Blog outline generator: a heading structure to start the draft from.

Type the topic of a post and, if you have one, the keyword it targets. You get a draft outline of H2 and H3 headings to reorder, cut and fill in, so the writing starts from a structure instead of a blank page.

By · Updated September 25, 2026

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Blog outline generator

Runs on our server. Your text is sent to Anthropic's Claude to write the result. We count runs and never save what you enter; an identical request may be answered from memory for up to five minutes.

What you can do with it

  • Turn a topic into a heading structure before the first draft
  • Check a planned post covers the questions a reader will have
  • Give a freelance writer a skeleton to write into
  • Restructure a post that wanders by comparing it to a clean outline

How it works, step by step

  1. 1

    Name the search intent

    Decide what the reader wants when they search the keyword: to learn how something works, to follow steps, to compare options or to buy. The intent sets the shape. A how-to wants ordered steps; a comparison wants the options side by side and a verdict.

  2. 2

    List the reader's questions

    Write down the questions someone has in the order they would ask them. Search the keyword and read the related questions and the headings of the pages already ranking. Each real question is a candidate section.

  3. 3

    One idea per section

    Give each H2 a single job and phrase it so the heading says what the section answers. If a section needs an 'and' in its heading, it is probably two sections. Use H3s only for parts of that one idea.

  4. 4

    Write the answer first in each section

    Under each heading, note the one or two sentences that answer it directly. Those sentences go at the top of the section in the draft. The detail, examples and caveats follow.

  5. 5

    Cut what the reader did not ask

    Delete sections that exist to add length or to cover a keyword. A shorter outline that answers the real questions produces a better post than a long one that answers everything a little.

Start from intent, not from a template

An outline is a plan for answering someone. Before any headings, decide what the person searching the keyword is trying to do. Someone searching “how to register a business name” wants steps in order. Someone searching “sole trader vs limited company” wants the two compared and a recommendation. Someone searching “what is a registered agent” wants a definition and the cases where it matters.

Get the intent wrong and no amount of structure saves the post. The quickest check is to search the keyword and look at what already ranks. If the results are all step-by-step guides, a comparison table is unlikely to be what searchers want.

Build sections from the reader’s questions

The strongest outlines read like the reader’s questions, in the order they would ask them. Collect them from the search results page (the related questions, the headings of the top pages), from support emails and sales calls, and from your own knowledge of where people get stuck. Then:

  • Merge questions that have the same answer.
  • Drop questions your page is not the right place to answer.
  • Order the rest so each section sets up the next.

One idea per section. A heading like “Costs and timelines” is two sections pretending to be one, and the draft will show it.

Answer first, then explain

Each section should open with the direct answer to its heading, in a sentence or two, before the detail. Readers who skim get the answer. Readers who stay get the reasoning. And assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, which quote passages rather than whole pages, get a clean, self-contained passage to lift. A section that spends three paragraphs on background before answering is hard to skim and hard to quote.

When planning, write that opening answer under each heading in the outline itself. If you cannot write it, you do not know the answer yet, and that is better discovered now than halfway through a draft.

From outline to brief

An outline covers structure. A brief also carries the audience, the angle, the sources and what the piece must not say. If someone else is writing the post, turn the outline into a brief with the content brief generator.

What the generator does

It sends your topic and optional keyword to Claude Haiku, a fast Anthropic model, and returns a draft H2 and H3 outline. It works from general knowledge. It does not read the search results, your site or your competitors, so it can miss what searchers care about right now or suggest sections your page should not have. Use it to get a first structure, then shape it with the method above.

AltoRank plans and drafts SEO content for a site every week, and a person approves each piece before it publishes.

Frequently asked questions

How many sections should a blog post have?

As many as the reader's questions need. A narrow how-to may need four sections; a comparison of several options may need more. Count questions, not words. If you are adding sections to reach a length, the outline has stopped serving the reader.

Should every H2 contain the keyword?

No. Headings should describe their section in plain words. The keyword belongs where it fits naturally, usually in the title, the H1 and perhaps one heading. Forcing it into every H2 makes the outline harder to read and does not help the page.

What makes a section easy for an AI assistant to quote?

A heading that states the question, followed straight away by a short, self-contained answer that still makes sense when lifted out of the page. Assistants quote passages, not whole articles, so a section that opens with the answer is easier to use than one that builds up to it.

Does the generator look at the search results for my keyword?

No. It builds the outline from the topic and keyword you give it and from general knowledge. It does not check what ranks, what people are asking now or what your competitors cover. Compare the outline with the current results before you commit to it.

Can I hand the outline straight to a writer?

Treat it as a starting point. Reorder it for your reader, cut sections that do not fit your angle, and add what only you know: your data, your examples, your opinion. A content brief carries that context; the outline is only the skeleton.

What happens to the topic and keyword I enter?

They go to our server and to Anthropic's Claude, a fast model, which writes the outline. We count how many times the tool runs each day and never save what you enter; an identical request may be answered from memory for up to five minutes. There is a daily usage limit so the tool can stay free without a signup.

More free tools

Free SEO Content Brief Template and Generator Fill in eleven fields and copy a Markdown content brief a writer will follow. Free, in your browser, with the reasoning behind each field. Free Headline Generator for Blog Posts Enter a topic and get headline options for a blog post or article. Pick one and make it specific to what your piece delivers. SERP Analysis: How to Read a Search Result Page Read a SERP before you brief a writer: intent from the result mix, and the keywords worth skipping. Free AI Article Generator: A Draft, Not an Article Enter a topic and an optional keyword and get a short first draft to edit. A starting point, not a publishable article.
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