A per-keyword brief built from the real SERP: the top ten organic results with titles, URLs and descriptions, the SERP features present, the average title length, a detected page shape, and a stated angle. Shape detection is deliberately simple — three or more titles containing 'vs' makes it a comparison, three or more 'best/top N' makes it a listicle, three or more 'how to/guide/what is' makes it a guide, otherwise it is a product landing page.
Also called: content brief · what shape of page ranks · SERP analysis · outline from the SERP
- 1serpForBrief() pulls the live organic top 20 and the non-organic SERP feature types for the keyword.
- 2Titles are pattern-matched to classify the shape of page Google is currently rewarding.
- 3Each shape gets its angle: comparison → head-to-head table with our wedge last; listicle → be the list, include competitors honestly; guide → teach the job first; landing → feature proof and pricing clarity.
- 4The brief is stored on the universe row and the status flips to brief_ready.
- 5ensureBrief() builds one on demand when the writer picks a term that doesn't have one yet.
The content run's ordering comment gives the reason: "Brief first. A post written without its SERP brief is a guess about shape, and shape is most of whether a page ranks." Writing a 2,000-word guide for a term where Google only ranks comparison tables produces a good article that never ranks. The brief also carries the competitor list into the writing prompt under an explicit instruction not to copy and not to disparage.
- Page shape was guessed, and shape is most of whether a page ranks.
- Writers had no view of what already ranks for the term.
See it on your own jobs
Twenty minutes, your numbers, no slide deck. We’ll build one of your real buildings in front of you and send you the estimate link at the end — yours to keep either way.
or keep browsing features →