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This SOP is a work in progress. If you notice anything that is out of date, could be more clear or could be more efficient please update the SOP or add a comment to start a conversation.

Purpose

Long-form content produces reader engagement and SEO value. We request long-form content from content writers a month in advance so that content is ready to be posted every month.

Procedure

Inputs:

  • New Month.

  • Client is either a Gold, Platinum, Silver 2022, Gold 2022, Platinum 2022, Essentials Basic (ARI Only), Essentials Pro (ARI Only), Pro (ARI Only), or Premium (ARI Only) client.

  • Client needs long-form content for the following month.

 Step 1: Keyword research → Select content focus

You’ll perform keyword research to select your content focus(es).

  • Use SEO Monitor to find the best keyword topic(s) to focus on for the following month.

Good example: Lawn mower keywords have high search volume and are in season, so you select “Lawn Mowers” as your next month’s keyword focus.

 Step 2: Check the Content History tab of the client sheet

You’ll need to ensure you are not requesting duplicate content that has already been written for the dealer.

  • Navigate to the Content History tab of the client sheet and look for content that has been written and posted previously for your proposed focus. You’ll want to make sure first that the type of content you are proposing has not already been posted on the destination page, then also that your keyword focus is not the same as past written content.

 Step 3: Go to Content Trello Board → Templates List.

Go to the Content Trello Board and navigate to the Templates list on the left-hand side.

(blue star) ARI

(blue star) Dealer Spike

 Step 4: Make a copy of your dealer's card

Find your dealer’s template card in the Client Cards column. The dealer’s template card should never be moved. Reps will make a copy of their dealer template card in the appropriate month’s request column. Please copy the member(s), label(s), and attachment(s) as well. Do not copy any comments that may be on the template card.

 Step 5: Get correct content request template

Based on the content piece(s) you need written for the month, select the correct content request template.

These templates are only to be used for the following older SEO packages: Gold, Platinum, Essentials (ARI Only), Essentials Pro (ARI Only), Pro (ARI Only), and Premium (ARI Only).

Custom Pages are most common for Essentials & Essentials Pro clients, but can be requested for any dealer that is NOT on a new 2022 SEO package and is receiving a service page or a dealer-requested custom page. The new 2022 packages will use a different template when requesting service/parts/about us/local custom pages. DS packages will very rarely/never need custom page content requested, so there is no custom page request template created on the DS Content Staging board but the ARI template can be used if needed.

Before you request a content refresh, there are some criteria that you must meet to justify having the content team write the refresh content for you as opposed to making changes yourself, and so a checklist has been created on the template card.

This template is to be used only for Silver 2022, Gold 2022 and Platinum 2022 package clients! The new package requirements specify that inventory content includes both the featured banner and pagefooter to be requested at once and written by the content team, so SEO reps are no longer required to write and post their own featured banners for new packages (SEO reps are still required to optimize the H1, meta title and meta description, as well as create buttons for the link structure). The inventory header and footer content is to be counted together as one piece of content.

This template is to be used only for Silver 2022, Gold 2022 and Platinum 2022 package clients! If any older package clients need custom content created for any of these pages, then the SEO rep should use the Custom Page Content Request Template.

 Step 6: Copy template from description field.

Click into the description field of the content request template and copy it.

 Step 7: Fill out template on client's card.

Navigate to the client’s copied card for the month’s content request. Paste and fill out the template in the comments section.

  • Pagefooter or Article Request Template

    • Month #/# → Fill out this line with the Month, Year, and which piece of content this is out of how many you’re requesting.

      Pagefooter or Article → Label request as either a pagefooter or article.

      Destination Page URL for Pagefooters (required): → insert the URL that the pagefooter will go on. If this is a blog, ignore this step.

      Query, Topic, or Long-Tail Keyword: → Insert the keyword focus for this piece. Ex: Lawn Mowers.

      Resource (optional): → Insert the URL for a resource for the content writers to reference.

      Notes (Concepts/Keywords to Avoid, etc): → This section is useful when you need to add any general notes that are relevant to the writer, like notes to avoid keyword cannibalization. Ex: “Please don’t include brands of mowers in this piece as I will need future pagefooters for brands of mowers.”

