Skip to main content

When you sit down to write an article, where do you start? There are many different ways to write an article, but if you have a content outline handy, it makes the process much easier. 

I often hear that creating a blog or article outline is difficult. Some people even say it’s intimidating as they feel like they’re constricting their creativity.

But is it really so?

True, there are a lot of steps to creating a content outline.

True, it can be tedious and time-consuming.

And yes… it’s true, it takes time.

And you know what?

From my experience, it’s worth the effort though.

Whenever I want to write an article, I outline it first. Why? It helps me to figure out what my topics will be before I start writing.

This way I can ensure that it brings the desired results every time, not just randomly generate the relevant traffic.

I use a structured content outline (a very detailed one). I tested it. It brings results. I will provide you with my content outline example at the end of the article.

So what are we going to talk about?

In this practical how-to guide, we’ll walk through the process of creating a content outline from start to finish including:

  • how to do research,
  • what information is important in your outline, and
  • ways you can make your content stand out with formatting tips.

So, sit back, and relax!

relax
via GIPHY

Let’s get to the bottom of how to write an article outline!

TL;DR

  • A content outline is a roadmap for an article, and it is a tool used for organizing any kind of content.
  • Creating an outline helps organize your thoughts and ideas, ensuring that your final product is well-developed and cohesive.
  • Proper research before writing ensures that the article covers all topics of interest to your audience, adding value to the reader.
  • Outlining makes it easier for readers to follow, quickly finding the topic they are looking for without skimming.
  • Outlining reduces the chances of writer’s block, offering inspiration to the writer.
  • A clear outline enables scaling content creation and writing processes, publishing multiple blog posts or articles each day.
  • An outline can save money by reducing content creation costs.
  • A detailed content outline may seem tedious and time-consuming, but it is worth the effort.
  • A content outline provides a structured approach to writing, making the final product much more effective.
  • Using content outline tools can significantly increase the efficiency of the content creation process. For example, one such tool is SEOwind, a sample content outline generator.

What Is Content Outline?

A content outline is a list of the topics that you will cover in your article or blog post. It can be as simple as a few bullet points, or it can be more detailed with sub-points and specific information about each topic.

A content outline of an article is a roadmap for your content. It’s an overview of what content it will include. You can treat the content outline as a skeleton of an article or blog post. It’s like a blueprint. It helps you make your final draft. You should make it part of your content strategy.

A content outline is a tool used for organizing any kind of content you’re making. It’s especially useful for writing comprehensive blog posts or articles with different sections. It is also valuable for websites.

Why should you create an outline?

One of the key things people always ask is how important or why you need an outline for an article. Some might consider it time-consuming or process that’s unnecessary. But you’re mistaken. An article outline is crucial for the final output – a well-structured article with the right keywords and all the important details. So, check out these few reasons why you should have an outline for an article and what kind of benefits using the content outline for an article, blog post, or website have. 

1. Structure keeps your thoughts well organized

The key benefit of creating a blog outline or outline of an article is that it helps you to organize your thoughts and ideas before you start writing. This ensures that your final product is well-developed and cohesive, including all the information useful from the reader’s perspective, rather than a collection of random thoughts that are difficult to follow.

It helps you to stay focused on major points and structure your information.

You can easily rearrange the order of your topics, or omit them altogether if needed.

If you directly start writing an article, you might miss out on crucial elements or sometimes mess up the flow. Your content might be all over the place without any proper structure. This might hamper your quality as it might be difficult for the reader to follow. So, when you have a content outline, you can plan your structure and write the content accordingly

2. Deliver more value to your reader

Proper research before you start writing will ensure that you’re covering all the topics that are of interest to your audience. This will help you to uncover their interests, needs, questions they ask, and problems they are trying to resolve. You will stop guessing and bring more relevant content to your audience.

3. It’s easy to follow for your reader

Another benefit of outlining your content is that it makes it easier for readers to follow. By providing a clear structure, they can quickly find the topic that they are looking for without having to skim through a lengthy article.

