Reading the brief

What a SerpPal analysis gives you, where each part lives in the editor, how to turn it into a plan for your article, and how to share a writer's brief link.

When an analysis is ready, SerpPal opens the content editor with your article on the left and the brief on the right. The brief is everything SerpPal learned from the pages that rank: what they talk about, how long they are, which words they use and what people ask.

This page explains what each part means and how to use it. The content editor section goes into every button.

#What is in a brief

The breadcrumb at the top of the editor has an i icon. Hover it to see the country, the language, how many pages were analyzed and whether the result came from the cache.

#The score and the target

The gauge at the top of the right panel shows your content score from 0 to 100, the target for this keyword and the best competitor's score. The target is set from how well the competitor pages score, and is always between 60 and 85. Reach the target and your article covers the topic as well as the strong pages on page one.

Under the gauge you see your score next to the competitor average, and a small race track with each competitor. Read more in Content score.

#Terms

Each term shows two numbers: how many times you use it now and the recommended range, for example 2 / 3-6. Colors tell you the status: not used yet, a bit low, in range, or used too often. Click a term to insert it at the cursor.

Terms come in two groups:

• basic: the terms most top pages use. Cover these first.
• extended: extra terms that add depth.

The Headings view shows phrases to use in your title, H1 and H2/H3 headings. The Entities view shows names to mention. See Terms and topics.

#Topics and the AI topic brief

When AI is turned on, SerpPal reads the top pages with AI during the analysis and writes a short topic brief:

• the search intent (for example commercial) and the best content type (for example a listicle or a guide);
• Stand out: an angle the top pages miss;
• Topics to cover, each with an importance bar from 1 to 10 and a short note;
• Title ideas you can click to use.

A topic gets a check mark when your article covers it. Click + to add it as a heading.

If the AI brief is missing, for example because AI was off when the analysis ran, click Build the brief in the Outline tab.

Under it you find Common headings on top pages (with how many pages use each), Angles to stand out and a Competitor outline picker that shows the headings of any top page. See Outline, questions and SERP.

#Questions

• People also ask: questions Google shows for the search.
• Asked in top articles: questions the competitor pages answer in their text.
• Add an FAQ section with the top questions builds an FAQ block for you.
• Next articles to write: related searches. Click Analyze to start an analysis for one of them in the same project.

Answering the main questions in your article is one of the quickest ways to raise your score and help readers.

#Length and structure

The Insights tab shows:

• Target length: by default, the median length of the first-page competitors. The range of the top pages is shown next to it. You can type your own target; SerpPal remembers it for this article in this browser.
• Compared with the top pages: your length, H2 sections and images next to the typical top page, plus a FAQ section or a table when most top pages have one.
• What to do next: the most useful fixes right now.

#Turn the brief into a plan

1. Read the AI brief's intent and content type. If the top pages are lists, a long essay will struggle.
2. Pick a title from Title ideas or write your own with the main title terms.
3. Build your headings from Topics to cover and Common headings. Add one or two Angles to stand out.
4. Answer the top questions, as sections or as an FAQ.
5. Write, then work through missing basic terms in Optimization.
6. Check Insights for length and structure, and aim for the target score.

Or let the AI do steps 2 to 5 with the article wizard.

#Share a writer's brief

Working with a freelance writer who does not have a SerpPal account? Send them the brief as a web page.

1. In the editor, open More (the three dots) and choose Share the writer's brief.
2. Click Create link.
3. Click Copy and send the link. Open shows you what they will see.

The page is read-only and shows the keyword, the intent and content type, target words, H2 sections, whether to add an FAQ or a table, the angle to stand out, topics with importance, terms for the title, headings and text (each with how often to use it), names to mention, up to 15 questions and the top 3 pages to beat with their headings.

To stop sharing, open the same dialog and click Turn off link. The old link then says "This brief link is no longer active". If you create a link again later, it gets a new address, so the old one stays off.

The page is not listed in search engines, but anyone with the link can open it.

#When the brief looks wrong

• The terms do not fit your topic. Some top pages may be shops, forums or pages for another country. Untick them and rebuild. See Choosing competitors.
• Only a few pages were analyzed. Check the SERP tab: some pages were too short or could not be read. Use Find them for hidden links, or add pages yourself.
• The results are old. Open More and choose Run the analysis again for fresh Google results. It uses one analysis.
• It is in the wrong language or country. Analyze the keyword again with the right settings. A brief cannot change country.