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SEO Content Brief from Keyword Cluster

Growth & Marketing

What it tests

SEO strategy depth, ability to translate keyword research into actionable content briefs, and understanding of search intent at different funnel stages

Format

  1. 1Candidate receives a seed topic, a keyword export (50-100 keywords with volume and difficulty data), and a persona brief
  2. 2They cluster the keywords into logical topic groups and identify the primary article for each cluster
  3. 3They write one full SEO content brief for the highest-priority article: target keyword, search intent, recommended H2 structure, internal link targets, and competitive angle
  4. 4They explain in writing why they deprioritized the three keywords with the highest search volume

What to look for

  • Is clustering based on search intent, not just semantic similarity?
  • Does the content brief give a writer enough structure to execute without an SEO background?
  • Is the competitive angle specific — do they identify a real gap, or just say 'go deeper'?
  • Is their deprioritization reasoning sound (high difficulty, wrong funnel stage, cannibalization risk)?

Adaptation guide

Export a real keyword set from your SEMrush or Ahrefs account. Candidates who produce briefs your writers can actually use immediately demonstrate the highest ROI.

Full description

Format:

  1. Candidate receives a seed topic, a keyword export (50-100 keywords with volume and difficulty data), and a persona brief
  2. They cluster the keywords into logical topic groups and identify the primary article for each cluster
  3. They write one full SEO content brief for the highest-priority article: target keyword, search intent, recommended H2 structure, internal link targets, and competitive angle
  4. They explain in writing why they deprioritized the three keywords with the highest search volume

Time: 75 minutes

What to look for:

  • Is clustering based on search intent, not just semantic similarity?
  • Does the content brief give a writer enough structure to execute without an SEO background?
  • Is the competitive angle specific — do they identify a real gap, or just say "go deeper"?
  • Is their deprioritization reasoning sound (high difficulty, wrong funnel stage, cannibalization risk)?

Adaptation: Export a real keyword set from your SEMrush or Ahrefs account. Candidates who produce briefs your writers can actually use immediately demonstrate the highest ROI.

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