How to Write an SEO-Focused Content Brief

How to Compose an SEO-Focused Content Brief

You're working with your dev group on some technical improvements, however you notice a big slice of the opportunity lies with content. Your company has a content group, but you see they're not utilizing keyword research study to inform their articles.

Or how about this situation?

You're a marketing director at a startup. You know that you need content, however don't have the know-how or time to do it yourself, so you ask your network for recommendations and find yourself a freelance author. The only issue is, you're not always sure what to appoint them. With little direction to work off of, they produce material that fizzles.

The option in both of these scenarios is a content short Nevertheless, not all content briefs are produced equivalent.

As somebody who copes with one foot in material and the other in SEO, I can shed some light on how to make your content briefs both extensive and beloved by your material group.

Let's start by settling on some terminology.

What's a content short?
A content brief is a set of directions to guide a writer on how to draft a piece of material. That piece of content can be a post, a landing page, a white paper, or any variety of other initiatives that require content.

Without a material quick, you run the risk of getting back content that doesn't satisfy your expectations. This will not only annoy your author, but it'll likewise require more revisions, taking more of your time and money.

Typically, content briefs are written by somebody in an adjacent field-- like demand generation, product marketing, or SEO-- when they require something particular. Nevertheless, content teams normally don't just work off of briefs. They'll likely have their own calendar and initiatives they're driving (material is one of those strange functions that needs to support almost every other department while also producing and performing by themselves work).

What makes a content brief "SEO-focused"?

An SEO-focused content short is one among lots of types of content briefs. It's distinct because the goal is to advise the writer on creating content to target a particular search query for the function of earning traffic from the natural search channel.

What to consist of in your content brief.
Now that we understand SEO-focused content briefs in theory, let's get into the nitty gritty. What info should we consist of in them?

1. Main question target and intent

It isn't an SEO-focused material brief without a question target!

Using a keyword research study tool like Moz Keyword Explorer, you can get thousands of keyword concepts that might be relevant to your business.

In my existing task, I'm focused on developing content for retail store owners and others in the brick and mortar retail market. After listening to some sales and assistance calls on Gong (numerous groups utilize this to tape client and possibility calls), I may find out that "merchandising" is a huge subject of focus.

I type "merchandising" into Keyword Explorer, include a couple more handy filters, and boom! Tons of keyword tips.

Choose a keyword (check your existing material to make sure your team hasn't currently written on the topic yet) and use that as the "north star" question for your material brief.

I think it's also valuable to include some intent details here. Simply put, what might the searcher who's typing this inquiry into Google desire? It's a great idea to browse the query in Google yourself to see how Google is translating the intent.

For example, if my keyword is "kinds of visual retailing," I can see from the SERP that Google assumes an informative intent, based on the reality that the URLs ranking are largely educational short articles.

2. Format

Dovetailing nicely off of intent is format. Simply put, how should we structure the material to offer it the very best possibility of ranking for our target question?

To use the same keyword example, if I Google "kinds of visual merchandising," the top-level posts consist of lists.

You might observe that your target inquiry returns results with a great deal of images (common with inquiries including "inspiration" or "examples").

This much better helps the author understand what material format is likely to work best.

3. Topics to cover and related concerns to answer

Selecting the target question assists the author comprehend the "concept" of the piece, however stopping there means you run the risk of composing something that doesn't comprehensively answer the query intent.

That's why I like to consist of a "topics to cover/ associated concerns to answer" section in my briefs. This is where I list out all the subtopics I have actually discovered that someone browsing that inquiry would probably need to know.

To find these, I like to use methods like:

Utilizing a keyword research study tool to show you inquiries related to your primary keyword that are questions.

Looking at the People Likewise Ask box, if one exists, on the SERP your target question sets off

Discovering websites that rank in the top areas for your target inquiry, running them through a keyword research study tool, and seeing what other keywords they likewise rank for

And while this isn't specifically search-related, in some cases I like to utilize a tool called Frequently Asked Question Fox to scour online forums for threads that mention my target query

You can also produce the overview yourself using your research with all the H2s/H3s already composed. While this can work well with freelance writers, I have actually discovered some authors (particularly in-house content marketers) feel this is too authoritative. Every writer and material group is different, so all I can say is just utilize your best judgment.

4. Funnel stage
This is fairly similar to intent, but I think it's handy to consist of as a different line product. To submit this part of the content short, ask yourself: "Is someone searching this term just searching for details? Motivation? Looking to assess their alternatives? Or looking to buy something?"

