Writing without a brief is how you end up with a 2,000-word article that doesn’t rank and doesn’t convert. This skill takes a target keyword and produces everything a writer (or another AI skill) needs to create content that fills actual gaps in the search results.
What Makes This a Claude Code Skill
Claude Code uses Perplexity to analyze what’s currently ranking for your keyword, then reads your project’s existing content to find internal linking opportunities. It identifies what competitors cover, what they miss, and where your article can add something new. The brief goes into your project as a file you can hand off or feed into other workflows.
The command file lives at .claude/commands/content-brief.md.
What Gets Generated
- Search Intent Analysis — what the searcher actually wants (informational, commercial, navigational)
- Competitor Content Audit — what the top 5-10 results cover, their word counts, and their weaknesses
- Content Gaps — topics and angles the current results miss
- Suggested Structure — H2/H3 outline with recommended subtopics
- Internal Links — pages from your site that should be linked from this article
- Word Count Target — based on what’s ranking and what the topic demands
- CTA Recommendations — what action the reader should take after reading
Setup
Create .claude/commands/content-brief.md:
Generate a content brief for the keyword: $ARGUMENTS
## Step 1: Search Intent
Use Perplexity to determine:
- Primary search intent (informational, commercial, navigational, transactional)
- Related questions people ask about this topic
- Long-tail keyword variations worth targeting
## Step 2: Competitor Analysis
Research the top 5-10 ranking results:
- What topics they cover
- Approximate word counts and depth
- Content format (listicle, guide, comparison, tutorial)
- What they do well
- What they miss or do poorly
## Step 3: Content Gaps
Identify:
- Subtopics competitors don't cover
- Angles that would differentiate this article
- Data points or examples that are missing from existing results
- Questions searchers have that nobody answers well
## Step 4: Article Structure
Create a recommended outline:
- Suggested H2 and H3 headings
- Brief description of what each section should cover
- Recommended word count (total and per section)
- Where to place examples, data, or visuals
## Step 5: Internal Linking
Read the project's existing content (blog posts, tool pages, learning resources) and identify:
- Pages that should be linked FROM this article
- Pages that should link TO this article (update candidates)
## Step 6: CTA Strategy
Recommend:
- Primary CTA (what action the reader should take)
- Secondary CTAs (newsletter signup, related article, tool page)
- CTA placement within the article
## Output
Write to `./briefs/[keyword-slug]-brief.md`
Print the outline and top 3 content gaps to terminal.Usage
/project:content-brief "ai tools for email marketing"Claude researches the SERP, audits competitors, checks your existing content for linking opportunities, and outputs a brief that tells you exactly what to write and why.
Tips
- Pair with the SEO Content Audit to find which existing pages need briefs for updates
- Feed the brief output into your writing workflow — it works as context for any AI writing tool
- The internal linking section saves the most time — manually finding link opportunities across 50+ pages is painful