The Clinic Marketing Podcast | Local SEO & Healthcare Online Marketing Tips for Clinic Owners & Wellness Providers

How to Structure Blog Posts That Rank on Google & Attract Patients [Propel Playback]

• Darcy Sullivan

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Ready to transform your blog posts from forgettable to remarkable? The structure of your content matters just as much as what you're saying—perhaps even more.

In this value-packed episode, we dive deep into the anatomy of truly effective blog posts. I break down the five essential structural elements that separate high-performing content from everything else cluttering the internet. From crafting headlines that demand clicks to conclusions that drive action, each component plays a crucial role in your content's success.

Webpage Episode: https://propelyourcompany.com/anatomy-blog-post/ 

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>> Get Started with C...

Speaker 1

Well , hello , hello , hello , welcome back . I'm your host , darcy Sullivan . With Propel Marketing and Design , we're currently in a series dedicated to helping you put together better blog posts . Some of the items that we're touching upon in this episode are pulled directly from one of our Ready Set Rank DIY SEO programs called Ready Set Blog . If you're interested in learning more about Ready Set Blog or Ready Set Rank , you can do so by visiting our website , propellyourcompanycom ,

Welcome and Series Introduction

Speaker 1

or you can simply check out the show notes for this episode .

Speaker 1

In this episode , we're going to be discussing the anatomy of an effective blog post . We're talking all about the actual physical structure and the way you should lay out a blog post . So what we're assuming here is that you've already identified your target audience and that you've already identified the SEO keyword or keyword phrase that you want to target for a specific blog post . Here we're also assuming that you have a little bit of understanding of SEO search engine optimization , because some of the items that we're going to be going through

Blog Length and Word Count Targets

Speaker 1

today overlap or are SEO related , but we don't have time in this short episode to do a deep dive into every element of SEO for blogging . That's where that Ready Set Blog program comes in , where we do tackle a deep dive on how to create SEO-friendly blog posts . If you look at the benchmarks of the relationship between the length of a blog post and the results that that blog post drives , you'll see that you want to write long-form content . We can't get away with just putting together 300 to 500 words like we used to be able to years and years ago . I tend to suggest to those people that blog posts that are between 700 to 1500 words I like to say aim for a thousand , because I know if I say aim for a thousand , most people are likely to hit 700 versus . If I suggested to you to aim for 700 words , then you might fall short and hit around the 400 to 500 mark . So that's why I typically suggest we want to go and hit between the 700 and 1500 mark . So just aim for that spot of a thousand and see where you end up .

Speaker 1

Originally I was going to call this episode let's write a blog post together , but then when I looked at the way I had organized what I wanted to touch on in this episode , I realized that would have been way too long of an episode . So , as I mentioned before , in this episode we're simply talking about the structure , and I have one example that I am going to use throughout this to give you an example as I talk about each of the elements . The main audience that's probably tuning into this episode are either clinic owners , chiropractors , physical therapists , etc . I don't want to give something that's so specific to them that they would just

Creating Compelling Blog Titles

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take exactly what I'm saying and run with it . So instead , in this example , I am turning to my dear puppy for some guidance . So in the examples that I am going to give , I am going to use the keyword phrase how's training a puppy . So as we go through these core elements for the anatomy of an effective blog post , just keep that in mind .

Speaker 1

In the example that I gave of House Training a Puppy . Sure , I could just call the blog post House Training a Puppy , but that's not very exciting . If I were to hit to Google and search terms related to house training a puppy , I would find more exciting articles that I would be more likely to click through and read versus something that just said house training a puppy . Here are some examples of ways that I could rename the title and still keep that keyword freeze in there . I could call it house training a puppy colon . Three things they don't tell you , or three things nobody tells you about house training a puppy . See how both of those examples are a little bit more exciting than just saying house training a puppy . The same goes if you were a chiropractor and you were going to write a blog post about back pain . It's not as exciting to just name the blog post back pain . Right , I think you get it .

Speaker 1

So here are some things that you can consider when writing a catchy headline or title for your blog post . You can keep it rational , include things like tips , tricks or hacks We've all seen these right Five tricks to fill in the blank , or blank life hacks to help you fill in the blank . You can use numbers , which is one of the things I did in the examples I gave you . You can use adjectives to make it more exciting , free , must-have , useful . You want to make sure that you're targeting your key word . You can also use trigger words like why or how . Once you have an idea of what you think would be a good title for your blog post , brainstorm it out a little bit more . It's always good to write down two to ten ideas for a title and then pick the one that sounds the most interesting Once you've got your title in place . Again , the assumption is that you had listened to the previous episode where we talked about tips for writing better blog posts . One of those tips included outlining your blog posts before you dive in . So if you've already outlined your blog posts , these next elements are going to be easier to implement .

Speaker 1

Element number two in the anatomy of an effective blog post is an introduction . In the introduction , you want to make sure that you're not only using your keyword , but that you let readers know what you're going to be talking about . Have you ever heard that old saying that when you go to give a presentation , you should tell them what you're going to tell them , tell them and then tell them what you told them . Blog posts are kind of like that

Writing Effective Introductions

Speaker 1

. In the introduction , you want to let them know what you're going to tell them . So in the introduction paragraph , you want to make sure that you let them in on what you are going to cover in the blog post .

