Build an Evidence-Led SEO Content Brief

• F

  Frase

  AI Marketing, SEO & Sales

  Content platform for site audits, article drafts, publishing and AI search tracking

  Paid◦Documented
• C

  Clearscope

  AI Marketing, SEO & Sales

  Content optimization and search visibility tracking for SEO and AI search

  Paid◦Documented

1. 1

   Step 1: Define the query, audience and business fit

   Write the target query exactly as a user would search it, then state the job the reader needs to complete. Define the intended audience, funnel stage, useful next action and the reason the site is qualified to cover the subject. Add exclusions so the brief cannot expand into adjacent intents. Record the decision before inspecting competitors; otherwise a visible ranking pattern may replace the actual user need. The step passes when an editor can explain why this page should exist, whom it serves and what it must not become.

2. 2

   Step 2: Capture current search evidence

   Inspect a current result set in the target market and date the capture. For each relevant result, record page type, primary promise, recurring sections, distinctive evidence and obvious gaps. Separate observations from interpretations: “eight pages include a comparison table” is an observation only when the sheet contains those eight URLs. Remove irrelevant or mixed-intent results instead of forcing them into the pattern. Do not copy headings as an outline. Verify the sheet by tracing every claimed pattern to the captured result rows.

   Tool: Frase

3. 3

   Step 3: Check the existing site for overlap

   Run the cannibalization prompt with an inventory of related URLs, their purpose and their current search signals when available. Compare intended audience, query family, page type and conversion goal. Decide whether an existing page should be updated, consolidated or internally linked before approving a new URL. Record rejected alternatives and the evidence behind the decision. This step is complete only when the new page has a scope that existing pages do not already satisfy.

4. 4

   Step 4: Design a differentiated outline and coverage map

   Use the evidence-led brief prompt to organize the user journey, not to imitate competitor order. Map essential questions, entities, examples, objections and decision points. Add a distinct contribution such as original process evidence, a worked example, a comparison method or a transparent limitation. Treat coverage suggestions as research prompts rather than mandatory keywords. Verify that every section advances the reader’s task and that no section exists solely to increase term frequency.

   Tool: Clearscope

5. 5

   Step 5: Set source, quality and internal-link requirements

   For every claim type, state the required source: official documentation for product behavior, primary data for measured results and named expert evidence for interpretation. List internal pages that genuinely help at the point of need and describe the anchor context, without setting a mechanical link count. Add acceptance criteria for accuracy, originality, readability, disclosure and conversion. The brief should explicitly forbid fabricated tests, undated statistics and unsupported superlatives.

6. 6

   Step 6: Review the draft against the brief

   When a draft exists, run the review prompt and have an editor check it independently. Mark each acceptance criterion pass, fail or not applicable, with a passage or source as evidence. Recheck search intent and site overlap if the draft changed scope. Resolve factual gaps before stylistic polishing. Approval requires a documented disposition for every failure; an SEO score alone cannot substitute for editorial judgment or demonstrate that the page is useful.

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• Build an evidence-led SEO brief · tested on OpenAI GPT-5 (Codex) — editorial dry run
• Check cannibalization before creating a page · tested on OpenAI GPT-5 (Codex) — editorial dry run
• Review a draft against its SEO brief · tested on OpenAI GPT-5 (Codex) — editorial dry run

• OutputIllustrative scenario: brief and overlap review

  Synthetic fixture: one query, ten frozen result rows and four fictional site URLs. The run produced an intent statement, overlap disposition, six-section outline, source rules and acceptance checklist. One proposed section was removed because it duplicated an existing page’s purpose.

• DatasetTesting limitation

  The result sheet and site inventory were synthetic. The workflow was executed in Codex on 2026-10-03. Frase, Clearscope, live rankings and Search Console data were not used.

✓Last verified Oct 3, 2026