The Orbiter

While writing the last Orbit newsletter (and post for this blog), I turned on Screenflow, which recorded my screen as I researched, wrote, and then edited the blog. The final result was Blog Criteria: 3 Blogging Criteria for Writing Great Posts.

A few days after the post went live, it started ranking. Here is the current Google ranking and number of monthly searches for the three target keyphrases:

• “blog criteria” ranking #1
• “blogging criteria” ranking #3
• “criteria for writing” ranking #11 (almost page one!)

I’ve sped up the recording into a video so that the entire two hour process is shown in two minutes. Each second of this video shows one minute of blogging. Watch the video and learn how to write a high ranking blog post.

Here are the step-by-step instructions…

It started with an idea. I had read a blog post and a book that both made similar blogging recommendations. For several days, I had this topic in the back of my mind. By the time I sat down to write it, I had a good idea what I would write and what phrase I might target. Here’s what I did next:

1. Copy and rename the template.

I use a Google Doc as a template for writing blog posts, so I’m doing everything within the browser. The template includes space to enter target keyphrases, social sharing info, email subject lines and teaser text, etc.

This template forces me to think about content promotion while I write, so when I use the template, I have SEO, social media and email marketing in mind.

2. Research Keyphrases.

I already have an idea for what phrases to target, so I enter them into the Google Keyword Tool to see how many people were searching for them each month (search volume). Here’s what I find:

• “blog criteria” 480 searches/month
• “blogging criteria” 16 searches/month
• “criteria for writing” 5400 searches/month

If the phrase is too competitive, I won’t stand a chance of ranking. So, I search for each term in Google to check the competition.

I’m looking to see if the high ranking blog posts and websites include the target phrase in the beginning of their title tags. When they do, the links in the Google search results would begin with the target phrase. But in most cases for these phrases, they don’t.

In other words, the top sites in Google don’t appear to be heavily search optimized, so I’m starting to get confident about these phrases. When I’m not sure, I use Open Site Explorer to see if the high ranking sites have a higher domain authority than my site. If all the sites on page one have more authoritative domains than mine, my post is not likely to rank high in the results.

3. Start Writing.

As I write, I pay special attention to the following:

• Structure and formatting: headers, short paragraphs, bullet lists, bolding, italics, etc. This makes it easier for readers to scan and gives me more places to use my target phrases. Here is an a list of SEO best practices  for reference.
• Referencing others: adding links to sites I mention and quoting experts. I’ll share the blog post with people who are mentioned here.
• Length: I’d like to keep the entire post to 600 words max.

4. Create (or Find) an Image.

All great posts have images. For this post, I create a venn diagram using OmniGraffle. It looks nice, but even with a stock photo, this still would be a high ranking blog post.

5. Finish Writing, Edit, & Polish.

As I finish the post, I make sure that the language is simple and direct. Sentences and paragraphs are short, concise and clear. The final length is 550 words. I also add a call-to-action for comments.

Lastly, I check keyword usage, making sure that the words from the target phrases appear at least three times and each target phrase appears together as a complete phrase at least once.

6. Plan Sharing and Social Promotion.

I list the people mentioned in the post, knowing that I will share the post with them by mentioning them in tweets. I write some of these tweets in advance.

7. Finalize the Title, Header, Meta Description, and URL.

The blog post title is all-important. It will be the <title> and the <h1> header, so it should be no longer than 66 characters. After careful consideration, I find a title that includes all three phrases I’m targeting:

Blog Criteria: 3 blogging criteria for writing great posts
Blog Criteria: 3 blogging criteria for writing great posts
Blog Criteria: 3 blogging criteria for writing great posts

The meta description should include each phrase once and be no longer than 155 characters: The 3 blog criteria that all posts should follow: actionable, proven, or strong opinion. If you don’t meet these blogging criteria for writing, don’t publish.

The URL (the address of the page) should be short and include a target phrase: http://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/blog-criteria

8. Plan for Email Marketing.

Next, I write the email subject line and email teaser text. These don’t have anything to do with ranking in Google, but they have everything to do with open rates and click-through rates.

• The subject line summarizes the post:
  3 Blogging Criteria For Writing Great Posts
• The email header is a bit provocative:
  Blog Criteria: If Your Post Isn’t One of These 3 Things, Don’t Publish It.
• The teaser text tells you there’s a list of three things, but doesn’t tell you what they are, so the recipient has to click to get the value of the post:
  I read a lot of blogs – some good, some bad. A few weeks ago, I read something that stuck with me. It was three criteria for writing. The author said that if content doesn’t meet at least one of these three criteria, don’t publish it. Here are the three things…Read More>

9. Publish!

Once complete, I got some help from the other Orbiteers. Lauren edited it, Mary Fran made the final graphics, and Amanda set up the newsletter and scheduled the tweets. Lightspan Digital helped us with social media promotion. Thanks, everyone!

More fun ways to measure results

Aside from ranking well for several phrases, here’s what happened on email marketing, social media, and the post itself:

• The email had a 33% open rate and 16% click-through rate. 48% of people who opened the email clicked through (click/unique open rate).
• 16 comments (including my responses to reader comments)
• 105 shares on Twitter (However, none of the people mentioned in the post actually commented or shared).
• The post was mentioned (and linked to) by three other blogs and newsletters.
• 759 visitors in the first week, averaging just under 4 minutes per visit

It was two hours of researching, writing and editing, followed by some basic promotion activity, and the high rankings may lead to months or years of traffic.

Easy, right? Well, not always. If you have questions about any of these steps, just ask us in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to help you write your own high ranking blog post.

Andy Crestodina is the Strategic Director of Orbit Media, a web design company here in Chicago. You can find Andy on Google+ and Twitter.