4. No More Writer’s Block

Outlines are a lifesaver. They help you to avoid writer’s block. If you find yourself stuck on what to write about next, simply look at your outline for inspiration.

You don’t need to interrupt your creative flow by researching: what you need to write next. Everything is stated there. Right and clear.

5. Scale Content Creation and its Quality

Content outlines also allow you to scale the content creation and writing process. Instead of having one or two articles per week, you can instead focus on quality and publish multiple blog posts or articles each day.

Why is it possible?

With a clear outline, it is much easier to outsource writing content to external or internal copywriters. The writer, even if not from your industry, will know exactly what they need to write about.

6. Reduced Content Creation Costs

An outline will also save you money.

Just imagine: you are asking an external copywriter to write an article. You just give them a topic, without an outline, without any directions.

If you do so, you can be almost sure that they will provide you with content that is easy for them to write, not necessarily the one you were looking for.

Try once, and you will never do it again.

And if you want your content to rank and take into account also SEO technicalities, then you can be 100% sure that without directions it will not happen.

What does it mean for you?

You will need to spend time fixing the weak draft. And money is time. An outline can help you reduce these costs.

A good outline means increased collaboration, clear expectations, higher content quality, quicker delivery, and lower costs.

Just imagine how beautiful and effortless your content creation and reviews could be.

7. Produce content that drives traffic

Last but not least. Outlines help you produce content that drives traffic because it matches what your audience is searching for. You are no longer creating random content, but relevant content that people will be interested in reading.

If you strengthen your content outline with some SEO aspects.

Bum.

This is where the magic will happen.

content outline magic
Photo by Almos Bechtold on Unsplash

You will soon see how it positively influences traffic and conversions.

8. Ensure SEO optimization

Having a perfect article outline gives you the training to have the right keywords ready. So, when you write the article later, you will already know the proper keywords to include in the article.  

Now that you understand the basics of content outlining, it’s time to put those skills into practice.

How to Outline an Article: A Step-By-Step Walkthrough

The purpose of a content outline is to help you organize your thoughts and plan out your content.

It can be as simple as writing down the main points of your article as you develop the idea in your head. You could likely do it from the top of your head.

Wait. Don’t do it that way.

Do the proper research.

So how to outline an article? How to outline a blog post? What information should you gather before writing an outline? These are probably the questions that are going through your mind right now.

make plan outline
Source: Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Let’s get started on how to create and use a content outline: 

Step #1: Define your topic

There are certain steps you need to do to start writing an outline.

The first step is to do your research. Find out what the topic is about, what people are searching for, and what you can offer that is unique and valuable.

Keyword research

Find the right target keyword. Find the one that is relevant to your audience and your website. You can use tools like:

  • Google’s Keyword Planner
  • Semrush
  • Ahrefs

There are plenty of them that can support you in this process.

I usually start my content brief by listing keywords at the top of my outline. This will become handy when you’re gathering information and drafting.

By keeping all of the relevant keywords in your outline, you won’t have to switch back and forth between platforms while you’re working on your outline and, later, writing.

After you’ve figured out what people are searching for, you may examine the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for that topic.

Analyze the search intent behind the keyword

Before you start writing, think about who your article is aimed at. This will help you better target your content and make sure that it is useful and interesting for your audience.

Look into user search intent.

What do I mean by search intent?

Simply said, it’s the “why” behind a search query. What is someone hoping to achieve by making this search?

The simplest way to understand search intent? Google your target keyword and look at the SERPs. Let’s take the content outline as an example. 

content outline google results

For “content outline” I see that the search intent is informational. People want to learn more about the content outline, what it is and how to make one. This explains why almost all search results are articles.

Decision: I’ll need to write a blog article to raise my chances of ranking for this term.

Analyzing and understanding search intent will help you choose the right angle. The appropriate angle can help you edge out of the competition.

Analyze top-ranking articles

When you analyze the top-ranked articles on your topic, you will be able to understand what template reaches the audience, what kind of content resonates with the target audience, and other key details. It will also help you develop a unique angle that has yet to be explored. 

