SEO Content Brief

SEO Content Brief Generator

Produces a structured, copy-pasteable content brief for writers by analyzing live SERP data from Ahrefs. When a site parameter is provided and GSC MCP is available, overlays current ranking position and click data for targeted improvement guidance.

Note: SERP analysis is inlined here — skills cannot call each other as sub-routines in Claude Code.

References

@skills/seo/references/mcp-degradation.md @skills/seo/references/ahrefs-api-reference.md @skills/seo/references/gsc-api-reference.md

Inputs

• keyword: The target keyword for the content brief (required). Example: "best crm for startups"
• site (optional): GSC property URL to overlay existing ranking data. Accepts both formats:
  • Domain property: sc-domain:example.com
  • URL prefix: https://example.com/ or https://www.example.com/

MCP Check

Primary check (required):

1. Use ToolSearch with query +ahrefs
2. If tools returned → Ahrefs MCP is available, proceed to Execution
3. If no tools returned → display the Ahrefs MCP error template from references/mcp-degradation.md and stop

Optional GSC check (only if site parameter was provided):

1. Use ToolSearch with query +google-search-console
2. If tools returned → GSC MCP is available, will overlay ranking data in Step 3
3. If no tools returned → note "GSC data unavailable — brief generated from SERP data only" and proceed

Execution

Step 1 — SERP Analysis (INLINE)

Note: SERP analysis is inlined here because Claude Code skills cannot call each other as sub-routines. The following replicates the seo-serp logic directly.

1a. Use ToolSearch with query serp-overview to inspect the tool definition and discover its parameter names. The keyword parameter may be named keyword, query, or term — do not assume. Use the exact parameter name found in the schema for the call.

1b. Call mcp__claude_ai_ahrefs__serp-overview using the discovered parameter name with the user's keyword as the value.

Returns: list of ranking pages with fields that may include url, domain_rating, traffic, traffic_cost, position, title.

From the results, extract:

• Top 10 URLs, DR scores, and traffic estimates for the SERP table
• Content type pattern (guides, tool pages, listicles, comparisons, etc.)
• Average DR of top 10 for SERP difficulty assessment

Step 2 — Keyword Volume Data

Call mcp__claude_ai_ahrefs__keywords-explorer-overview with the keyword to get search volume and keyword difficulty score.

If this tool is unavailable or returns an error, note "Volume data unavailable" and proceed — the brief can still be generated from SERP data.

Key fields to extract: volume (monthly searches), difficulty (KD 0–100).

Step 3 — GSC Overlay (only if site parameter provided AND GSC MCP available)

Use ToolSearch to discover the exact GSC tool name prefix at runtime (it varies by MCP registration alias). Look for a tool matching query_search_analytics.

Call the GSC query_search_analytics tool with:

• siteUrl: the value of the site parameter (e.g., sc-domain:example.com)
• startDate: 28 days ago (YYYY-MM-DD)
• endDate: today (YYYY-MM-DD)
• dimensions: ["query"]
• Filter or search for the specific keyword in results

Extract for the keyword: clicks, impressions, ctr, position.

If the keyword is not found in GSC data → note "Keyword not yet ranking in GSC for this property — brief targets a new ranking opportunity."

If GSC is unavailable → skip this step and note in output.

Step 4 — Generate Brief

Synthesize findings into a structured content brief:

• From SERP data: identify dominant content type, derive H2 structure from top-ranking titles, extract semantic keyword signals from titles/descriptions, identify differentiation gaps (what's missing or underserved)
• From keyword data: set word count target (correlate with SERP average; without data, use content type defaults: guide 2000–3500w, comparison 1500–2500w, tool page 1000–2000w, listicle 1500–2500w)
• From GSC data (if available): frame as position improvement rather than new ranking

Step 5 — CRITICAL: Monetary conversion

Any fields ending in _cost, _value, or cpc from Ahrefs are in CENTS. Divide by 100 before display. Format as USD with comma thousands separators.

Also: GSC ctr is a decimal (0.0523 = 5.23%). Multiply by 100 for display.

