Library·SOP·SEO
Choose your next task: find a new page topic, review an existing page, or prepare a writer brief.
Last reviewed: · Editorial review
Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Choose your next task: find a new page topic, review an existing page, or prepare a writer brief.
This SOP covers:
This does not cover:
Start with the question you need to answer. You may need a new topic, a decision about an existing page, or a handoff for a topic that is already chosen.
Create a short note called SEO content next step. Add these lines: Website or business, What I need next, What I already know, Search Console or paid Semrush access, and Next task and reason. Under What I already know, write the possible new topic, existing page address, or chosen topic and main phrase. Use a separate line for each different page or task.
Choose the route that matches the work you need and the evidence or tool access you already have. The linked procedure does the research or review; this chooser only selects it.
You need ideas for a new page and do not need paid Semrush metrics. If you know whom the business serves and what it offers, use the linked public-search guide to find and group topic ideas. If you need Semrush keyword metrics and a broad page plan based on the offer, choose the Semrush keyword-planning route.
You want a broad keyword plan based on the business’s products or services and audience. Choose this route when the account has a paid Semrush plan with normal table exports. It starts with a few search phrases about the business’s products or services, finds related searches, checks what the site already covers, and returns an ordered page plan. You do not need to start from a known competitor gap. If paid exports are unavailable or uncertain, use public topic research or ask the account owner to confirm access.
You want new-page ideas for topics that relevant search competitors rank for but your site may not cover. Choose this route when paid Keyword Gap exports are available and you can name genuine competitors in the same market. The report separates topics your site does not rank for from topics where it ranks below competitors. The linked procedure checks your current pages and Google results before it recommends a new page; an absent keyword alone is not enough.
You have an existing page and want to decide whether it needs a closer review using your site’s own search history. Choose this route when you can open the correct Search Console property and see data for this page address. The linked guide compares the visible page and searches, then returns an ordered review list. Google may leave some query searches out of the report.
You have an existing page and want to compare its estimated search rankings with keyword and competitor evidence. Choose this route when the paid Semrush plan includes Organic Rankings and normal report exports for the target market. The linked guide checks which searches Semrush associates with the page, the live page and current Google results, then records an ordered review. Semrush traffic figures are estimates, not your site’s measured visits.
You already chose the topic and main search phrase, and a writer needs clear instructions. Follow the linked guide to make a writer-ready brief. If you have only a broad subject and still need to choose a page topic or phrase, use the new-topic route first.
You want to review an existing page but cannot see its Search Console data.
a. If paid Semrush Organic Rankings exports are available for the target market, choose the Semrush page-review route.
b. If not, ask the site owner to confirm the correct Search Console property and share a report with history for this page.
c. If neither source is available, record what is missing and wait before making a data-based choice. For a separate new-page question, choose a topic-research route instead.
The three procedures can stand alone. Topic research can lead to a brief after you choose a page idea; the Search Console route has its own review result.
A new-topic procedure may give you several page ideas.
a. Finish that procedure and ask the business owner to choose one useful page idea and its main search phrase.
b. When both are settled, follow the linked writer-brief guide and give the writer the selected idea and its evidence.
a. Use the existing-page guide’s review order to choose a next check, monitor the page, or leave it unchanged when the evidence supports that choice.
b. Record the reason and keep Search Console history separate from Semrush estimates.
c. Treat any page edit as a separate task.
These fictional situations show how the right next task changes with the question, existing page, tool access and evidence available.
New page idea, no paid Semrush: A neighborhood climbing gym knows the visitors it serves but has not chosen a guide topic or phrase. Choose public topic research to build page ideas from searches; once the owner selects one idea and phrase, a writer brief can follow.
Broad keyword plan, paid Semrush available: A bicycle repair shop wants a prioritized set of useful page ideas from its services, and the account can export report tables. Choose Semrush seed keyword research. It does not need a competitor-gap question to use this route.
Competitors rank for topics your site does not cover: A home-fermentation shop wants to find useful care topics that similar sites appear for in Google but its own site may not cover. It can export Semrush Keyword Gap data and name comparable sites in the same market. Choose the Semrush competitor-gap route, then check the shop’s current pages and live Google results; a missing keyword by itself does not justify an article.
Existing page, Search Console history available: A bakery has a published cake-ordering page and its Search Console report shows data for that URL. The owner wants a review order using the site’s own search history. Choose the Search Console page-opportunity route.
Existing page, no Search Console history but paid Semrush available: A bakery cannot see Search Console data for one page, but its account can export Semrush Organic Rankings tables. The owner wants to compare estimated rankings and search competitors before deciding what to review. Choose the Semrush page-review route and keep its estimates separate from actual site analytics.
Existing page, neither source is ready: If the bakery cannot see Search Console data for the URL and has no paid Semrush export access, ask the site owner which evidence can be provided. Record the missing data and wait before choosing a data-based review. For a separate new-page task, use a topic route that fits available information.
Topic and main phrase already chosen: A repair shop selected a page about mobile repairs and its main search phrase. It needs to explain the audience, useful facts and outline to a writer. Go straight to the writer-brief route; no extra topic-research or Search Console task is required for this handoff.
