Top 5 Blog Formats That Lead to More Traffic & Sales

Content creation continues to be one of the most important aspects of digital marketing. Nearly 80 percent of companies today have it as part of their marketing strategy.

However, when you're creating written content, keep in mind that some formats are more consistent in generating traffic than others.

Let's take a look at these and how you can implement them in your brand's strategy. 

Top Blog Formats for Driving Website Traffic & Sales Conversions

1. Listicles

It's often been criticized by writing purists as a dumbed-down version of journalism only meant to get clicks, but it's hard to deny that listicles are effective, getting twice as much traffic and shares as other blog formats.

A listicle is essentially an article with a list about the subject and additional details written about every list item. This style makes the information easier to digest because each point is already highlighted for the reader. If they want to go to a certain part, the subheadings help speed up their search. 

Listicles typically have blunt and attention-grabbing titles such as "5 Fast & Free Ways to Get More Traffic to Your Website" or 10 Ways to Get Subscribers to a New Blog (Without Spending a Dime on Ads) and the like. It lets the audience know just what kind of article they're getting into by title alone. 

Listicles are also popular among marketers because they can work in nearly every niche.

For instance, a bodybuilding trainer can make a listicle about their low-calorie meal recipes for building muscle. Meanwhile, an animal shelter's listicle could be about the behavioral issues adopters might face when owning rescue dogs. You can supplement your lists with images to make your content more appealing to visual-oriented audiences. 

2. How-To Posts

How-to articles are guides for readers who want to know how to do something step-by-step. 

They're another popular writing format in marketing because they can generate as many shares and traffic as listicles do. How-to posts can also generate traffic long after being published since people often keep coming back for the instructions they offer.

As with list posts, many niches can also use how-to articles. For example, a gardening expert might make a guide on growing a particular plant in urban settings. 

Although you may already be intimately familiar with the topic, you still ought to cite references such as studies or articles from valid sources. A credible and comprehensible how-to guide is more likable for readers and makes them more likely to search for more tips on your site. 

You'll also want to outline the process first so that your instructions will be more organized. 

Moreover, it would help to consider who you're writing for.

Are you making the how-to article with younger audience in mind? 

If so, you should consider simplifying your vocabulary to make your content more understandable to young readers. 

3. Data-Driven Article / Case Study

Does your target audience value data when making decisions?

A case study is a self-promotional analysis that shows how something—be it your product, service, strategy, and so on—brought significant results for you or a customer.

Presenting legitimately gathered data helps drive traffic and generate leads as the target audience will find your content, brand, and product more credible. Case studies can even lead to a 185 percent sales increase. 

Case studies need to be structured for readers to comprehend your data easily. It should present your case's goals, challenges, methodology, and results clearly.

Graphs, charts, and other images also help make your case study more visually attractive and less boring. 

Marketers usually make case studies in PDF formats to be downloaded on websites or in email marketing campaigns. However, you can build a dedicated web page and display a link on your homepage with a call-to-action to make it easier for visitors to find. You may also share it on other platforms that you use, such as social media, for more visibility. 

4. Product Reviews

Reviews convince consumers more than advertisements do.

Reviews affect the purchasing decision for 95 percent of customers, while 93 percent determine a brand's quality based on reviews. More than 50 percent will likely visit your website if they read a good review about you. 

If you want to drive more relevant site traffic and attract customers, then you should feature reviews in your content.

For instance, you can make a blog post featuring and tagging a niche social media influencer that made a product video review. Since they share niches, your target audience will likely recognize the influencer and read or watch your content. This can also convince the visitor to buy your products too. 

You can also show customer feedback from more famous review sites to boost your credibility. A hotel restaurant website could feature TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews, while a software developer could highlight testimonials from Capterra. 

Don't be afraid of getting negative feedback.

Deleting bad reviews or even making fake positive ratings only makes your brand more suspicious to consumers. Instead, you can respond to criticisms accordingly and improve from your mistakes.

Good customer service builds a good reputation, making people more curious about your business and visit your website. 

5. Success Stories

Another way to generate more traffic is by turning a case study into a customer's success story.

Suppose an application developer made a study for a successful app they sold to a client. The story could reveal that the client was nearly bankrupt and the app saved their business. 

Instead of just providing cold facts, success stories entertain and create an emotional connection with the audience.

The narrative makes them sympathetic and interested in your brand's values and services, thus bringing more people to your website. Of course, you'll need to interview a willing customer first so that you'll know the story of how they found you and how you helped them. 

Conclusion

Consistently writing blog posts is no easy task, but you can remove some of the guesswork and make the writing process a lot simpler by choosing the top most successful formats for your blog post.

Experiment with writing each type to see which ones are the easiest to complete or give you the best results for your brand. 

You could also hire an expert to help you write well-formatted, highly engaging blog posts that get more traffic, more shares, and more sales.