How to Compose an SEO-Focused Material Brief
You're working with your dev team on some technical enhancements, however you see a big piece of the chance lies with material. Your business has a content group, however you notice they're not utilizing keyword research study to notify their short articles.
You're a marketing director at a start-up. You understand that you need material, but don't have the competence or time to do it yourself, so you ask your network for suggestions and discover yourself a freelance author. The only problem is, you're not constantly sure what to assign them. With little guideline to sweat off of, they produce material that misses the mark.
The solution in both of these situations is a content brief However, not all content briefs are produced equivalent.
As somebody who lives with one foot in material and the other in SEO, I can shed some light on how to make your material briefs both extensive and precious by your content team.
Let's start by settling on some terms.
What's a content brief?
A content brief is a set of instructions to direct a writer on how to prepare a piece of material. That piece of material can be a post, a landing page, a white paper, or any number of other efforts that require content.
Without a material brief, you risk returning content that does not satisfy your expectations. This will not just annoy your author, but it'll also need more revisions, taking more of your money and time.
Generally, content briefs are composed by someone in a surrounding field-- like need generation, product marketing, or SEO-- when they need something particular. Nevertheless, content groups typically do not just sweat off of briefs. They'll likely have their own calendar and efforts they're driving (content is one of those strange roles that needs to support practically every other department while likewise developing and executing on their own work).
What makes a content quick "SEO-focused"?
An SEO-focused material quick is one among numerous kinds of content briefs. It's special in that the objective is to instruct the author on producing content to target a specific search query for the purpose of earning traffic from the natural search channel.
What to include in your material short.
Now that we comprehend SEO-focused content briefs in theory, let's get into the nitty gritty. What information should we consist of in them?
1. Main question target and intent
It isn't an SEO-focused material short without a question target!
Utilizing a keyword research study tool like Moz Keyword Explorer, you can get countless keyword ideas that might be relevant to your organization.
For example, in my present job, I'm concentrated on developing content for store owners and others in the brick and mortar retail market. After listening to some sales and support gets in touch with Gong (many teams use this to tape client and prospect calls), I might find out that "merchandising" is a big topic of focus.
So I type "retailing" into Keyword Explorer, include a couple more helpful filters, and boom! Tons of keyword suggestions.
Choose a keyword (examine your existing material to make sure your team hasn't currently written on the subject yet) and utilize that as the "north star" query for your material short.
I think it's likewise useful to consist of some intent info here. Simply put, what might the searcher who's typing this question into Google desire? It's an excellent idea to search the question in Google yourself to see how Google is analyzing the intent.
If my keyword is "types of visual merchandising," I can see from the seo agency SERP that Google presumes an educational intent, based on the reality that the URLs ranking are mostly educational posts.
2. Format
Dovetailing well off of intent is format. To put it simply, how should we structure the content to provide it the best chance of ranking for our target question?
To utilize the exact same keyword example, if I Google "types of visual retailing," the top-ranking posts consist of lists.
You may notice that your target inquiry returns results with a great deal of images (typical with questions consisting of "motivation" or "examples").
This much better assists the writer understand what content format is likely to work best.
3. Topics to cover and related questions to respond to
Selecting the target query helps the author understand the "concept" of the piece, but stopping there indicates you risk writing something that does not thoroughly address the query intent.
That's why I like to include a "topics to cover/ related concerns to respond to" area in my briefs. This is where I list out all the subtopics I've discovered that somebody browsing that query would probably want to know.
To discover these, I like to use techniques like:
Utilizing a keyword research tool to reveal you queries related to your main keyword that are concerns.
Taking a look at the People Also Ask box, if one exists, on the SERP your target question triggers
Discovering sites that rank in the top spots for your target inquiry, running them through a keyword research tool, and seeing what other keywords they also rank for
And while this isn't specifically search-related, sometimes I like to use a tool called FAQ Fox to scour forums for threads that discuss my target query
You can also produce the overview yourself using your research study with all the H2s/H3s currently written. While this can work well with freelance writers, I have actually found some writers (especially in-house material marketers) feel this is too authoritative. Every writer and material group is different, so all I can say is simply utilize your best judgment.