Note: If you are requesting a content refresh for an existing pagefooter or blog, you are REQUIRED to use the Content Refresh Request Template instead.

IMPORTANT: If you do not leave a note to notify content writers, QA, and/or Juniper of any non-standard content or formatting requests from the dealer, then your content request can result in a kickback that affects your QA score. If there are ANY details that you think content writers would not already be aware of, please include them!

  • FOR JUNIPER ARTICLES ONLY

    • Link To: → Insert the URL for the corresponding inventory page. This line is only filled out for blogs, and this would be the inventory page the blog links out to.

  • Custom Page Content Request Template

    • Month #/# → Fill out this line with the Month, Year, and which piece of content this is out of how many you’re requesting.

      Content Piece #s → Include which content pieces you would like formatted into this piece from the DigMS Library. Ex: Content Piece 1 & Content Piece 4.

      Query, Topic, or Long-Tail Keyword: → Insert the keyword focus for this piece. Ex: Wheelchairs.

      Resource (mandatory): → Insert the URL for a resource for the content writers to reference.

      H2s for Content Pieces (Include Links to Shop Pages when Applicable) List all H2s for Content Pieces you need unless you’re asking for a rewrite: → Include the heading(s) you would like to see written into this piece. Ex: H2: Power vs Manual Wheelchairs.

      Destination Page URL (Specify New or Existing Page): → If it’s a new page, include the desired URL name. Ex: /wheelchair-benefits. If it’s an existing page, include the URL for the existing page.

      Concepts/Keywords to Avoid: → This section is useful when you need to avoid keyword cannibalization. Ex: “Please don’t include brands of wheelchairs in this piece as I will need future custom pages for brands of wheelchairs.”

      Notes to Writer: → Include any necessary notes to the writer.

Note: If you are requesting a content refresh for an existing custom page, you are REQUIRED to use the Content Refresh Request Template instead.

(blue star) Note: Custom Page additional notes:

  • Make sure to include the content piece number(s) from the DigMS Library

    • Ex: Content Piece 1 & Content Piece 4.

  • Provide all H2s for relevant content pieces.

  • Under destination page URL: Fill out the page file name w/desired URL.

    • Ex: /wheelchair-benefits

IMPORTANT: If you do not leave a note to notify content writers, QA, and/or Juniper of any non-standard content or formatting requests from the dealer, then your content request can result in a kickback that affects your QA score. If there are ANY details that you think content writers would not already be aware of, please include them!

  • Content Refresh Request Template

    • Month #/# → Fill out this line with the Month, Year, and which piece of content this is out of how many you’re requesting.

      Type of Content to Refresh (pagefooter, blog, custom page): → Include the type of existing content needing a refresh/rewrite.

      Query, Topic, or Long-Tail Keyword: → Insert the keyword focus for this piece. Ex: Wheelchairs.

      Existing Page URL (required): → Insert the existing URL of the page where content needs changing.

      Notes to Writer (MANDATORY) - What specifically needs to be added, removed, or changed?: → Specify what content needs to be added, removed, or changed. This request will be kicked back to the SEO rep if this section is not filled out.

      Resource (optional): → Insert the URL for a resource for the content writers to reference.

      Concepts/Keywords to Avoid: → This section is useful when you need to avoid keyword cannibalization. Ex: “Please don’t include brands of wheelchairs in this piece as I will need future custom pages for brands of wheelchairs.”

    • FOR JUNIPER ARTICLES ONLY

      • Link To: → Insert the URL for the corresponding inventory page. This line is only filled out for blogs, and this would be the inventory page the blog links out to.

    • Refresh Criteria Checklist (MANDATORY)

      • Does 75% or more of the content need to be changed? → If the content only requires minor fixes to correct information or fulfill a dealer request, the rep should not request that the content writer make these changes and should instead make changes themselves.

      • Is the current content posted incorrect? Did something change to make the current content incorrect? Please specify in Notes to Writer. → A refresh of content is needed if the information previously posted is now incorrect, and the rep will just need to specify what needs to change. And again, at least 75% of content must need to be changed to justify a content request.

      • Has page performance dropped after optimization? → This is another good reason to propose a content refresh if the rep has seen a page’s performance drop after content was originally posted.

If the 75% box is not checked on the request card and the specific changes are not noted in the Notes To Writer section of the request, then it will be kicked back for the rep to make the necessary changes on their own.