Output Format

The output must be copy-pasteable for content writers with no further editing needed:

## Content Brief: "{keyword}"
**Generated:** {YYYY-MM-DD}
**Keyword Volume:** {volume} searches/month (from Ahrefs){| — volume data unavailable}
**Keyword Difficulty:** {KD score}/100{| — KD data unavailable}
**SERP Difficulty:** {Low|Moderate|High|Very high} (avg DR of top 10: {avg_dr})

---

### Current Position (GSC data)
{If GSC data available and keyword found:}
You currently rank #{position} for this keyword with {clicks} clicks/month
({impressions} impressions, {ctr}% CTR).
Target: Move from #{position} to top 3.

{If GSC data available but keyword not found:}
This keyword is not yet ranking in GSC for {site}. Brief targets a new ranking
opportunity.

{If no site parameter provided or GSC unavailable:}
No GSC data — provide `site` parameter to overlay your current ranking position.

---

### What's Ranking Now

| # | URL | DR | Est. Traffic | Content Type |
|---|-----|----|-------------|--------------|
| 1 | example.com/page... | 72 | 8,200 | {type} |
| 2 | competitor.com/article... | 65 | 5,100 | {type} |
| 3 | site.com/guide... | 58 | 3,400 | {type} |
| 4 | domain.com/resource... | 71 | 2,900 | {type} |
| 5 | blog.com/post... | 44 | 1,800 | {type} |

---

### Recommended Structure
**Target word count:** {X,XXX–X,XXX words} (based on {SERP content type pattern|content type default})
**Content type:** {article|guide|comparison|tool page|listicle} — {why, based on SERP}
**Target URL slug:** `/{keyword-slug}`

**Suggested H2 structure:**
1. {H2 derived from top-ranking content patterns — what they all cover}
2. {H2}
3. {H2}
4. {H2}
5. {H2 — consider this for differentiation}

---

### Semantic Keywords to Include
Based on top-ranking title and description analysis:
- {keyword or phrase seen repeatedly in top results}
- {keyword or phrase}
- {keyword or phrase}
- {keyword or phrase}
- {keyword or phrase}

---

### Differentiation Angle
{2–3 sentences: What are the top-ranking pages doing? What's missing, underserved,
or poorly covered? What unique angle would stand out in this SERP — a specific
audience, use case, data depth, format, or perspective not yet covered?}

---

*Brief generated from Ahrefs SERP data{+ GSC data for {site}| — no GSC data (provide site= for ranking overlay)}.*
*Data reflects SERP as of {YYYY-MM-DD}.*

Error — Ahrefs MCP Not Available

If the primary Ahrefs MCP check fails, display this message and stop:

## Ahrefs MCP Not Available

The `/seo content-brief` command requires the Ahrefs MCP, which is not
currently connected. SERP data is required to generate a content brief.

**What you can do:**
- Use `/seo audit <url>` for a full static SEO analysis without live SERP data
- Use `/seo technical <url>` for technical SEO issues without keyword data
- Manually provide target URLs to analyze for content patterns

**To connect Ahrefs MCP:**
- Ensure the Ahrefs MCP is registered at user scope in ~/.claude/mcp.json
- Verify with: cat ~/.claude/mcp.json | grep -i ahrefs
- Ahrefs MCP must be registered at user scope (not project scope) to work in subagents

Error — GSC MCP Not Available (non-blocking)

If the optional GSC check fails (only relevant when site parameter was provided):

## Google Search Console MCP Not Available

GSC data for {site} is unavailable — the GSC MCP is not currently connected.
Proceeding with SERP-only brief. No current ranking position data will be included.

**To connect GSC MCP:**
- Install and configure a Google Search Console MCP server (see README for setup)
- Add it to ~/.claude/mcp.json at user scope (NOT project scope)
- Re-run `/seo content-brief {keyword} site={site}` to get the full brief with ranking overlay

Error — Both Ahrefs and GSC Unavailable

If both MCPs fail (Ahrefs is required — stop):

Display the Ahrefs MCP Not Available error above. The brief cannot be generated without Ahrefs SERP data regardless of GSC availability.