4. Funnel stage
This is relatively comparable to intent, but I think it's handy to include as a separate line item. To complete this part of the material brief, ask yourself: "Is someone searching this term just trying to find information? Motivation? Seeking to evaluate their alternatives? Or seeking to buy something?"
And here's how you can identify your answer:
Top-of-funnel (TOFU or "problem aware") is a proper label if the question intent is informational/educational/inspirational.
Middle-of-funnel (MOFU or "option aware") is a suitable label if the question intent is to compare, examine alternatives, or otherwise suggests that the searcher is currently aware of your option.Bottom-of-funnel (BOFU or "option all set") is a suitable label if the question intent is to buy or otherwise transform.
5. Audience section
Who are you composing this for?
It appears like such a fundamental question to answer, however in my experience, it's simple to forget!
When it comes to SEO-focused content briefs, it's simple to assume the response to this concern is "for whoever is searching this keyword!" but what that fails to address is who those searchers are and how they suit your company's personas/ perfect client profile (ICP).
If you do not know what those personas are, ask your marketing team! They must have target market sectors readily available to send you.
This will not only assist your writers better understand what they should be composing, but it likewise helps align you with the rest of the marketing department and help them understand SEO's connection to their objectives (this is also a vital element of getting buy-in, which we'll discuss a little later).
6. The objective action you want your readers to take
That's why, when creating your content brief, you not only require to think of how readers will get to it, however what you want them to do after.
This is a terrific chance to deal with your content marketing and larger marketing team to comprehend what actions they're attempting 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 property downloads (e.g. complimentary design templates, whitepapers, and ebooks).
Case research studies.Free trials.
Demand demonstration.Product listings.
In basic, it's finest to use a CTA that's a natural next step based upon the intent of the post. If the piece is top-of-funnel, attempt a CTA that'll move them to the mid-funnel, like a case study.
7. Ballpark length.
I'm a firm follower that the length of any post ought to be dictated by the topic, not approximate word counts. Nevertheless, it can be handy to use a ballpark to avoid bringing a 500-word blog post to a 2,000-word battle.
One tool that can make developing a ballpark word count simpler is Frase, which to name a few things, will reveal you the average word count of pages ranking for your target question.
8. Internal and external link chances.
Given that you're reading the Moz blog, you're probably already totally familiar with the significance of links. This info is commonly left out of content briefs.
It's as simple as including these 2 line items:.
Relevant material we must link out to. Note out any URLs, especially by yourself site, that might be natural fits to connect out to in this article.
Existing material that could connect to this brand-new piece. List out any URLs on your website that discuss your subject so that, after your brand-new piece is live, you can return and consist of links in them to your new piece.The second product is particularly important, given that adding links to your brand-new post can assist it get indexed and begin ranking quicker. A quick way to discover internal link chances is to use the "website:" operator in Google.
The following search would reveal me all posts on the Moz blog site that point out "content quick." These could be terrific sources of links to this post.
9. Rival material.
Browse your target query and pull the leading three-or-so ranking URLs for this section of your material brief. These are the pages you require to beat.
At danger of creating copycat content (content that's basically a re-spun version of the top-level articles), it's a good idea to advise your author on how best to utilize these.
I like to consist of concerns like:.
What's our unique point-of-view on this subject?
Do we have any distinct data we can pull on this subject?What experts (internal or external) can we ask for quotes to consist of on this subject?
What graphics would make this more aesthetically compelling than what our rivals have?You get the idea!
10. On-page SEO cheat sheet.
One thing I always like to include in my briefs is some type of an "SEO cheat sheet"-- ideas and resources for assisting your writers with essential on-page SEO components.
Here's an example of one I have actually utilized in the past:.
Some content groups are extremely bullish on SEO (companies like G2 and HubSpot come to mind), so the writers might not require much help in this location. For others, SEO is relatively brand-new to them.
What to avoid when composing content briefs.
Regretfully, "SEO" has become an unclean word to numerous authors. Comprehending why will assist us avoid the major risks that can cause disregarded briefs and interdepartmental tensions.Don't supply suggestions after that asset has been written.
When writing for search, we're developing the output. The keyword is the input. Simply put, target queries are questions to be addressed, not something to be stuffed into copy that's currently been written.
Google wishes to rank material that responds to the query, not just duplicates it on the page.
