Do you write just one topic per post? Keeping posts granular is easier said than done.
I first learned about the concept of writing granular posts in ProBlogger (Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett). I read this book back before I had ever published a post, or even navigated WordPress.
What is a Granular Blog Post?
The concept is simple. Keep each post limited to only one topic. Think of each post as an individual grain. Each post covers just one topic.
This one piece of advice will not only make your writing easier, but it will also improve page views and even increase search engine traffic. Here’s why:
5 Benefits to Granular Blogging
- Faster Blog Writing: When you choose one topic it will come easier. A rambling, random post will be harder to write and will take longer. And if you don’t have a clearly defined theme, how will you know when you’ve finished?
- Stronger Search Engine Optimization: Search engines are looking for posts (and blogs) that best provide information on a specific topic. If a post covers 10 topics, the search bot won’t be able to determine what it is really about. It will be clear, however, that it isn’t an authority post and likely won’t rank for any of the topics.
- Better Blog Navigation: Readers will easily find their way around your site. If your posts are complete capsules of information on a specific topic, your readers will stay around and read more. Don’t make readers guess what a post is about.
- More Profitable Click Ads: We’ve seen some posts produce high earnings because of the contextual ads on those posts. Not all click ads earn the same revenue. By publishing a specific and granular post the ad networks (such as Google Adsense and Media.net) are able to accurately determine the content of the post and serve relevant ads to your readers. Because of higher relevancy, your ads will attract a higher click-through rate, thus earning higher revenue.
- Broader Topic Coverage (More Posts): By covering your niche in great detail, your blog will become the authority on the topic. And you won’t run out of blogging ideas because everything is being covered in such detail.
Looking for help creating granular posts? Here are 73 blog post ideas to get you started.
The Challenge of Writing for The Web
Writing for the web is different than writing for print. Online readers are almost always looking for a specific piece of information. If you provide that information in a clearly written and focused post, you’ll gain a reader.
Does Granular Mean Short Posts?
It depends.
Some topics could be complete with just a few hundred words (Higos con Queso: Ecuadorian Dessert – 144 words) while others need thousands (How to Start a Travel Blog – 8700+ words) to be properly covered.
The length isn’t the issue. The goal is to cover just one topic in your post. And to make sure that your title properly reflects that.
Another way to improve your blog is to write evergreen topics. Here are six steps to editing your writer’s content.
Do you write granular posts? What is the biggest challenge in blog writing? Please share your comments below…
- About the Author
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Bryan Haines has been building (and selling) businesses since high school. Since moving to South America in 2009, Bryan and Dena have made their living as content marketers.
Bryan is a partner at Storyteller Media, a Canadian-based digital publishing company.
He blogs at Storyteller Travel and Storyteller Tech.
Matt Hayden
Tuesday 30th of December 2014
I prefer to keep things simple and focused with blog posts also ... So many bloggers write these long list posts. I know they get shared a lot. But they've never really been my style. I prefer to elaborate on a single point, observation or tactic.
Bryan Haines
Wednesday 31st of December 2014
I think there is a place for both types of posts. But even with long format they should be clearly focused around a single topic.