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Last Updated: May 2026
Editor’s note: This guide was originally published in 2013 and has been fully updated for 2026 to reflect the latest Google Ads features, best practices and strategies.
At Koozai we know that when it comes to blog posts great writing is only part of the puzzle. Your content also needs to be useful, easy to read, properly structured and genuinely helpful to the audience you want to reach.
This is especially true in 2026. With more AI-assisted content being published, growing competition in the search results and more ways for users to find answers online, brands need blog posts that do more than simply fill a content calendar. The presentation, imagery, structure, internal links and SEO thinking behind your content all count for a lot too.
You may think you’ve written some wonderful content, and the chances are you totally have, but if your readers aren’t sticking around to read it, or they’re bouncing off the site completely, it may be because the post has not been packaged the right way. So, we’re here to give you a helping hand on how to create blog posts that capture attention, keep readers engaged and give your content the best chance of getting results.
You’ve probably heard of phrases like “content is king”, “it’s all about the content” or “you need to create fresh content”. They still hold some truth, but useful content is only part of the picture. The way you present your content and how easy it is to read, scan and act on are crucial factors in keeping readers engaged.
Online readers rarely consume web pages from top to bottom in a perfectly linear way. They scan for relevant information, look for quick answers and decide very quickly whether your article is worth their time. Nielsen Norman Group’s eye-tracking research has long shown that people often scan web content in patterns, including the well-known F shaped pattern, while later research also identified other scanning behaviours such as spotted, layer-cake and commitment patterns.
So, with this in mind, we need to find a way to capture your audience’s attention and keep it for as long as possible. Here are the key elements you can use to create a fantastic blog post that has the best chance of being read, understood and acted on.
An attention grabbing headline is one of the most important elements of every blog post or article. The title is the first point of interaction for the content, so it needs to be clear, relevant and eye-catching.
One way you can do this is to answer a question linked to your products or services. You can also carry out keyword research to find out what questions are already being asked around your products, services or industry, then serve up a useful, relevant post on that topic.
Readers will use your headline to determine whether they want to bother with the main content at all, so give it more than just a couple of words. Try to include keywords where you can, make it nice and clear, and avoid being too vague or clickbaity.
In 2026, a good headline should also reflect search intent. In simple terms, this means it should match what the reader is actually looking for. If someone wants a step-by-step guide, your headline should make it clear that your post provides one. If they want tips, examples or a checklist, your title should set that expectation from the start.
A strong headline should earn the click, but it should also set up the article honestly. If you promise a complete guide, give readers a complete guide. If you promise quick tips, make the article practical and easy to digest.
The introduction or opening paragraph is another key element of creating an effective blog post. It can be used to answer key questions and tell your readers whether they’re going to get what they want out of your post. You might want to come back to the intro at the end, once you know more about the overall focus and how the content has been positioned.
Things to think about include:
At this point, you still have their attention. However, this can easily change if your intro doesn’t provide the right answers. Similar to the headline rule, you need to make this part one of the strongest sections of your blog post, so readers don’t skip the rest of your masterpiece.
A good introduction does not need to be long. In many cases, shorter is better. Readers usually want quick reassurance that they are in the right place, so avoid long-winded opening paragraphs that delay the useful information.
Before writing the main body of your blog post, it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about search intent.
Search intent is the reason behind someone’s search. Are they trying to learn something? Compare options? Solve a problem? Find a service? Make a decision?
For example, someone searching “how to write a blog post” is probably looking for a practical guide. Someone searching “blog writing services” may be closer to looking for an agency or supplier. Someone searching “blog post examples” likely wants inspiration.
Understanding this before you start writing can help you decide:
If your blog post doesn’t match the reader’s intent, it may struggle to perform, even if the content is well written.
Google’s own guidance continues to emphasise helpful, reliable, people-first content, rather than content created primarily to manipulate search rankings.
The main body of your article is the longest part, therefore you need to do everything in your power to make sure it keeps your audience’s attention for as long as possible.