Speaker 1

In the example of house training a puppy , I might say something like before I brought my new fur baby home , I had no idea about house training a puppy . In this blog post I'm going to break down for you three things I wish I would have known , and then in that section I would bullet point those so they could be how to prepare your house before the new puppy arrives , the four products you'll want to have ready before your fur baby comes home . And then the third bullet point , the five strategic steps to house training your puppy . So here in this introduction , I have told them what we're going to cover , and then I like to use a transitional phase . So this could be let's get started , or are you ready , or let's dive in , or in this case I might say something like grab your favorite squeaky toy and let's get started .

Speaker 1

Now we've already identified the subheaders , which are our next section that we're going to talk about . We identified these because one we already did an outline about what the blog post was going to cover , and then we did the statement up in this blog post . We already did an outline about what the blog post was going to cover , and then we did the statement up in this blog post we're going to talk about , and then we had the bullet points of the three items that we're going to talk about , and you'll also notice that those three bullet points sound enticing , right ? It's not prep your house , get products , house train puppy . It's how to prep your house before the new puppy arrives , the four products that you'll want to have ready for your fur baby , and then the five strategic steps to house training your puppy . So that in itself is the introduction . That's a great start , and then we're moving into those subheaders .

Speaker 1

So the first subheader for this example would be how to prep your house before your new puppy arrives , and this section , like we want to do in all the other sections , because we want to think of the blog posts like you would a book . In a book , you have chapters , just like you have chapters in a book , you want to make sure that you have subheaders and sections in a blog post , Since and I hate to get a little technical here , but

Using Subheaders and Formatting

Speaker 1

your title for your blog post should be an H1 header , your subheaders should be H2 headers . So we're not just like going into these sections and making bold for the sections and then putting those sections in there . We're identifying that they're headers , just like you would identify chapters in a book . What this does is it not only tells Google , but it tells your reader , who is usually scanning articles how to jump to the section that they might be most interested in .

Speaker 1

So once we've got our subheaders in the section , under each of the subheaders we wanna make sure that we're using short paragraphs , that we're breaking up long sentences when appropriate . We want to use formatting of bold and italics . We want to include internal links when it's appropriate . So if I mention an item as I'm writing under one of the subheaders that references another blog post or a page on my website , I would want to link to that . If I'm going to cite a source in this section , I would also want to link to that . But if I am citing a source and referencing something that is outside of my website , I want to make sure that that link opens up in a new window . I would go through that same process with the other two sections that I want to write about Now . One thing that I want to mention is one of those was the four products that you want to have ready when your new fur baby comes home , or whatever I called it In that section . So the four products you want to have ready section , I would use that subheader again as your H2 , but then under that , as I'm breaking down those four products . I might want the titles of those four products to be H3s , and then I would have the text that relates to them directly under that .

Speaker 1

The next item in the anatomy of an effective blog post is to include visual elements that are relevant . I get it , sometimes you need to use stock photos , and that's okay . You can totally do that . But what you want to do is you want to make sure that , if you're using stock photos , that you're not going to a stock photography website and searching most popular , because those are the images everybody else is using . You also want to make sure that you insert your featured image , that the images that you're using are sized appropriately

Visual Elements and Images

Speaker 1

and that you're adding proper alt image text to those images . Other visual elements that you can use include the obvious videos , but you could also do infographics or anything like that .

Speaker 1

The final element to an effective blog post layout is to include a call to action , and that should be in the conclusion . So remember when I gave that example of what they used to say about when you were to give a presentation tell them what you're going to tell them . Then tell them . Then tell them what you told them . In that conclusion , you not only want to like hone back on telling them what you told them In that conclusion . You not only want to like hone back on telling them what you told them , but you also want to make sure that you give them the next steps or the actions to take .

Speaker 1

Back to the house training , a puppy example . I might set up the conclusion to say , to say , let the puppy training begin . And then , under that header tag , I would put in

Conclusions with Strong CTAs

Speaker 1

a couple sentences they might be something like with the proper preparation , if you do A , b and C , highlighting again those bullet points that I mentioned at the beginning and that were then the subheaders throughout bringing home a new puppy can be easier than you would think . And let's just say , in this example , this blog post was sitting on a website that sold puppy products . I could then highlight just remember , for all your puppy products needs , we're here for you . Please check out our shop and link to the shop .

Speaker 1

Now , if you're a clinic owner and you were writing a blog post on , let's say , you're a chiropractor and you're writing a blog post on back pain , you want to do a conclusion that wraps it up and ties it back and it ties to what you offer them . So it could be . If you're suffering from back pain and live in name of area , be sure to book an appointment with us today . We would love to help and link to the book page on your website . So let's review those elements before we wrap up . We have creating a headline that's click-worthy , including an introduction , including subheaders with information below them , using visual elements that are relevant , and then wrapping that blog post up with a pretty little bow . We call the conclusion with a call to action . That's all for today's episode . Thanks for listening . If you feel that you know anybody who would benefit from listening to this podcast , please be sure to share it with them .

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Darcy Sullivan

Host