Step 3: Create a content brief
Content briefs are created to set a clear direction on what is expected from a piece. A detailed brief aligns you and your writer on style and intended outcomes to avoid the need for extensive editing and revisions.
I spoke to Precious Oboidhe and he noticed, “A good brief should share the vision of what is expected of a piece. When I receive a brief, I look for the objective of the article, SEO information, and details about where the audience is and where we expect them to be after they finish reading the piece.
Creating a comprehensive SEO content brief may seem easy, but it can be complex. Check out Moz’s valuable resources for guidance on creating SEO-focused content briefs.
Step 4: Optimize your content for SEO
Once your article is finished, optimize it for SEO. If you use content optimization tools like Clearscope, aim for a high SEO score to create Google-friendly content. That’s how:
A. Optimize the title to align with the main idea of the topic.
B. Make sure your targeted keywords match the search intent.
C. Organize the content structure logically, with relevant H2 and H3 headings that answer the questions.
D. Add internal links for better navigation and search bot scanning.
E. Optimize the depth of content to go beyond the competition without deviating from the main point.
F. Create an engaging, search-optimized meta description.
G. Optimize sections for featured snippets.
Victoria Kurichenko, SEO expert and writer, shared an interesting case study on topic-based content gap analysis. After noticing a decline in top-ranking content in his Beehiiv article, he conducted a content gap analysis by gathering keywords for which competitor content is ranking. So, he rewrote and optimized his article, meta title and description.
The results:
-
Impressions tripled.
-
Daily clicks increased from 2–5 to 20–30.
-
The article secured a top 5 ranking for the target keywords.
-
The article started ranking for new keywords. He also received two new referrals within two weeks of the content update.
Buyer-based gap analysis: Analyze content gaps in the buyer’s journey
A buyer-based gap analysis focuses on understanding the difference between what customers expect and what a company offers. It does this by evaluating content at various stages of the buyer’s journey to align the company’s marketing and sales strategies with the evolving needs of its target audience. Addressing gaps in the buyer’s journey helps buyers move smoothly from one stage to the next.
How to perform a buyer-based content gap analysis
There are five steps to perform a market-based content gap analysis:
Step 1: Outline the buyer’s journey
The first step in a buyer-based gap analysis is mapping the buyer’s journey. Simply put, the buyer’s journey is a representation that outlines a prospect’s process before purchasing. This happens in four stages:
A. Awareness phase: This buyer recognizes a problem.
B. Consideration Phase: This buyer delves into the problem and looks for solutions.
C. Decision phase: This buyer selects a product to solve their problem.
D. Post-purchase: After purchasing, the customer starts using the product