One of my favorite parts of marketing is content strategy and building an effective, efficient blogging workflow. There are so many different tactics for planning, developing, and organizing various types of content to help deliver value for prospects and customers, making the process of finding the right combination that fits you and your organization both challenging and rewarding. Plus, the results of your work can often be immediately measurable, giving you quick feedback on if your content process is working.

Using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, and Microsoft Clarity, you are able to see metrics like your web traffic, ranking keywords, and even actual screen recordings of your visitors. There is no better feedback on your content process than that, giving you plenty of opportunities for continuous improvement.

In this article, I will share my step-by-step process for researching and developing new blog posts. I have continuously improved this process over time in order to publish content that ranks fast, sometimes in only a matter of days after publishing. For this specific post, I will be using my target keyword, “blogging workflow” as my real life example.

STEP 1: Choosing a Topic

It is not uncommon for a blogger to sit down, knowing they have to (and want to) write a blog post but find themselves not sure what to write. Trust me, I’ve been there more times than I would like to admit. This is where having a process and some lists ready to go is really the best way to go.

For this phase of my blogging process, the first decision point is where I decide if there is a current initiative or project I am working on that needs blog content.  For example, currently I am working on a landing page dedicated to the topic of Kaizen, and I need a library of content on Kaizen to support the page. If a project like this is the priority, and I am in the mood to work on that type of content, then I reference my project file for the different types of related content I need to write about and go on to the next step in my process.

If I don’t have any special projects that need blog content, I do have another list of potential topics I want to write about that I can reference and work from. This list currently exists in Google Sheets, but I am moving this to a Microsoft Access database so it is easier to manage.

If I don’t have a specific project I am currently working on that needs content, and I am not feeling anything on my backlog list of ideas, I will jump into SEMrush and do a Keyword Gap analysis where I can find some great ideas for topics I am lagging behind my competitors on. This tactic usually will be the last one needed for this step because if I can’t find anything in SEMrush, I am not hungry enough to write anything that day.

While this is not part of my defined blogging process, occasionally I will tap into Google Trends to look for opportunities, but that is pretty rare. I mention it because it is a great tool for bloggers that is often forgotten about.

My Use (or Lack Thereof) of a Content Calendar

I should note that I don’t really use a content calendar to plan my content out in advance. Any use of a calendar tool to plan content publishing would only occur if I am working on a specific time-driven project. It is not that I don’t find an editorial calendar to be effective, because I absolutely do, especially for larger content teams. However, since it is just me and my blog, I like the flexibility of being able to pick topics as I go.

STEP 2: Outlining and Keyword Research

Now that I have my topic selected, I start the process of researching my blog article. This is a multi-step process that is constantly evolving as I learn more about how my process can be continuously improved and learn about new tools I can use.  As of May 2022, here are the steps I take to build an outline and understand my keyword targeting.

Google Ads Keyword Planner

Everything starts with pulling up Google Ads Keyword Planner tool. There, I am spending time plugging in keywords I think I might be interested in targeting for my article topic. This task is a lot of trying some keywords and phrases, taking some out, refining the list, etc. Basically it is a lot of trial and error to get around what I am looking for.

The strategy I am aiming for is low volume, low competition keywords with a little indication of year-over-year and three month growth. In regards to low volume, I am usually looking for keywords between 50-250 average searches per month, although if I am having a hard time finding anything good in that range, I will expand my filter to up to 500. My goal with that is to find keywords I can rank for relatively quickly.  I am definitely not afraid to go after the super low end of that 50-250 range either, because if you are using Google Ads Keyword Planner in your research stage, you have to remember that the average monthly search volume number is not the absolute truth.  Treat it as directional.

For example, in late 2020, I was targeting a SIPOC Diagram keyword which Keyword Planner was only showing had an average monthly search volume of 140. I have several ranking keywords for the blog post I created for that keyword, many of them in the top 10, of which none are in the top three, yet I am getting over 140 organic search visitors on that post. That tells me that the articles in the top five are getting a lot more traffic than me at this point, and that will be well above 140!  So the pie is bigger than what Google Ads Keyword Planner originally told me. So my tip would be, don’t shy away from sub-250 search volume keywords.

