A listicle is easy to publish and surprisingly easy to get wrong. It's common to end up with a long list where a few items are strong, a few are filler, and the reader can't tell why the items are in the order they're in. This guide walks through how to write a listicle in eight steps, so you decide the item count, the order, the headline, and the formatting on purpose instead of by habit. By the end you'll have a list post that a reader can scan, trust, and finish, and that you can judge fairly once it's live.
One note on scope. This guide is about general craft: what belongs in a list, how many items to include, how to order them, and how to present them. If you want to make each item easy for AI answer engines to pull out and quote, that's a separate angle, and we cover it in our guide to a listicle that earns AI citations.
You'll need a topic, a rough idea of who the reader is, and about an hour to gather your candidate items before you start drafting.
1. Confirm that the reader's question belongs in a list
Before you write anything, decide whether a list is really the right shape for the answer. A list works when the reader's question has several distinct answers, such as options to choose between, recommendations in a ranked order, examples grouped by theme, or steps in a sequence. If the answer is one continuous argument, or a detailed procedure where nothing stands alone, a list will chop it up and make it harder to follow.
Start by writing down who the reader is and what they're trying to get done. Then look at the current search results for the query you have in mind, and notice what kind of task, or search intent, those readers seem to have. Treat that as a way to understand the reader, not as a recipe. Copying the length or item count of the post that ranks first doesn't tell you it ranks because of its length or count.
Next, decide what counts as an item before you draft. A list of tools, a list of best practices, and a list of examples are three different lists, and readers expect different things from each one.
You're done with this step when you can finish this sentence: "This is a list of ___ for readers who need to ___." Every item you're considering should fit that sentence without stretching it.
Common mistake: Calling a broad essay a listicle by putting numbers in front of the headings, or mixing best practices, tools, and examples together without saying what organizes them. HubSpot's own advice on list posts warns against slipping examples into a list that promised best practices, and readers notice when the promise and the contents don't match.
2. Set the item count from the material, not from a supposed ideal
Almost everyone wants to know how many items in a listicle is the right number, and the honest answer is that it depends on how many good items you actually have. There's no well-supported universal number in the sources we reviewed. So gather your candidate items first, remove the duplicates, and keep the ones that clearly help the reader. Only then choose the number for the headline.
HubSpot gives a helpful example. If you have 11 solid items and you're tempted to stretch to 14, keep the 11. The extra three would be padding, and readers can tell. If your list is long and every item is worth having, group the items into a few categories so it's easy to move around in. If it starts to feel unwieldy, that's usually a sign the scope is too wide, and you can narrow the topic instead.
There's one number that gets misused a lot, so it's worth clearing up. Microsoft's style guide suggests that a short list inside a page should have two to seven items if possible. That advice is about compact lists within your content, like a bulleted set of options. It isn't a limit on how many sections a full article can have, and it isn't a search ranking rule. The same goes for the five to nine steps in a typical how-to guide like this one. That describes the format of a guide, not a threshold Google looks for.
You're done when each item gives a different reason, action, option, or example, and removing any one of them would leave a real gap. The number in your headline should also match the number of items in the article, exactly.
Common mistake: Adding four weak entries to turn 11 useful points into 15. A bigger number isn't evidence of a better answer, and the weak entries make the strong ones look less strong.
3. Choose an order readers can predict
Order is where a lot of lists quietly fall apart, and a sound list post structure starts with it. The fix is to let the promise of the post decide the order. If the items are steps, put them in the order someone would do them. If the post says it's a ranking, put the items in rank order and say what the ranking is based on. If it's a longer thematic list, group the items into categories and put a clear heading on each group.
For an unranked list, it still helps to have a reason for the sequence. You could go from foundational ideas to more advanced ones, or start with the easiest thing to act on. HubSpot suggests thinking about logical flow and spreading your strongest points across the beginning, middle, and end, so the post doesn't peak in the first third and coast afterward. Putting one immediately useful item near the top also gives the reader a reason to keep going.
Keep in mind how people actually read. Nielsen Norman Group's research on how people read online finds that readers often scan and jump around instead of reading every line in order. That means your headings need to show the progression, because for many readers the headings are the whole first read.
