A checklist is one of the easiest (yet most important) types of content you can create.
Probably, you make lists all the time and don’t even know it.
Lists for shopping. Shopping lists. Chore lists. To-do lists for completing projects.
It makes perfect sense to use this format to address a problem your audience is facing, then publish the article on your blog.
This is content that your visitors can use right away. If you are looking for more ideas to enhance your site, then look no further than this checklist article.
What makes a checklist post helpful for SEO?
Keywords are key words when you think about how checklist posts can help with SEO.
Whatever your industry is, there are problems or questions that your customers have about what you offer. They search on search engines to find answers.
These problems include “how do you plan Thanksgiving dinner?” “How to load 35mm film onto a camera,” and “how to create a meta description”.
You can identify such a problem if it’s related to your product or service. Then tie the problem to a keyword that you are able to win in search results.
This is a great way to get targeted leads.
Let’s take an example. This website is for beginner filmmakers and offers an overview of how to get started in their hobby.
The same can be done, but it should be tailored to your audience and industry.
This article will show you how to create a checklist for your blog or your client’s blog that is highly useful and valuable for your audience. It’s also the type of content that builds trust.
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The 5-step guide to writing a checklist article
How do you make a checklist to write a checklist? There’s no reason not.
This is how you write your checklist article step-by-step, and how to link your article with a keyword to improve your SEO.
1. Select an appropriate topic that addresses a specific audience problem or goal.
A checklist is a topic which helps the reader solve a problem or achieve some goal.
Make sure you know the subject.
- Clear steps to take the action.
- Relevant to the Audience, that is, it is a problem or goal they are actually concerned about.
Many how-to subjects can be made into checklists. This is because it requires you to follow specific steps and do certain tasks in order to reach a desired result. These can be “checked off” by the reader as they move. Take this example:
|
Topic |
Final goal |
| How to make bread | Bake a delicious loaf |
| Balance a Checkbook | Smartly manage your finances |
| How to prepare for a party | Host an unforgettable party |
You’re creating the checklist to help your reader do something. However, they may not know what steps to follow to complete their task. Your checklist can be a guide for them.
2. It should be tagged with a keyword
Optimize your checklist post to increase traffic to your site and lead generation. Use a keyword related to the topic.
Let’s say, for example that you are a party supply company and the topic of your blog is “party planning list.”
You can use an SEO tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Mangools KWFinder to search for the keyword and determine its keyword difficulty. This is a measurement of how difficult it would be rank for this keyword. It also gives you search volumes, which are the average amount of people who search that keyword in a given time period.
You could also search synonyms or variations of the keywords if it is too hard to rank for.
You can search for “party planning checklist in Semrush” and you will see that it has a difficulty of 69.
If you look at the list of similar terms, “bachelorette party planner checklist” has KD 29 (easy).
You can target the second keyword by narrowing your subject. If you write a great article, it is possible to rank high for the keyword in search engines and reach your audience.
3. Make a list of your tasks
The next step is to create a list of all the tasks that the reader must complete in order to achieve their goal. These are the essential elements of your checklist. You can imagine writing them in a list and then ticking them off as you go. This also acts as your outline for the article.
Note only the most valuable or important tasks and arrange them in order of importance.
Why? Why?
If the tasks must be ordered to make sense, arrange them in that order. A checklist to prepare a party starts with food planning and supplies gathering.
This is exactly how the Social Tables checklist was created.
This fall home maintenance checklist by Better Homes & Gardens, however, follows the importance order:
4. Create engaging and task-oriented headers
After your article has been outlined you can begin to tweak your headers. This will not only help the reader navigate the page but it also emphasizes the steps they should take. For SEO, your keyword must be included in at least one header, preferably more.
These are some ways to improve your headers.
Follow the formula “verb + noun phrase”
Scrolling down and up in this article will show you that I have used the verb +noun phrase formula in every H3 in my task list. (e.g. Create [verb] an overview of tasks [noun sentence].
This formula helps you keep your focus on the actions required to complete the checklist. Your list will be easy to scan and read. It’s also motivating, as you are literally asking the reader to do something.
Modify your verbs
You can make every header more engaging and unique by changing the verbs. In my H3 list, for example, the verb “write” could be repeated multiple times (write an outline, “write engaging headers”) To add interest and variety, I switched between verbs.
If you have trouble coming up with new verbs, don’t hesitate to reach for your thesaurus. You’ll be able to expand your vocabulary which will help you write better.
Bankrate’s end-of the year financial checklist is an excellent example of how to use “verb + noun phrases” in practice. A wide range of verbs is used.
You will notice that the phrase “review” appears only a handful of times. Think about if the entire checklist, including all action items, said “review” as follows:
- “Review your progress.”
- Rethink your spending habits
- “Review your beneficiaries.”
- Et cetera.
This would make it very difficult to think clearly. It would also make it more difficult to distinguish between tasks.
The bottom line is to increase your vocabulary, and make your actions more interesting and readable.
5. In your list, include insider tips.
Your brand or your client’s brand is expected to be an expert in this subject and can help you complete the checklist.
With this in mind,
- Which pieces of information can you offer that the majority don’t already know or aren’t aware?
- How can you make an action item more efficient or faster?
- Would you be able to tell me what it would mean if I was the one using your checklist?
Do not rehash what has been said. As if you are advising your audience personally, add some flavour from the brand’s expert viewpoint.
This will make your list article stand out and make it more useful.
Bankrate, for example, has a financial checklist that includes the advice of the Chief Financial Analyst. It also includes quotations from him which directly address the reader.
This is not just rote advice. It’s helpful information that was gathered from an expert for this blog post.
You can also create an infographic, or a PDF checklist to download.
The checklist can be repurposed and offered in many formats.
Your checklist article will be useful if it is written well. You might even want your readers to print it or save it for future reference.
A downloadable checklist is an effective way to get readers to click on your article. Just add a few call to actions (CTAs), that will link to a landing site where readers can submit their email address in order to receive the checklist. Done.
An example of this is Updater, which includes a CTA button to access the PDF version their checklist for first apartments.
A checklist article can be shared endlessly if it is condensed to the actions, such as an infographic. For visual appeal, include the infographic in your checklist blog post and then share it via social media.
Venngage, for example, created an infographic to help with their image optimization checklist.
Consider creating a checklist that has a variety of formats. Or, you could choose to use one format depending on what your goal is.
To help you reach your marketing and SEO goals, write a checklist article
A checklist post on a blog is simply useful content that search engines are trying to find.
You’ll see positive results if you build yours around an audience problem or goal.
The simple checklist article can be used for SEO purposes. This means that you will likely see traffic and leads continue to flow in as long as your SEO research is done.
The checklist article format is great for increasing brand awareness and SEO rankings. It can also help you grow trust with your readers.
These opinions are not necessarily those of Search Engine Land, but they do reflect the views of the guest author. Here are the names of staff authors.
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