Add takeaways into large sections

Let your ideas flow naturally, and write down the key takeaways of your blog. What are the takeaways? This is basically what you want your readers to know through this blog. Write different key takeaways that help you get multiple ideas and unique content. Suppose you write about an outline. You can always think of ideas like whether you can include visuals, what is a basic template for the content outline, how to write a content outline for a post, etc. You can use these takeaways to add headings to your content. 

Step #2: Define the value 

Ask yourself those questions:

  • What sets your content apart?
  • What is the unique perspective that you’re bringing to this topic?
  • What kind of value will your content bring?

After you know your target keyword and understand the search intent, it’s time to identify your angle.

Your angle is what will make your content stand out from the rest of the articles on the topic.

Determine your working title

Choose the working title. It doesn’t have to be the final one, but it should show direction.

A great article title should be:

  • Attention-grabbing – This one is obvious. Your title has to attract your audience’s attention so that they click on it. Google also pays attention to this factor when ranking your content. A good rule of thumb is to use numbers in titles and some powerful words.
  • Specific – The more specific your title is, the better. It will help you rank for long-tail keywords and people will know what to expect when they click on your content and read it.
  • Actionable – Your title should also be actionable. It should tell the reader what they will learn from your article, and how it will contribute value.

Let’s get back to the SERPs. Here are the results for “content outline”:

content outline top SERP

You can easily notice that Google is prioritizing guides and how-to articles. Seems right, as the content should be educational and informational.

Would be nice to be in the first position, right? In most situations, it is doable!

So dig deeper.

To obtain the top spot, you’ll need to produce original and in-depth material. Also known as skyscraper content.

By researching the SERPs in detail you can get more insights into:

Step#3: Create headings and subheadings for your article

Finally!

We arrived at the step where you can build the outline of how you know it.

You already have H1 from your previous step. In my case, it is “….”

So now you can jump into H2s, H3s, and H4s if needed.

Write the sections you need and SEO requirements. A basic section outline would look like 

  • Introduction
  • Heading 2
    • Heading 3
    • Heading 3
  • Heading 2
    • Heading 3
    • Heading 3
  • Conclusion

Let me give you some hints on how you can approach it:

  • Look through the SERPs and identify the headings you would like to include in your outline,
  • Structure them in the correct order,
  • Add additional value. What questions do your customers ask? What challenges do they face regarding this topic? Add your experience to the outline to make it more valuable.
  • Try to name the headings in a meaningful way so that they convey a message and it is easy to understand what kind of information can be found in certain sections.
  • Each header should correspond to a major search item associated with the main key term. 

How many headings should my outline have?

If you’re wondering how many headings your outline should have, we’ve got it covered. Just check out our video!

The foundation of your outline is your headings. It’s time to arrange your data once you’ve created them.

Step #4: Give context under headings

You can always go a step further!

Include in the content outline not only headings but also context.

You can think of it as adding some muscles to your skeleton. Or even dressing it up a bit.

Why is it worth the effort?

Your content writer will know specifically what they need to write about. Clear and concise. Taking guessing off the table.

  • Bullet points are fine.
  • Consider what you want the reader to take away from each section. What will they learn from this article step by step?
  • Add statistics and internal links –
  • If you know of any up-to-date stats add them to the outline. Adding relevant data makes your article more recognizable.
  • Do you have internal content that pairs well with what you write? Add the links as well.

Step #5: Add questions to your Outline

Look at the questions your target audience is asking related to the topic.

Where?

There are a couple of places that come in handy here:

  • Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ (PAA)

The ‘People Also Ask‘ box appears in the SERP and provides questions that searchers are asking (relating to your keyword). This helps you know what the readers are looking for on the internet.

Suppose you type a perfect content outline. You might find questions like how to outline a blog, why a content outline is necessary, etc. This will help you understand what other details you can include in your content. 

