Writing a long-form blog for the Big Guns: here’s what’s involved
Ever wondered what’s involved in putting together a long-form blog for a large SaaS or eCommerce company? It’s a lot - a helluva lot. I’m sharing my process so you can see why longform copywriters charge a fair chunk more than what it takes to fill up your petrol tank.
BUT REMEMBER, not everyone needs this level of detail, especially as Google’s Helpful Content updates roll out. Always carefully consider WHY people came to your page and focus purely on hitting that spot.. Sometimes, short and sweet hits the spot, but at other times, we need this...
What we’ll cover:
⮚ Metadata and URL structure
⮚ Formatting the article — headlines, crossheads, images, alt text
⮚ Body copy — what to include, e.g., bullet points, pull quotes, case studies, links, references, CTAs
GRAB YOUR COFFEE & LET’S START!
Enter the topic
Write the jist the topic in here.
2. Focus keywords?
If you work for a large company, they will give you the focus keywords. If you don’t, do your research in decent software such as SEMRush and pop your focus keywords in now.
3. Add semantically related keywords
There’s no need to include all semantically related KWs. Just use the ones provided by your team — or if you’re working solo, the ones you’ve gathered.
TIP: For more ideas, Google semantically related questions (‘People also ask’). It’s still one of my favourite hacks.
4. Discover the competitors to outperform
if you’re going to go to all the trouble, you need your article to rank. And to do that, your content has to be (as Rand Fishkin would say) 10 x better than the competition. But it’s not all about being better; you must be sensible, too. Don’t compete against a massive, publicly listed company with a domain authority of 68 if you’re writing for a start-up — or yourself.
Then, sum up your competition and see if going to battle is reasonable. Of course, you can still compete against the big guys if you’ve got a unique angle. It happens all the time.
Google the topic to see which competitors are leading the SERPS. Analyse why. Why do you think your competitors are winning?
Look at metadata, headlines, content, writing styles, page lengths, FAQs, citations, authorship — everything you can.
NB: All these factors (metadata, etc.) may contribute to the article’s ranking success. However, this doesn’t mean you can correlate a clear answer by making assumptions about these factors. Be scientific. Use these factors as a guide only.
5. Why did you choose to write this blog?
Look at the keywords given (and keyword difficulty level)
Analyse the competition
Look for windows of opportunity
Think creatively and logically – what would people click on
Then, come up with your blog title and content
Next, briefly write a sentence or two on why you have chosen to write about this. It will help consolidate your thoughts — and if you’re writing for a big company, your bosses will want to know!
6. Any special considerations or insights?
OK, before you proceed, check the following:
Has the company written a similar article?
Can you see an outstanding opportunity?
Is there any breaking news pertinent to the company that fits with the article/has an opportunity for linking/interviewing/doing anything noteworthy?
Can you see the potential for a follow-on article?
Can you see the potential for any problems?
Metadata and URL structure
I am going to cover the metadata and URL structure now. Personally, though, I usually whip it together pretty quickly when I start. So that I have a guide. Then, after I’ve written the article, I go back and polish it carefully.
Create your proposed blog URL
Pop it in here.
TIPS:
● Keep URL character length under approx. 90 chars (This is a guide, not a rule)
● Eliminate any unnecessary stop words, like to, it, and — unless there is strong semantic relevance (but this is unusual with a URL)
2. Title tag
● Keep it under approx. 60 characters, including spaces (Technically, it’s anywhere between 375 to 600-pixel limit, depending on the device)
● Make it click-worthy
● Check your competitors. If they offer 8 xyz tips, offer 9!
3. Meta description
● Keep it under 155 -160 chars, including spaces (Again, pixel length varies depending on the device)
● This is your mini elevator pitch — make them click on it
● Try to frontload the text with the most critical information and KWs
● Include key phrases where possible — but don’t keyword stuff
● Truncate with “&” and abbreviations if appropriate to pack more info in
Not sure if it all fits? Try Portent’s brilliant SERP preview tool: https://www.portent.com/serp-preview-tool/
Formatting the article
Make it easy for the reader.
Let them access easy-to-read, useful information immediately they’re on the page — a clear headline, an empathic, enticing intro (that promises to itch that scratch), an excellent bullet point summary, insightful pull quotes, descriptive images and handy links. Give them everything they’ve been looking for.
2. Headers and subheaders/crossheads (h1, h2, h3)
Help the developer by giving clear HTML instructions.
