Library·SOP·SEO
Turn one chosen topic and main search phrase into a clear page plan a writer can use. Use search results as clues about the reader’s task, then support the outline with reliable sources and confirmed business facts.
Last reviewed: · Editorial review
Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Turn one chosen topic and main search phrase into a clear page plan a writer can use. Use search results as clues about the reader’s task, then support the outline with reliable sources and confirmed business facts.
This SOP covers:
This does not cover:
Start with one topic and phrase that the business has already chosen. The worksheet keeps source links and business answers separate from the final handoff.
Make your own copy of the SEO Content Brief worksheet, then enter the chosen topic and page context on Brief - Blank. Use one brief for each chosen topic.
On the template page, select Make a copy. Work in the Brief - Blank and Research & Facts - Blank tabs. Use the fictional example tabs to see how a finished brief connects reader needs, sources, and business facts; do not reuse its fictional company or claims.
On Brief - Blank, fill Main search phrase (B5), Website or business name (B6), Page plan (B7), and Search location/language checked (B9). Choose Create a new page or Improve an existing page. If the page exists, enter its URL in B8. In B9, enter the market and language the business wants to serve; later you will also record the location Google actually shows.
Ask the owner or subject expert for facts that connect the intended reader’s task to the business. Record what is supported, who can confirm missing details, and which optional details can be left out.
Ask who this page should help, what they are trying to do, and what they may need to know first. Add one Business fact row per useful answer on Research & Facts - Blank. Write the reader’s task as an action or question. For example, “a first-time apartment gardener who wants to grow basil for leaves” gives the writer a clearer task than “people who like plants.”
Ask which product, service, or expertise relates to that task and what evidence supports each business claim. A useful distinction is a real, confirmable detail that helps this reader. Record the supporting page or named contact. Mark an important unconfirmed detail Must confirm before writing and keep it out of the planned claim until confirmed.
Ask what a suitable reader could usefully do after the page and which owned page supports that action. Also ask about important limits, such as where a service is available, who can use it, or what results the business can actually support. Record each answer with its page or contact. Do not force an offer into the article if it does not help the reader.
Whenever you add a research row, choose its Status from the dropdown and name a source or contact where needed:
If you are unsure whether a missing fact changes the offer or page promise, treat it as Must confirm before writing.
Search intent means what a person likely wants to accomplish with a search. Google results can vary with location and language, so record the context and treat the results as a dated sample.
Use the phrase and intended market and language already written on Brief - Blank to search Google.
In Google Search, enter the main phrase without quotation marks. Use words the intended reader would naturally use. Add the target place when location changes the answer, such as grow basil indoors from seed Iowa. Treat this as a dated sample: results can vary by location, language, time, device, or search context.
At the bottom of the results page, check the location Google says it used. If it differs from your target market, use the nearby update link when available; otherwise add the target place to your query and note the difference. Add a Search result row to Research & Facts - Blank with the exact query, date, language, displayed location, Google results URL, and a short summary of the result types and reader tasks. This is one sample, not a promise that every reader sees the same pages.
Review useful results to see what readers may need from a page about this phrase.
Open useful pages that appear to answer the query. Add a Search result row when a page reveals a distinct task, format, question, or caution. In your own words, note what the page helps a reader do and paste its URL. A how-to page may show that the task needs instructions; a comparison may show that readers need a way to choose. Treat these pages as clues to reader needs, not proof of what your business offers, and do not copy their titles, headings, snippets, or sentences. Stop when another representative page adds no useful need or evidence; if the pages point in different directions, record that uncertainty.
Add a Reader question row for a question that recurs or matters to the intended reader’s task. Restate it in your own words and say what a useful answer would help the reader do. Combine repeats; do not collect questions just to fill rows.
Compare the tasks shown by the pages you reviewed with the task this business wants to help its reader complete. Use the observed pages and intended reader to choose a direction, then write the evidence and page format below.