If you want to access it, just type your keyword and see if any questions come up:

people also ask for content outline

If you’re using Ahrefs, go to Keywords Explorer. Enter your target keyword. In the questions section, you can see some more examples of what is interesting to people:

ahrefs questions for content outline
Source: ahrefs

Additional tips:

  • For further inspiration, you can investigate Quora or Reddit.
  • If you use these questions as headings (or subheadings) in your article or blog post it might appear as a featured snippet.

Step #6: Additional information helpful in the content outline

Introduction and conclusion in the content outline

Treat it as a bonus task when creating an outline.

From my experience, it’s a good idea to have the introduction and conclusion in full. It provides a clear goal of the article and states what the audience will learn from it.

A couple of things more.

  • Don’t make your introduction or conclusion longer than 150 words on average. A few extra or fewer words won’t hurt you. They’re the article’s entrance and exit doors, so they don’t have to be excessively long.
  • Introduction – think of this section as a hook for the reader and a way to pull them down the page.
  • Conclusion – In conclusion, you need to summarize everything that your reader has learned up to this point and put an end to the arguments that you have been making. Put final punctuation here. If there is a call to action, label it in your outline.

Well, we’ve arrived at the end. I hope it makes sense to create your content outline as an additional step before creating the actual article.

Include links, examples, or data

You can include the examples you want to write or add data you have collected. This means you have identified some good arguments to support your point. So, adding links or data to your section will keep you organized, and you can support your claims. This process will also save a lot of time when you write your blog. 

Sample content outline

For starters, here is a sample outline for an article. The content outline should include:

  • Topic – working title
  • Headings and Subheadings (content structure)
  • Critical points under the subheadings, if needed
  • Relevant Questions
  • Target keywords – categorized into most important to least important

It would help if you always started your content outline with the article’s topic. Then, after you identify the topic, search for the right keywords. Of course, the keywords are crucial in different ways. But the first thing you can try is to include an essential keyword in the title of the article. After that, you can plan your headings and subheadings after doing a little research about the topic. 

You can use the keywords within the article. Sometimes you can use them as subheadings as well. After you get the keywords right, decide on the article’s tone. Besides identifying the title and subheadings, you should also clearly know what the goal of your content is because the goal is also what determines the tone and structure of the article. You should also make sure you know who you are writing it for. As in, who is your target audience? Finally, it would help if you also learned about the USP of your content to highlight it in the article and get better reach. 

There is no single way to do your outline, but including these elements in the outline will make your article much easier to write. 

Optional ideas for a content outline

Here are the optional ideas to add:

  • Create introduction and conclusion – It is easier to write when you already have an introduction ready while drafting the outline. For most of us, writing content and starting to write takes a longer time. Starring at a blank page is something we all dread. So, you can come up with an intro when you sit down to write the outline. Clearing writer’s block or starting trouble away from your path, you can quickly start writing the article. Write a conclusion also, so it makes the writing process simple. 
  • Add data or visuals – You can add additional data, links, or visuals to your outline that will later help you build an article. When you have stats or links, you can add them to your article outline. So, you will know what other details you can include in the content. 
  • Add details you think of – You can always have random thoughts and ideas when you think of the topic. Sometimes when you sit down to write, you might forget the details you had thought of. But you don’t want to forget those details while writing later. So, write these details in the outline and ensure you don’t miss the information or details. 

Create a content outline with SEOwind

When you try to draft a perfect content outline, it is vital to focus on keywords and data-driven topics and create more content that brings more profit. Then, you can add content on autopilot mode and drive quality traffic. But to do all these, you need more than just human resources. An AI-powered tool like SEOwind will help you make SEO-supported content outlines more quickly and easily.

We've prepared a separate tutorial covering all steps of SEOwind brief creation process. To learn more visit: How to create a content brief with SEOwind? Best practices in SEOwind

Streamlining your content creation process is essential and will aid in faster target reach. In addition, you can create a more reliable space that will generate profit. SEOwind offers a detailed content brief along with keywords which helps your content writers and copywriters not only draft a perfect content outline but also produce quality content that will help your website rank higher. 

