“How to” guides make awesome content, particularly when addressing some of the most frequently asked questions that your audience actively searches on Google. The question is: How do you write “how to” content that will stand out from the competition and ultimately rank well? Let’s get stuck in…
Provide an interactive overview at the top
Some of your readers may already know “how to” do something, but are otherwise looking to recap on one specific step in the process. By providing an interactive overview at the top of your blog you can effectively direct them to the information they need, rather than having to trawl through the entire post. Case and point:
Understand keyword search intent – and know your audience.
- Look for gaps in your competitors’ content.
- Talk about the “why”.
- Make it quick and easy.
- Provide visual aids.
- Know your stuff.
Understand keyword search intent – and your audience
The first step is to know who your audience is and why they are searching for the information you aim to provide. What are their biggest pain points and how can you alleviate them?
The more data you have in this regard, the better positioned you will be to accommodate their needs.
Look for gaps in your competitors’ content
There’s a good chance that your biggest competitors have already covered these subjects, but that’s not to say you can’t provide an equal amount of value (if not more so) to your readers.
Conduct thorough competitor research (which is always good practice in digital marketing) and look for any gaps in their content. How can you address a certain “how to” subject with greater clarity?
Click Here – What Are The Four Key Elements Of A Digital Marketing Plan And Why Are They So Important?
Talk about the “why”
It’s not enough to teach people how to do something; why should they bother? How are they going to benefit from doing as such?
For example, in this article, we’re teaching you how to create awesome “how to” content, for the sake of outshining your competition, providing exceptional value for your customers, boosting your SEO rankings, and ultimately taking your business to the next level.
Make it quick and easy
Definitive guides are great, but they’re often packed with a lot of unnecessary information. Most people, when looking for a “how to”, want the path of least resistance.
Cut the fat and explain how to do XYZ in as little or as much information as is absolutely necessary.
Provide visual aids
Infographics always make an awesome addition to “how to” guides. Take WikiHow as the perfect example. Not only do they have a consistent imagery style, but their design work always compliments their written content wonderfully.
Be concise in your language and use powerful, authentic imagery every step of the way.
Know your stuff.
Finally, make sure you actually know what you are talking about. Don’t just ‘regurgitate’ the information from another post. If you are going to write a “how to” post, make sure that it is coming from experience.
If you are indeed a thought leader and expert in your industry, then this should be easy enough. Otherwise, hire an SEO agency with a reputation for delivering solid results and make sure they’ve done their research before you publish anything.
TL; DR (Too long; didn’t read)
Finally, recap with a brief summary at the end for those who are too lazy to read the full article:
- Provide an interactive overview at the top.
- Understand keyword search intent – and know your audience.
- Look for gaps in your competitors’ content.
- Talk about the “why”.
- Make it quick and easy.
- Provide visual aids.
- Know your stuff.
