Blog post examples: 8 formats that rank, with what makes each work

Semrush defines a blog post as "a piece of writing typically published on a website's blog that presents information, opinions, experiences, or insights on a particular topic." That leaves room for very different shapes, and the shape matters: a reader who searched "trello vs asana" wants a verdict, not an essay. Below is one real post for each of eight common formats, all live on October 12, 2026, with what each does well.

Eight formats, one real example each

How-to: Ahrefs on writing a blog post

How to Write a Blog Post (That People Actually Want to Read) in 9 Steps lists all nine steps at the top, so the reader sees the whole job first, then numbers them in the order you do them. Each step pairs advice with a method, and an editor's note explains how to read search intent off the results page. Use the format when the query starts with "how to" and the answer is a sequence.

Listicle: Backlinko's SEO techniques

19 NEW SEO Techniques is a list in which every item stands alone with its own steps, which Backlinko credits for the post's reach: "Unlike most list posts, we gave people detailed steps for each tip." By Backlinko's own count it has over 14,000 social shares and 9,000 backlinks from more than 1,000 domains. Lists suit plural queries (tips, ideas, ways) and travel well socially: Backlinko and BuzzSumo's 2019 study of 912 million posts found list posts got 218% more shares than how-to posts.

Comparison: Zapier's Trello vs. Asana

Trello vs. Asana: Which PM tool is better? opens with an at-a-glance verdict, gives each criterion a section whose heading is the conclusion ("Asana has more useful AI features"), and closes with "Choose Trello if" and "Choose Asana if." A closing note records that it was first published in 2019 and last updated in May 2025. Use the format for "X vs Y" queries, where the reader needs a decision, not two descriptions.

Case study: Backlinko's Content Upgrade

How To Boost Conversions by 785% in One Day leads with the result, an email conversion rate that went from 0.54% to 4.82%, names the technique (the Content Upgrade), and then turns it into five steps a reader can repeat. Backlinko says the name is much of why it earns links: the post has over 2,100 backlinks from more than 780 domains. Use the format when you have results of your own; it is the one format a competitor cannot copy.

Explainer: Ahrefs on what SEO is

What is SEO and Why Does It Matter for Your Website? defines the term in its first sentence, grounds it in an example (a coffee seller showing up for "buy coffee"), then works outward: why it matters, how search engines work, how SEO works, and an FAQ. It names a reviewer and an update date. Explainers answer "what is" queries and make strong evergreen content; the broadest become the pillar page of a topic and are never finished: Backlinko says it has updated its link building guide "at least 50 times."

Roundup: Zapier's best AI writing generators

The 6 Best AI Writing Generators in 2026 explains how the apps were chosen before naming any: the writer had "more than 50 different AI writing tools to test," and Zapier states it is never paid for placement. Each pick carries a "best for" label, and a table near the top lets a skimmer decide without reading on. Use the format for "best X" queries, and only for things you have actually tried.

Opinion: Morgan Housel's Best Story Wins

Best Story Wins, on Collaborative Fund's blog, makes one argument, that the best-told idea beats the best idea, and carries it with stories about Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens and Charles Darwin. Ahrefs uses Housel's writing as its example of a counter-intuitive angle. Opinion posts rarely target a keyword; they earn readers, links and a reputation, and need a view you will defend.

News or update: Google's March 2024 core update post

What web creators should know about our March 2024 core update and new spam policies is dated, leads with what changed and why, tells readers what they have to do ("There's nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they've been making satisfying content meant for people"), defines each new policy with an example, and answers the obvious follow-ups under question headings. News wins attention fast and loses it as fast, so it works best beside evergreen pages.

What the good examples have in common

The format matches the query: search "date ideas" and, as Ahrefs points out, every result is a list. The title says what the reader gets, and the answer or the verdict arrives early. Each post contains something the writer had and the competition did not: Zapier's testing, Backlinko's conversion numbers, Housel's argument. That is the test in Google's self-assessment: "Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?" Matching the format to the query and adding something new are the core of SEO content writing, whatever the shape. And most are dated and maintained, which is the unglamorous half that our post on hands-free organic growth calls the maintenance loop nobody schedules.

A format is how you cover a subject, not what you cover. Your content pillars decide the subjects; each one can take several formats, and a healthy blog mixes them.

How to pick the format for your post

Start from how the query is phrased, then confirm on the results page:

The query looks like	Format	Example above
how to ..., how do I ...	How-to	Ahrefs
... tips, ... ideas, ways to ...	Listicle	Backlinko
X vs Y, X or Y	Comparison	Zapier
best ..., top ...	Roundup	Zapier
what is ..., ... meaning	Explainer	Ahrefs
rarely searched; earns links and trust	Case study, opinion	Backlinko, Housel
time-bound; earns attention now	News or update	Google

Semrush maps the formats onto the funnel: how-tos and listicles for readers new to a problem, guides, case studies and comparisons for readers who know you, reviews and demos for readers ready to act. Whatever the shape, the writing steps are the same; our post on writing a blog entry walks through them on WordPress.

How Structura handles this

Structura writes the evergreen formats on this page. Each post targets a keyword from the campaign's bank of informational queries, and on paid plans it reads the pages currently ranking for that keyword first, so its headings follow the pattern the results use rather than a fixed template: an explainer where the results explain, a step-by-step where they instruct, a comparison where they compare, a list where they list.

Three formats it does not write: case studies, opinion pieces and news. A case study needs your results, an opinion needs your view, and news needs timing, and a keyword bank of queries that stay searched supplies none of them. What you can do is add them at the review step: in approval mode every post waits as a draft until you publish it, which is the moment to paste in a client result or a line you would defend. The WordPress AI writer page shows what a finished post includes.

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