Numbers can also send a signal you didn't intend. Nielsen Norman Group has reported that in its tests, people sometimes took numbered options to be a sequence they all had to complete. So if your items are independent choices, say that in the intro, and use bullets for short unordered sets inside an entry.
You're done when someone who reads only your headings can explain why item 4 comes after item 3, can find the category they need, and knows whether the numbers mean sequence, rank, or just a count.
Common mistake: Random order dressed up as a countdown, or placing a prerequisite after the action that depends on it. If a reader has to go back up the page to make sense of an item, the order isn't working.
4. Write the headline after the list has taken shape
It's tempting to pick the headline first, because it feels like the start of the project. With a list post it works better to write the headline once you know what the list holds. That way the number is accurate and the promise is one the article can keep.
A simple pattern is an accurate number, a specific subject, and a benefit the reader cares about, something like "11 Ways to Improve [Specific Task] Without [Specific Friction]." Treat that as a drafting pattern to start from. It isn't a proven formula for clicks, and we didn't find a reliable figure for how much a number in a headline helps.
For search, the page title matters in a plain, practical way. Google's guidance on title links recommends a distinct, concise, descriptive title, and it cautions against repeating keywords. It also notes that Google may show a different title if the one you wrote doesn't reflect what's on the page. So the main heading and the title element should both describe the finished article honestly.
You're done when the number matches the entries, the benefit is actually delivered in the body, and a reader could tell your post apart from another one on the same broad topic.
Common mistake: Reaching for "ultimate" or "best" when the article can't back it up, choosing a number before the research, or promising steps when the body is really a set of unrelated options. Following the headline pattern is one of the list post structure basics, but the headline still has to be true.
5. Draft each entry so it earns its place
Now you write the items, and this is where most listicle best practices earn their keep. Give each one a specific heading and enough explanation that the reader can act on it or make a decision. It helps to say why the item matters and how it works, and to add an example when it makes the point clearer. Try to keep the entries about the same depth. You don't need to match word counts exactly, but one richly explained item followed by three one-line labels feels uneven.
Parallel headings make a big difference here. "Audit the headline promise" tells a marketing lead much more than "Headlines" does, and if the neighbouring headings all start with a verb, the list reads as one set. HubSpot's advice on list posts points the same way: substantive takeaways instead of a bare list, relatable examples, and parallel item headers.
This is also a point where a bit of tooling can save you time, if you're producing a lot of list posts. In DeepSmith, Deep IQ stores your product, persona, and brand voice context, and that context is used when drafts are produced, so the entries start from accurate information about your audience and your product instead of a blank page. It doesn't decide how many items your list should have, and it doesn't replace reading each entry to check that it says something specific. The point is that the background work is already done, and you get to spend your time on the entries themselves.
You're done when a marketing lead can say what to do with each item, no two items restate the same idea, and nothing in the article is there only to reach the count.
Common mistake: Presenting examples as if they were separate best practices, or accepting an automated draft without reading it closely. Any invented evidence or unsupported result in an entry weakens the whole list.
6. Format for scanning without turning the post into a wall of bullets
Readers scan lists, so the formatting should help them find their place, and most listicle format tips start from that idea. Use visible, descriptive headings for each entry and for each category. Put the words that distinguish an item at the front of its label, so someone skimming down the left edge of the page can tell the items apart. Keep paragraphs short where it helps, and keep the wording of sibling headings parallel.
Bullets are useful, but in the right place. A vertical bulleted list works well for a small group of related, unordered details inside an entry, and a numbered list works for a procedure or an explicitly prioritized set. Introduce a short list with a sentence so its purpose is clear, and avoid deeply nested bullets, because they hide the hierarchy. Nielsen Norman Group points to clear headings, front-loaded information, bullets, and selective bold text as things that help people scan, and Microsoft's guidance on lists asks for short entries that are structurally consistent.
These are the listicle format tips that matter most, and they all come down to consistency. If one entry has a short definition, a tip, and a mistake to avoid, the next one should have the same, in the same place. This is easier to keep up when you build reusable article templates for your list posts. Readers learn the pattern in the first two entries and then move faster through the rest.