E.g. h1<Fabulous Headline Written Here>h1
● Always include the focus keyword in the headline
● h1: keep it well under 100 characters, including spaces
3. Subheader (under the headline)
o This should be a quick, enticing summary of the article
o Keep under approx. 140 characters, including spaces.
4. og: description
The open graph description can be the same as the sub-header above. Keep under 200 characters, approximately.
‘What you’ll discover’ summary
In the “What you’ll discover” summary at the top of the page, include approximately 3 to 6 main crossheads so people know what’s included in the article. Anchor link them all.
Crossheads (Aka subheaders — the h2, h3s)
● Use h2s and h3s as required throughout the article. Generally, use h2s for the major subheaders and h3s for smaller sections.
● Use different keyword variations throughout the h2s and h3s. Do not keyword stuff, but include headers that give Google a clear indication of the topic. And, importantly, make them encourage the reader to keep reading.
● Be enticing, creative, descriptive.
Adding images
● Find in-house images or source stock images if there’s no other option. Add one or two images or illustrations to include in the body of the article. Alt tag them. (alt = “woman feeding dog dry biscuits”) NB: Include keyword/s in the alt tag.
● Tell the Webmaster where you sourced the image from (give the URL so they can track it down)
Body copy
Reading dense text is hard work. Your readers are often busy, stressed and time-poor. They want to access stuff quickly. And they want simple language — with facts, helpful info and guidance. This is not an essay for a university — or a literary publication.
First paragraph
Make it attractive, but get to the point. Acknowledge the reader’s problem, tell them what they’ll learn and how you’ll help. Include the focus key phrase — and, if possible, another key phrase.
2. Ongoing copy
Make the body copy easy to read:
✔ Keep paragraphs short
✔ Break up the article with dot points, lists and numbers
✔ Add a CTA at the top third or half of the blog
DON’T FORGET: Blog writing objective: ask yourself, do they want leads? Calls? Sales?
Pull quotes
Add pull quotes for interest and trust.
Case study
If appropriate, you may like to write a paragraph about a case study of your company.
Links (internal & external)
⮚ Links are exceedingly important. Ensure each article has both internal and external links, as outlined below.
⮚ Do not link in the introductory paragraph or conclusion. You want to keep people focused on the page at these moments.
Internal links
Include several internal links in the article to appropriate pages. Feature pages are crucial to aim for, as you want people to know about them!
TIP: We want to encourage people to click on internal links. So bold all anchor-linked text — and include enough words to ensure the reader understands where the link will take them.
▪ GOOD: DogsRUs has excellent allergy-free dry biscuits.
▪ NOT SO GOOD: DogsRUs has excellent allergy-free dry biscuits.
External links
Include several external links in the article. This helps with E-E-A-T. (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust)
Every claim or statistic should be backed by an external link!
Never link to a competitor
Never hide your hyperlink or be deceptive — always bold it
Include external links in the body copy — and —in the list of references at the bottom of the page
TIP: It’s not always ideal to have readers leave the website to follow a link. Make the bolded, anchor-linked text in external links short. In essence, the rules are the reverse of internal links.
▪ GOOD: “A 2021 study from Neilson revealed that 23% of clients…” (less likely the reader will click)
▪ NOT SO GOOD: “A 2021 study from Neilson revealed that 23% of clients…” (more likely the reader will click)
CTA
Go back and include a short CTA towards the top of the article, e.g., towards the top 30 to 50% of the blog. (Yes, I pop in the CTAs after weriting the entire article.
Final CTA (Next steps)
Summarise the benefits in one of two ways — a paragraph or bullet points (I like bullet points best). A great way is to grab the cross-heads and use them as the summary.
Add references
This is vital, as it adds trust and shows your expertise and authority.
And when you’re done…
Thoroughly edit, trim all fat, then print it out and read it carefully - preferably in another room. You’ll have a fresh perspective, and I promise that by printing it out, you’ll discover all sorts of nasties that looked bloody glorious when you read it on the screen. You can go from ‘Golly I’m wonderful’ (reading on-screen) to ‘Who wrote this sh*t?’ when that puppy is in your hands. So print it out, grab a pen and be ruthless!
That is all. You’re seriously done now. Bit of a workout, wasn’t it? (Remember, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Sometimes, you’ve gotta stick your neck out to rise above the pack)