Tools like SEOwind will act as an SEO keyword generator and an AI content writer. This combination helps curate SEO-optimised content. SEO data is often difficult to filter and use. But with SEOwind, you can get filtered, analyzed and ready-to-use hints that can help your brand explore different topics and establish a better relationship with the customers. 

Just have a look at what creating a content outline looks like.

Source: SEOwind content outline example

So, what are you waiting for? Check out the SEOwind tool and take your content marketing game to a whole new level. 

How to create a content outline with SEOwind – Step-by-step guide (with Example)

Let’s dive into how to use SEOwind for creating content outlines.

Start with keyword

This journey starts with defining the focus keyword. Once you make this decision, log in to the SEOwind application, click the “Create brief” button, and choose the location you are aiming to target.

Let’s choose the following primary keyword: “types of coffee beans”.

Now relax while the system analyzes dozens of SERP data.

Look through SEOwind data

All starts with thorough research. Let’s see what data SEOwind gets at your disposal:

Competitive Analysis

Check the competitive landscape for your content. Content that beats the average has a higher chance of ranking in the top SERP.

We provide you with top SERPs including their title, description, URL, organic keywords, and number of words.

SEOwind competitive analysis
Source: SEOwind

We analyze top SERPs and provide you with data on the organic keywords they rank for. Often pages that get to the top positions in Google, rank for dozens of keywords. Why is that important? It can provide you with additional ideas on what kind of topics you should include.

Here you can see a sample of keywords the article Types of Coffee Beans and What Sets Them Apart ranks for.

SEOwind competitive analysis with keywords
Source: SEOwind

Competitor Outlines

Analyze how top SERPs are building their outlines. It can be a great source of inspiration and ideas to structure your own outline.

SEOwind competitor outline
Source: SEOwind

Questions To Answer

Looking at commonly searched questions can help you understand what kind of topics they would like to explore, what interests them, and what answers your audience is looking for. Find natural ways to answer these questions in your content.

SEOwind questions to answer
Source: SEOwind

Secondary Keywords

Crafting quality content means making sure you cover topics your audience is interested in reading about. Use these secondary keywords to help you create a comprehensive piece that is relevant to your audience. You can also look through the content and see in what context certain keywords were used.

SEOwind secondary keywords
Source: SEOwind

Once you understand what content ranks for the chosen keyword, you can make a conscious decision about what your content should be about.

Write the title and description

Come up with the title for your content. You can either do it on your own or use our AI recommendations. You just choose 3 or more competitor titles that match your targeted search intent and we will provide you with a couple of title ideas.

SEOwind title generator
Source: SEOwind

The same goes for the description. We have AI recommendations at your disposal.

Use General article recommendations

Wondering how long the blog post should be, and how many headings and images the post should have?

We are making the recommendations based on top SERPs analysis so you can be sure that you’re not bringing a 500 words article to 2500 words fight.

Create a blog post outline

You have all the data to create your own outline. You can use SEOwind editor to create your content outline. Take inspiration from top SERPs and add your own value on top. Go through the Questions To Answer section to enrich your content.

SEOwind content outline

Source: SEOwind

Bonus: If you use any of the headings from competitors once you copy the brief to the doc or google doc file you will also get sources they were taken from.

Choose secondary keywords to expand your reach

Choose the keywords by going through:

  • Competitive Analysis section where you can find secondary keywords for top SERPs
  • Secondary Keywords section where you can find how often certain keywords were present in SERPs along with the context they were used.

Share the content brief with your content writer

Once you have your content brief ready you can share it with your content writer. Just share the link or copy it to google docs.

my job is done
Source: Giphy

Content outline formats

So you’re wondering what the outline might look like, right?

I’ve seen various article outlines. Some are simple, and some are more structured.

Let me share my secret

via GIPHY

I’m a fan of a more structured approach. No, not true. It doesn’t have to kill creativity. It brings value.

Approach #1: Mind mapping, no structure

Mind mapping is a great technique that brings some order to your way of thinking. It might be valuable when you’re creating content yourself as well as when you work with advanced writers who have strong research capabilities, along with SEO and creating writing skills. Still, it requires more effort on the content writer’s side which usually means additional remuneration.

