SEO account context

Purpose

SEO research that starts from a keyword tool produces a list of searches, not a plan for the business. The plan depends on understanding what the company sells, to whom, and what already works. This skill builds that understanding first, as a document the team confirms before any research begins.

When to use

• A new company is starting SEO or content work.
• A content plan exists, but nobody can say who it is for.
• Keyword research is about to start, and the account picture is thin.

Route elsewhere when:

• The question is which topics to write about. Use seo-topic-research.
• The question is the account's full commercial profile for sales. Use account-research-brief.

Inputs

Ask once, in one message, for whatever is available:

• the SEO onboarding form, if one exists,
• the company's website, including its product, pricing, and key landing pages,
• sales call notes or transcripts that show how customers describe the problem,
• client communications that show priorities and objections,
• any existing content performance data.

Gather everything in one pass. Do not ask for the same thing twice.

Procedure

The account intelligence document

Write one document with these sections:

1. What they sell. Products, the problem each solves, and the outcome customers get, in the company's words and the customers' words where they differ.
2. Who they sell to. Buyer roles, company types, and the buying group.
3. What they want to sell more of. The products, segments, or outcomes that matter most now.
4. What already works. Pages, topics, and channels that bring in the right visitors or deals.
5. What is unclear. Facts that could not be confirmed, and the question to ask the company.

Mark every claim as confirmed (from the company or its data) or unverified (inferred from the website or elsewhere).

Steps

1. Gather the inputs in one request.
2. Draft the document using the five sections.
3. Mark each claim as confirmed or unverified.
4. Send the document for confirmation, with the unclear items listed as questions.
5. Do not start keyword work until the company has confirmed the sections on what they sell, who they sell to, and what they want to sell more of.

Output

• The account intelligence document, with each claim marked.
• The list of unclear items, as questions for the company.
• A confirmation request.

Quality bar

Every claim is confirmed or marked unverified. The priorities section comes from the company, not the team's guess. Keyword work does not start before confirmation. Watch for a document built only from the website, priorities inferred from competitors, and a research plan started before the buyer is confirmed.