For this factor, I would prevent having an optimization action after your writing action. If you do not, you risk the material not matching the intent of the question, which suggests it has little-to-no likelihood of ranking, and you'll likewise likely disturb your writers, who don't wish to cheapen their editorially outstanding material by stuffing keywords into it.
Don't prefer keywords with high volume over high intent match.
I once saw a brief where the SEO Manager requested that the writer use a specific phrase rather of another phrase because it had search volume while the other didn't.The issue? While apparently similar, the keywords in fact had completely various intents.
Don't do this.
At best, targeting keywords simply for volume's sake can lead to vanity traffic that never converts. At worst, you'll be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and most likely missing intent-match completely.
Do not blindly follow keyword tools.
Keyword tools are useful, however they're not perfect reflections of search need. Because they're not always upgraded incredibly frequently, you may wrongly think a query has no demand when in truth it has a load.
A good example of this is COVID-19 associated keywords. As a recently trending topic previously this year, numerous keyword research tools didn't register that they had any search volume, when in truth they did. If you would have blindly followed the tool, you might have lost out on the opportunity.
To fix for this, you can use tools like Google Trends and even Google Search Console (if you have material on a trending topic or comparable topic on your website already, you need to have the ability to see impressions/interest spiking within a couple of days).
Do not instruct writers to "include these keywords" (especially a specific variety of times).
When listing out the target question (or queries) in your material brief, it is essential that we advise our authors that this is the primary concern to address rather than this the word I need you to spray throughout the content.There's no magic number of times you can stick a keyword in your copy so that it ranks for that term. Rather, instruct your authors to concentrate on addressing the intent of the searcher's concern comprehensively.
Don't attempt to jam keywords into short articles that weren't meant for search discovery.
Organic search is not the only channel for material discovery. As somebody originating from an SEO background, this took me a while to find out.
That indicates including search content to your content calendar, not attempting to stuff keywords into everything on the calendar.
While it is essential to get the on-page SEO fundamentals right (title tag, heading tags, links, and so on) for each piece, not every piece lends itself well to organic search discovery.
If we only created material based on keywords that a tool told us gets searched a certain number of times per month, we 'd never write about new ideas. It takes a great deal of thought leadership off the table, in addition to things like case research studies and interview/feature story pieces.
Organic search is effective, however it's not everything.
Tips for getting your material group purchased in.
Even the very best content briefs will not make an effect if your content group declines to use them-- and I have actually become aware of lots of circumstances where that happens.As an SEO, it can be overwhelming that your material team does not wish to utilize this: "Don't you desire traffic?!" But as someone who leads a content team, I comprehend why they're often declined.
Thankfully, in most cases, this can be prevented by taking the following actions.
Involve them in the planning procedure.
No one likes to be micromanaged, and comprehensive content briefs can sometimes seem like micromanaging. One fantastic way to prevent this is by bringing them along for the procedure. Make content briefs a joint effort in between SEO and Content.
For instance, connect with the Content Lead and see if they 'd want to take a seat with you to create the material brief template together. By each of you bringing your distinct knowledge to the table, it can feel less like dictating and more like partnership (plus, you'll most likely end up with a better short design template that way).
Make it clear that not all content needs to be search content.
SEO Managers live and breathe the organic search channel, however content teams have a more varied diet. They take a multi-channel technique to content, and often are even composing content to support post-conversion groups like customer success.When dealing with your content group on this, make certain you stress that this is a brand-new content type that can be contributed to editorial preparation. Not something that'll change or require to alter the types of material they're already writing.
Regard their expertise.
Writing is hard. Doing it well requires enormous ability and practice, however regretfully, I have actually heard lots of SEOs discuss authors as if they didn't know anything, just because they do not know SEO.
As an SEO, you'll get far with your material department simply by appreciating their expertise. Just as many SEO Supervisors aren't writers, it's unfair of us to expect writers to have the SEO understanding of a full-time SEO professional.
Prior to you carry out a material brief process, sit down with the Material Lead and members of the material group to evaluate their search maturity. What do they actually require your help with? Then trust them with the rest.
Show results.
Among the very best ways to get and maintain buy-in is by showing results. Show your content team how much of their traffic is originating from organic search and how, unlike numerous other material discovery channels, that traffic is remaining constant gradually. Offer the writer a shout-out when you see their article ranking on page one.