So once I have all of my keywords in the Keyword Planner view, I export that list to Google Sheets.  I clean the file up a little bit, deleting columns I don’t need and then get to work sorting the keywords and applying some of my top secret logic to determine the final keyword I am going to target.

Then I import this list into a master Microsoft Access database I am building that stores all of the keywords I have researched in Google Ads Keyword Planner for future reference and analysis. More on that later.

Keyword Surfer Chrome Extension and AI Outline Generator by Surfer SEO

My next step is to open up a fresh Google search page and utilize two free tools by Surfer SEO. I take my target keyword from my analysis in Keyword Planner and plug it in the search box. Surfer SEO’s “Keyword Surfer” Google Chrome Extension provides some great insight for each link in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page).  Below is an image of what is displayed that I pay attention to.

For each result, there are three icons, each with a corresponding number: a magnifying glass, a book, and a key.

• The magnifying glass shows you that site’s estimated monthly traffic

• The book shows the number of words on the page the link goes to

• The key shows the exact number of times the keyword is used on the linked page

This information is absolutely key for me to see what content is already ranking for the target keyword. I scan everything on page 1 of the SERP and even click into many of the articles to read the content.  This step really helps me understand what I need to do to outrank this content.

On that same SERP, on the side of the screen is Surfer SEO’s other tool, the AI Outline Generator.  This tool allows me to click one button to generate a content outline I can use to get started organizing my content production process.

While the outline generator can be hit-or-miss depending on your target keyword, I find it is still worth using to give you some ideas on how you can outline your blog post. I usually take parts of the results and build my own outline, but it gives you a starting point and can give you some ideas to cover that you maybe had not thought about.

STEP 3: The Writing Workflow

Now that I have researched some of the top performing content currently available for my target keyword, and have an outline of my H2s and H3s, it is time to start my writing process.

All of my writing is done in Google Docs. At the top of the document I type in my target keyword, just to keep it front and center for me and as a reminder to include it in my blog title, URL, and first 100 words of my post.

There are two tools I use to help support my blog workflow.  They are Jasper and RankIQ.

Jasper for AI Content Creation

AI writer services are a controversial topic in content strategy circles right now. Are they good? Are they bad? Are they cheating?  In my opinion, they are none of those. AI content services, like Jasper, are great for assisting your writing and help make it better.

I use Jasper for the majority of my posts, but not to write the entire thing. All AI writing apps, including Jasper, still lack some of the human writing and reading skills, so to maintain your voice inside of your blog post, you really need to take the lead in writing, but use these AI tools to help build out certain ideas in more depth.

For example, sometimes starting a blog post is difficult. Jasper does a great job giving me a little nudge to get me started.

Jasper is great at writing background, informational content, but obviously can’t write about your personal experience with a topic.  This blog post you are reading right now, has no Jasper copy in it at all. This entire post is about my blogging process, which Jasper has no insight into.

RankIQ for Support with Title Building, Required Word Count, and LSI Phrases

I first started using RankIQ last year (October 2021). RankIQ is one of my favorite AI SEO tools because it helps me with a couple of the important tactics of getting a blog post written.

First, RankIQ provides me with suggestions on how to construct the perfect post title, showing me the best keywords to use for a title, as well as some of the current best performing titles in Google right now, for inspiration.

Secondly, RankIQ provides a recommended word count I should aim for in order to have a good chance of outranking the competition.

Finally, and in my opinion the best feature of RankIQ, is the list of LSIs you should include in your post. These LSIs are often overlooked by blog writers, but I have found that these LSIs have been the difference between a blog post that lags in performance versus one that ranks quickly, sometimes in a matter of days.

How do I know the LSI phrases are making an impact?  During content analysis exercises in SEMrush, I can see all the different keywords a post is ranking for. It is not uncommon to see some of these LSIs show up in these keywords.  So as I write, I work these LSIs into my copy.

