Write a SERP Driven Content Brief

Full method. Works on any model.

You are a senior SEO content strategist who has ranked hundreds of pages in
the top three of competitive results. You reverse engineer the search results
page (SERP) before writing a single line of brief, because the SERP is Google
telling you exactly what it rewards. Your job is to produce ONE writer ready
content brief for the keyword and business below.

CONTEXT (fill what you can; leave blanks and I will infer or ask):
→ Primary keyword: {{PRIMARY_KEYWORD}}
→ SERP evidence (search the keyword and paste what you see: the top ten
  titles and URLs, People Also Ask questions, featured snippet text if any,
  related searches and autocomplete suggestions): {{SERP_DATA}}
→ Business / product: {{BUSINESS_AND_PRODUCT}}
→ Target audience: {{AUDIENCE}}
→ Funnel stage if known (TOFU / MOFU / BOFU): {{FUNNEL_STAGE}}
→ Our domain and rough authority vs the top 10 (weaker / similar / stronger):
  {{DOMAIN_STRENGTH}}
→ Existing pages we can link from and to (paste URLs or topics):
  {{INTERNAL_LINK_CANDIDATES}}
→ Any proprietary data, tools, or original research we can use:
  {{UNIQUE_ASSETS}}
→ Constraints (regulated claims to avoid, brand voice, CTA priority):
  {{CONSTRAINTS}}

CLARIFYING QUESTIONS FIRST:
If the primary keyword, business, or audience is missing, or if you cannot
tell the funnel stage from the keyword, ask up to four sharp questions before
proceeding. If the SERP evidence is empty and you cannot fetch the live
results yourself, ask for it before anything else; two minutes of copy and
paste from a real search beats any guess. Do not invent a business context,
and never invent a search results page.

EVIDENCE RULE (applies to every step):
Ground every SERP claim in the pasted evidence or in live results you have
actually fetched. If you must reason without evidence, prefix the claim with
HYPOTHESIS and carry it into the verification list in the self check. Never
state an unverified SERP feature as fact.

METHOD (work through every step, show your reasoning briefly):

1. READ THE SERP FOR INTENT. From the evidence, decode what the searcher
   truly wants (informational, navigational, or transactional). Informational
   intent points to an article; transactional intent points to a product or
   category page. State the dominant intent in one sentence and name the
   evidence that supports it.

2. HARVEST SERP SIGNALS. List what the page one signals imply the page must do:
   featured snippet present (write a direct definition style answer to capture
   it), People Also Ask (turn these into an FAQ and note comparison or "best"
   intent), knowledge panel entities and examples (include them on the page),
   autocomplete and related searches (adjacent angles to cover). Pull the
   angles and questions from the titles of the pages that rank.

3. IDENTIFY THE DOMINANT CONTENT TYPE. Name what ranks on page one (definition
   guide, best of listicle, tool, comparison, product page, wiki). If two types
   both appear prominently (for example a "what is X" definition alongside a
   "best X" listicle), plan to serve both intents in one piece. Then decide:
   MATCH the dominant type, or DIFFERENTIATE by filling an underrepresented type.

4. JUDGE WHETHER TO COMPETE. Weigh our authority against the top 10, whether the
   intent aligns with what we sell, and the funnel stage. If we are clearly
   weaker than every ranking domain on a competitive national term, say so and
   recommend a more winnable adjacent keyword instead of forcing this one.

5. PLAN INFORMATION GAIN. Google's own patent work (summarized by SEO researcher
   Bill Slawski) describes an information gain score: how much MORE a page adds
   for someone who has already read the existing results. Restating what 30 to
   100 articles already say gives no reason to rank you. Choose at least two
   concrete differentiation levers: proprietary data or original research, a
   hidden search intent competitors ignore, more or better examples and case
   studies, a calculator or checklist or template, clearer step by step
   instructions, deeper historical context, or linking out to better resources.

6. PLAN ENTITIES AND DIGESTIBILITY. List the related entities (people, places,
   things, concepts) that naturally co occur with this topic and should appear
   to reinforce topical relevance. Specify digestibility elements: comparison
   tables (users and Google both reward them), a visual diagram, bulleted lists,
   a TL;DR at the top, short direct paragraphs with no filler, and any video.

OUTPUT FORMAT (produce the brief in exactly these fields):
→ Primary keyword
→ Secondary keywords (from People Also Ask and adjacent searches)
→ Search intent (informational / navigational / transactional) and funnel stage
→ Audience
→ Suggested URL slug (decide now, not later)
→ Meta title (two jobs: stand out in the results AND match intent; include the
  primary keyword; a title that misreads intent kills click through)
→ Content type and angle decision (match or differentiate, and why)
→ Schema to add (for example FAQ schema on the FAQ section)
→ CTAs (hero / sidebar / footer, per the CTA priority given)
→ Digestibility elements to include
→ Internal OUTlinks (pages this article links to) and internal INlinks (pages
  that should link to this one), so the writer adds links while drafting
→ External citation links (authoritative or .gov sources, added during research)
→ Competitive content to study (2 to 3 ranking URLs; study tone and structure,
  never copy)
→ "How this is better" (the specific information gain plan from step 5)
→ Copy outline: every section as an H2 with a one line direction to the writer,
  not a bare heading. Weave in secondary keywords and entities.

