Article Structure - How to Write an Article

Writing an article is only half the battle - structuring your content in a clear, easy to read manner is also vitally important for increasing readership to your blog. In our article, we learn why an introduction to an article can double your readership and increase traffic to your blog. Find out why using H2 tags can improve your Google rankings and bring new and unexpected sources of traffic to your blog.

Grab the readers attention

Generally, you should structure your article like this one - starting with a brief introduction which introduces the subject you are going on to discuss. The introduction should grab the users attention as if it bores them, they are not going to read much further and you have lost a reader.

The introduction is also vitally important if you are syndicating your RSS feeds or submitting your content to social media sites. Frequently, the first paragraph of your blog will be displayed on external websites, so your introduction should include the key selling points of your article. Why should your reader be interested in what you have to say?  What will your article teach them?  What will these new skills help them achieve?  This should all be communicated in your introduction.

Use H2 Tags

Using H2 tags as I have just done not only helps break up your article into sections, but it helps keep the readers interest by breaking up long blocks of text. It can also help focus your writing - plan your headings in advance and then write 1-2 paragraphs of content underneath them. If you feel you have much more to say beyond these paragraphs, break up your content by linking to a new article which contains more information on the topic.

Another advantage of using H2 tags is that it can help you benefit from long-tail keywords. Google places emphasis on the header tags within your article and if your site is well indexed you will often find you will achieve high rankings for the headers that you use within your articles, if you have chosen a suitable long-tail keyword and used them sensibly (ie. you have used a normal amount and are not trying to spam Google). This can bring unexpected and bonus traffic to your site.

Make use of Lists

Users love bulleted lists - these not only break up large chunks of text content but provide a quick guide to the key points of an article. To give an example, the key points to consider when writing an article are:

• Grab the readers attention by emphasising the major points of your article in the introduction
• Tell the user what skills they will learn and how this will benefit them
• Break up your article into sections using H2 tags
• Consider the content of your header tags to benefit from long tail keywords
• Make use of lists to capture your readers interest

Provide a Summary

Once you have covered the main points of your article, provide a summary for your readers to help focus their thoughts. In this article, we have learned how the structure of your article can improve it’s usefulness to your reader, maintaining their interest and increasing your readership base.

You should also point the user in the direction of more resources. One way to do this is by installing a related posts plugin onto your system which automatically recommended additional articles to the user. Check our resources page for details of this.