The six blog formats, and how to write each one

How-to guide

A how-to guide answers "how do I do X," and its structure should mirror that: a clear sequence of steps, in order, each one doable on its own. It ranks and gets cited when the steps are specific enough to actually follow — exact settings, exact wording, exact numbers — rather than vague advice restated six different ways. Use this format whenever the reader's goal is an action, not an understanding of the topic in the abstract.

ButterBlogs writes this format from its own research pass, so the steps reflect what's currently true rather than a template filled in from memory, and it adds the internal links and schema that let search engines and AI answer engines lift individual steps directly into their own answers.

Comparison post

A comparison post exists because the reader is deciding between two or more specific things, not looking for a single recommendation. The structure that works: pick a small, fixed set of criteria that actually matter for the decision, score or describe every option against the same criteria, and put the result in one table a reader can scan in seconds rather than reconstruct from paragraphs.

It ranks when it stays even-handed — naming a real downside for every option, including a favored one — because both search engines and readers treat a comparison that only ever favors one side as marketing copy rather than a genuine comparison.

Product review

A review covers one thing in depth: what it does, who it's for, where it falls short, and whether it's worth the cost. The format that survives E-E-A-T scrutiny is specific rather than generic — naming the exact feature that worked or didn't, not "great features overall" — and it states real limitations instead of only positives, since a review with no downsides reads as unreliable rather than enthusiastic.

Use this format when the reader has already narrowed their decision down to one option and needs confirmation, not a comparison across several.

Roundup / listicle

A roundup covers several options side by side, aimed at a reader who's still exploring a category rather than deciding between two finalists. It ranks when each entry earns its place with a real distinguishing reason — what this one is actually best for — rather than a repeated list of generic features restated under each heading with a different product name swapped in.

The failure mode of this format is sameness: if every entry in the list could be swapped for any other with no loss of meaning, neither readers nor AI answer engines have a reason to treat any single entry as the right pick for a given need.

Informational post

An informational post explains a concept — "what is X," "how does X work" — for a reader who wants to understand the topic, not complete a task or make a purchase decision. The structure that gets cited by AI answer engines leads with a direct, self-contained answer in the first few sentences, then expands with the reasoning and detail underneath, rather than building up to the definition at the end.

This is the format most often written badly by padding it with filler, and most often rewarded when it isn't: a tight, direct answer up top is exactly what an AI engine or a featured snippet is looking to extract.

Refresh an existing article

Refreshing isn't a separate topic — it's a maintenance format applied to one of the five above. The structure is: keep what still holds up, replace what's gone stale (dates, product details, ranking factors), and add whatever a competitor now covers that the original post doesn't. It's the right call when a post already targets the exact intent and either used to rank or is close, rather than when the topic needs an entirely new angle.

ButterBlogs' Revise Existing Post mode is built for exactly this: it works from what's already published rather than starting over, which is usually faster and safer than replacing a page that already has some ranking history.

Which format ButterBlogs writes

All six formats run through the same pipeline: keyword research, an analysis of what's currently ranking for the topic, a draft written in your trained persona, then internal links, schema and meta data added before publishing. See how it works for the full pipeline, or browse real posts written with ButterBlogs across all six formats. This page is the format layer that sits under the broader AI blog writing guide — pricing for any format is the same pay-per-post token model, detailed on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions