How to write a content brief that actually ranks
Word count is not a brief. Intent, entities and structure are.
Word count is not a brief
"1,500 words on digital marketing" produces filler. A brief should tell the writer what question they are answering, for whom, and what has to be covered for the piece to be genuinely useful. Length follows from that, not the other way round.
Start with intent
Read the top ten results and classify what Google is currently rewarding: a definition, a comparison, a tutorial, a listicle, a tool. Match that format, then beat it on specificity. If eight of ten results are step-by-step guides, a thought-leadership essay will not rank however well written.
Cover the entities
List the concepts, tools, people and terms a knowledgeable author would naturally mention. This is not keyword stuffing — it is topical completeness, and it is how search engines assess whether a page genuinely covers a subject.
Specify the structure
Give the writer an H2 outline with a one-line purpose for each section, the internal links to include with their anchor context, the sources they may cite, and the single takeaway a reader should leave with. Name the audience precisely: "in-house marketing manager at a 50-person SaaS company" produces better writing than "business owners".
Publish and revisit
Set a review date at ninety days. Compare impressions against clicks — high impressions with low clicks is a title and meta problem, not a content problem. See our 90-day SEO plan for where content sits in the sequence.
A 30-minute consultation and a written summary of what we would prioritise.
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