That's right. You are the detective and you have only 24 hours to crack the case of the "Missing Domain" logins.

If I had a dollar for every case I've had to crack this mystery, well let's just say that I could be sipping Espresso Martinis instead of writing this article, but I digress.

As web designers and developers, knowing the structure and format of the different components that go into finalising a website is one of the most important things you should learn. Get it wrong and you could disconnect your client's email accounts, cut-off other domain-related services or worse.

On top of that you give your clients a reason to doubt your experience as it creates a negative experience in an important stage of the relationship.  

So before we get in to the unravelling the code to a successful website launch, here are some basic tips to enhance your domain detective skills:

• Gather domain and/or existing hosting information early in the phase.
• Always, and I mean always, take a screenshot of any existing zone records that are in place
• Keep a copy of domain registrars pseudonyms as a fast guide for future reference
• know how to test and cross-test zone records post-cutover sequence

Gather domain and/or existing hosting information early in the phase.

Why is this a good idea?

OKAlthough it can be instructive, the complete guide post differs from the tutorial post in that it addresses a more conceptual and complete side. Tutorial posts follow a more direct and practical line.

Complete guides feature a large number of words. This is a consequence of the complete way in which the topic is treated, and this is one of the big differences between this post template and others.

Why make a Complete Guide post

Once you've covered the definition, it's time to show the value of the topic to the reader, and give them arguments why they should invest time to do or learn the topic presented.

The best way to do this is through a list, but I take this opportunity to remind you that each intertitle must have an introduction, even if it contains its own intertitles.

But after all, why should you have posts in the complete guide format on your blog?

To be the reference on a topic

After all, if you are really going to produce complete content, with a detailed view of a topic, it is to be expected that this will put you in the position of being an expert in the market.

Anyone reading your post will realize that you have a respectable knowledge base, and will end up reading it with the feeling that they can trust the information that comes from your blog.

This is an incentive for you to dig deep into your research and understand everything about the topic of your complete guide.

To get a good ranking on Google

As we have discussed in the basic post on how to produce a blog post, more extensive content, such as complete guides, tend to receive more organic visits, more shares on social networks and more links. All very important factors for ranking on Google.

If you search for “digital marketing” on Google, you will find a complete Rock Content guide first. We are talking about one of the most important and competitive keywords in the field of marketing, and being on the first page is already very difficult.

To reach the first place, we developed the most complete post on the topic, with more than 10,000 words, videos, images, links and a lot of scanability.

There are several ranking factors and the biggest post will not always be the first. What Google is looking for is an article that caters to the reader, but in the case of complex topics, this often requires long posts.

How to organize a Complete Guide post

Now that you've shown value, it's time to delve deeper and address the particularities of your guide's theme.

In the case of this post, I'm going to show you how the organization of intertitles is important to build your guide's panorama and rank in search engines.

This post consists of 5 main intertitles (or h2):

• What is a Complete Guide post?
• Why make a Complete Guide post
• How to organize a Complete Guide post
• Essential Elements for a Complete Guide
• Hands on!

The first two are practically mandatory in complete guides. The definition and reason why the reader should be concerned with the topic are important steps for those who want to learn everything about a subject, and are included in most of the posts in this model.

The last two are specifically designed for this topic, and aim at passing on vital information to anyone looking to learn about and develop a complete guide.

Let's look at another complete guide and its intertitles. In our complete guide to email marketing, we have 6 main intertitles:

• What email marketing is and how it works
• The importance of an email marketing strategy
• How to start an email marketing strategy
• What to consider while choosing an email marketing tool
• 7 email marketing metrics to keep an eye on
• How to measure email marketing campaign results

Note that after a beginning that is similar to this post, the intertitles begin to address the peculiarities of email marketing.

It is also important to highlight how each of these intertitles addresses a central question of an email marketing strategy.

If, for example, someone is looking for tips to improve the quality of their emails, they can find this post. We talk more about that in our post on how to get to the top of Google.

Essential Elements for a Complete Guide

As it has already become clear, you have to think outside the box if you want to produce a standout comprehensive guide. But just gathering information and writing a huge post doesn't guarantee your success.

That's because you're not writing an encyclopedia chapter, you're producing content for the web.

When we talk about content for the Web, it is necessary to go beyond content and think about visual and structural elements that guarantee the best experience for readers and search engines.

And what are these elements?

Links

One of the main ranking factors for search engines, links are an indication of quality and relevance to web pages.

A good comprehensive guide has to link to pages on your domain and also on other domains, but the rule is: all linked content has to deliver a lot of value to the reader.

Look for parts of your text where the reader might be interested in delving into a topic that your guide doesn't fully cover. The link will be a logical extension of that topic.

If you have other content on your blog, look for those that cover topics that clash with the theme of your complete guide. They are a good opportunity to place a link pointing to your guide.

To learn more about links and how to build digital authority for your guide, I recommend reading this article.

Scannability

Scanability is what differentiates a block of text from an article that is easy to read and absorb information.

Below you will find the same content, presented in two different formats:

AND

I don't need to say which one presents content in an easier way to read and understand, right?

As well demonstrated in the example above, part of a talk by Vitor Peçanha on Youtube, scanability is crucial to keep the reader on your page and deliver the message they are looking for.

I recommend reading this post to better understand how to ensure your text is scannable.

Images, videos and gifs

Using photos, videos and gifs will make your text lighter and fluid and it is another way to improve the absorption of your content. 

Of course, you don't want to clutter your text with photos in every paragraph, but the right amount of media resources will make your complete guide lighter and more didactic. Try it out, you'll see it!

Conversion Points

You've done a lot of research, written the best content on a topic, gained ranking on Google and are finally riding the wave of organic visits. But if you don't have a strategy to turn those visitors into leads and mqls, you're wasting all your effort!

It turns out that a person who ran into your post in search of more information will have doubts about some of the topics covered. This is natural and also represents a great opportunity to move his/her through the sales funnel.

Offer other of your content in exchange for strategic information for your business. This can be done in a blog post with:

• Banners
• Text links
• Offer of material in pdf
• Offer of material in template
• Hello Bar

Remember that relevance is key! Your conversion rate will improve as you understand which materials will really help your reader.

Example: In our complete guide to SWOT analysis, we saw an opportunity to improve our conversion and lead generation. The content explains in detail how to do a swot analysis, but that was it.

As most people who access this content want to do an analysis in their own company, we developed a swot analysis template, and made it available for download, in exchange for the reader's email.

With this idea, we increased the conversion rate of this post, and we have a constant source of contact acquisition!

Hands on!

Now that you understand everything about how to have the best complete guide on the market, it's time to get down to business.

Make a copy of these docs, and model your complete guide with these instructions. If you have any questions, please contact us :)