Selective bold is worth a word. If you bold a phrase in every sentence, nothing stands out, so it's better to bold only the few things you'd want a skimming reader to catch.
You're done when someone can look at your headings and the first line under each one and find the entry they need without reading the whole article. The same kind of information should also show up in the same place across comparable entries.
Common mistake: Identical generic headings, long blocks of text under each number, a mix of verb labels and noun labels, and nested lists that bury the point. Also, don't take the two-to-seven guidance for short lists and apply it to the number of substantial sections in a full article.
7. Check the draft against the promise and the reader's task
Once the draft is done, read it two ways. First read the headline, then only the headings, then the first sentence of each entry. Then read the whole thing top to bottom. The first pass tells you whether the structure holds together, and the second tells you whether each entry is worth its space.
Check the count, the sequence, any gaps, any duplicated items, any uneven depth, and whether each claim has support. Check that the title and the main heading match what's in the article. Then ask what someone will do, choose, or understand differently after each entry. If you can't answer that, rewrite the entry or take it out. If you want a repeatable way to do this, a quality rubric for drafts gives you the same questions every time.
Google's guidance on creating helpful content asks whether a page gives original value, covers its topic well enough, and leaves the reader feeling they learned enough to reach their goal. It also states that Google has no preferred word count. So don't add length to hit a number, and don't cut a thorough entry just because shorter posts seem safer. Neither one is a rule, and if you're wondering which basics still count, it helps to read whether SEO fundamentals still matter in AI search.
Editing is also the place where a lot of the production work can be lifted off you. DeepSmith's Content Studio takes a planned idea through research, drafting, internal and external linking, and publish-ready metadata, and you review the result in Produced Content before anything goes live. That leaves your review time for the things only an editor can judge, like whether the items are the right ones, whether the order makes sense, and whether the facts are accurate. It doesn't tell you a particular listicle will rank, and it doesn't remove the need for human review.
You're done when a second editor can name the organizing principle from your headings, confirm the number in the headline, and find no unsupported promises or padded entries.
Pro tip: Ask your second editor to read only the headings and tell you what the post is about. If their answer doesn't match what you meant, the structure needs work, even if every paragraph is fine.
8. Publish, observe, and revise the weak part
Publishing isn't the end of the work. After the post has been live for a meaningful stretch, look at how it does in Search Console. The Performance report shows how the page appears in Google Search, including the queries that bring it impressions and clicks. If you later update the post, you can measure the impact of the refresh the same way. Compare the same page over comparable periods, and look at both the page and its queries so you aren't reading too much into one number.
Then read the article again with the reader in mind. Does it still answer the question? Do the title, the order, or any explanation need a fix? A change in traffic on its own can't tell you that a change in item count caused it, so pair the numbers with an honest read of the page.
We didn't find a general benchmark for listicle click-through rate, engagement time, ranking, or conversions, so avoid promising any threshold to yourself or your team. It's better to decide in advance what you'll do with what you see. If the post is doing well, leave it alone or update the facts. If a section is weak, tighten or replace it. If the scope is too wide, narrow it. If you're weighing a bigger rewrite against a smaller change, our framework for deciding whether to refresh, rewrite, prune, or redirect can help you choose.
You're done when the team has written down a decision to keep, update, or narrow the article, based on what the data shows and on an editorial reading of the page.
Common mistake: Expanding a sound list with weak items because another result is longer, or judging a headline on one isolated metric.
Putting it together and what to do next
Taken together, these listicle best practices are a short set of habits. Confirm the question fits a list, let the material set the count, pick an order the reader can predict, write the headline last, draft each entry to earn its place, format for scanning, check it against the promise, and look at how it does after it's live. None of it is a guarantee of rankings, but each step removes a reason for a reader to leave.
For your next step, take a list post you already have, or one you're about to write, and run the checks from step 7 on it. Read only the headings, confirm the number, and see whether you can explain the order in one sentence. That takes about fifteen minutes and usually shows you where the structure needs work.
If you'd like to spend less of your time on the production chores around a post like this, you can start a 7-day free trial of DeepSmith and see how a finished draft compares with what you'd normally write.