Many people use other tools for outlining their content such as mind maps or mind-mapping software, but this blog post will be focusing on outlines in Microsoft Word (or Google Docs if it’s not available).

Pros:

  • it makes your content more organized than no structure at all
  • gives flexibility
  • includes links with valuable content

Cons:

  • it usually only contains content ideas, so it’s very general
  • there is no place for context and additional content outline information
  • no SEO guidelines meaning the content will likely perform poorly in terms of its visibility and traffic

Sample content outline

Title:

Research/Articles:

  • LINK
  • LINK
  • LINK

Introduction: [one sentence introduction]

Main points:

  • Point #1: Headline
  • Point #2: Headline
  • Point #3: Headline

Conclusion: [one sentence conclusion]

Approach #2: Structured content outline

This type of outline provides a well-detailed structure that helps to guide the writer through the content creation process. It focuses on content that is valuable and interesting from your audience’s perspective.

Outlines like these are ideal for producing valuable content. The valuable content and context have been identified. Now, all the writer has to do is to fill in the text with supporting material.

Pros:

  • it has a pretty detailed structure so your content is well organized
  • provides more insights into requirements like word count, along with article purpose
  • includes links with valuable content

Cons:

  • no SEO guidelines meaning the content will likely perform poorly in terms of its visibility and traffic

Sample content outline

Title:

Suggested article length [in words]:

Writing style:

Article purpose:

Research/Articles:

  • LINK
  • LINK
  • LINK

Article Outline:

  • Heading #1:
    • Key takeaways
  • Heading #2:
    • Key takeaways
  • Heading #3:
    • Key takeaways

Approach #3: Structured SEO content outline

This is the one you want. Here’s a great way to get structured SEO content. This is the king of all kings, and it’ll help you get on top of your game quickly.

Why?

It combines what’s best in content as well as SEO, meaning that the content will be appreciated by people (priority) and also search engines.

Pros:

  • it has a pretty detailed structure so your content is well organized
  • provides more insights into the requirements
  • includes SEO guidelines to optimize content

Cons:

  • Some people might argue that it limits creativity.

Still, creativity is not worth it if the article is not found by people, read, and shared. SEO is the key.

Sample SEO content outline format

Title:

Article guidelines:

  • Focus keyword: {keyword} (search volume: X)
  • Secondary keywords: {keyword 1} (search volume: X), {keyword 2} (search volume: X), {keyword 3} (search volume: X)
  • Suggested article length [in words]:
  • A suggested number of headings:
  • A suggested number of images/media:

SEO tags

  • Title
  • SEO description

Article Outline:

  • Heading #1:
    • Key takeaways
  • Heading #2:
    • Key takeaways
  • Heading #3:
    • Key takeaways

Research/Articles:

  • LINK
  • LINK
  • LINK

Content Outline Examples and Templates

Here you can find a sample content outline created with SEOwind for the primary keyword “how to brew coffee at home”.

This is how the outline looks in the system:

SEOwind Article SEO Content Brief Template
Source: SEOwind

Once you have your outline ready you can either share it via a link or copy it to your doc file. You can access this content outline here [Content Brief] The Best Ways to Brew Coffee at home, According to Baristas

It will look as follows:

Source: Content Outline created with SEOwind
If you are looking for content outline examples we've prepared a separate article on it:  Content Brief Templates & Examples to Create Great Content

Frequently Asked Questions regarding content outline

What is the order of an outline?

An outline is a great way to organize your thoughts and information before you start writing. A content outline is a great tool for any type of writer. Whether it’s an essay, web article, or even a novel, having a good structure to follow will help you better lay out your ideas and ensure that the flow of your writing will be smooth and effective.

It can also help you to stay on track while you are writing, and make sure that you cover all of the points that you want to make.

Generally, an outline has three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

The introduction should introduce your topic and explain why it is important. The body should discuss each point that you want to make about the topic, in detail. The conclusion should summarize what you have said in the body, and offer your opinion on the topic.