A content refresh request will only be valid if the SEO rep checks the box saying 75% or more of the content needs to be changed AND selects one of the two other checklist boxes as their reason for refreshing AND leaves specific notes to the writer explaining what needs changing and what to change the content to. The following list of reasons will no longer justify a content refresh request:

  • The page was optimized over 6 months ago. - if the content is still valid then it shouldn’t need changing.

  • The dealer requested a change to one small section of a piece of content (Example: dealer asked to remove an H2 section of a pagefooter about a specific model of Polaris ATVs and replace it with info on another model). - In this instance changes can be made to the existing content per the dealer request, but the SEO rep would be responsible for making those changes since less than 75% of the entire content needs changing.

  • The dealer requested a monthly focus on an inventory page that has already been optimized without specifying anything to change, add or remove from the existing content. - In this case it should be the rep’s responsibility to lightly refresh the content and keywords as if it is normal on-site optimization work for the month instead of requesting a vague content refresh.

  • New Packages: About Us/Parts/Services Request Template

    • Month #/# → Fill out this line with the Month, Year, and which piece of content this is out of how many you’re requesting.

    • About Us, Parts, or Services → Label request as either an About Us, Parts, or Services page

    • Destination Page URL (required): → insert the URL of the page that the content will go on

    • Note to the Writer (Check site/client sheet for needed info): → information needed to create content for these pages:

      • About Us:

        • What year was their dealership founded?

        • What sets them apart?

        • What are they known for?

        • How do they like to brand themselves?

        • If they were to introduce their dealership to someone new, what info would they want to include?

      • Parts:

        • How does your parts department work?

        • Do they have parts on site or do they order parts as needed?

        • What kinds of parts are we talking about? Performance upgrades? Aesthetic stuff?

      • Services:

        • What specific services do you offer? General maintenance? Other specialties?

        • Anything they definitely don't offer that we shouldn't suggest that they do?

    • Note to Juniper: → Include any necessary notes to Juniper.

Note: If any of these pages already exists, we don't need to ask these questions.

  • New Packages: Articles/Inventory Content/Local Pages Request Template

    • Month #/# → Fill out this line with the Month, Year, and which piece of content this is out of how many you’re requesting.

      -------------------------------------------------------

      Article, Inventory Content, Local → Label request as either an Article, Inventory Content, or Local page

      Destination Page URL for Inventory Content (required): → insert the URL of the page that the content will go on

      Keyword Focus: → If applicable, insert the keyword focus for the page.
      Note to the Writer (Check site/client sheet for needed info): → Include any necessary notes to the writer.

      Note to Juniper: → Include any necessary notes to Juniper.

    • FOR JUNIPER ARTICLES ONLY

      • Link To: → Provide the URL for the page an Article should link out to (usually an inventory page)

  • Once the template is completely filled out, click Save.

IF a section is blank, please do not delete the section, just apply “N/A”. The reason for this is we want to keep every content request the same for consistency since there are so many teams involved.

For the Resource section: Check our rewrite index docs for resources to include; You should only need to go looking for an external resource if there’s nothing that works in the indexes.

Note: For Page Footer/Articles: Do not forget destination URLs for Page Footers and “link to” URLs for Blogs/Articles (these are the links for the corresponding inventory page).

Note: Don’t forget to label the content request at the top with the Month, Year, and which piece of content this is out of how many you’re requesting .

  • (Ex: April 2022 1/2)

 Step 8: Add Labels

Once the request template(s) is filled out, go to labels and add the appropriate “(Month) Content” label to the card.

 Step 9: Move card to next board with "Automation" menu

Look on the right-hand menu under “Automation” and then press the button for the appropriate month’s request column. This will move your completed request to the next content Trello board and be added to the writer’s queue.

Outputs:

  • A completed content request in the correct Trello board for the content team to start writing.

Here is the link to a video tutorial on the entire Trello content board process for reference:

SEO Content Staging Board tutorial

FAQs

 What if a client doesn't receive long-form content the next month?

Even if a client does not require content for a month, you will still need to create a copy of the template card in the Client Cards column. Just make a note in the comments of the copied card, then move the card to the “No Content For (Month)” list. This shows the content writers/QA that the lack of content request(s) for that client in that month was intentional and not missed by the SEO rep.

