Free Content Brief Template [2026]
Professional content brief template to guide writers in creating SEO-optimized content. Includes SEO requirements, content outlines, competitor analysis, and quality checklists.
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Complete content brief workbook with 7 tabs for comprehensive briefs
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What's Included
8 organized worksheets covering all SEO aspects
📋 Instructions Tab: How to create effective content briefs
📝 Brief Overview Tab: Title, goals, audience, and requirements
🎯 SEO Requirements Tab: Keywords, meta tags, and on-page guidelines
📑 Content Outline Tab: Detailed structure with headings and key points
🔍 Competitor Analysis Tab: Analyze top-ranking content
📚 Resources Tab: Reference links and asset requirements
✅ Review Checklist Tab: Quality assurance before publishing
Use Cases
How SEO professionals use this template
Key Features
Template Preview
Excel Worksheet Tabs (8 Tabs Total)
⚙️ Technical SEO
Crawl, speed, mobile, Core Web Vitals
Sample Data from Template
This is a preview. Download the full template for 150+ checkpoints across 8 tabs.
📊 Template by PikaSEO.com
How to Use This Template
Download the Template
Click the download button above to get the Excel file. Open it in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet app.
Fill Website Info
Start with the Website Info tab. Enter client details, site URL, and audit goals.
Complete Each Section
Work through each tab, marking items as Pass, Warning, or Fail. Add notes for findings.
Review Summary
Use the Summary tab to create a prioritized action plan. Focus on critical issues first.
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO Audits
Why should I perform an SEO audit on my website?
An SEO audit is essential to uncover hidden issues that prevent your website from ranking higher in search results. Without regular audits, technical problems like broken links, slow page speeds, crawl errors, and indexation issues can silently hurt your organic traffic. An audit also reveals opportunities your competitors might be exploiting that you're missing.
What are the key areas an SEO audit should cover?
A comprehensive SEO audit should cover 6 critical areas: (1) Technical SEO - crawlability, indexation, site speed, mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, and structured data; (2) On-Page SEO - title tags, meta descriptions, headings, URL structure, and internal linking; (3) Content Quality - uniqueness, E-E-A-T signals, keyword optimization, and search intent alignment; (4) Off-Page SEO - backlink profile, anchor text distribution, and referring domains; (5) Local SEO - Google Business Profile, NAP consistency, and local citations; (6) User Experience - Core Web Vitals, navigation, and accessibility.
What technical SEO issues should I look for during an audit?
Key technical issues to check include: robots.txt blocking important pages, missing or incorrect XML sitemaps, pages with noindex tags that should be indexed, canonical tag errors, slow page load times (over 3 seconds), poor Core Web Vitals scores (LCP, INP, CLS), mixed content warnings, missing HTTPS, mobile usability issues, and structured data errors. This template includes 45+ technical checks to ensure nothing is missed.
How does this template help me conduct a thorough SEO audit?
This template provides a systematic, professional framework with 150+ pre-defined checkpoints organized into 8 logical worksheets. Each check item includes priority levels (Critical/High/Medium/Low), space for findings and notes, and recommendation columns. The status dropdowns (Pass/Warning/Fail) let you quickly document issues, while the Summary tab automatically helps you prioritize action items.
What content issues should I audit for SEO?
Audit your content for: thin pages with less than 300 words, duplicate content across your site, outdated information, missing or poor E-E-A-T signals (author bios, credentials, citations), keyword cannibalization where multiple pages target the same keyword, content that doesn't match search intent, poor readability scores, and pages lacking multimedia.
How do I use this template for client SEO audits?
Start by filling the Website Info tab with client details and audit goals. Work through each section systematically, using tools like Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and our free PikaSEO Technical SEO Audit tool to gather data. Mark each item as Pass, Warning, or Fail with detailed notes. The Summary tab helps you create a prioritized action plan. You can white-label the template by adding your agency branding.
What on-page elements are most important to audit?
Focus on: title tags (unique, 50-60 characters, keyword-optimized), meta descriptions (compelling, 150-160 characters), heading hierarchy (single H1, logical H2-H6 structure), URL structure (short, descriptive, keyword-rich), internal linking (adequate links to important pages, descriptive anchor text), and image optimization (alt text, file names, compression).
How often should I update my SEO audit?
Perform comprehensive audits quarterly, quick audits monthly, and immediate audits after major changes (site redesign, CMS migration, Google algorithm updates, or traffic drops). This template is updated regularly to include the latest ranking factors like Core Web Vitals INP metric, E-E-A-T guidelines, and Helpful Content requirements. Last updated: 2026-02-03.