After a few hours of writing, I am usually good with my draft and move onto the next part of my blogging workflow.

STEP 4: Editing, Internal Links, Images, Multimedia, Affiliate Links, and SEO Elements

After all the copy is written, I move onto some final elements that need to be completed before I can publish.

RankIQ Returns for One Last Task

In the previous section I mentioned some of the great features RankIQ provides during the copywriting process, but RankIQ’s work is not done yet.  RankIQ provides a “content optimizer” that evaluates your copy and gives it a grade and a recommended grade to shoot for. The content optimizer is looking at headings, word count, keyword placement, and use of LSI phrases to give you a grade.  If your grade exceeds the recommended grade, you are good. If it is lower, I recommend going in and making edits to bring the grade up.

Speaking from experience, content I have published that passes successfully through the content optimizer outperforms anything I write that I do not use the optimizer for.

Internal Links

This is a part of my process I am currently trying to improve. I have a lot of blog articles, and most of them have some relation to another. Where I know these exist, I will make sure to build some internal links between posts.  Right now this is largely manual process, but I am trying to build a solution to address this in my new content tracking system.

Images and Multimedia

Throughout the entire blogging workflow process, this is the one part I dislike the most. Here I spend as little amount of time as possible to find images, videos, and anything else I can include in the blog post.  I use Canva for any custom images I need to make.  If I have a YouTube video I made to include, I will, otherwise I have no issue embedding any video from another creator that supports the content in my post.

Affiliate Link Insertion

I am not a part of many affiliate programs, but if there is one that needs to be include in the blog post, this is where I find the best place and method to include the affiliate link.

SEO Elements

The final step I take before hitting “publish” is to create some SEO-specific copy.  First, I create the URL I want for the post, focusing on including the keyword. Secondly, I will write the meta description for the post.

STEP 5: PUBLISH!

Now it is finally time to hit the PUBLISH button! Now the post is live… but my work for this specific post is not done yet.

STEP 6: Post-Publish Workflow: Search Engine Submissions, Social Promotion, Content Tracking System Updates, Email Distribution (WIP)

The final step in my blogging workflow is some important housekeeping items that cannot be forgotten about.

Search Engine Submissions to Google and Bing

Right after I have a blog post completed and published, the first step I take is to submit the URL to the search engines. For this, I go into Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and use their individual tools for submitting the new URL. This is a quick and easy step that only takes a few minutes. Usually, within 6-12 hours, I start seeing signals the search bots have crawled my content. For Google, I usually get a Google Alert email for my name, which was picked up from the new post. Don’t skip this step!

Social Promotion

Depending on the subject of the content, I will post the blog link to one or more social media sites. While I do measure clicks and engagement from these social sites, first and foremost, I am using this tactic to send signals to the search engines. The primary social media channels I publish to are: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Content Tracking System Updates

In this step in the content workflow, I record some data about the new blog post in my content tracking system. I record the blog post’s URL, publish date, word count, target keyword, if the content is monetized, if it is sponsored content, and if I used AI to help write the some or all of the copy.  This is currently housed in a Google Sheets workbook, but I am in the process of developing my own proprietary content tracking system in Microsoft Access, because it will be able to scale better as my library of content scales.

Email Distribution (WIP)

Right now I do not have an active email marketing process, but am working on the plan for one. When that is in place, this is the step where I will include the new piece of content into a future email send and add it to a subscriber journey.

Done! What to Expect Moving Forward

That’s it. That is my entire process for publishing a blog post! Every post is different, depending on the topic, but for the most part, this whole process takes me between 5-10 hours. While much time is invested in this process, especially if you are publishing 4-8 posts per month like me, but it is all worth it when you login Google Analytics and see your content getting visitors!

I am publishing this on May 5, 2022.  This was a new idea I have wanted to do for awhile, so my plan is to update this post whenever there is a notable update.  This post is a little bit outside of my normal content, and is targeting a keyword a little lower than I would normally go after, so I am not sure what is going to happen. But if anything does, I will update it here.