And here's how you can identify your answer:

Top-of-funnel (TOFU or "issue aware") is an appropriate label if the inquiry intent is informational/educational/inspirational.
Middle-of-funnel (MOFU or "option aware") is an appropriate label if the inquiry intent is to compare, assess options, or otherwise indicates that the searcher is currently familiar with your solution.
Bottom-of-funnel (BOFU or "service ready") is an appropriate label if the inquiry intent is to buy or otherwise transform.
5. Audience sector
Who are you composing this for?

It seems like such a fundamental concern to respond to, however in my experience, it's easy to forget!

When it comes to SEO-focused content briefs, it's simple to presume the answer to this concern is "for whoever is searching this keyword!" What that stops working to answer is who those searchers are and how they fit into your business's personas/ ideal customer profile (ICP).

If you don't understand what those personalities are, ask your marketing group! They ought to have target audience sections easily offered to send you.

This will not only help your writers much better understand what they ought to be composing, but it likewise helps align you with the rest of the marketing department and help them comprehend SEO's connection to their goals (this is also an important component of getting buy-in, which we'll speak about a little later).

6. The goal action you desire your readers to take

SEO is a method to an end. It's not just adequate to get your content ranking or perhaps to get it earning clicks/traffic. For it to make an effect for your company, you'll desire it to contribute to your bottom line.

That's why, when producing your material short, you not only require to think about how readers will get to it, however what you want them to do after.

This is a great opportunity to work with your content marketing and larger marketing group to understand what actions they're trying to drive visitors to take.

Here are some examples of call-to-actions (CTAs) you can consist of in your briefs:

Newsletter sign-ups
Gated possession downloads (e.g. free design templates, whitepapers, and ebooks).
Case research studies.
Free trials.
Request demonstration.
Product listings.
In general, it's finest to utilize a CTA that's a natural next step based upon the intent of the short article. If the piece is top-of-funnel, try a CTA that'll move them to the mid-funnel, like a case study.

7. Ballpark length.
I'm a company follower that the length of any post should be dictated by the topic, not approximate word counts. Nevertheless, it can be helpful to use a ballpark to avoid bringing a 500-word blog post to a 2,000-word fight.

One tool that can make coming up with a ballpark word count much easier is Frase, which to name a few things, will show you the average word count of pages ranking for your target query.

8. Internal and external link chances.
Because you're reading the Moz blog, you're most likely already totally knowledgeable about the value of links. Nevertheless, this details is commonly neglected of content briefs.

It's as basic as consisting of these 2 line products:.

Pertinent content we need to connect out to. Note out any URLs, specifically on your own site, that might be natural fits to link out to in this post.
Existing material that might connect to this new piece. Note out any URLs on your website that mention your topic so that, after your brand-new piece is live, you can go back and include links in them to your new piece.
The second product is specifically crucial, given that including links to your new post can assist it get indexed and start ranking quicker. A fast method to discover internal link chances is to utilize the "website:" operator in Google.

For example, the following search would show me all posts on the Moz blog site that discuss "content brief." These could be fantastic sources of links to this blog post.

9. Competitor material.
Browse your target inquiry and pull the top three-or-so ranking URLs for this area of your material short. These are the pages you require to beat.

At threat of developing copycat material (content that's essentially a re-spun variation of the top-level posts), it's an excellent idea to advise your author on how best to Visit this link https://www.velostil.pro/user/geleyninrx use these.

I like to include questions like:.

What's our special point-of-view on this subject?
Do we have any special information we can pull on this topic?
What specialists (internal or external) can we ask for quotes to consist of on this topic?
What graphics would make this more aesthetically compelling than what our rivals have?
You get the idea!

10. On-page SEO cheat sheet.

Something I always like to include in my briefs is some form of an "SEO cheat sheet"-- suggestions and resources for assisting your authors with crucial on-page SEO aspects.

Here's an example of one I've used in the past:.

Important caveat: Writers have differing levels of SEO know-how. Some content teams are really bullish on SEO (companies like G2 and HubSpot come to mind), so the authors may not need much assistance in this location. For others, SEO is relatively brand-new to them. Identify what's essential for your unique scenario so that you can prevent over or under-prescribing in this location.

What to avoid when writing content briefs.
Sadly, "SEO" has ended up being a dirty word to numerous authors. Understanding why will assist us prevent the significant mistakes that can result in disregarded briefs and interdepartmental tensions.

Don't offer ideas after that possession has been composed.
When writing for search, we're developing the output. The keyword is the input. Simply put, target inquiries are questions to be answered, not something to be packed into copy that's currently been composed.

