Search-Intent Brief Factory

Goal

Produce a search brief a writer or a draft agent can execute: the job of the page, the questions it must answer, what you will cite, the outline, and the internal links — specific to a query you can defend.

Tools required

Direct is the vendor's public site. Affiliate appears only when ShipPlays is enrolled in that program.

• Google Search

  Direct

  You paste the top results yourself. No scraper is required to start, and you see the page type with your own eyes.

• Search Console

  Direct

  If the site is yours, start from queries you already almost win.

• Notion

  Direct

  One brief per URL. The accepted brief is the only input to the draft.

Step-by-step setup

1. Pick queries you have a right to answer

   You have experience, a product, or a dataset. A query like best CRM with no point of view is a wish, not a brief. Write down why a reader should believe you over the current top result.

2. Paste the results page, do not ask for keywords

   For each query, record the query, the page type you will ship (guide, comparison, tool page, or direct answer), the reader, and the top five titles with URLs. Note what they all say and what none of them say. Ten minutes of looking beats a keyword export.

3. Run the brief prompt

   It must return the search job in one sentence, the promise of the page, the questions the H2s must answer, an outline, entities you may mention only if true, internal links using URLs you pasted, and a do-not-write list. Generic intros, unsourced stats, and fake reviews belong on that list every time.

4. Add proof the results page does not have

   One screenshot, one number from your product, one customer sentence you have permission to use, or one worked example. A brief with no proof is a rewrite of the current results. If you have no proof, pick a different query.

5. Draft only from the accepted brief

   The draft prompt receives the brief you accepted. It is forbidden from adding sections you did not list. You publish from the CMS after the critic pass, not from the chat.

6. Read the first screen out loud

   The title matches the job of the query. The first screen answers it. The intro does not say the world is changing. Anything the critic cannot tie to the brief gets cut, including extra FAQs.

Exact prompts

Write a search brief. Do not write the article. Do not invent statistics, quotes, or studies.

Query:
{QUERY}

Page type we will ship:
{PAGE_TYPE}

Reader:
{READER}

Why we have a right to answer:
{PROOF_WE_ALREADY_HAVE}

Top results I observed (title + URL + one note each):
{SERP_NOTES}

Our real internal URLs the brief may link to:
{INTERNAL_URLS}

Return:
- Search job: one sentence, the task the searcher is trying to finish.
- Promise: what this page will do that the current results do not.
- Questions the H2s must answer. Only questions the results or the query imply.
- Outline: H2s in order. No H2 that is a slogan.
- Proof still needed from us: gaps you cannot fill from the notes.
- Internal links: only from the list I gave you. If none fit, say none.
- Do not write: a list that always includes unsourced stats, fake reviews, "in today's world," and any claim my notes do not support.

If the notes are too thin to brief, say so and stop.

Draft the page from this accepted brief. You may not add a section that is not in the outline. You may not add a number, quote, or study that is not in the brief.

Brief:
{ACCEPTED_BRIEF}

Proof we added:
{PROOF}

Write the page in plain English. Lead with the answer. Use the H2s verbatim. Where the brief says a fact is missing, write [needs source] rather than guessing.

After the draft, list any sentence you are unsure about.

Compare the draft to the accepted brief. Do not praise it.

Brief:
{ACCEPTED_BRIEF}

Draft:
{DRAFT}

Return:
- Sections in the draft that are not in the brief. Quote them.
- Claims with no proof in the brief. Quote them.
- Whether the first screen answers the search job. Yes or no, then one sentence.
- A cut list, in order. Do not offer replacement fluff.

A pass with an empty cut list is allowed only if you checked. If you found nothing, say what you checked.

Expected results

• A brief a contractor can follow without a meeting.
• A page that answers the query on the first screen.
• A do-not-write list that stops the usual padded article.
• Internal links that exist, because you pasted real URLs.

Guardrails

• Do not invent statistics, quotes, or studies.
• Do not scrape and republish someone else's article. Notes are titles, URLs, and your observations.
• Label affiliate or product mentions, and only where the intent is commercial.
• If you have no proof, do not publish. Pick another query.
• The draft may not widen the outline after you accepted it.

Common mistakes

Related

• One-Source Content Engine
• Outbound Account Research Sprint