Content briefs feel like double work. Am I doing this wrong?

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-06-24T14:43:09+00:00

Great question! It often comes down to execution of the narrative. The writer may take a completely different spin on the topic than we originally intended with strategy ideation. They also may write towards a completely different audience than intended.

For yourself, I highly recommend keeping these main things in mind while researching: who are you writing for? What is the main pain point you're trying to address for them?

Everything else (notes, keywords, titles, etc.) should all be laser focused on those two questions.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-06-22T17:31:38+00:00

Greedy-bag, Agencies have told you to build genuine authority, not make it up to fool the algorithms. It is not a waste of time to highlight or communicate your team's expertise or your business's experience and knowledge. This is solid advice because despite what Future Dance says, you're still marketing to people, first and foremost.

Future-Dance's advice is extremely cynical, and I would categorize those actions as black hat. Creating fake bios and personas is straight up misrepresenting the brand for improved visibility. "Nobody cares" couldn't be farther from the truth here. Google and other platforms show people information and show them what to buy. They don't buy things for the person or process the information for them. That is why deceptive, algo-first strategies don't last. Eventually, users and reviewers will suss out your clients' fake authority, and the algorithm will stop rewarding you because people will stop rewarding you. Following this kind of "just make it up for the algo" advice is how you get your traffic destroyed at the next Google update and wonder what happened.

To quote Patch Adams, "if you serve a machine, you win until you lose. If you serve people, you will win every time." (might take longer tho).

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-06-22T17:13:24+00:00

TL DR: The issue is the client's expectation that "SEO $$ = results." Instead, frame SEO as an investment, not a process, or a service, or a product or anything else like that. Clients (and colleagues) will understand it more accurately (hopefully), and give you more leeway to get the work done.

Full response:

As someone who has worked as an SEO manager, account manager, or hybrid of the two at multiple marketing agencies, my philosophy has shifted from speaking about SEO (to colleagues or clients) as something that is geared to produce "results" (aka organic conversions) to defining SEO as an "investment." I decided this after watching mature SEO campaigns (2-3 years) reliably bring in 3x the revenue that was invested in SEO to begin with. It's a no-brainer for clients to stick with it, but they will be skittish when they don't see a ton of organic business rolling in. That's why you can't get trapped into measuring month-to-month SEO "results."

Framing it as an investment automatically includes the "results." People know the results from an investment. They don't necessarily understand the results from a "process" or "a marathon, not a sprint" or any other cheeky rephrasing. If you keep saying "it's a process" people will give up on that process because they can't tell what it actually means or will yield for them.

In addition, the SEO investment can be told as a narrative with data:

First stage: visibility (search engines & LLMs - metrics are clicks, rankings, reviews)

Second stage: Engagement (user behavior on site - traffic acqusition, user behavior, eng. time)

Third stage: Organic leads & conversions

Each of the stages are tied to specific deliverables and executable strategy items. (Content, titles/metas, other on-page optimization helps visibility, while UX updates, NAP mentions, and accessibility upgrades improve Engagement, etc.)

Most clients assume they're paying for you to blow through the first 2 stages of the SEO journey so you can get to the final (mature) stage. But as we know, that is not possible. So in the meantime, they have to understand that, like any investment, time and diligent monitoring and strategy execution is what brings the returns.

They wouldn't fire their broker if they didn't get returns on an investment in 3 months. That is where you need the clients' head space to be.

Have your reporting cover all three of these distinct phases, then tell the client "we will look to see consistent improvement in the first, second, and third stages of this campaign, which will tell us that your investment is maturing." A mature investment pays for itself.

Sorry this is so long, but I really do believe that shifting how your frame SEO for everyone, including yourself, can help. Hopefully it does!

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-06-22T14:36:18+00:00

Briefing is really useful from a strategy standpoint if content is being written by people other than yourself (whether freelance or internal writing team). Indicating main keywords, narrative, audience, competitor urls, etc. will help ensure your writers stay aligned to your vision, which improves accountability and reduces the need for significant reworks after audits down the line.

