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How to Write an SEO Content Outline in 8 Steps (With A Free Template)
Have you ever found yourself staring at a blank page, wondering where to begin? A well-structured outline is your roadmap to creating engaging, SEO-friendly content.
Spend 15-20 minutes on a solid outline, and watch your content quality soar. By mapping out your key points and ensuring they’re optimised for search engines, you’ll boost your chances of ranking higher and attracting more organic traffic.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to create exceptional outlines, share a real-world example, and provide a handy template you can use for your next project. Let’s dive in!
What is a content outline?
A content outline serves as a framework or guide for the writer, detailing what should be covered in a piece of content. It typically begins with the primary keyword or topic you want to focus on.
In addition to the main keyword, an effective content outline should include essential details about the intended audience, their experience level, the tone and voice of the piece, the search intent, a target word count, and relevant long-tail keywords. A high-quality outline will also suggest headings—such as H2s, H3s, and H4s—that help structure the content effectively.
Including one or two reference articles, especially those from top competitors, can be beneficial. While reminding the writer not to replicate these articles directly is important, reviewing high-performing pages for a keyword can provide insights into creating impactful content.
Finally, if you want to incorporate specific data points or references, ensure these are noted in your outline. Your content should maintain a consistent structure (using bullet points, for example), and using the same template for each outline you create is advisable. This consistency will make it easier to refer back to them in the future.
Why Is a Content Outline Important for SEO?
A content outline is essential for any writer, but when it comes to crafting SEO-friendly content that appeals to both search engines and readers, outlining should be a key part of your overall SEO content strategy—not just your writing process.
1. Enhance Reader Engagement
Content outlines ensure comprehensive coverage of topics and subtopics by creating a structured framework that organises the main ideas and related points, making sure no crucial details are missed. This structure improves readability, making the content easier to follow and more engaging for readers.
A well-organised and thorough blog post also boosts reader satisfaction by ensuring they find the information they’re searching for. This, in turn, builds trust and encourages repeat visits.
2. Streamline the Content Writing Process
Content outlines simplify the writing process by providing a clear roadmap for writers. This structured approach breaks down the content into manageable sections, reducing the risk of writer’s block and saving time on reorganisation and editing. This is particularly beneficial when outsourcing content creation.
3. Boost Content Visibility and Rankings
Using a content outline allows you to strategically incorporate primary and secondary keywords into headings and subheadings, helping search engines understand and rank your content effectively. It also ensures that the content aligns with user search intent by structuring information to meet your audience’s needs.
Well-structured content improves readability and signals to search engine algorithms that your content is relevant, increasing its visibility and ranking in search results.
How to Create a Content Outline With 8 Steps
1. Choose Your Main Keyword
While you may already have a topic for your content, it’s important to align that topic with your SEO strategy. To do this, you’ll need to choose a target keyword.
To create the most comprehensive content on your chosen subject, check Google’s “People Also Ask” section for keyword ideas that resonate with what users are searching for. Additionally, tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush can offer a significant advantage by helping you discover effective keywords. Pay attention to keyword difficulty and search volume to strike the perfect balance.
Once you’ve settled on a target keyword, place it at the top of your content outline. Whether you’re writing in-house or outsourcing to a freelancer, keeping the keyword front and centre during the outlining process ensures a focused approach to SEO throughout.
2. Determine Search Intent
Once you’ve chosen your primary keyword, the next step is understanding its search intent—essentially, the reason behind a user’s search. Google has become highly adept at matching queries to specific intents, so aligning your content with this intent is crucial.
In your content outline, you should clearly define the search intent of your chosen keyword and the article itself. Doing so ensures your content matches what the user expects in search results.
There are four main types of search intent:
- Commercial: Users researching brands or services.
- Informational: Users seeking answers or general information.
- Navigational: Users trying to find a specific site or page.
- Transactional: Users looking to complete an action, such as making a purchase.
When creating a content outline, it’s vital to identify which type of search intent you’re addressing. For example, writing a commercial article for a keyword that yields primarily informational results won’t rank either.
