Expanded definition posts are somewhat similar to how-to guides. The difference is they start by focusing on the what before the how—because sometimes, you want to understand a topic in greater depth before getting to the actionable bit (i.e., the how-to).
Here’s how it’s structured:
Infographic showing structure of an expanded definition post
Our blog post titled “What Is a Backlink? How to Get More Backlinks” is one such example of how this structure can be put to practice:
recommended name is what makes affiliate marketing such a powerful pillar of digital marketing.
Here we’ll walk you through our whatsapp number list step-by-step guide to using affiliate marketing to reach more of your audience.
Introduction, then table of contents—bulleted summary of what you’ll learn
[H2] Why backlinks are important
[H3] Rankings (elaborate)
[H3] Discoverability (elaborate)
[H3] Referral traffic (elaborate)
[H2] What makes a good backlink?
Elaborate with H3s as above
[H2] How to check for backlinks
Elaborate with H3s as above; add screenshots where necessary
[H2] How to get more backlinks
Elaborate with H3s as above
Conclusion: Your final thoughts
It’s fairly straightforward. Tell the reader what to expect, explain why the topic is important and what they can do with it, then offer some steps on how to achieve a certain goal around the topic.
Best practices
To build a more compelling piece, use the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) formula
MORE EXAMPLES
What Is the Buyer’s Journey? How to Create Content for Every Stage
What Is Googlebot & How Does It Work?