Google wants to rank material that responds to the question, not just duplicates it on the page.

For this factor, I would prevent having an optimization action after your composing step. If you do not, you run the risk of the content not matching the intent of the query, which suggests it has little-to-no likelihood of ranking, and you'll likewise likely upset your writers, who don't want to cheapen their editorially excellent material by stuffing keywords into it.

Do not favor keywords with high volume over high intent match.
I once saw a short where the SEO Manager requested that the author utilize a specific phrase instead of another expression since it had search volume while the other didn't.

The problem? While apparently comparable, the keywords really had completely various intents.

Don't do this.

At finest, targeting keywords purely for volume's sake can lead to vanity traffic that never ever converts. At worst, you'll be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and likely missing out on intent-match entirely.

Do not blindly follow keyword tools.
Keyword tools are useful, but they're not perfect reflections of search need. Because they're not constantly upgraded incredibly typically, you may incorrectly believe an inquiry has no demand when in reality it has a load.

A good example of this is COVID-19 associated keywords. As a recently trending topic earlier this year, many keyword research tools didn't sign up that they had any search volume, when in truth they did. If you would have blindly followed the tool, you may have lost out on the opportunity.

To solve for this, you can utilize tools like Google Trends or even Google Search Console (if you have material on a trending topic or similar topic on your site already, you must be able to see impressions/interest spiking within a couple of days).

Do not advise writers to "include these keywords" (specifically a specific number of times).
When noting out the target query (or inquiries) in your material brief, it is necessary that we advise our writers that this is the primary question to respond to rather than this the word I need you to sprinkle throughout the material.

There's no magic number of times you can stick a keyword in your copy so that it ranks for that term. Instead, instruct your writers to concentrate on responding to the intent of the searcher's concern adequately.

Don't try to jam keywords into short articles that weren't planned for search discovery.
Organic search is not the only channel for content discovery. As somebody coming from an SEO background, this took me a while to learn.

That implies adding search material to your material calendar, not trying to cram keywords into whatever on the calendar.

While it is very important to get the on-page SEO fundamentals right (title tag, heading tags, links, and so on) for every single piece, not every piece lends itself well to natural search discovery.

For example, if we only created material based on keywords that a tool told us gets browsed a certain variety of times monthly, we 'd never ever write about brand-new principles. It takes a great deal of thought management off the table, in addition to things like case research studies and interview/feature story pieces.

Organic search is powerful, however it's not whatever.

Tips for getting your content team purchased in.
Even the very best material briefs will not make an impact if your material group refuses to utilize them-- and I have actually heard of plenty of scenarios where that takes place.

As an SEO, it can be mind-blowing that your content group doesn't want to use this: "Don't you want traffic?!" However as somebody who leads a content team, I comprehend why they're frequently turned down.

Fortunately, oftentimes, this can be avoided by taking the following actions.

Involve them in the preparation procedure.
Nobody likes to be micromanaged, and thorough material briefs can often seem like micromanaging. One terrific method to prevent this is by bringing them along for the procedure. Make material briefs a joint effort between SEO and Content.

For instance, connect with the Content Lead and see if they 'd be willing to sit down with you to develop the content short design template together. By each of you bringing your special knowledge to the table, it can feel less like dictating and more like partnership (plus, you'll probably wind up with a better quick template that method).

Make it clear that not all material needs to be search content.
SEO Managers live and breathe the organic search channel, but content teams have a more diverse diet. They take a multi-channel approach to material, and in some cases are even writing material to support post-conversion groups like client success.

When dealing with your content team on this, make sure you highlight that this is a new material type that can be contributed to editorial preparation. Not something that'll replace or need to change the kinds of material they're already writing.

Respect their competence.
Writing is hard. Doing it well needs immense ability and practice, but unfortunately, I have actually heard numerous SEOs speak about authors as if they didn't understand anything, even if they don't understand SEO.

As an SEO, you'll get far with your content department just by appreciating their knowledge. Just as lots of SEO Managers aren't writers, it's unfair people to anticipate writers to have the SEO knowledge of a full-time SEO professional.

Before you implement a material brief process, sit down with the Material Lead and members of the content group to evaluate their search maturity. What do they actually require your aid with? Trust them with the rest.

Program outcomes.
One of the very best methods to get and keep buy-in is by showing results. Program your material group how much of their traffic is coming from organic search and how, unlike lots of other material discovery channels, that traffic is staying consistent with time. Give the writer a shout-out when you see their post ranking on page one.