Whether it’s “how to make chicken parm” or “how to start a business,” people are searching “how to” do things on Google all the time. And you can help those people out with a “how to” blog post.
“How to” blog posts provide your readers with a step-by-step guide to doing, well, anything. These blogs are also an amazing opportunity for your company to position itself as customer-focused and selfless, as you’re laying out a tactical approach to fixing a problem or addressing a need without asking for anything in return. This helps to make your brand synonymous with trust.
Writing these posts can also help your blog rank for Google’s featured snippet – the box that appears in Google search results with a few dozen words answering the question. You can see an example of this below.
“How to” blog posts are best for the following blog posts:
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| Introduction | |
| The reason why what you’re talking about is important. Who, what industry, or what sector of the industry this applies to. What you’ll be covering [i.e. “in this post, we’ll explain why (term) is important, explain how to (term), and provide 8 suggestions if you’re new to (term)”]. |  |
| What is [Term], and Why Does it Matter? | |
points:
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| How to [Task] | |
points: 
It’s important to remember to be clear, concise, and accurate in the steps you provide your readers. Any extra “fluff” to the article may confuse them, resulting in some readers not achieving the results they intended.
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| Tips and Reminders for [Term] (Optional) | |
| If you’re breaking down a difficult concept or task, some readers may still feel overwhelmed and unsure of their ability to tackle it. Break down a few suggestions on how to best approach the concept, and/or a few reminders about it. This is not a list post, so keep this short list to three to five pieces of advice. If you’re breaking down a difficult concept or task, some readers may still feel overwhelmed and unsure of their ability to tackle it. Break down a few suggestions on how to best approach the concept, and/or a few reminders about it. This is not a list post, so keep this short list to three to five pieces of advice.
If you’re breaking down a difficult concept or task, some readers may still feel overwhelmed and unsure of their ability to tackle it. Break down a few suggestions on how to best approach the concept, and/or a few reminders about it. This is not a list post, so keep this short list to three to five pieces of advice.
If you’re breaking down a difficult concept or task, some readers may still feel overwhelmed and unsure of their ability to tackle it. Break down a few suggestions on how to best approach the concept, and/or a few reminders about it. This is not a list post, so keep this short list to three to five pieces of advice.
If you feel the step-by-step approach is sufficient, you can choose not to include this section.
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| Conclusion | Wrap up your amazing new blog post with a great closing. Remind your readers of the key takeaway you want them to walk away with and consider pointing them to other resources you have on your website. |