In the last lesson, we generated a list of target keywords and categorised them.
Now we are going to look at the type of content you can use to bring them to life.
There are 9 content frameworks I like to use depending on the topic or keyword. (More on that in a second.)
They are:
- List post
- Informational post
- Tutorial post
- Review post
- Expert roundup posts
- Ego bait posts
- Ultimate guides
- Best products
- Versus posts
I have used each of these on my blog, affiliate sites and clients sites to create EPIC content with minimal effort.
And you can too!
So let’s look at how each of them works.
Framework #1: List Posts
List posts are the simplest to create. Better still…
Audiences LOVE them.
In fact, they are psychologically wired to enjoy reading lists. They’re a win/win for everyone.
You can use them in almost any niche to talk about any topic.
They are a great way to share:
- Tips
- Tricks
- Recommendations
- Multiple ideas
I often use them to create long-form tutorials, like in this post:
They are great ways to recommend products and gain affiliate income.
Like WIRED does here:
And others use them to increase engagement and get people talking…
Like Nomadic Matt does here:
All you have to do is choose a keyword…
…then create a relevant list around it!
Framework #2: Informational Post
Informational posts focus on keywords that start with “what” or “why”.
You know, like:
- What is drone racing?
- What is the best racing drone?
- Why is drone racing expensive?
But these search terms are also likely to rank for “head terms”. For example:
- “What is drone racing?” could rank for “drone racing”
- “What is the best racing drone?” could rank for “best racing drone”
This is even more likely to happen if you use these pages as category pages to link to other subtopics on your site.
This type of post also creates lots of opportunities for featured snippets.
Much like list posts, informational posts are:
- Simple to put together
- Easy to research
- Highly shareable
Ideally these posts will focus on entry level topics. Like this one for What Is SEO?:
Or this one that answers What Is Crossfit?:
Or this one answering What is A Podcast?:
You can also expand these to talk about multiple topics. Start with the “what” or “why” and progress from there.
Framework #3: Tutorial Post
Tutorials focus on keywords that start with “how”.
They are posts that show people how to do things. For example:
- How to start a blog
- How to bake a cake
- How to save money on car insurance
Like “what” and “why” keywords, “how” keywords also provide a lot of opportunities for featured snippets.
But you’ll want to focus on these keywords for a slightly different reason…
Because people who search for “how” terms tend to:
- Have problems they want to solve
- Will spend money on a solution
This means they give you a great opportunity to feature products. Either your own or affiliate.
Take my posts on How To Start A Blog.
There are a number of things people need to start a website. A big one is hosting.
So I go out of my way to recommend a hosting service I trust:
This helps to create an engaged relationship between you and your reader.
You can use this for literally any niche!
Jennifer Banz uses recipes to help low-carb dieters and recommend products:
And Uscreen uses them to feature their video-hosting platform as a solution.
Like in this post about How To Make More Money In Fitness:
If you can highlight a problem-focused keyword and solve that problem with a product or service…
…you’re onto a winner.
Framework #4: Review Post
Reviews posts focus on keywords that contain “review”.
They have a strong commercial intent. People are often looking for you:
- To write about a specific model or version of a product
- To confirm or deny their feelings toward a product
For example, someone looking to buy a new iPhone make be looking to see:
- Is the new model worth the upgrade?
- Is it different enough to justify the $1000 they want to spend?
Review posts offer lots of opportunities to feature products. Both the one they are searching for, and related ones.
You can also get creative with these posts. You don’t just need to show the pros and cons.
You can use the product and allow them to experience it through your post. I do this a lot with tools I review. Take a look at my review of SEO Powersuite.
In this post I review their tool by showing people what it can do:
There are 24x ways they can use the tool right away.
T3 take a similar approach to their review.
They reviewed the Huawei P30 Pro and provided a gallery to showcase the phone’s powerful camera which is a key feature:
And when Fluent In 3 Months reviewed Duolingo they showed people exactly how the app’s lessons worked:
Getting under the hood can give people a real incentive to buy the product or a related one you recommend.
Framework #5: Expert Roundup
Expert roundups compile the opinions of important people in your niche.
Sometimes keywords lend themselves to the expert roundup style, like:
- The Best Racing Drones According To 6x Experts
- 7x Pro-Racers Rate These Cheap Racing Drones
- The Expert’s Guide To Drone Photography
Because these posts come from experts they will either:
- Have authority
- Be controversial
- Both
These things make people click.
When you reach out to experts you also build relationships that can be beneficial in the future.
…if nothing else they will always share a post they’re featured in. Free exposure!
