blog-engine

Blog Engine

End-to-end blog post pipeline from topic to publish-ready content.

Pipeline

1. Research

Before writing, gather:

• Target keyword + 3-5 secondary keywords
• Top 5 SERP results for the keyword — analyze their structure, word count, headings
• Questions people ask (People Also Ask, forums, Reddit)
• Statistics and data points to cite
• Expert quotes to reference

2. Outline

Structure every post with:

# {Headline with primary keyword}

## Introduction (100-150 words)
- Hook: stat, question, bold claim, or story
- Problem/context
- Promise: what the reader will learn
- Optional: table of contents for 2000+ word posts

## {H2: Main Section 1}
### {H3: Subsection if needed}

## {H2: Main Section 2}

## {H2: Main Section 3}

## FAQ (3-5 questions with FAQPage schema)

## Conclusion
- Summary of key points
- CTA (download, subscribe, try, contact)

3. Draft

Writing rules:

• First sentence answers the search query (featured snippet optimization)
• Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences max)
• Use transition words between sections
• Include a relevant image/diagram every 300-400 words
• Bucket brigades to maintain engagement ("Here's the thing:", "But wait:", "It gets better:")
• Write at 8th grade reading level (Flesch-Kincaid 60-70)

4. SEO Optimize

Checklist:

• Primary keyword in: title, H1, first 100 words, URL slug, meta description
• Secondary keywords in H2s and body naturally
• Meta description: 150-160 chars, includes keyword, has CTA
• Alt text on all images (descriptive, keyword where natural)
• Internal links: 3-5 to related posts/pages
• External links: 2-3 to authoritative sources
• URL slug: short, hyphenated, includes keyword
• FAQPage schema markup for FAQ section

5. Featured Snippet Optimization

Target snippet formats:

• Paragraph snippet: Answer the question in 40-60 words directly after the H2
• List snippet: Use ordered/unordered lists with 5-8 items
• Table snippet: Use HTML tables for comparison data
• Definition snippet: "X is..." format immediately after "What is X?" heading

6. Publish Checklist

• Proofread for grammar and spelling
• All links working
• Images compressed and have alt text
• Schema markup added (Article + FAQPage)
• Open Graph tags set
• Internal links added from existing content TO this new post
• Scheduled social media promotion

References

• references/headline-formulas.md — 50+ proven headline templates
• references/blog-templates.md — Post templates by type