30-second summary:
- Optimizing your content for search results requires search intent.
- Understanding search intent will help you generate effective content.
- Target search intent by examining high ranking search results.
- How-to and listicles are the most shared blog post ideas.
- Focusing on key on-page SEO elements drives higher search visibility.
When it comes to blog posts, not all content formats are created equal.
What’s more, with more than 500 million blogs[1] out there all vying for attention, it’s getting harder and harder to stand out amidst the noise.
For a blog to be successful these days, it takes more than just shareable images or enticing headlines. While these elements are undoubtedly important, writing blog posts that attract the right kind of reader requires careful ideation, optimization, and outreach.
Fortunately, SEO content[2] is not rocket science. Whether you’re struggling with content ideas or looking to monetize your ideas better, below are the seven most popular types of posts that will help your blog gain better traction and drive traffic to your site.
Why understanding search intent matters
Before I identify the blog post types already proven to deliver results, we must first talk about search intent. If you don’t know what search intent is, search intent is the why behind a specific search.
Each type of search falls into one (or several) intention types:
1. Informational intent
The search user wants to learn something. While this type of search typically includes words like “how-to,” “what is,” or “who,” not all informational searches are posed as questions (for example, JFK International Airport directions).
2. Navigational intent
The search user wants to visit a specific site. People would rather ask a search engine than type the full web address in the