List Post/Listicle

What Is a List Post/Listicle?

A list post, or listicle, is a blog post that is structured as a list. Listicles are usually numbered, with each item in the list providing information or an opinion on a particular topic.

List posts can be used to provide readers with information on a wide range of topics, from the best ways to save money to the most interesting facts about animals and compilations of the best software for any particular purpose.

List posts, or “Top 10” articles are very popular among users and can be a lucrative way to generate a substantial amount of traffic to your website.

Why Are List Posts So Popular?

Now, let’s take a look at what exactly makes listicles such a good choice for your content strategy.

Both Users and Search Engines Love Listicle Posts

Listicle posts are popular among users because they are easy to read and digest.

The format is also visually appealing, which makes it more engaging for users.

Search engines love listicle posts because they are often packed with rich content and keywords.

In addition, listicles tend to be shared more often than other types of content, which helps to boost a website’s search engine ranking.

List Posts are Easy To Write and Update

There are a few reasons why list posts are easy to write and update. First, they are usually shorter than other types of posts, so they take less time to write.

Second, you can always add new items to the list, so it’s easy to keep the post up-to-date.

Also, if you’re writing a “top x product” list, all of the information you really need is available on the websites of the products you’re writing about – you don’t actually have to come up with new content.

Listicles Can Be a Treasure Trove of Information

List posts are popular because they offer readers a wealth of information in an easily digestible format.

By presenting information in a list, readers can quickly scan and find the information they are looking for.

Additionally, list posts are often shareable, meaning readers can easily share the information with their friends and followers.

As an example, just take a look at Backlinko’s list of 200+ Google ranking factors.

Benefits of Getting Featured in Listicles

Not only are listicles great content to put on your site, but list posts also make for prime link building prospects as the benefits of getting featured on them are massive.

Increased Traffic

This one is pretty straightforward – after all, all links help you generate more traffic.

However, list posts are arguably the most effective at this – especially higher-ranking articles.

List posts typically generate more traffic than regular blog posts on their own, which increases the likelihood of someone clicking on your link.

Also, the fact that listicle mentions are more than a simple link increases those chances even further.

Brand Visibility And Increased Authority

There are a few key reasons why getting featured in listicles is a great way to increase brand visibility and authority within your niche.

First, listicles are highly shareable content, which means that your brand is more likely to be seen by a wider audience.

Second, listicles are often picked up by media outlets and other websites, which can help to increase your brand’s reach and exposure.

Finally, listicles are a great way to build authority and credibility within your niche, as they are often written by industry experts.

Take, for example, Ahrefs’ top link building tools listicle.

Joshua Hardwick is a big name in SEO, and so just getting on his list will result in a huge surge of attention to your software.

Improved Click-Through Rates

It all comes back to listicle posts’ innate shareability and visually appealing structure.

Big colorful images are better at getting attention than blocks of text, especially if you get featured toward the top of the post.

Listicle Formats

Generally speaking, there are three types of listicles, differing by the amount of detail each point gets.

Simple List

As the name suggests, a simple list is the most basic type of listicle, with every item only having a brief description – one or two sentences.

Expanded List

An expanded list goes a little bit further with each listed item, and features at least one paragraph about each one.

“Best Of” List

“Best of” product, service, or strategy compilations are the most in-depth type of listicle and aim to provide as much detail about each item as possible.

For example, provide all of the outstanding features of listed products, or in-depth instructions on how to employ every listed strategy or tip.

Listicle Example

The following example is our own list post about 25 of the best outreach tools:

How To Write Great List Posts?

Despite being relatively easy content to produce, there is still a lot of thought that needs to go into a listicle post in order for it to be successful.

Let’s take a look at how to write a good listicle of your own.

Select Your Format

Selecting a format for your listicle post is an important step because it will help to determine the overall structure and flow of your post.

For example, if you are writing a listicle post about the top 10 things to do in a certain city, then you will want to make sure that your format includes an introduction, followed by 10 numbered items, and then a conclusion.

For a listicle of this type, an expanded list would likely make the most sense, or a “best of” one, if you’re thinking to include places like restaurants and museums to visit.

This type of format will help to ensure that your post is easy to read and follow, and that it covers all of the information that you want to include.

Research Your Topic

Researching your topic is important for a few reasons.

First, it allows you to get a better understanding of the subject matter.

This can help you come up with more accurate information to include in your post.

Additionally, research can help you find new and interesting facts or tidbits about your topic, which can make your post more engaging for readers.

Even if you’re already familiar with the topic you’re writing about and confident about the items you can describe off the top of your head, a few Google searches still wouldn’t hurt – oftentimes, you may find additional items to include in your list that you may have initially missed.

Finally, if you are able to back up your claims with data or other sources, it will add more credibility to your post.

Optimize Your Content

It is true that list posts are naturally keyword-rich without any sort of additional optimization.

However, once you have your content ready, it’s still a good idea to run your article through a tool like SurferSEO or MarketMuse – they are specifically designed to optimize content for your desired keywords.

Simply paste your article into the tool, type in your target keyword, and the tool will highlight exactly which related keywords should be included in the content and even exactly how many times.

This doesn’t necessarily guarantee #1 rankings for you, but it’s still better to optimize content than completely skip this step.

Promote Your Listicle

Even after your article is optimized and published, your work isn’t really done yet.

Promoting your content and building supporting backlinks to it is arguably as important as providing valuable information in your article.

How can you do that? Through email outreach, which is Respona’s primary purpose.

Feel free to refer to the following articles for step-by-step guides on specific article promotion strategies:

• Anchor text link building
• Competitor backlinks
• Guest posting

How to Get Featured in Listicles?

Finding listicle link building opportunities is pretty easy.

Just type in “top x” + your keyword and the first couple of pages of Google will make for great prospects.

However, you can automate the process almost completely with Respona.

First, create a campaign, and go to Step 1 – Find Content > Automation Setup > Keyword Search.

1. Select a search source.

2. Enter your search query.

3. Set advanced settings:

• How many results to analyze (Google provides us with the top 100 results);
• The location of your search;
• Language;

Safety filters.

4. Click “Continue”.

5. You will be taken to the metrics screen. Here, you can set additional filters such as:

• Domain Rating (available even if you don’t have an Ahrefs connected);
• Website traffic;
• Traffic value;
• Organic keywords;
• Referring domains;
• Backlinks;

To use these filters (besides DR), you will need to connect your Ahrefs account to Respona.

6. Click “Run automation”.

7. Once the automation is finished, the results will be automatically added to your campaign.

No credits will be charged for using the keyword search automation.

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Bottom Line

So, list posts (also commonly referred to as listicles) are a welcome addition to pretty much any blog on the internet, because it is an extremely attractive format for both visitors and search engines.

Writing a list posts doesn’t necessarily take as much creative effort as, say, a guide on some niche topic, and thanks to listicles’ keyword richness, they often occupy top spots on SERPs for their target keywords.