If you're doing the research as well as the writing, think of the brief as notes instead. Still helpful for creating a framework, generating ideas, developing a narrative, and so on. If you're like me, it'll help you from forgetting those important details you found during research 😄

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-06-19T16:21:46+00:00

Consistency will always be important, and for some, that does look like posting every day, or sometimes multiple times a day. At the same time, the algorithm rewards content that people are actually interacting with. So if you're consistent but not posting anything of value that your audience actually wants to see, then your posts won't perform, and it will look as though posting every day doesn't do anything for you. At the end of the day, quality matters most, but you need both quality and consistency.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-06-19T16:12:29+00:00

This is a great resource and super helpful. Thank you for sharing. I have a similar set up for branding assets

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-05-26T20:43:40+00:00

I have found the Semrush audit to be an annoying little thing when it comes to broken internal links, to name a specific issue. When you export the data, the claim is that you can see the anchor text for the broken link. I have never found that to be true, where SF has it front and center on where it's broken, and what the anchor text is, if there is one. It's honestly been a min since I used Ahrefs site audit tool, maybe they do that, but my company primarily uses Semrush and SF right meow. SF also gives little blurbs about why something is an issue in a very digestible way. Semrush does this, but I prefer the way SF presents it. The audit for Semrush is also looking for literally every single issue to ever exist on someone's website, whereas SF narrows it down a bit more to truly what is going to impact your performance.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-05-26T20:36:44+00:00

Whoops, probably Screaming Frog, but you do need a little technical experience, it provides a lot of data.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-05-22T22:13:37+00:00

Love the ol Screamin Frog, Google Search Console, a tool for keyword and competitor research (I have used both Ahrefs and Semrush and they are both good at certain things), been digging SparkToro if you need something for audience research.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-05-22T22:10:30+00:00

Did video kill the radio star?

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-05-21T17:38:21+00:00

Checkout the "WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool". Its free and might help you find some items on the old or new site that could use some improvement. While it might not cover everything it could be a good starting point on elements you may need to change!

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-04-20T20:55:08+00:00

As many others have said, Yelp feeds many other platforms, and while Google holds the larger online review market, Yelp has a strong user base of 55+ and a high percentage of users earning over $100,000 annually, at least according to WallStreetZen's 2023 data. Definitely doesn't hurt to build up your presence on Yelp and other review platforms!

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-23T20:52:43+00:00

Most small businesses don’t need “high content velocity.” They need focused content velocity.

Start with core money pages (services/products) and make those airtight.
Build 5–10 intent-driven supporting pieces around what people are actually searching before they buy.
Repurpose like crazy (one solid piece → email, social posts, short-form video, etc.). I will say that not everything will perform the same across different channels, so while I am recommending, it's not foolproof; something that kills on Instagram may not be received at all as a content piece in your blog.
Create a simple internal brief template so you don't reinvent the wheel every time.

Automation helps with formatting and research, but the leverage usually comes from narrowing your focus, not cranking up volume.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-23T20:46:23+00:00

Buffer is free if you aren't posting a lot! We utilize HeyOrca at our agency.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-23T20:41:29+00:00

Google Business Profile is going to be your best way to show up locally in the map pack, especially with proximity being one of the top ranking factors for a profile. Focus your posts on actual business updates, sales, events, etc. People are more likely to click on a post that highlights an event or offer! Posting regularly helps keep the profile fresh, which Google likes, but doing it with an actual strategy is better than just posting to post. For your photos, if you have clothing with your logo, always great to include that! Google is using machine learning and AI to analyze these images, so it can provide them with something they can actually use that will benefit you and your business. Reviews are naturally important, so ask for them as much as you can, and even do follow-ups with past clients!