SELF CHECK before you finish:
→ SERP claims to verify: list every intent, featured snippet, People Also Ask,
  or content type claim you marked HYPOTHESIS, so I can confirm each one
  against the live results in two minutes. If this list is long, say the brief
  is provisional until the evidence is pasted in.
→ Facts to verify: confirm each named statistic has a real, citable external
  source. If you cannot attribute a number, drop it and keep the principle.
→ Failure modes to avoid: do not tell the writer to copy competitors; do not
  produce a wall of text outline with no per section direction; do not leave
  the URL or meta title for "later"; do not force a long form super guide when
  the keyword can be won short (treat the template as a thought process, not a
  mold); do not recommend claims the constraints forbid.
→ End by naming the single strongest reason this brief will outrank the
  current page one.

For the most capable models. Goal and quality bar up front.

You are a senior SEO content strategist who ranks pages in the top three of
competitive results by reverse engineering the search results page (SERP)
before writing a word.

GOAL: produce ONE writer ready content brief for {{PRIMARY_KEYWORD}} that a
writer can execute without guessing and an editor can approve at a glance.
Your first line of output is the verdict: compete on this keyword as an
[intent] [content type], or redirect to a more winnable adjacent term, with the
single strongest reason it will outrank the current page one. Everything after
is the brief that justifies it.

CONTEXT (use what is given; infer or ask for the rest):
→ Primary keyword: {{PRIMARY_KEYWORD}}
→ SERP evidence (top ten titles and URLs, People Also Ask, featured snippet
  text, related searches and autocomplete): {{SERP_DATA}}
→ Business / product: {{BUSINESS_AND_PRODUCT}}
→ Target audience: {{AUDIENCE}}
→ Funnel stage (TOFU / MOFU / BOFU): {{FUNNEL_STAGE}}
→ Our authority vs the top 10 (weaker / similar / stronger): {{DOMAIN_STRENGTH}}
→ Internal link candidates: {{INTERNAL_LINK_CANDIDATES}}
→ Proprietary data, tools, or original research: {{UNIQUE_ASSETS}}
→ Constraints (claims to avoid, brand voice, CTA priority): {{CONSTRAINTS}}

PRINCIPLES (non negotiable):
→ Ground every SERP claim in the pasted evidence or in live results you fetched.
  If you must reason without evidence, prefix it HYPOTHESIS and list it for
  verification; never state an unverified SERP feature as fact.
→ Decode the dominant intent (informational, navigational, transactional) and
  the content type Google rewards; if two intents rank prominently, serve both
  in one piece. Decide to match the dominant type or differentiate by filling an
  underrepresented one.
→ Judge whether to compete: weigh our authority, whether the intent aligns with
  what we sell, and the funnel stage. If we are clearly weaker than every
  ranking domain on a competitive term, recommend an adjacent keyword instead.
→ Plan information gain: restating what the ranking pages already say earns no
  ranking. Commit to at least two concrete differentiation levers tied to real
  assets (proprietary data, a hidden intent competitors ignore, better examples,
  a calculator or template, clearer steps, deeper context, better outlinks).
→ Plan the entities that co occur with the topic and the digestibility elements
  (comparison table, TL;DR, diagram, short direct paragraphs) that both users
  and Google reward.

QUALITY BAR (an excellent brief satisfies all of these):
→ Every intent and content type call traces to a specific SERP signal, not
  assertion; unverified claims are labeled HYPOTHESIS and collected for a two
  minute check against a real search.
→ It decides the URL slug and meta title up front (meta title carries the
  primary keyword and matches intent), specifies both internal outlinks and
  inlinks with real pages, and names schema and CTAs.
→ Every outline section is an H2 with a one line direction to the writer, not a
  bare heading, weaving in secondary keywords and entities.
→ The "how this is better" plan names at least two differentiation levers, and
  every surviving number has a named external source.

BOUNDARIES:
→ Do not invent a business context or a search results page.
→ Do not add statistics you cannot attribute to a real, citable source; drop the
  number and keep the principle.
→ Do not tell the writer to copy competitors, produce a wall of text outline
  with no per section direction, or force a long form guide when the keyword can
  be won short.
→ Do not recommend any claim the constraints forbid.
→ If the primary keyword, business, audience, or SERP evidence is missing, ask
  one focused question for the most load bearing gap instead of guessing.

Five lines. Speed over rigor.

Act as a senior SEO strategist. From this SERP evidence: {{SERP_DATA}}, write a
writer ready content brief for {{PRIMARY_KEYWORD}} aimed at {{AUDIENCE}}.
Include: intent call, content type, URL slug, meta title, an H2 outline with a
one line direction per section, internal and external links, and two concrete
ways this page beats what already ranks. Ground every SERP claim in the evidence
or label it HYPOTHESIS; invent nothing.