When should you create an outline?

It is worth creating an outline for any type of content. You can use it for:

  • a blog post,
  • article, or
  • any type of page on your website.

It structures the thoughts and makes it easier to walk your reader through the main points.

Should you add visuals to a content outline?

There are two types of visuals you could add to an outline, which will be of great use. First, you can either add the infographics and images you have collected for the article. This type of visual will help you draft better content. The second type of visual or visual reference makes the content more memorable for you. 

What does a content structure include in general?

The standard content structure should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. 

Is it important to determine the number of words of subheadings in an article outline?

Yes, it is vital to include the number of words for the total article and split it into an introduction, subheadings, and conclusion. Having a word limit for each heading will help you prioritize the critical content and eliminate unnecessary ones. 

How content outline is prepared

A good content outline needs to be developed carefully and thoughtfully.

The simplistic format for a content outline you’ve been taught at school is as follows:

(1) Introduction, (2) Body Paragraphs, and (3) Conclusion.

This means the first point you need to understand is what your topic will be about, and then develop certain sections around particular topics.

Creating a content outline for articles or blog posts that are SEO optimized and bring traffic, is a much more demanding process.

Worth the effort though! Especially when you start experiencing tremendous results.

If you want to go through step by step process I recommend you go to the section "How to Write a Blog Post Outline: A Step-By-Step" in this article. 

What is a content outline for a website?

Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash

A website outline is a document that outlines the key components of your website. It provides a summary of each element, along with guidelines for how each element will look and behave.

You can treat it as the raw version of a website page.

A website’s content outline should reflect the structure and overall flow of that website page. It is not meant to be an actual page, but it does have a purpose. The wireframes and designed version are what is seen on the website pages. Content outlines are what hold everything together and give it shape.

A website’s content outline can also be used as a checklist for all of the components on your website page. If something was not done, can use certain types of outlines to describe something you want to accomplish or achieve.

You have to start by defining what kind of website you want to create; this specific detail determines what information is conveyed in your layout, as well as how it should be structured.

Each content outline should have the page name, where the page exists within the site architecture, and the SEO metadata, along with the copy and content description for each section of the page.

For each content component or module, state the sort of text it contains (body, header, subhead, etc.), word and character count limitations, a description of any images that should be included if applicable, and link destinations where relevant. If the writers or editors are unfamiliar with wireframes, you may offer them a screenshot so they can see how it will look.

How to build an outline for a website?

A website content outline is a draft of your website’s appearance and what it includes. When you build an outline for a website, you should include the name of the website, SEO metadata, content description for each page, contact information to include on the page, and the slogans and captions you write to capture the audience. 

Tools like SEOwind can help you with an outline for your website.

Conclusions

The content outline is like the skeleton of your content piece. So, it is crucial to draft a good content outline. It can help you write better content and boost your marketing efforts. It has several advantages, including structuring your article, saving time, helping you get away from writer’s block, and skipping unnecessary content. 

But to write better content, you should be able to know your target audience, brainstorm the content, and research well. Only proper research will help you write a better outline and finally aid you in drafting the perfect article. Content outline is like the foundation of your building your article and other pieces of content. So, follow the above-mentioned steps and draft a perfect content outline that will boost your article quality and drive more traffic.

If you follow this outline, you will have a great chance of success. These outlines can help write content according to SEO guidelines with less effort and time for research. So, the writer gets more time for creativity which means happier clients!

I hope this article has inspired you to create more structured outlines for your content. Feel free to share any other thoughts, questions, or feedback.

Happy outlining, everyone!

Kate Kandefer

Entrepreneur passionate about scaling SaaS companies on a global B2B stage. My expertise in AI, SEO, and Content Marketing is my toolkit for driving tangible results. I'm a hands-on executor guided by results, deeply passionate about marketing, and skilled at aligning business objectives with people's needs and motivations. With a pragmatic mindset. My approach is all about clarity, efficiency, and open dialogue.