# SEO content brief from one keyword: intent, outline, questions

> Builds an article brief from a single keyword: search intent, an angle your site can own, title and meta, outline, reader questions and cuts.

- **Author:** [Elif Yilmaz (@elif_yilmaz)](https://promptabide.com/elif_yilmaz)
- **Tested on:** Claude · Opus 5.5
- **You fill in:** `keyword`, `site`, `reader`
- **Published:** 2026-09-22
- **Updated:** 2026-09-24
- **Tags:** `seo`, `content-creation`, `writing`, `marketing`
- **Keywords:** seo content brief template, content brief from a keyword, search intent and article outline, ai prompt for seo content brief, blog post brief for writers
- **Views:** 1275
- **Likes:** 15

**Best for:** Bloggers, small-site owners and content marketers who want a brief a writer can follow, built around intent rather than keyword density.

## Prompt

```
Create a content brief for an article targeting the keyword "{{keyword}}" on {{site}}. Our reader: {{reader}}.

You can't see live search results, so reason from the query itself and label anything that is an assumption.

1. **Search intent**: informational, commercial, transactional or navigational, and what the searcher wants to be able to do after reading. Name the page types you'd expect to rank (guides, forums, videos, product pages), labeled as an assumption for me to verify.
2. **Angle**: the one thing our page can offer that a generic article can't, given what our site is.
3. **Title tag** (under 60 characters) and **meta description** (under 155).
4. **Outline**: H2s and H3s, with one line on what each section must answer. The direct answer to the query goes in the first 100 words.
5. **Questions**: 8 real follow-up questions a searcher would have, grouped by stage: just starting, comparing, ready to act.
6. **Must include**: examples, data, visuals or first-hand experience that would make this page more useful than what already exists.
7. **Don't include**: sections that pad the word count without helping the reader.
8. **Internal links**: which of our pages to link to and from.

Target length: whatever the intent needs. Give me a range and why.
```

## Variables

- `{{keyword}}` — The search phrase you're targeting (e.g. how to keep sourdough starter alive on vacation)
- `{{site}}` — What your site is and sells (e.g. a small baking blog with about 120 recipes and a shop selling proofing baskets and starter jars)
- `{{reader}}` — Who you're writing for (e.g. home bakers who've kept a starter for 1-6 months)

## Example input

```
keyword: how to keep sourdough starter alive on vacation
site: a small baking blog with about 120 recipes and a shop selling proofing baskets and starter jars
reader: home bakers who've kept a starter for 1-6 months
```

## Output

*Produced by Claude · Opus 5.5.*

```
**1. Search intent**
Informational, with a practical deadline: the searcher is probably leaving soon and wants a method that matches their trip length, plus how to revive the starter afterward. *Assumption to verify:* results are likely baking-blog guides, forum threads and a few videos, with few product pages.

**2. Angle**
A **trip-length table** backed by your own test: leave a starter using each method, photograph it before and after, and show the revival. First-hand results are what generic guides lack. Starter jars fit naturally in the fridge section; don't force the proofing baskets in.

**3. Title and meta**
- Title: How to Keep Sourdough Starter Alive on Vacation
- Meta: Going away? How to keep your sourdough starter alive for a long weekend, two weeks or two months, and how to wake it up when you're home.

**4. Outline**
- Intro (first 100 words): the short answer by trip length.
- **H2: The short answer by trip length** (table: method, prep time, revival time)
- **H2: Trips up to two weeks: feed, then fridge**
  - H3: How much to feed before you leave
  - H3: The liquid on top when you get back
- **H2: Longer trips: make a stiffer starter**
  - H3: The ratio, and why less water slows it down
- **H2: Months away: dry a backup**
  - H3: Drying on parchment, step by step
  - H3: Storing and reviving dried starter
- **H2: Coming home: reviving a sluggish starter**
  - H3: A three-day feeding schedule
  - H3: Signs it's ready to bake with
- **H2: Other options: a starter-sitter, or the freezer**
- **H2: Our test** (your photos and results)

**5. Questions**
- *Just starting:* Can I just put it in the fridge? How long can it go without feeding? Is the gray liquid on top bad?
- *Comparing:* Fridge or freezer? Stiff starter or dried? What do I tell a friend who's looking after it?
- *Ready to act:* How do I revive it after three weeks? How do I tell dead from dormant (and when do pink or orange streaks mean start over)?

**6. Must include**
Exact feed ratios in grams, your own before-and-after photos, a revival timeline, and a printable card of instructions for a starter-sitter.

**7. Don't include**
The history of sourdough, a "what is a starter" section (link to one instead), or long microbiology.

**8. Internal links**
Link out to your starter-making and feeding-schedule guides and to the starter jars from the fridge section. Link in from bread recipes with a line like "Going away? Here's what to do with your starter."

**Length:** 1,200-1,600 words. The table, three methods and a revival plan need that; anything longer is padding.
```

## Why it works

The prompt admits the model **can't see live results** and makes it **label assumptions**, which is more honest and more useful than invented "top-ranking competitor" analysis. Starting from **intent and what the searcher wants to do after reading** keeps the outline useful. The **angle** and **must include** steps push toward first-hand experience, which is what separates a page worth ranking from the dozen generic ones. **"Direct answer in the first 100 words"** and the **don't-include list** cut the padding that makes so many recipe and how-to pages painful.

## When not to use it

This doesn't replace looking at the actual results page: search the keyword yourself and check the assumptions before briefing a writer. It has no search volume or difficulty data, so pair it with a keyword tool when choosing what to write. For YMYL topics (health, money, legal) the brief needs an expert reviewer.

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