to create a checklist article: This 5-step checklist

Checklists are one the easiest (yet most valuable!) content types to create.

Probably, you make lists all the time and don’t even know it.

Shopping lists. Grocery lists. Chore lists. To-do lists for completing projects.

It makes sense to use this format to address a problem or task common to your audience and then publish it on your blog.

This is content that your readers can use immediately. If you are looking for more useful content ideas to add to your site, then look no further than this checklist article.

What makes a checklist post helpful for SEO?

Keywords are key words when you think about how a checklist post could help your SEO.

Whatever your industry, there are problems and questions that your customers have about what you offer. They search on search engines to find answers.

These problems include “how do you plan Thanksgiving dinner?” “How to load film into your 35mm camera” or “How to write a meta description.”

You can identify such a problem if it’s related to your product or service. Then tie the problem to a keyword that you can rank high in search results.

This is a recipe to get targeted leads.

Here’s an example: This website offers a checklist that outlines the first steps in starting a new hobby for beginner film photographers.

The same thing can be done, but it should be tailored to your industry and target audience.

This article will show you how to create a checklist article on your blog or client’s blog that is highly valuable and helpful for your audience. It’s also the type of content that builds trust.

The 5-step checklist to write a checklist article

How do you make a checklist to write a checklist? There’s no reason not.

This is how to create your new checklist article step-by-step, and how to link your article to a keyword to improve your SEO.

1. Select an actionable topic that is based on a specific goal or problem for your audience

A checklist is a topic that assists the reader in achieving a goal or solving a problem.

Make sure you know the topic.

• Clear steps to complete the action.
• Audience-relevant i.e. it’s a goal they have or a problem they are actually concerned about.

Many how-to topics can easily be made into checklists. This is because you need to follow specific steps or complete certain tasks in order to reach a particular result. These can be “checked off” by the reader as they go. Take this example:

You’re creating a list because the reader has to do something. However, they may not know what steps to take or how to go about it. Your checklist can help them accomplish it.

2. It should be tagged with a keyword

Optimize your checklist blog post to increase traffic to your site and lead generation. Use a keyword that is related to your topic.

Let’s say, for example, that you sell party supplies. Your topic is “Party planning checklist”. Could this be the keyword you should target in your blog post?

You can use an SEO tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush or Mangools KWFinder to search for the keyword and determine its keyword difficulty (or KD), which is a measure of how difficult it would be to rank that keyword and search volumes (the average number of people who search that keyword over a specified time period).

If you find the keyword difficult to rank, you can search for synonyms or variations to target it instead.

You can search for “party planning checklist” in Semrush and you will see that it has a difficulty of 69.

However, if you look at the list of similar terms, “bachelorette party planner checklist” has a KD 29 (easy).

You can target the second keyword by narrowing your topic. If you write a great article, you can rank high for the keyword and reach your target audience.

3. Make a list of tasks

Next, outline the tasks that the reader must complete to achieve their goal. These are the essential elements of your checklist. You can imagine writing them in a list and then ticking them off as you go. This also serves as your article’s outline.

Note only the most valuable or important tasks and arrange them in order of importance.

Why? Why?

If the tasks must be ordered to make sense, arrange them in that order. A checklist for party preparations might start with planning the menu and gathering supplies, before moving on to other tasks such as decorating or making appetizers.

This is exactly how the Social Tables checklist was created.

This fall home maintenance checklist by Better Homes & Gardens, however, follows the order in which tasks are important:

4. Create engaging and task-oriented headers

After your article has been outlined, you can begin to tweak your headers to help the reader navigate the page and to highlight the steps they should take. For SEO, you will need to include your keyword in at minimum one header, preferably more than one.

These are some ways to improve your headers.

Use the formula’verb + noun sentence‘

Scrolling down and up in this article will show you that I have used the verb + noun phrase formula for all H3s in the task list. (e.g. Create [verb] an outline [noun phrase].

This formula helps you keep your focus on the actions required to complete the checklist. This makes it easy to scan and read your checklist. It’s also motivating, as you are literally asking the reader to do something.

Modify your verbs

You can make every header more engaging and unique by changing the verbs. In my H3 list, for example, I could have repeated “write” multiple time (“write an outline,” or “write engaging headers”) To add interest and variety, I switched between verbs.

If you have trouble coming up with unique verbs, don’t be afraid of reaching for your thesaurus. You’ll only grow your vocabulary which will help you write better.

Bankrate’s end-of-year financial checklist is an excellent example of the “verb+noun phrase” formula in action. They also use many verbs.

You will notice that the phrase “review” is used a few more times. Imagine this:

• “Review your progress.”
• “Review your spending.”
• “Review your beneficiaries.”
• Et cetera.

It would be quite mind-numbing. It would also make it more difficult to distinguish between tasks.

Bottom line: Expand your vocabulary to make your action items more interesting and readable.

5. Include insider tips, how-tos and other useful information in your list

Your brand or your client’s brand is supposed to be an expert on the topic and how to complete the checklist.

With this in mind:

• What information can you offer that the majority of people don’t have access to or aren’t aware of?
• What is your insider tip for getting an action item done faster?
• What information would you need to know if the checklist was used by you?

Do not rehash what others have said. As if you were advising your audience personally, add some flavor to the brand’s perspective.

This will make your checklist article stand out and make it more useful and practical.

Bankrate’s financial checklist, for example, includes advice from the Chief Financial Analyst of the company and quotes that address the reader.

This is not just rote advice. It’s helpful information from an expert who was interviewed for the blog post.

Bonus: Create an infographic/PDF checklist to download

A checklist is an excellent piece of content that you can repurpose and offer in many formats.

First, your checklist article will be useful if it is created thoughtfully. Second, your audience may want to download it to print, save and reference later.

A downloadable checklist is a proven way of converting readers to your checklist article. Just add a few calls-to-action (CTAs), which link to a landing site where readers can enter their email address to get the checklist. Done.

An example of this is Updater, which includes a CTA button to download the PDF version their checklist for a first-floor apartment.

A checklist article can be shared endlessly if it is condensed to a list with the actions, such as in an infographic. For visual appeal, include the infographic in your checklist blog post and share it on Social Media.

Venngage, for example, created an infographic to help with their image optimization checklist.

Consider creating a checklist that has a variety of formats. Or, you could choose to use one format depending on your goals.

To help you reach your SEO and marketing goals, write a checklist article

A checklist blog post is simply useful content that search engines are trying to find.

You’ll see results if you build yours around a problem or goal that your audience is facing. Then tie it to the right keyword and create a helpful and unique list that showcases the brand’s expertise.

The simple checklist article is also evergreen. This means that you will likely see it draw in traffic and leads long after it has been published.

The checklist article format is a great way to increase brand awareness, improve SEO rankings or build trust with your readers.

Search Engine Land published the first post How do you write a checklist article? A 5-step checklist.