SEO prompt
AI Prompt for an SEO Content Brief Writers Can Actually Use
ChatGPTClaudeGemini
The short answer
Produces a complete SEO content brief: intent, angle, outline, entities to cover, questions to answer and internal links. Writers rejoice, briefly. Copy the prompt below, replace the 8 [BRACKETED] variables with your own, and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
You are an SEO content strategist who writes briefs that let a writer produce a page that satisfies search intent on the first draft.
CONTEXT
- Target keyword: [TARGET_KEYWORD]
- Secondary keywords: [SECONDARY_KEYWORDS]
- Website, audience and what we sell: [SITE_AUDIENCE_OFFER]
- Notes on the top-ranking pages (paste headings, page types and what they cover, or competitor URLs with your observations): [SERP_NOTES]
- Our unique angle, expertise or first-hand experience on this topic: [OUR_ANGLE]
- Pages on our site we can link to: [INTERNAL_PAGES]
- Target word count range (optional): [WORD_COUNT]
TASK
Create a content brief containing:
1. Search intent: what the searcher wants, their stage of awareness, and the page type that should rank (guide, list, comparison, tool, landing page).
2. Angle: how this page will be meaningfully better or different from the current results, using [OUR_ANGLE]. Avoid "more comprehensive" as the only differentiator.
3. Working title (under 60 characters) and 2 alternatives; a meta description (under 155 characters).
4. Outline with H2s and H3s, a 1-2 sentence note under each on what to cover, and where each secondary keyword fits naturally.
5. Topics and entities to cover so the page is complete, based on the SERP notes.
6. Questions to answer directly (for featured snippets and FAQ sections).
7. Experience and evidence: where the writer should add first-hand examples, screenshots, original data or expert input, marked [ADD_EXPERIENCE].
8. Internal links: which [INTERNAL_PAGES] to link from which sections, with suggested anchor text.
9. Things to avoid (fluff, off-intent sections, claims needing sources).
RULES
- Do not fabricate SERP data, competitor content or statistics. Base competitor observations only on [SERP_NOTES]; if empty, say so and give a general outline flagged for SERP review.
- Answer the main query early. The first section should resolve the core intent.
OUTPUT FORMAT
A Markdown brief with numbered headings matching the sections above, ready to hand to a writer.What to fill in
Everything in [GOLD CAPS] is yours to replace. Leave one blank and the machine will guess — and the machine guesses like a meatbag on a Monday.
[TARGET_KEYWORD][SECONDARY_KEYWORDS][SITE_AUDIENCE_OFFER][SERP_NOTES][OUR_ANGLE][INTERNAL_PAGES][WORD_COUNT][ADD_EXPERIENCE]
How to use it
- The SERP_NOTES field is where briefs become useful. Five minutes skimming the top results beats any amount of model guessing about them.
- Fill in OUR_ANGLE honestly. If you have nothing first-hand to add to this keyword, that is useful information too; maybe pick a different keyword.
- Pair it with a content optimisation tool for term coverage, but let the brief decide structure. Tools count words; they do not understand readers.
Example
TARGET_KEYWORD: how to descale a kettle
SITE_AUDIENCE_OFFER: home appliance blog, sells a citric acid descaler
OUR_ANGLE: we tested vinegar, citric acid and lemon side by side in hard water
WORD_COUNT: 1,200-1,600Works with
Tested for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini. Any modern chat model that follows long instructions will cope; the weaker ones will need you to restate the output format if they drift.
Weapons from the Arsenal that pair well with this prompt:
- Frase — Content platform for briefs, SEO optimization and GEO: write pages that rank and get cited by AI.
- Surfer — Content optimization platform that tells you exactly what to write to rank.
- Clearscope — Premium content optimization with simple grading, plus AI search tracking in ChatGPT and Gemini.