  • Note should say: “No content required for (MONTH + YR)”.

 What if a dealer requests different content for a month after the SEO rep has requested content for that month?

Sometimes an SEO rep will receive a message from the account manager that a dealer has requested to change the focus for a month, which will then require a change to a content request that has been submitted previously. Here is the process the SEO rep must follow to change the content request.

  1. To begin, you will need to edit the WD Import tab of the client sheet to correctly reflect the foci in the campaign plan. This may involve either pushing the previous foci out a month to make room for the dealer-requested focus for the current month, or just replacing the current month’s focus.

  2. Next, you need to find the content request card you created and sent off to the SEO Content Writing Trello board.

    1. If the request card is still in the “(Month) Requests” column of the Writing board, then that means that the content writers have not yet picked up the card and started working on content. This means you can edit or archive the request card without having to notify the content writers.

    2. If the request card is in the “(Content Writer Name) In-Progress” column of the Writing board, then you should send the content writer a quick Teams message to see if they have started writing the content yet or not. If they have not started, then you can let them know you will be editing the request or archiving the card. If they are in the middle of writing the content or just finished writing it, then you can ask them to put that content into the Up For Grabs section of the Content Index for future use. Partially completed content is up to the content writer’s discretion on whether they want to add it to Up For Grabs or just scrap it.

    3. If the request card has already moved to the Content QA or Content Posting boards, then that means the content has definitely been created already and you will need to ask the content writer to add that content to the Up For Grabs section of the Content Index and let them know that you will be submitting a new content request for the current month. If you are putting in a new request after the 15th of the month, you should add the High Priority label to the request card.

 What if I have a client that requires dealer approval on content before posting?

If your client has specified that they would like to approve content before it gets posted, you do not need to move that card to a different board or column than a normal client card, but you will need to go in and add the “Requires Dealer Approval” label to the template card. You will then need to scroll down the card to the section that says “Custom Fields” and enter the Account Manager’s email in the “add account manager” field. This will make it so that the AM is automatically notified when content has been written and is ready to be sent to the dealer for approval.

 Content kickback guidelines

Major kickback reasons include:

  • OEM article requested

    • The content team is no longer accepting OEM keyword focuses for article requests. This is because pagefooters typically get the OEM keyword requests and we want to avoid creating article content that is too similar to pagefooter content.

    • To avoid this kickback, make sure that the keyword focus for article requests does not include a specific brand name. If the dealer requests the mention of a specific brand or only offers one brand for a type of product, then you can record that information in the Notes to Writer section of the article request instead.

  • Duplicate content requested

    • This refers to when the SEO rep requests a piece of content that has already been written and posted to the site in the past

    • To avoid this kickback, you should check the Content History tab of the client sheet to see all the content that has been written and posted in the past for the client and make sure your request’s keyword focus is different from those listed in that tab.

  • The request/card is missing needed information

    • The content writer will kick back the request to the Rep Fix column of the content Trello board if important information is missing from either the Dealer Info section of the client card, or the request itself is missing needed information. Examples include missing target location info on the dealer info section of the card, or missing resources in custom page requests.

    • To avoid this kickback, be sure to copy/paste the templates provided for content requests and dealer info sections for cards and fill out all applicable sections. Do not edit previous requests to post, because it may have had sections deleted that were not applicable to that request but would need to be filled out for the current request.

See our Kickback Process for Content doc for more details

 Content Request Formatting & Guidelines

Reference the Content Request Format Breakdown doc for content formatting guidelines and common topics used for each type of content piece, as well as topics to avoid according to the content type.

 Local Pages Notes

Cannibalization should not be an issue for local pages - each location page is targeted at ranking for that location and not for the board general search term, so there is no conflict. Each page can be made more geographically relevant by including the name of the region along with incorporated cities, neighborhoods, or landmarks, etc. Here are some examples from an automotive dealership for reference:

https://www.faulknertoyotaharrisburg.com/used-car-dealer-near-me-harrisburg-pa/

https://www.faulknertoyotaharrisburg.com/used-car-dealer-duncannon-pa/

https://www.faulknertoyotaharrisburg.com/used-car-dealer-lancaster-pa/