strategy

Blog Strategy -- Positioning & Content Architecture

Develops comprehensive blog strategies that build topical authority for Google rankings while establishing brand presence for AI citation platforms. Includes topic cluster architecture, AI citation surface strategy, content scoring targets, and GEO-specific optimization plans.

Workflow

Step 1: Discovery

Gather context through questions or project analysis:

1. Business: What do you sell/do? Who are your customers?
2. Blog goals: Traffic? Leads? Authority? AI citations?
3. Current state: Existing blog content? (scan if project available)
4. Competitors: Who are your 3-5 main competitors?
5. Differentiator: What unique expertise or data do you have?
6. Resources: Writing capacity (posts/week), budget for visuals?

Step 2: Competitive Landscape

Research competitors' blogs:

1. WebSearch for competitor blog URLs
2. For each competitor, assess:
   • Publishing frequency
   • Content types (guides, case studies, comparisons, news)
   • Visual quality (images, charts, videos)
   • Schema usage
   • Social distribution (YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn)
   • AI citation presence (search ChatGPT/Perplexity for industry terms)
3. Identify gaps no competitor covers well

Competitive AI Citation Analysis

Map competitor visibility across AI platforms. Use WebSearch to find how competitors appear in AI-generated responses for target keywords.

## Competitive AI Citation Map
| Query | ChatGPT Cites | Perplexity Cites | AI Overview Cites | Gap? |
|-------|--------------|-----------------|-------------------|------|
| [keyword] | [competitor/none] | [competitor/none] | [competitor/none] | [Yes/No] |

Score each competitor's AI visibility:

• High: Cited in 3/3 platforms for multiple queries
• Medium: Cited in 1-2 platforms or for limited queries
• Low: Rarely cited, only in niche queries
• None: No AI citation presence detected

Note: Only 12% overlap between platforms -- a competitor strong on ChatGPT may be absent from Perplexity. Analyze each platform independently.

Step 3: Audience Mapping

Define 2-3 audience segments:

### Audience Segment: [Name]
- **Role**: [Job title / description]
- **Pain points**: [What problems do they have?]
- **Search behavior**: [What do they Google?]
- **AI behavior**: [What do they ask ChatGPT/Perplexity?]
- **Content preferences**: [Long guides? Quick answers? Video?]
- **Buying stage**: [Awareness / Consideration / Decision]

Step 4: Content Pillar Design with Topic Cluster Architecture

Design 3-5 content pillars based on audience needs and competitive gaps. For each pillar, build the full hub-and-spoke cluster model.

### Pillar: [Topic Area]
- **Purpose**: Build authority in [topic]
- **Primary keywords**: [3-5 keywords]
- **Content types**: Pillar guide, supporting posts, comparisons, FAQ
- **Unique angle**: [What first-hand experience/data can you provide?]
- **Estimated posts**: [N] to achieve topic coverage
- **AI citation potential**: [High/Medium/Low] - [why]

Cluster Architecture Design

For each pillar, design the complete hub-and-spoke structure:

### Cluster Build Plan: [Pillar Topic]
| # | Spoke Topic | Template | Target Keyword | Word Count | Internal Links |
|---|------------|----------|---------------|-----------|----------------|
| P | [Pillar title] | pillar-page | [keyword] | 3,000-4,000 | Links to all spokes |
| 1 | [Spoke title] | how-to-guide | [keyword] | 1,500-2,500 | Pillar + Spokes 2,3 |
| 2 | [Spoke title] | comparison | [keyword] | 1,500-2,500 | Pillar + Spokes 1,3 |
| 3 | [Spoke title] | listicle | [keyword] | 1,500-2,500 | Pillar + Spokes 1,2 |

Step 5: Differentiation Strategy

The December 2025 Core Update rewards first-hand experience. Plan how to demonstrate genuine expertise:

Signal Type	Implementation
Original data	Conduct surveys, analyze proprietary data, run experiments
Case studies	Document real client/project results with metrics
Build in public	Share process, learnings, and failures transparently
Expert interviews	Feature practitioners with first-hand knowledge
Tool reviews	Test products personally, share screenshots and results
Industry analysis	Provide unique perspective on public data

Step 5.5: AI Citation Surface Strategy

Plan how to maximize AI citation across platforms. 80% of LLM citations come from outside the top 100 organic results -- traditional SEO alone is insufficient.

