How to Write a Blog Post: 11 Steps, With the SEO Pass Built In

Updated October 2026. This guide now also covers what our earlier guides on SEO-friendly posts and optimising posts for SEO used to: the SEO pass is step 8.

Short answer: to write a blog post, pick one question your reader is asking, answer it in the first two or three sentences, outline the sections a reader needs next, draft fast, then back every factual claim with a source and run a short SEO pass on the title, description, headings, links and images. Edit by reading it aloud, publish with a checklist, and share it where your readers already are. The eleven steps below take a first post from blank page to published, and each one points to the evidence behind it.

1. Pick a topic people search for

Start from what readers type, not what you want to say. Type the start of a question into Google and note the suggestions, or use our free blog keyword generator, which collects Google autocomplete suggestions in one place. Look at the current first page: if it is all large brands and forums, choose a narrower version of the question. Our guide to keyword research for bloggers goes further, and blog post ideas with demand has examples.

2. Decide the one question the post answers

Write it down as a single sentence before you write anything else: “How long should my first blog post be?” or “Which email tool should a new blogger use?” Every section should help answer that question. If a section answers a different one, it belongs in a different post, linked from this one.

3. Outline the sections

List the questions a reader will ask after your first answer, in the order they would ask them. Those become your H2 headings. Keep one H1, the post title, and use H3s only to break up long sections. A good outline for most how-to posts is: the answer, the steps, common mistakes, and a short FAQ.

4. Write an answer-first introduction

Answer the question in the first two or three sentences, then explain. Most posts do the opposite. In our sample of 26 posts ranking for popular blogging questions, half kept the reader waiting at least 191 words for the answer, and just 6 put a summary first (answer depth study). Across our own 152 posts, only 18% answered in the first 100 words (answer-first audit). A direct opening respects the reader, and it is also the passage Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT can quote most easily.

5. Turn headings into questions

Headings such as “How long does it take?” or “What does it cost?” match how people search and tell the reader exactly what the section answers. Start each section with a sentence that answers its heading, then add the detail.

6. Draft without editing

Write the whole draft in one sitting if you can, without stopping to fix sentences. Leave a marker such as [CHECK] wherever you need a fact or a source, and keep going. Editing while drafting is the most common reason first posts never get finished.

7. Add evidence and sources

Go back to every [CHECK] and every number. Link each factual claim to the original source you have actually opened: the study, the official documentation, the vendor’s own pricing page. If you cannot find one, cut the claim. This matters more than most writers think. In our census of 161 pages ranking on Google’s first page for blogging questions, 71.2% of statistical claims had no source near them (page-one blogging census). A post that sources its numbers already stands out.

Add one thing only you can offer: a screenshot from your own account, a result you measured, a mistake you made. That is what makes a post worth linking to.

8. Do the SEO pass

With the content right, spend fifteen minutes on the parts search engines read first.

• Title. Say what the post delivers in plain words, with the main phrase people search for near the start. Aim for about 60 characters; across our own 131 headlines, nearly half ran past what Google reliably shows (headline patterns study). Skip the hype words: “surprising”, “shocking”, “ultimate”.
• Meta description. Write it yourself, 120 to 155 characters, saying what the reader gets. Left blank, many SEO plugins fall back to your first sentence cut off mid-way.
• URL. Short and descriptive, such as /write-a-blog-post/. Leave out dates and filler words.
• Headings. One H1; H2s for main sections; no skipped levels.
• Internal links. Link to three to eight of your own related posts where a reader would want more, with descriptive link text. Then go to one or two older posts and link to the new one.
• Images. Compress them, size them for the screen, and write alt text describing what each one shows.
• Length. Write as long as the answer needs and no longer. Our guide on how long a blog post should be covers what the research found.

9. Edit for clarity

Read the post aloud. Cut sentences that repeat the one before, split any paragraph longer than four sentences, and replace vague words (“various”, “a range of”) with the specific thing. Check every link opens the right page. If you can, leave a night between drafting and editing.

10. Publish with a checklist

• The answer is in the first three sentences.
• Every number has a linked source.
• Title and meta description are written by hand.
• Featured image is set and sized, with alt text.
• Any affiliate link is disclosed above the first one and marked rel=”sponsored”.
• The post ends with one clear next step for the reader.

11. Share and link it

Send it to your email list, share it where your readers already gather, and link to it from your most-visited related posts. On a new blog, request indexing in Google Search Console; our guide to getting your blog indexed explains how. Then add a reminder to review the post in six months; our research found AI Overviews favour pages that are maintained over pages that are merely new (freshness study).

A blog post template you can copy

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to what new bloggers ask while writing their first posts.

How long should a blog post be?

As long as it takes to answer the question well. For most how-to posts that is somewhere between 1,000 and 2,500 words; see how long should a blog post be.

How do I write an SEO-friendly blog post?

Answer a question people search for, answer it early, structure it with clear headings, source your facts, and complete the SEO pass in step 8: title, meta description, URL, headings, internal links and images.

What should my first blog post be about?

Something you know well that your future readers are already searching for. Our guide to what to write in your first blog posts has ideas.

How many headlines should I write?

Write several and pick the clearest. Our list of headline words can help, but clarity beats cleverness.

Next: if you have not set up your blog yet, start with how to start a blog.