How to Write a Content Brief (That Gets It Right)
Four decisions before you write (intent, angle, scope, proof) keep you from shipping the wrong article. How to brief it right.
Field notes on search, AI & growth.
Practical SEO, AEO, and content playbooks for founders, from an operator who runs the same engine in production at The Gourmet Host. What actually moves rankings and earns AI citations, in the order you should do it.
A Google Business Profile That Earns the Map Pack
Rank a Google Business Profile for local SEO by field weight. Category and the services list move the map pack. The description does not.
llms.txt Has Adoption but No Evidence Behind It
Adoption is real, proof is not. See what the one llms.txt AI citation test measured, what it missed, and what to fix before the file.
Writing for E-E-A-T: Prove Experience on the Page
Trust is shown, not claimed. The on-page signals readers and Google both read as real experience, E-E-A-T made concrete.
Local Citations: Consistency Beats Volume Every Time
Local citation SEO rewards agreement, not volume. Learn how to audit the listings you already have before you add a single new one.
Every AI Overview Statistic Contradicts the Next
AI Overview statistics disagree because each tracker picks a different keyword set and window. See how to read any prevalence figure.
Use AI to Write Without Sounding Like AI
Name the tells, keep a human on the parts that matter, skip the slop. How to write with AI without sounding like it.
How to Ask for Reviews Without Sounding Desperate
How to ask for reviews without breaching Google's policy: when to send the request, what it should say, and why every reply counts.
Brand Mentions Beat Backlinks in Ahrefs’ Own Data
Brand mentions vs backlinks AI visibility, settled by Ahrefs' own 75,000-brand study. See the ranked signals and what they cannot prove.
How Long Should a Blog Post Be? Intent Over Count
There is no magic word count. Length follows search intent, not a target. How to set it, article by article.
One Brand, Many Branches, Different Local Services
Local SEO for franchises: what belongs on a market page, a service page, and where the two combine, without building doorway pages.
Being Cited by AI Is Not the Same as Being Chosen
Being cited by AI vs being chosen are two outcomes, not one. See what the research measured and what to log so a citation count counts.