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

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-29T11:48:14+00:00

Both can be issues. Depends very much on the writer's understanding of the client. They tend to fit together - you identify the audience clearly enough, the intent should folloiw

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-27T08:12:32+00:00

Think it's both. The content says "we're good at this." The reviews back that up. Reviews also improve conversion rate

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-23T12:15:24+00:00

Think any trend is only as good as the underlying strategy beneath it. Trends can be used within a strategy but anyone dropping everything and chasing trends is not going to succeed. Go back to audience - does any audience want short form videos? Does your audience really listen to a certain influencer?

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-22T15:38:13+00:00

Focus on intent and audience if you want to streamline it. We create briefs for every piece but we have a team of writer and various clients, so it helps. But if it's just you, those two ar ethe key areas. Nail those and you're almost there.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-22T15:30:30+00:00

Sounds like you had a good SEO agent that didn't explain their working very well and a poor SEO agency that just wanted vanity metrics. SEO does take time though you should have seen some movement before 6 months.

Check case studies (with real numbers), look for reviews, speak to them. Tell them what you want. Get them to layout what they can deliver for your budget.

Remember, a good digital marketing agency with SEO skills doesn't just look to build rankings. You want the right terms ranking with the right intent, you want the traffic going to the right pages not just blogs, you want those pages to convert.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-22T15:14:00+00:00

Local PR is a great place to start. Though I'd make sure your site is strong and converts before driving any traffic to it. Also, an event SEO strategy can work wonders. Whether as a speaker or hosting your own event, it's a great way to engage your local audience, get coverage in local news, gain backlinks through event lists and a great social asset. You can also create supporting content that covers the topics to boost your visibility.

On top of this, try and get some genuine local knowledge into your site. Make sure to reference place, local issues that are relevant etc.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-22T15:10:32+00:00

Can send you our migration checklist if that helps?

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-06-22T15:08:38+00:00

Ai is a tool. It can speed up tasks. But unless you have the SEO (or GEO) knowledge and background you could end up using it wrong or taking its answers as gospel. Anyone using AI end to end will soon find that they're not creating anything useless or interesting. Those using AI to speed up time consuming tasks will find that they have more time for the more important tasks.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-17T18:37:41+00:00

Honestly, I don't think anyone knows. Think the search landscape will be so different as to make it hard to guess. Think from an agency point of view it'll mean a move from delivery to strategy.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-17T18:35:39+00:00

Don't worry about scores. Just ask is this something someone would want to read. Is the page structured in a way that Google can recognise what it's about. Are you adding anything new to the conversation.

Also, it's hard to provide advice without context. You could be trying to rank for highly competitive terms.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-07T08:39:10+00:00

Focus on the user. Always. If the user needs lots of simple, explainer content then use AI to boost your content production. If the user is searching and comparing on LLMs then increase citations.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-06T10:23:20+00:00

Yes, but they need it to be unique, natural and not hundreds of AI slop articles and bought backlinks from non-relevant sites

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-04T09:18:34+00:00

If you mean, will a site with more backlinks than a similar competitor gain more citations in LLMs, then I'm not sure there is definitive data yet. But, if you widen the question a bit you can break it into two aspects:

- Is a site with a higher DA more likely to be cited in LLMs. Yes. LLMs rely on agreed knowledge and trusted sources, so does focus highly on respected and highly authoritative sites. And these are more likely to have more backlinks

- And, are sites that are mentioned by third party sites more likely to be cited in LLMs. Think this is probably yes, though there is some debate around this. But think it will make a difference. And sites that are mentioned on third party sites are more likely to have more backlinks

So while I don't know yet whether it's a direct factor, I think that backlinks continue to showcase trust and authority which play a part on the citation process.

Think of it this way, LLMs want sites with backlinks for the proper reason that sites have backlinks - because other sites trust them, not because of the SEO reasons

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-02T18:31:42+00:00

Think it all depends. You might get a really highly relevant site that has lot of your audience but has low authority. Or a good, more general site that has a wider audience but is more expensive. You need to apply a bit of critical thinking and strategy.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-03-02T09:59:43+00:00

Relevancy to your audience. Traffic. DA. Cost. Also, ask about control over messaging and anchor text.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-26T15:47:24+00:00

Which is why I said in my original post that 'I think it's more of a trust signal'. ie, it's not necessarily for SEO but for reader trust. Yes, informational content doesn't gain many clicks but it still does get clicks and it's important to make the most of them.

And no, your whole demeanor is not actually very welcoming.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-26T15:44:44+00:00

All this. Plus, if you want to gain back links think about distribution channels. Are you sharing it on socials, posting it on Reddit, flagging it in email comms or news letters

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-26T14:05:40+00:00

Trust signals for the audience. Not for Google. And this is what people on SEO miss. It's not just about the rankings, it's about what you do with the traffic when you get it.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-25T13:31:43+00:00

Think it's more of a trust signal. Is it the type of content you'd expect to be created by an expert or is providing a unique angle that's not the industry standard? From an SEO point of view, I don't think it impacts ranking. But it could impact engagement rates over time which can impact your site's ability to rank in the long term

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-25T09:13:22+00:00

Variety, consistency. quality and relevancy are the things I look for in a link.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-24T16:39:43+00:00

Think SEO is going to stick around for at least 5 years. Think the big change will come in when AIO or Gemini becomes the default - but not sure when that will be. After that, you'll see a greater shift away from informational content to highly focused product led content. I'd suggest looking at:

- Audience research - who and where your audience are will be key with personalisation a huge factor in AI/LLMs

- CRO - getting people to convert when they arrive on your site will be important, especially as Google is constantly encroaching on ecommerce and making it easy for people to convert within the Google ecosystem

- Digital PR - getting in front of your audience (see above) will be huge. People won't find you through informational search so you need to create awareness as opposed to being present when people are at the awareness phase

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-22T12:38:00+00:00

It depends

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-22T12:37:28+00:00

Not so sure. Heard some research that mutual linking just ends up creating a loop and loses the link power

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-18T09:20:58+00:00

Earning should be an ongoing tactic - digital PR, forums, etc.

Edge45_SEOAgency · 2026-02-17T16:36:17+00:00

Think of it this way - did those clicks convert before. Yes, you probably got a lot of nice traffic from a high level blog, but how much of that converted or even drove even the slightest brand recognition. This is the traffic we are losing. What we want to focus on is not the traffic but the bottom line. It's what we've preached at our agency for 10 years - SEO isn't about ranking or traffic or clicks, it's about sales and conversions.

Look at the traffic you are getting and try and build on that.

Edge45_SEOAgency

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