A good way to achieve this is to ensure your content is easily scannable. Most people do not read every word on a page, especially when they first land on it. They scan for the sections that feel most useful, then decide whether to keep reading.
Yes, that’s right, and we guarantee you do it too.
To make your blog posts easier to scan, make sure you include all, or some, of these:
This is also where originality matters. With more AI-assisted content being published online, generic advice is everywhere. The blog posts that stand out are usually the ones that include first-hand experience, expert insight, original examples, data, practical tips or a clear point of view.
In short, don’t just answer the question. Answer it better than the pages you’re competing with.
There is no single perfect blog post length.
A blog post should be as long as it needs to be to answer the reader’s question properly, and no longer.
Some topics only need a short, clear answer. Others need a detailed guide, supporting examples, expert commentary, data, visuals and FAQs.
As a general guide:
However, it is more useful to think about quality and completeness than word count alone. Orbit Media’s 2025 blogging survey found that the average blog post was 1,333 words, while longer posts of 2,000+ words were more likely to be associated with strong results among the bloggers surveyed.
That does not mean every blog post needs to be 2,000 words. A 700-word post that answers a simple query clearly can perform much better than a 2,000-word article full of filler.
Before publishing, ask:
That’s a much better benchmark than chasing an arbitrary word count.
AI tools can be incredibly useful when creating blog content. They can help with research, outlines, title ideas, FAQs, summaries, content repurposing and identifying gaps in a draft.
However, AI should not replace human expertise.
The best blog posts still need original thinking, real examples, accurate information and a clear understanding of the audience. AI can support the process, but the final content should always be reviewed, edited and improved by a person. Google has said that its focus is on the quality and helpfulness of content, rather than whether AI was involved in producing it. However, using automation primarily to manipulate rankings is against its spam policies.
If you use AI as part of your blog writing process, make sure the article is:
AI can help you get started, but it shouldn’t be the reason your content exists. The value should come from your knowledge, your experience and your ability to help the reader.
If the headline is the only heading in your blog post, then it’s time to dive back in and add some clear headings and subheadings.
Both help to optimise your content for search engines, but they also guide your readers around the content. A good heading structure will support readability, helping visitors scan through the content and find what they’re looking for.
You should have a subheading for every new section to help readers understand what each part of the article is about. This also allows them to skip the sections they’re not interested in and focus on the information they need.
The main thing to remember is that headings should be useful and descriptive. Avoid vague headings such as “More information” or “Other things to know”. Instead, use headings that clearly explain what the section is about.
For example:
Less useful: Links
More useful: Add internal and external links that support the reader
Images are lovely, but relevant images are crucial if you want your blog post to grab readers’ attention and give them something else to look at rather than just paragraphs of text.
However, the advice here has moved on. It’s no longer about adding a set number of images to every post. Instead, it’s about using visuals where they genuinely improve the article.
The right image, screenshot, chart, video or infographic can increase engagement among your readers and, most importantly, it can stop your blog post from being, well, a bit boring.
For the best results, think about the following:
Rather than aiming for “2 to 3 images” as a rule, think about what the reader needs. A technical guide may benefit from screenshots. A data-led article may need charts. A how-to post may work well with a video. A thought leadership piece may only need one strong hero image.
Some of the websites where you can get good-quality images for free include:
You can also use your own photography, branded graphics, screenshots or charts where relevant. Just make sure you have the right permissions and that images are suitable for commercial use.
Everyone likes additional sources that can provide extra information, so you should think of your blog post as a hub of useful information that readers will appreciate and want to come back to over and over again.
Type of links your blog post could include:
It’s also worth updating the old advice around external links. You do not need to make every external link “nofollow”. For normal editorial links to useful, trustworthy sources, no extra attribute is usually needed. Google recommends using rel=”sponsored” for paid links, rel=”ugc” for user-generated links and rel=”nofollow” where you do not want to imply an association with the linked page.
The main rule is simple: link where it helps the reader.
Internal links are especially important. They help users discover related content and help search engines understand the relationship between pages on your site.
