10 Blogging Criteria for Writing Quality Content

In a saturated digital world, where content creation and blogging in general remains a powerful SEO tool, and is most often used as a way of sharing information, building authority and engaging with audiences, it’s never been more important to understand the importance of producing content that is high quality, grammatically correct and is relevant to your audience. 

However, with millions of blogs competing for attention, only high-quality content stands out. Whether you’re a seasoned blogger or just starting out, understanding the essential criteria for writing quality blog content is crucial. But how can you do that effectively? In this article, we’ll be telling you what the blogging criteria is for writing quality content that everyone will love. 

1. Start with a clear purpose & know your target audience

Every blog post needs to start with a clear objective. What do you want to achieve? What is the goal of the article? Who is your intended audience? There are multiple ways in which you can determine your own target audience, including using online tools for demographics information, such as the age of the people who are most often visiting your site. 

While it won’t tell you anything else about them, you know that 65-80-year-olds aren’t using TikTok, for instance. Use this type of information to best determine where to post your content, who you’re writing it for and what to market. For example, 65-80 year olds aren’t going to be interested in a new student bar that’s opened up in the area. 

Likewise, 18-24-year-olds aren’t going to be interested in content about how to draw down a pension. There’s a balance that exists, and you need to find it based on your target audience. Find this out first, and then choose the purpose or determine the goal of the article from there. Understanding your audience’s needs, preferences and pain points helps with this.

2. Generate strong & compelling headlines/titles

The title or headline of the content you’re creating is one of the most important aspects when it comes to content creation. It’s your opportunity to make a great first impression and to create some intrigue – just enough so that someone decides to click on your post to see what all the fuss is about. A strong headline should be clear, concise and provide a benefit to the reader. It should also spark curiosity and include any and all relevant keywords, without leading to keyword stuffing. 

3. Write an engaging introduction

The introduction should hook readers immediately. It sets expectations for what the reader will gain by continuing to read the content you’re producing and providing. There are many things you can do to ensure an engaging and compelling introduction is written, including using one or more of the following:

• A compelling question
• A surprising statistic
• A relatable anecdote
• A bold statement

4. Ensure your content is valuable & original

Avoid the fluff when it comes to creating quality content for your blog or website pages. As well as this, don’t start regurgitating common knowledge that most people will know about the topic. For example, most people will know that wasps are drawn to sweet foods – what people want to know is how to keep them away from their picnic. 

Your content, in order to be high quality, needs to offer a new insight, idea or perspective. You should also make sure that you’re backing up any claims you’re making with credible sources and solid data findings. Lastly, address specific problems with actionable solutions. Originality not only adds value to your audience but also helps with SEO rankings. 

5. Make sure the structure & flow are logical

A well-structured post is easier to read and understand than one that is long, convoluted, and that uses jargon. To make your high-quality content easier to read and understand, you should be using headlines, titles and subheadings to break up large sections of text, bullet points or numbered lists to offer clarity and short paragraphs or transition phrases to maintain the flow. Use other formatting techniques, like bold, italics and quotes, sparingly but effectively to highlight key points throughout your content.

6. Optimise for SEO

Quality content should also be discoverable. Basic on-page SEO practices include using relevant keywords naturally, optimising title tags and meta descriptions, including internal and external links and using image alt texts and compressing media for speed. SEO shouldn’t compromise readability. You should always write for humans first and foremost.

7. Be authentic & use a unique voice

Your blog should reflect your unique voice. Whether it’s professional, witty, casual or academic, consistent in tone builds brand identity and trust with your audience. People connect with authenticity more than perfection. Although it should be noted that you need to take the tone of voice of your client into account as well. For instance, you can’t produce content for a law firm in a fun, casual tone of voice; it needs to be formal instead.

8. Use visual enhancements

Visual enhancements help with the overall understanding of the piece and the message you’re trying to convey, and retention rate, ensuring as many people as possible are reading and engaging with your blog post for as long as possible. You should be using relevant images, infographics, charts, embedded video, interactive elements and even custom-built graphics. Well-placed visuals can also break up text and make longer posts far more digestible. 

9. Format your content accordingly to make it mobile-friendly

With over half of web traffic coming from mobile devices, your content must be easy to read on smaller screens, free of formatting errors and it must also load quickly and be highly responsive. What you should do, ideally, is test your posts across different devices before publishing them officially in order to ensure accessibility and to iron out any formatting issues that might arise.

10. Write a clear call to action (CTA)

End all of the posts and articles you write with a clear, concise and firm CTA. CTAs have the sole purpose of encouraging a reader to move on to the next step in their consumer journey. This usually involves asking them to fill out a contact form or to make a purchase with the company. It could also involve asking them to sign up for a newsletter or an email list. Whatever your goal is, encourage your readers to do that with a good CTA to finish the content off. 

At Kumo, we provide customised digital marketing solutions to businesses throughout the UK. Located in the heart of Nottingham, our skilled team offers expertise in SEO, PPC, content creation, web design and more. Ready to see how we can help your business grow? Contact our approachable team of experts – we’re always happy to assist.