SEO content brief

Keyword: how to clean a cast iron pan

Notes:
- Site: a small online cookware shop called Hearth & Pan (fictional)
- Audience: people who just bought or inherited their first cast iron pan, nervous about ruining it
- Goal: a care guide that earns trust and leads to our seasoning oil page
- Tone: calm, practical, no lectures
- We already have a page about seasoning a new pan and a general cast iron care category page
- Do not suggest anything about health benefits of cooking with iron

# SEO brief: how to clean a cast iron pan

## Search intent
Informational, how-to. The wording "how to clean" asks for steps, and the notes say readers are first-time owners who fear damaging the pan.

## Working titles
1. How to Clean a Cast Iron Pan (Without Ruining It)
2. Cleaning Cast Iron: A Calm, Step-by-Step Guide
3. Your First Cast Iron Pan: Cleaning and Care

## Outline
# H1: How to clean a cast iron pan
## H2: What you need before you start
Short tool list; reassure that nothing special is required.
## H2: Everyday cleaning, step by step
Deliver a numbered routine for a pan after cooking.
### H3: While the pan is still warm
### H3: Scrubbing and rinsing
### H3: Drying properly
## H2: When food is stuck on
Deliver a gentle method for stubborn residue.
## H2: What to avoid
List common mistakes, framed calmly.
## H2: Rust and what to do about it
Explain how to recognise it and the steps to restore the pan.
## H2: Keeping the surface in good shape
Bridge to seasoning and oil; this is where the product page link belongs.

## Questions to answer
- Can I use soap on cast iron?
- How do I clean it right after cooking?
- What do I do when food is stuck?
- Can cast iron go in the dishwasher?
- Why is my pan rusty, and can I save it?
- How do I dry it, and why does that matter?
- When do I need to season it again?

## Internal-link ideas
- The existing page about seasoning a new pan [confirm URL]
- The cast iron care category page [confirm URL]
- The seasoning oil product page, from the last section only [confirm URL]

## Do not claim
- That a method "never" damages a pan, or works for every pan and finish
- Any health benefit of cooking with iron (the notes rule it out)
- That soap is always safe or always harmful unless the team confirms its position
- Rankings, traffic or any "best" or "number one" statement
- Any figure about how many people own or struggle with cast iron

## Check with a keyword tool
- Monthly search volume for the keyword: check with a keyword tool
- Keyword difficulty: check with a keyword tool
- Related terms and People Also Ask questions: check with a keyword tool
- What the top results cover and how long they are: check with a keyword tool

---
name: seo-brief
description: Turns a target keyword and a few notes about audience and goal into a content brief with search intent, working titles, an H2/H3 outline, questions to answer, internal-link ideas and claims to avoid. Use when a writer needs a brief before drafting a search-focused article.
---
# SEO Brief
A keyword and a few notes in, a writer-ready content brief out.

## When to use
- You are about to commission or write an article aimed at one keyword.
- You want the structure and the guardrails settled before drafting.

## Inputs
- The target keyword. Ask for it if missing.
- Audience, goal of the page, and the business or product it should support. Ask for whichever is missing.
- Optional: existing pages on the site, the tone, a word-count range.

## Steps
1. State the search intent in one line (informational, commercial, transactional or navigational) and give the reasoning from the keyword wording only.
2. Write 3 working titles, each under 60 characters, in different styles. Mark them "working".
3. Build the outline: one H1, then 4 to 7 H2s, with H3s where a section has parts. Put one line under each H2 saying what it must deliver.
4. List 5 to 8 questions the article must answer, in the reader's words.
5. List internal-link ideas as page types or names from the notes, each marked "[confirm URL]". Do not guess pages that the notes do not mention.
6. List "Do not claim": statements that would need proof, an expert or a source, plus anything the notes rule out.
7. Add "Check with a keyword tool": search volume, difficulty, related terms and competitor pages. Leave them as open items.

## Output
Write `seo-brief.md` with: `## Search intent`, `## Working titles`, `## Outline`, `## Questions to answer`, `## Internal-link ideas`, `## Do not claim`, `## Check with a keyword tool`.

## Rules
- Never invent search volumes, rankings, difficulty scores, statistics or competitor facts. Write "check with a keyword tool" instead.
- Do not promise rankings or traffic.
- Mark every assumption and ask before assuming the audience or goal.
- Write results to a new file, never overwrite existing pages or notes.
- Keep private data local. Legal, medical, tax and financial claims are out of scope: flag them for a professional and do not advise.