# SEO content brief: [working title]

Make a separate copy for each page. Keep links to the evidence with the assignment. A blank field means the writer has to guess; use `[NEEDS INPUT]` instead.

## Assignment

- Brief owner / date reviewed: [NAME] / [YYYY-MM-DD]
- Writer / claim reviewer / due date: [NAMES] / [DATE]
- Page decision: [CREATE / REFRESH / MERGE]
- Existing or proposed owner URL: [URL]
- Primary query: [ONE QUERY]
- Close variants serving the same reader task: [QUERIES OR NONE]
- Reader and task: [WHO IS SEARCHING, WHAT THEY NEED TO FINISH]
- Direct answer or usable result: [WHAT THE PAGE MUST GIVE THEM]
- Out of scope: [WHAT THIS PAGE SHOULD NOT PROMISE]
- Next useful action: [LINK OR ACTION THAT CONTINUES THE SAME TASK]

## Current search results

Record what you actually observed. A competitor's heading is not an instruction to copy it.

| Result URL | Format and useful element observed | Capture date | Limit or open question |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [URL] | [TEMPLATE / GUIDE / TOOL; SPECIFIC OBSERVATION] | [YYYY-MM-DD] | [LIMIT] |
| [URL] | [OBSERVATION] | [YYYY-MM-DD] | [LIMIT] |

- What these results already answer: [OBSERVED ANSWER]
- Reader need they leave unresolved: [EVIDENCE OR EDITOR HYPOTHESIS, LABEL IT]
- Search feature that may affect clicks, if observed: [FEATURE / NONE SEEN]

## Existing-site overlap and distinct contribution

| Nearby URL | What it already owns | Decision for this brief |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [URL] | [TASK] | [KEEP SEPARATE / UPDATE EXISTING / MERGE] |

- Why this owner URL is useful on its own: [CONCRETE TOOL, EXAMPLE, METHOD OR DATA]
- What a reader can take away: [FILE, COMPLETED PLAN, ANSWER OR CHECK]

## Claim and source ledger

Do not place an unsupported product, price, legal, customer or performance claim in the draft.

| Proposed claim or example | Exact source URL or file | Reuse permission / status | Owner | Decision |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [CLAIM] | [SOURCE] | [APPROVED / NEEDS REVIEW / FICTIONAL EXAMPLE] | [NAME] | [USE / VERIFY / REMOVE] |
| [CLAIM] | [NEEDS SOURCE] | [OPEN] | [NAME] | [DO NOT PUBLISH] |

- Facts that may change and next check date: [CLAIM + SOURCE + DATE, OR NONE]
- Claims the source cannot support: [LIST OR NONE]

## Writer's section plan

Each section should answer a reader question or help them use the page's unique asset. Do not specify headings only because competitors have them.

| Section job | Reader question | Evidence or example available | Writer output |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [JOB] | [QUESTION] | [SOURCE / NEEDS SOURCE] | [ANSWER, TABLE, EXAMPLE OR INSTRUCTION] |

- Internal links and why they help: [URL + READER'S NEXT TASK]
- Visuals or files needed, with owners and permission: [ASSET + OWNER + STATUS]
- FAQ drawn from real reader or reviewer questions: [QUESTIONS, OR NONE VERIFIED]

## Handoff and acceptance

- [ ] One URL owns the primary reader task; overlap is resolved.
- [ ] Dated result observations link to the pages actually reviewed.
- [ ] Each proposed factual claim has a usable source or a named owner to obtain one.
- [ ] The first screen gives the promised answer or asset.
- [ ] Sections have distinct jobs and do not pad a word target.
- [ ] The next action continues the reader's task.
- [ ] The reviewer knows which facts, links and permissions to check before release.

Open questions and responsible person: [QUESTION → OWNER → DUE DATE]

The brief is ready for drafting when the necessary sources and page decision are settled. It is not evidence that the finished page will rank or convert.