A how-to guide or demonstration helps someone learn a process. A comparison or product category helps someone choose. A named official destination helps someone reach a site. In the sample for “grow basil indoors from seed Iowa,” how-to pages and videos point to an instructional guide; a kit page can be a useful next step after the advice.
Choose the closest Main search need in B19:
If the observed pattern does not fit the intended reader, choose Mixed or unclear and say why.
In B20, summarize the observed pattern and name relevant page titles or direct URLs. In B21, state what the page must help the intended reader do. In B22, name a useful page type and explain why it fits. If pages conflict, describe the conflict instead of forcing a single answer. The sample is a clue, not a statement of what every searcher wants.
Use public sources for factual statements and owned pages for helpful next steps. A useful outline answers the reader's questions in a sensible order and adds the business's own verified knowledge.
For factual points the article may need, use a relevant, dependable public source, such as official guidance, original research, or a first-hand expert source. Check that the source is about the right subject and context. Add a Public source row with its title and publisher, direct URL, the point it supports, and how it changes or supports the brief. Use your own words. If sources disagree, note the difference and seek a clearer source or a qualified contact before using the claim; keep estimates and caveats attached to the source that made them.
Look through the site navigation and existing pages for a page that helps the reader before or after this article. You can also search Google for site:yourdomain.com topic to find candidates, but that search can miss pages, so check the site or ask its owner too. Record the useful page URL and what the reader can do there. If you checked and found none, choose Not applicable and say where you looked.
Use the reader task, search observations, reliable sources, and confirmed business facts to plan one useful page.
Fill B12–B16: Purpose of this page, Intended reader, What the reader is trying to do or learn, What the reader likely knows or needs first, and Useful next step for the reader. Make the purpose a plain sentence about the reader’s result. Name a kind of person and task, not a broad demographic guess. For example, “help a first-time apartment gardener grow basil indoors for leaves” tells the writer what success looks like.
Use the search need, reader task, and format you chose in step 2.3 to keep the purpose and outline aligned. Do not enter those choices a second time. If your source research changes the direction, update the earlier fields before continuing.
Fill B25–B27 with the relevant offer or expertise, confirmed facts and their source or owner, and important claim limits or missing answers. Use the business owner or its own records to check business claims. Under Writer handoff, add any important unanswered question and the person to ask; list optional details separately.
Write an original Working page title in B30. Under Suggested sections, draft one section for each important question the reader must answer to reach the page purpose. Add outline rows if needed. Use the reader’s own words for the heading and the question; leave out questions the page does not need to answer.
Put sections in the order the reader needs them: start with what they need to decide or prepare, then move toward the result and a helpful next step. Combine sections that answer the same question. Keep a section only when it adds a useful answer to the page purpose; there is no required number of sections.
For each factual section, name the supporting public source or add its direct URL in column D. Add a useful owned-page URL in column E when one exists. If an important answer is missing, name the person or source to ask and list it in the handoff.
In the fictional basil guide, sections cover the growing spot, starting seeds, care, then harvest. Gardening sources support those answers; the fictional kit facts still need confirmation.
Under Writer handoff, fill the Business details to confirm before writing field with two short lists:
If a missing answer is essential to what the page promises, resolve it or change the plan before handing the brief to a writer.
Complete the remaining Writer handoff fields: Source titles the writer should use, Internal links that help the reader, and Other useful writer notes. If you found no useful internal links, write None found in places checked. Keep full source URLs on Research & Facts - Blank and beside the outline section they support.
A finished brief explains one page's purpose, audience, search need, evidence, business fit, and outline. Use the checklist to catch missing support before sending it to a writer.
On Brief - Blank, find Finish check below Writer handoff. Review its eight items and tick each after checking it.
Make sure each factual outline section has a source link. For any Must confirm before writing detail, get the answer or remove the unsupported claim from the plan. Optional details can be left out or checked later.
If an unanswered question is essential to the page, label the brief Not ready to write and name the person who will answer it.
