharing!
Alex x
https://alexandriakaywrites.wordpress.com/
Thank you for reading and commenting! Glad it was helpful x
Thank you for sharing this ♡ I didn’t include headings in my older posts and I’m so happy that I started including them as my posts are much simpler to read now!
That’s awesome! Thank you for reading
These elements are so so important! Not just from an SEO point of view but also for a reader. If a post has no imagery and no headings then I find it a chore to read!
I have the Yoast plugin which reminds me to ensure I have all the elements in my post ☺️
Thanks for sharing!
Liz x
http://www.anxietyandliz.com
That’s great! Thank you for reading and commenting! ☺️
Always learning, thanks.
Thank you! Can you link your blog x
I always forget
livingeveryday2017.wordpress.com
Great advice here, these are my go to’s when I am posting, a check list of things I must have in place.
Using yoast, helps me to remember as well x
Thank you! X
Super helpful! Thank you!
Thank you!
Excellent advice! Thanks for sharing,
Thank you!
Great advice. Just starting to get used to linking, categories and tags. Has taken a while but I’m getting there, where I’m thinking about it as I write.
Thank you! Can you link your blog
All great tips for writing blog posts to make your readers and Google happy 🙂
Thank you!
Great post!
Great suggestions! Far too many bloggers overlook the power of headlines, I believe. Not only do they allow you to break up walls of text into more manageable pieces, but they are also important in your SEO efforts. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you. Can you link your blog so I can read ☺️
Reblogged this on LIFE BY ANDY.
Really really helps! Thanks for writing this!
☺️
These are great tips! The last one is especially important 😊
Thank you!
All of these are very much needed. Great post.
Thank you!
This is so helpful! The longer I’ve been blogging for, the more I’ve realised that all these things are so important. I always add in sub-headings now and even if I haven’t taken any of my own images, I’ll head over to a stock image website so that I have something. I couldn’t write a post without pictures in now, as I know when I read a post myself I’m much more engaged by it when there’s images to go with it.
Alice xx
Thank you for your kind comments. Definitely photos are a must. Thank you for reading and commenting xx
I actually never used the “featured image” one but now I’ll keep in mind to use it more often! Thank you so much & have a lovely day! <3
It definitely helps! Thank you for reading and commenting x
This is a really useful checklist/guide to have to hand when putting together a blog post. It’s amazing just how many things are overlooked when trying to put a post together xxx
Definitely! I am glad it was useful. Thank you for reading and commenting xxx
Great points and suggestions! I recently learned how important it is to add alt text to your pictures. One day my images wouldn’t but at least in that case the reader will have an idea of what should have been there and it helps with SEO.
That’s great! Thank you for the tip!
The way your text is broken up by headers and sub headers can in and of itself ( with pics as well of course ) make a blog post very aesthetic and easy to read. Great post!
Thank you for reading and commenting!
These are some really useful tips! Thank you I’ll make sure to use them for my next post!
Glad they are helpful
Such a helpful post! Keep writing x
Thank you!
These are really great tips – especially the titles and sub titles. I’ve started adding them into some older posts, and it makes the so much easier to read!!
Em x
http://Www.emsworldblog.com
Definitely! Thank you for reading and commenting! X
Totally agree with all of these points! I always try to link back to relevant content when I can as it really does seem to help when it comes to DA. It’s a nice way to get people reading your older content too xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Definitely! Thank you for reading and commenting!
I recently starting using headings and subheadings to break up my blog posts! Such a good post with some amazing tips xx
As a VERY new blogger this post was helpful. I stress over… is the post too long, is it too short, is there enough valuable information, etc. I plan to go back and edit some of my posts as I am learning more about what works and what doesn’t. Thank you so much for the tips!
You are welcome! I am glad it has been helpful! ☺️. Welcome to the blogging community!
Great tips. I am fairly new to the blogging game so will have to book mark this. Thanks for sharing.
https://www.yearofthedad.com/
You are welcome! Thank you for reading and commenting!
Linking content is such an important one as it helps your readers navigate your website and potentially view more pages! Thanks for sharing x
All of these are great tips, Lauren. Photos, internal linking and headings are absolute musts for me, not just for a more appealing post but also for SEO and Google. I haven’t spent much time on tags but I’ll have to look into that in future too, thank you! Lisa xxx
Definitely check into tags. Thank you for reading and your kind comments xxx
Thank you!
I don’t use subheading that often but now I will try using them more in my posts. I also need to do more linking.
I love posts where the photo elements are relevant; for me, all I ever need is a featured image since I do not use Pinterest prolifically and most of my content is poetry. Having a featured image is definitely a bonus when it comes to sharing on social media!
I love categories; since I must organize everything, being able to filter posts appropriately makes a blog much easier to explore.
Thanks for sharing!
It definitely does! Thank you for reading and commenting! X
Agree with so many of these! I definitely get put off when blog posts don’t have photos!
-Kyra xx
Thank you for reading and commenting!
Completely agree with all of these, especially the photo element! I am so much less likely to click on a post if it has no images in it. Thanks for sharing! x
– Charlotte / charlottesspace.com
Thank you for reading and commenting! X
Even though I love reading, a post without photos is such a put-off. I totally agree with everything you’ve said. A featured image is so important for social media! Great tips for beginners, I had to learn the hard way. | lanalikes.com
Thank you for reading and commenting! X
Fantastic post! I completely agree with everything you have said. This is a great post for new bloggers.
Holly x
Thank you for reading and commenting! X
A great post for your day 5!
These are such great tips!
I’ve been blogging for years now and there’s always so much to remember before hitting publish!
Love Lozza xo
There definitely is! Thank you for reading and commenting! X
Great tips for people starting out in blogging!
https://justlivejoy.com
Thank you for reading and commenting!
Great tips, and I totally agree about photos helping to break up the text. I hate posts with no subheadings as well, so hard to read! x
Sophie
Definitely! Thank you for reading and commenting! X
These are some really good tips, all of these are deffo needed x
Thank you lovely. Can you link your blog x
Thank you lovely x
Great information Lauren! I’m guilty of being one of the people who are overwhelmed by large blocks of text. It’s just so much to process! Lol
I love this post all of these are such great tips and super helpful thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you!
Very helpful hints. Thanks for sharing so that those of us on the struggle bus can try to hop off once it slows down enough.
Can you link your post. Thank you for reading
Very helpful post! I like to include a button to subscribe to my blog and a sign up button for my monthly newsletter https://mailchi.mp/042aa9ea7266/stylishnews Also I sometimes write about my image consulting services and then I like to link to the service page and add a book an appointment button.
Headings and sub headings are so important! I always get stressed out whenever I see a huge chunk of text with no headings. It’s so much easier to read smaller paragraphs x
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
Definitely! Thank you for reading x