When adding internal links, make sure the anchor text is descriptive. For example, instead of linking the words “click here”, use anchor text such as “internal linking for SEO” or “content marketing strategy”.
Search is changing. People are no longer only finding information through traditional search results. They are also using AI Overviews, AI assistants and answer-led search experiences.
This means blog posts need to be easy to understand, extract and trust.
To make your content more useful for both readers and AI-led search experiences, consider adding:
This does not mean writing for AI instead of people. It means making your content genuinely useful and well structured.
If someone asks a question, answer it clearly. If you are explaining a process, break it down into steps. If your topic naturally leads to follow-up questions, add an FAQ section.
The easier your content is for people to understand, the easier it is for search engines and AI systems to understand too.
If you want your content to get results, then you’ll also want to know about its SEO and how to help it perform better in search engine results pages.
One way to do this is by building links to your content, either through internal linking from other authoritative content on your site, or via proactive third-party link building techniques.
Digital PR is often the most effective way to build links to your content. This usually involves working with a PR specialist to create a PR campaign around your content asset. You’ll need to ensure that the PR story is newsworthy, well targeted to the right audience, and gives journalists a compelling reason to link to it.
However, there are many other link building tactics you could try too, such as:
Updating and improving older content that already has backlinks
Not every blog post needs a full digital PR campaign. Some articles are designed to rank for long-tail keywords, support customers, answer sales questions or strengthen topical authority.
The key is to understand the role of the blog post before deciding how to promote it.
The final short paragraph should concisely summarise the key findings and suggest the next step alongside a call to action.
Try to think about what you want your readers to do now they’ve read your masterpiece. Do you want them to download something, leave a comment, share it, check out some more content or fill in a contact form? Some of the most common CTAs include:
Your CTA should match the purpose of the blog post. If the article is educational, link to a related guide. If the reader may need support, direct them to a relevant service page. If the article is part of a campaign, point them towards the main asset. A good CTA should feel like the natural next step, not a sudden sales pitch.
Hopefully, you now know some of the most important elements of creating a kick-ass blog post, and you’re ready to hit the publish button.
However, before you do that, we recommend going through the questions below.
Creating blog posts that get results is not about following a rigid formula. It is about understanding your audience, answering their questions properly and presenting your content in a way that is easy to find, read and act on. In 2026, the strongest blog content combines search intent, human expertise, helpful structure, strong internal links and clear next steps. If your blog content is not performing as well as it should, Koozai can help. Our SEO, content marketing and digital PR teams can review your existing content, identify opportunities and create a strategy that helps your website attract more of the right traffic.
There is no single ideal blog post length. A blog post should be long enough to answer the search intent properly without adding unnecessary filler. Shorter posts of 500 to 900 words can work well for simple queries, while in-depth guides and competitive SEO topics may need 1,500 to 2,500+ words to cover the topic properly.
Yes, but AI-generated content should always be reviewed, edited and improved by a human. AI can help with research, structure, outlines, title ideas and summaries, but the final post should include original insight, expert input, examples, fact checking and a clear brand tone.
A successful blog post answers a clear audience need, matches search intent, is easy to scan, includes useful internal and external links, uses relevant visuals and gives the reader a clear next step. It should also provide something more useful or original than competing articles on the same topic.
There is no fixed number of images every blog post should include. Use images, screenshots, charts, videos or diagrams where they help explain the topic, support the copy or make the article easier to understand. Every image should be relevant, compressed and supported with useful alt text.
Yes. Internal links help readers discover related content and help search engines understand the relationship between pages on your website. The best internal links are natural, relevant and use descriptive anchor text.
FAQs can help make content easier for users, search engines and AI systems to understand. They are especially useful when they answer common follow-up questions clearly and concisely. FAQ schema can also help search engines interpret the structure of the page, although rich result visibility depends on Google’s current eligibility rules. Google has said FAQ rich results are now mainly shown for well-known, authoritative government and health websites, so schema should be added for clarity and structure rather than guaranteed rich results.
