Content brief

What is a content brief?

A content brief is a document that tells a writer what a piece of content needs to achieve and include: the target keyword and search intent, the audience, the angle, a suggested outline, questions to answer, sources, internal links, and the call to action. It turns keyword research into clear instructions before writing starts.

A good brief is short enough to read in a few minutes and specific enough that two writers would produce broadly similar pages. It explains why the page exists, not only what words to use.

Why content brief matters for SEO

Most SEO content fails because it doesn’t match search intent or misses what searchers expect, not because of bad writing. A brief that analyses the current top results and the questions people ask prevents those misses before they cost a rewrite.

Briefs also keep pages from overlapping. Stating the target keyword and the URL it belongs to helps avoid keyword cannibalisation as a content plan grows.

How to write a content brief

1. State the target keyword, secondary keywords and the URL.
2. Describe the search intent and the format the top results use (guide, list, comparison, tool).
3. Define the reader: who they are and what they already know.
4. Give a suggested outline with headings, plus the questions the page must answer.
5. Note what will make this page better than what ranks: original data, examples, expertise (information gain).
6. List internal links to add, sources to cite and the call to action.

Content brief example

Keyword: “how to descale a kettle” (informational). URL: /guides/descale-kettle. Reader: home user with limescale, wants a quick method. Format: short step-by-step guide with a method comparison table (vinegar, citric acid, commercial descaler). Must answer: how often, is vinegar safe, how to remove the smell. Add: photos from our own test, time each method took. Link to: /guides/hard-water.