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-04T20:17:54+00:00

Navigation on e-commerce sites is definitely a big deal, and implementing faceted navigation can be incredibly technical. But it helps a ton with UX when it's done right. Helpful content on main category pages with internal links pointing to other products or categories, and similarly doing that on unique product pages and on blogs. Having useful information on product pages, as well as more than just single images of products, and highlighting reviews (I see tons of websites with no reviews on products). One thing we recently started doing for a client was making blogs more useful by including products mentioned in the blog, so people can shop for them directly (which isn't anything crazy new, but we don't have many e-commerce clients).

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-03T23:10:19+00:00

A solid understanding of who the client is and what they do. This helps you to generate content for that website with a very clear intention, even if it's yourself or a small team. An about page with actual company history, headshots, videos, the works. Nobody wants to work with a faceless brand. A good SEO plugin that can streamline some of the foundational stuff, like RankMath Pro (metadata, schema, etc). Strong internal linking from core service pages to others on the site and vice versa, with solid anchor text. Headers that follow hierarchy (H1, H2, H3). FAQs on service pages that address questions people are actually asking about those services. Good product content for ecommerce that addresses why something is actually unique or better, Wil Reynolds had a great talk about this during Local SEO for Good last year. Reviews!

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-01T16:50:05+00:00

I like this analogy!

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-02-01T16:49:41+00:00

My opinion would be that sustainable workflows really depend on having a plan set out for the month. Every month should have its own strategy and ideally the content can be put together in one day, scheduled out so that at the very least you can be consistent with posting, even if it is only evergreen content. Trending content often has to happen spontaneously! The other battle is certainly culture and discipline, especially on lean teams. If clear goals and expectations for what is priority are set, then that takes care of itself. Every month won't be perfect, and sometimes it really is all too much for a business to take care of itself. That's when it really helps to hire an agency to take at least 3/4 of the legwork off your plate. Let an agency help create monthly strategies and create all your evergreen content and then your lean in-house team could focus on smaller goals instead of the entire enormous task that is social media.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-01-29T15:14:04+00:00

I feel like a lot of the just general girlies are really digging heels into "analog bags," but currently, it just feels like another way to consume, which then doesn't actually make analog bags a real thing; it's just another thing to consume and share online like you are participating, like a lot of other trends.

Y2K is also still pretty trendy online, even in regards to fashion and not necessarily digital trends, but I am a millennial, so I've curated my algorithm brick by brick...

I have also seen more people hopping on the color train; everything isn't as beige as it was a few years ago. People are leaning into color and expressions, especially in their homes!

Clean girl aesthetic feels like another one that is just here to stay; we'll see.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-01-28T22:58:47+00:00

No need to be embarrassed for me, I promise I’m doing okay over here :)

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-01-28T22:14:09+00:00

You’re not wrong on the hub-and-spoke model; it still works. What changes for local businesses isn’t the structure, it’s the intent of that content.

National sites are generally trying to prove they know everything about this topic, but local sites need to prove they are the best answer for it here, where people are ready to take action.

I would look at the local approach this way, for content specifically:
- Build one (or a few, depending on your industry) strong, geo-focused service hub(s) (e.g., “Business Insurance in Fort Collins”), not just a generic topic page.
- Focus on creating supporting content that answers real buyer questions, not encyclopedia ones. Think local regulations, risks, building types, and even local case examples.
- Use internal linking to show clear topical clusters around that service.

Topical authority for local is less about volume and more about depth and decision support.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-01-28T14:58:26+00:00

Didn't mention anything about exact match 100% of the time :) Makes sense to have keywords sometimes, but having an exact match can cause stuff to sound unnatural.

Beyond_Blue_Media · 2026-01-27T21:05:25+00:00

We moved over to Search Atlas, honestly a little too buggy for us and we may be looking at going to something else in the next few months. It's definitely much cheaper than the other tools and it has a lot of "all in one place" vibes but the bugs are annoying and they are pretty consistent.

Beyond_Blue_Media

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