If you’re unsure about the search intent, check Google’s search results for the keyword to see how the current top-ranking pages align. You can also use tools like Ahref or SEMRush to help determine the search intent of specific keywords.
3. Specify the Content Type
When creating a content outline, it’s important to specify the type of content you’ll be producing. There are several formats to choose from, and we often use one of the following:
- Guide: A high-level topic overview (e.g. What Is SEO content?).
- Tutorial: A step-by-step, in-depth explanation (e.g. How to Implement Internal Links Correctly).
- Roundup/Listicle: A collection of tools, ideas, or topics (e.g. 7 Best SEO Tools to Use).
- Comparison: A side-by-side analysis of two products or topics (e.g. Positional vs [Competitor Name]).
Of course, you might need to choose other content types more suited to your audience or business needs.
4. Add Relevant and Long-Tail Keywords
Your content outline shouldn’t just focus on the main keyword. Once you’ve chosen your target keyword, use an SEO research tool to gather a list of related and long-tail keywords, also known as semantically related terms.
Think of this list as a keyword bank to draw from. It not only enhances your SEO efforts but also helps guide the writing process by naturally shaping your outline. Group these related keywords into sections, and use them to inspire your headings and subheadings. This ensures your content is organised and optimised, with important keywords embedded in H2s for maximum visibility.
During your research, you should also identify supporting long-tail keywords—closely related variations that share the same search intent. By including these in your content outline, you’ll improve your chances of ranking for a broader range of search terms, boosting your overall SEO performance.
5. Add headings and subheadings to your outline
At this stage of the content outline process, everything starts to take shape. It’s essential to create a structured outline that includes suggested H2s, H3s, and H4s for the article.
To do this, we typically review top-ranking articles for the chosen keyword to see how they organise their content. However, feel free to use your own expertise to decide on relevant headings. There are various tools available that can suggest the number and type of headings to use within your content.
6. Include Internal and External Links
The structure of your content is key, but SEO also depends heavily on internal and external links. Make sure to leave space in your content outline for both types of links:
- Internal Links: These point to other pages on your own site, such as blogs, product pages, or resources. Internal links help retain users on your site for longer, which is viewed favourably by Google. They also demonstrate your authority on the topic, building trust with readers.
- External Links: Linking to reputable, authoritative websites strengthens your credibility. Though it may seem counterintuitive, external links signal that your content is well-researched, which can benefit both readers and search engines.
7. Optimise Image
Text content is crucial, but don’t underestimate the power of visuals. Your content outline should also make room for graphics, videos, or other visual elements. While you don’t need to design them right away, including suggestions for visuals will help make your content more engaging and accessible.
In addition, don’t forget image SEO. By optimising the images you include, you’ll improve their readability by search engines and enhance your overall SEO performance. Visuals such as bullet points, numbered lists, and headers also contribute to the structure of your content, improving user experience and visibility in Google rankings.
8. Focus on Metadata
With your content outline nearly complete, it’s essential to consider the metadata before you begin writing. This vital information sits behind the scenes of your blog, unseen by most readers but crucial for SEO. Google uses metadata to understand and rank your content, making it an essential part of your content outline.
Ensure you have options for the following metadata elements:
- Title
- Title tag
- Meta description
- Image alt text
Each of these should be descriptive and incorporate your target keyword to boost visibility and ranking potential.
Strengthen Your SEO Marketing Strategy with Effective Content Outlines
Content outlines are essential for speeding up the writing process and ensuring your articles cover all the right points to deliver maximum value to your readers. More importantly, they play a key role in helping your content rank well for SEO.
We’ve used our tried-and-true content outline template, and we think you’ll find it helpful, too. Please give it a go for your next project.
The more time and care you invest in a content outline, the better your final content will be. As SEO writing is an ongoing process, you’ll always work on the next piece of content once it is complete. If you’re looking to scale up your SEO efforts but have limited resources, collaborating with a content marketing agency can help. Contact Saigon Digital today for expert SEO advice tailored to your business needs.
