A tutorial blog post is a great way to show readers how to do something. Whether it’s cooking an egg, using Photoshop, or setting up a new piece of software, tutorials provide step by step instructions with images and videos for every stage. In this guide we will be looking at why you should write tutorial blog posts (hint: they’re good for SEO!), what makes them effective, and how to go about planning one!
Why write a tutorial blog post?
There are some solid benefits to writing a tutorial blog post, for you and for your audience.
For you, one of the big benefits is SEO. Tutorials are often included in blog posts, and if you include them on your site then search engines will see those tutorials as a page of content. That means that any relevant words you use within the tutorial (e.g., “How to bake cornbread”) will be indexed by Google which is great news for SEO experts because it increases their likelihood of driving organic traffic.
Other bloggers often link to tutorials when they don’t want to create the content themselves so they are a great opportunity to get backlinks.
For your audience, the big benefit is that they get a simple process to follow or instructions on a complex topic. It saves them time searching around for the information and builds your credibility as an authority on the topic.
What to include in a step by step post
When planning a step by step style blog post, you should try to include:
– A title with a numbered list of the steps you will be taking
– One or two sentences per step, including a clear and concise explanation of what that particular step entails
– An image for each tutorial showing exactly how to perform that task. These should also include captions describing what is being done in the picture (which are also good for SEO)
– A final sentence or two summarizing the tutorial and a call to action
You should also format your step by step blog post using a numbered list, with each number corresponding to that particular task. This will make it easier for readers to follow along at their own pace. In addition, you may want use bullet points in order to present things like a list of ingredients, items needed or equipment required.
For more complex topics, you may want more than two sentences per step, including a clear and concise explanation of what that particular step entails
Blog post fundamental to remember
While a step by step post is formatted a bit different to other posts, there are still some of the basics that apply to it. These include:
– Titles that are descriptive and draw the reader in. This is where you should place your keywords within the title to help with ranking
– A catchy introduction paragraph as it will often be read before anything else and this can include a hook or question to grab readers’ attention. If you want people to watch, think of what they want to get from the tutorial and include that
– A conclusion paragraph that provides a final takeaway for the reader
Finishing the post
When creating a tutorial, you may want to consider using something that marks up the Schema for this type of content. An example of a free plugin that does this is Create from Mediavine. You don’t need to be an advertiser with them to use it.
With Create, you add a card in one of three formats. There are Recipes for food, List for roundups for How-Tos for tutorial-style content. This can help you make sure your post is formatted correctly with the Schema information that Google uses to categorise it.
Creating a quality post
By following these simple steps, you can create a high-quality tutorial or step by step post that will educate your audience and help them to learn something new, finish a project or make something. Plus you can increase the chances of getting organic traffic to it by using the right elements that Google loves to see in this type of post.
If you have found this helpful, don’t forget to check out our other great how-to guides.
