Publishing how-to posts and listicles are great ways of keeping readers engaged.

How-to posts are loved by searchers and publishers alike because they are actionable, shareable, and offer a good reader experience for the former and are easier to create for the latter.

Listed below are easy SEO techniques you can apply to ensure your listicles and how-to posts appear at the top of Google and more people find them.

Option 1: Use proper headings and formatting

Simple formatting techniques can be used to pinpoint the important content areas and help search engines understand that it is a how-to or list post. Using an H1 tag for the post title and H2 tags for each step will make your article eligible to appear as a featured snippet on Google for relevant searches.

This method is easy to implement and can make a huge difference in your traffic, especially if your article is positioned on page one on Google, but doesn’t appear as the top search.

Even if you don’t follow this structure, your article may still rank. But since every little bit helps when it comes to SEO, this small change can have a big impact on your how-to article’s rankings.

Option 2: Use the HTML list element (ul)

By using the HTML list element, you can optimize for search by helping the Google crawler identify the main areas of your list or how-to post. This method enables crawlers to identify the list items even if other headings exist in your content. Gathering the list items together in a

element makes crawling a lot easier for readers.

To sum up, if your article exclusively consists of steps or lists items, the first option is the way to go. But, if your how-to post has other sections, the second option is more appropriate.

Option 3: Use the HTML list element (ul) and named anchors

Creating internal links for each list item takes it a step further and fully optimizes the way your list posts appear in search results. The process is similar to Option 2 but with an additional step – add a named anchor to each list element and link to each anchor in your list.

Having the list items as internal links enhances the appearance of search snippets which leads to a higher click-through rate (CTR) and increases the organic traffic to your website. This technique also improves the interaction rate and reduces the bounce rate as visitors stay on your website longer.

Option 4: Implement the how-to schema

The fourth method involves writing a few lines of script and is a bit more complicated. You might need to hire a developer if you’re not well versed with coding but it is a worthwhile investment, especially if your website has a lot of how-to content. If most traffic is coming from mobile phones, Option 4 – the how-to schema – is perfect for you.

Lastly, it is essential to track and monitor the performance of the updated how-to and list posts using the relevant Google Analytics tools. That is the only way you can know what’s working and what’s not and if you need to look into other options.

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