Write Seo Brief

---
name: write-seo-brief
description: When the user wants an SEO content brief for one new page targeting one Google keyword. Reads Google's page one, the top five ranking pages and the related keywords with DataForSEO, and hands back the intent, format, title, meta description, length range, schema, angle and a section-by-section outline for a writer. Also use when the user mentions a content brief for X, an SEO brief, outline an article on X, what should a page on X cover, what headings, length and schema a new page needs to rank, or a brief for our writer. An existing URL goes to optimize-page, a list of many pages to write to create-seo-content-plan, an ad creative brief to write-ad-brief, a brief for an influencer to write-creator-brief. Writing the full article happens only on request.
compatibility: Requires the Manifold MCP connector, signed in with a Manifold account that has credits. Without it the skill stops and tells the user how to connect.
---

# Content brief

A brief tells a writer what one new page must cover to rank for one keyword: the intent and format Google rewards, the sections the winners share, the related keywords, and the angle that makes the page better than what ranks. It is built from page one, not from a template. For a page that already exists, use [optimize-page](../optimize-page/SKILL.md) instead.

## Connector check

This skill runs on the manifold MCP server. Before the first step, confirm that its tools are available: look for `seo_get_serp` and `seo_search_keywords` (hosts often add a prefix, for example `mcp__manifold__seo_get_serp`).

- If no manifold tool is there, stop and tell the user: "This needs the Manifold connector. If you installed the Manifold plugin, connect Manifold on the plugin's Connectors tab (Customize > Plugins in Claude), run `/mcp` in Claude Code, or run `codex mcp login manifold` in Codex. Otherwise add the remote MCP server `https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp` and sign in: in Claude or ChatGPT as a custom connector, in Claude Code with `claude mcp add --transport http manifold https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp` and then `/mcp`. Other clients: https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients." Do not answer from memory instead.
- Then follow the tool checks in the [Google search notes](../create-seo-plan/references/platforms/google.md#tools): the `seo_*` tools are required, the `console_*` tools optional.

## Product context

Before the first question, look for the product marketing context file: `.agents/product-marketing.md` (in older setups `.claude/product-marketing.md` or `product-marketing-context.md`). If it exists, read it and take every input it answers (the site, the market, the differentiation and proof points for the angle, customer language for the title and headings) from it; ask only for what it lacks. If it does not exist and the job needs more than two answers about the business, offer [manifold-get-started](../manifold-get-started/SKILL.md) first.

## Inputs to settle first

- **Keyword**: the one query the page targets. If the user gives a topic, pick the keyword with `seo_search_keywords` first (10 credits) and confirm it.
- **Site**: the user's domain, to check it has no page for this already and to suggest internal links.
- **Angle**: what the user knows or has that the ranking pages do not: data, a product, a template, first-hand experience. Ask; it is the one thing the tools cannot supply.
- **Market**: `location` and `language` if not the United States and English.
- **Budget**: a default brief costs about 6 + 2 + 10 + 10 = 28 credits; `seo_get_page` is free. Say so before starting; pass `max_credits` if the user gave a budget.

## Steps

1. **Check the site has no page for it.** `seo_get_position` with the keyword and the site as `target` (6 credits). If a page of the site already ranks in the top 30, the job is to improve that page: switch to [optimize-page](../optimize-page/SKILL.md). A brief for a second page would compete with the first.
2. **Read page one.** `seo_get_serp` with `ai_overview: true` (2 credits). Read the intent (learn, compare, buy, do), the format of the top three, `features` (`featured_snippet` means one short answer wins the top spot; `video` and forum rows with `type: "discussions_and_forums_element"` mean people want to see it done or hear from peers), and the `ai_overview` text and `references[]`: what Google already answers, and which sources it trusts.
3. **Read the winners.** `seo_get_page` on the top five organic results (free, rate limited). From each: `title`, `h1`, `h2` headings, `word_count` and `schema_types`. Headings three or more of them share are the sections a reader expects. The median `word_count` sets the length range; the schema they share (FAQPage, HowTo, Article) is the markup to add.
4. **Collect the related keywords.** `seo_search_keywords` with the keyword as `seed` and `mode: "related"` (10 credits): the secondary keywords and questions that belong on this page, one or two per section. Then `seo_get_ranked_keywords` on the top result's URL (10 credits, the URL as `target`): the other queries the winning page ranks for, which are the subtopics Google rewards.
5. **Find the angle.** From the headings: what every winner covers the same way, and what none covers (a worked example, current data, a template, a comparison, the user's own numbers). The brief's angle is the user's answer to that gap.
6. **Deliver** the brief: the target keyword with volume, KD and intent; the format; a working title under about 60 characters and a meta description under about 155; the `h1`; the target length range; the schema to add; the angle in two lines; then an outline table: section heading, what it covers, keywords to use, which winners cover it. End with internal links: the site's related pages to link from and to (the host or user knows the site; `seo_get_ranked_keywords` on the site, 10 credits, finds the pages ranking for related keywords if needed).

## Judgment

- Follow the [Google search notes](../create-seo-plan/references/platforms/google.md): the [keyword floors](../create-seo-plan/references/platforms/google.md#keyword-floors), the [credits](../create-seo-plan/references/platforms/google.md#credits) and the [handoff](../create-seo-plan/references/platforms/google.md#handoff).
- Cover what the winners share, then add what they lack. Copying their headings gives a page no reason to rank above them.
- Use the median length, not the longest page. A 6,000-word outlier is not the bar.
- If page one is all tools, videos or forum threads, a written page is the wrong format. Say so in the brief rather than write it anyway.
- Where an `ai_overview` answers the query, put a direct two-sentence answer near the top: it is what gets quoted, and readers who click want more than the overview.
- Put the user's own evidence (numbers, screenshots, customer examples) in the brief as required inputs. It is what makes the page better and citable, and the tools cannot supply it.
- The brief is the deliverable. Write the article only when the user asks, and then from the brief.

## Related skills

- An existing page for the keyword: [optimize-page](../optimize-page/SKILL.md). Many pages to plan at once: [create-seo-content-plan](../create-seo-content-plan/SKILL.md).
- A brief for an X vs Y or alternatives page: [plan-comparison-pages](../plan-comparison-pages/SKILL.md) first, for the phrases and what competitors publish.
- Being cited in the AI answers for the same question: [check-ai-overviews](../check-ai-overviews/SKILL.md), [build-ai-citations](../build-ai-citations/SKILL.md).
- Briefs of other kinds: [write-ad-brief](../write-ad-brief/SKILL.md) for ads, [write-creator-brief](../write-creator-brief/SKILL.md) for influencers.