Does blog formatting
Really matter?

Blogs can help establish immediate trust between brands and their consumers and positively influence sales. In fact, business websites that regularly post to their blogs produce an average of 67% more monthly leads than those that don't blog.

Blog formatting will affect the SEO success and user experience for your content. How you format your blog will affect SEO rankings and how long a website visitor stays on the page to read and peruse your content.

With that said, all blogs, whether business or personal, face the same dilemma: People are likely to skim through the content rather than read it word for word. However, you can implement proper blog formatting to keep your readers engaged. This would also persuade them to follow through with every call to action, like clicking a link or filling out a form.

Here are some of the most crucial elements in your blog format and how to execute them well.

URL Structure

Have you ever sent a link to a friend or posted it on social media and found that it was all over the place? That's not to say you want tiny URLs for all of your blog content, but you don't want it to include a long string of backslashes, such as:

www.blog.com/news/blog/contentcategory/this-is-my-blog-name

Instead, you should simplify your URL structure to remove some of the details between the backslashes.

You do not need to have the full title of your blog in the URL. However, you do want to make sure your focus keyword is there as it will affect your SEO rankings.

CTA (Calls to Action)

Blogs that don't have opportunities for a reader to share their contact information or search for product listings won't produce quality business results. Insert calls to action to read other content, download helpful content, get a quote, or contact a company representative with questions.

You don't want to interrupt the flow of reading too often, but you do want to give users the opportunity to take the next step with your business. You may also give them a chance to learn more about the topic by reading other articles.

The end of your article should always close with a call to action. It shouldn’t necessarily be a “buy now” button, but it should take the user on a journey to explore more content and learn more about you.

Internal and External Linking

Links provide context to search engines on how content is related to each other. Ideally, you want the anchor text for your hyperlink to be the target keyword that the page you're linking to is optimized for.

For instance, if you're writing about running shoes and want to link to a full review you did on a pair of Nike running shoes, you'd link the text "Nike Zoom Alphafly NEXT% 2" to your review article on that specific shoe. model.

Building those internal connections will help readers navigate to more information while providing valuable connections for search engines.

External links also help build a foundation for the topic you are discussing and show the research for that article. It tells search engines that your content is trustworthy because it is linked to other trustworthy content.

For external links to provide the most value, they must be directed to websites with strong domain authority. That will tell you the website's reputation and SEO value.

Heading Hierarchy and Distribution

Without headings, your content is difficult to read and search engines have a harder time understanding the content.

A good distribution of headings per 300 words will help make your content readable. At the same time, it will inform search engines about the content that follows.

However, the headers must be logical. You can't simply stop the content to insert a header for the sole purpose of SEO. Instead, write your content with headings in mind to create a clear, logical flow.

When using headers, reserve H1 for your blog title. H2 will be what you use for main headers at all times. H3 helps you drill down into content within H2 content. Finally, on rare occasions, some blogs use H4.

The heading you use should help indicate whether the topic is a subset of what you discussed earlier or a new thought or topic that you're transitioning to.

Bullets and number lists

Breaking up your content using bullet points and number lists will make it easier for your users to skim through the content. Seeing these lists will also make your content seem less intimidating.

You can draw attention to content using a list or just make your content look more engaging. Don't embed a list on a whim - when the content presents the opportunity, make the most of it.

Length of paragraphs and sentences

Even the most prominent content still needs to be broken down into smaller pieces. Short paragraphs and sentences will make your content more readable.

That's not to say your content should look choppy, nor that longer sentences have no value.

Generally, you want your content to look attractive to the reader. No one wants to read long, thick paragraphs with complicated sentences that challenge their minds too much. Your users are likely here for pleasure or to learn about a topic.

Images and Visuals

Inserting images and visuals can help your readers understand the content and make your blogs enjoyable to read.

Ideally, you don't want content to be cluttered with images to the point where they constantly interrupt the user's reading flow. Nonetheless, one image every 300-600 words will help break up the content and make it attractive to look at.

You can use images related to your theme or create custom graphics. Graphics can be illustrations of your topic or they can be graphics and data to support your statement.

Table of Contents for longer content

A table of contents will provide context for what your readers will learn from your content. This also allows the user to jump to the section of content that answers their question or provides the details they need.

Inserting a table of contents will also show search engines that your content is well-organized and engaging for your readers. This can potentially increase your rankings over time.

Add Links and Buttons to Keep Reading

Once you get to the end of your blog content, you need to consider what you want your reader to do next. Ideally, you're reaching out to get more information about how to buy from you. However, they may not be ready to do that yet.

Therefore, you need to add links and buttons to continue reading relevant content. This could be a list of other blogs related to that topic or category. Otherwise, you can have a complete list of recent articles.

Format Blogs for Best Results

Ultimately, how you format your blogs will be a deciding factor in whether your blog content helps elevate your website and attract interested parties. Aronson Hecht Agency has experience in content marketing. Our team of content writers are ready to carry your business's message across search engines. We can format your blogs for best results and ensure strong distribution across multiple channels to get the most traffic and engagement for your content. Schedule your free consultation now!