The core strategy is simple:
- Identify people who are likely to respond
- Create a questionnaire for them to fill out
- Create an email template and send it to your experts
- Create your content from their answers
- Tell them it’s live
You can learn more about how to create these posts here.
I have used these posts to great effect on my blog. Take this post for example:
It gave me access to the audiences of 49x different experts.
This type of post – like the rest in this module – can be used in all niches.
Bustle use them to create posts about productivity:
And Mental Floss have even used them to teach people how to, erm…shower:
These posts are like list posts only you build your sections using your experts’ comments.
And the method is pretty “fill-in-the-blank”:
- Top [X] <Topic> Experts
- The <Keyword> According To Experts
- What Experts Say About <Topic/Keyword>
Framework #6: Ego Bait Post
One of my favourite content frameworks is the ego bait post.
Simply put:
You compile lists of other websites and resource in your niche that are awesome. Then, you share them to your audience.
This appeals directly to the ego of the people and companies included in the post, making them highly likely to:
- Share the post
- Link to it
- Or open a door for another opportunity
For example, you might create a post like:
- 10x Best Drone Blogs
- This Month’s 20x Best Drone Photographs
Better still…
Because these posts feature well-known names from your niche they’ll either:
- Have authority
- Be controversial
- Both
Expert Vagabond does this well when he outlines his favourite travel blogs of the past year:
There’s nobody on that list who wouldn’t want to share it!
Another take would be to compile a list of books, authors or creators in a niche.
For example, when Thrillist publishes their list of top graphic novels:
Authors who get featured on lists like these LOVE sharing them with their audience.
Framework #7: Ultimate Guides
Ultimate guides are all-encompassing posts that cover every aspect of a topic.
The “one stop shop” for people.
These posts usually:
- Exceed 5000x words
- Contain lots of visual information
This means they require a lot of time investment. But they come with a lot of benefits.
They are:
- Easy to update
- Evergreen (can use the same post for YEARS sometimes)
- Extremely helpful
- Great at attracting links
They also build a lot of trust between you and your reader.
A well-written ultimate guide can establish a LIFELONG relationship.
My Ultimate Guide to Ecommerce SEO is well over 5000x words:
It took me weeks to write. But it has connected me with lots of repeat customers and feeds constant leads to-
- My ecommerce SEO email funnel
- My SEO agency
Loomly has built a company around their social media calendar.
Their Definitive Guide to Social Media Calendars is over 4000x words of actionable information:
Better still, it puts their product right at the heart of the content.
Shopify also took a similar approach in their Ultimate Guide To Dropshipping, which they broke down into 8x standalone posts:
Pick a topic:
Then go DEEP to get the best results from this framework.
Framework #8: “Best” Product Posts
These posts highlight the best products in your niche.
They’re typically created with commercial intent, focusing on an important product in your niche.
For example:
- Best camera drones
- Best yoga retreats
- Best noise reducing headphones
- Best travel rucksacks
You can create the best product posts quite easily by using a list format.
The key here is to get NICHE and explore RELEVANT product categories.
For example:
MyPetNeedsThat has this post on the best retractable dog leashes:
These products only apply to a specific search engine user. And, that is a good thing!
Typically:
The niche-r you get, the better the results.
Wirecutter took a similar approach with their guide to the best hand warmers:
This is highly relevant to a tech-focused reader in a cold location.
You can also add extra value to these posts by backing them up with a:
- Buyer’s guide
- FAQ section
They are also easy to update. You can add or remove items as often as you want.
You can also use them with time-specific keywords, like:
- Best <product category> 2020
- Best <product category> March 2020
Framework #9: Versus Post
Versus posts are similar to best product posts.
However…
They take 2x to 3x products or services and compare them. Doing this enables you to go deeper into what a product can (or can’t) do.
Versus posts are useful for search engine users on the fence about what product to choose.
For example…
Tom’s Guide created a straightforward versus post to compare the:
- iPhone 11 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy S10
These are 2x major competitors in the smartphone niche.
In each section of the article they explore a key feature:
Use of photo and video content can add a lot of weight to these posts.
You can also use comparison tables to improve the user experience.
Cnet regularly use these tables in their versus posts, like this one comparing 3x camera drones from the same brand:
At the start of the post they share a table with the key components side by side:
There are several WordPress plugins you can use to create these tables easily like WP Shortcode or TablePress.
However:
Because these posts compare specific products they are not evergreen.
They will only remain relevant when the product is popular. Once the interest dies off, so does the search traffic.
So be picky about the products you use and be sure the commercial intent is there.
Final Thoughts…
Now you have a clear idea of:
- Topic types
- Content frameworks
Let’s look through your keywords list together to generate a list of ideas for content to create.
Lesson Materials
- Content Frameworks PDF Cheat Sheet