On-Site Optimization

Structure every piece of content for AI citability:

• Every H2 opens with an answer-first paragraph (40-60 words with stat + source)
• Citation capsules: 40-60 word self-contained passages per H2 section
• Q&A format: 60-70% of H2 headings phrased as questions
• FAQ sections with schema markup on every post
• Entity clarity: consistent terminology throughout
• Structured data: JSON-LD for Article, FAQ schemas

Off-Site Presence (Critical -- 88-92% of AI citations from off-site)

Channel	AI Citation Impact	Priority Action
YouTube	0.737 correlation (strongest)	Companion videos for pillar posts
Reddit	450% citation surge	Authentic participation in 3-5 subreddits
Review platforms	2.6-3.5x multiplier	Maintain profiles on G2, Capterra (B2B)
Wikipedia/Wikidata	Credibility tiebreaker	Build notability, create Wikidata entry
Industry publications	Tier 2-3 citation source	Guest posts, expert commentary

Step 5.6: Content Scoring Targets

Set quality standards that all blog content must meet:

### Content Quality Standards
| Metric | Target | Measured By |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| Blog quality score | 80+ | `/smart-blog-skills:analyze` |
| E-E-A-T compliance | Named author + 8+ tier 1-3 sources | Manual review |
| AI citation readiness | Answer-first + FAQ + citation capsules | `/smart-blog-skills:analyze` |
| Visual minimum | 2+ charts + 3+ images per post | Asset count |
| Internal links | 5+ per post (within cluster) | Link audit |
| Schema markup | Article + FAQ + relevant type | Structured data test |
| Word count | 1,500+ for spokes, 3,000+ for pillars | Word count tool |

Step 6: Distribution Channel Strategy

AI visibility requires off-site presence. Plan brand presence:

Channel	AI Impact	Strategy
YouTube	0.737 correlation (strongest)	Companion videos for pillar posts, how-tos, demos
Reddit	450% citation surge	Authentic participation in 3-5 subreddits
Review platforms	2.6-3.5x citation multiplier	Maintain profiles on G2, Capterra, TrustRadius (B2B)
Wikipedia/Wikidata	Credibility tiebreaker	Build notability through earned media
Industry publications	Tier 2-3 citation source	Guest posts, expert commentary
Social media	Brand mentions	LinkedIn thought leadership, Twitter/X insights

Budget allocation recommendation: 40% owned content / 60% earned media and distribution.

Step 7: Measurement Framework

### Metrics to Track

#### Traditional SEO
- Organic traffic (monthly)
- Keyword rankings (top 10, top 3)
- Domain authority / Domain Rating
- Internal link coverage

#### AI Citation Metrics (New)
- Share of Voice in ChatGPT responses (manual tracking)
- AI Overview citation rate (Google Search Console)
- Perplexity mentions (manual tracking)
- AI referral traffic (GA4: source contains chatgpt, perplexity, claude)

#### Content Quality
- Blog quality score via `/smart-blog-skills:analyze` (target: 80+)
- Content freshness (% of posts updated within 30 days)
- Citation tier quality (% tier 1-3 sources)

#### Business Impact
- Blog-attributed leads/conversions
- Email subscribers from blog

Step 8: Generate Strategy Document

Output format:

# Blog Strategy: [Business Name]

## Executive Summary
[2-3 sentences on the strategic direction]

## Audience
[Segment summaries]

## Content Pillars & Cluster Architecture
[3-5 pillars with full hub-and-spoke cluster plans]
[Template assignments for each piece]

## Competitive Positioning
[How we differentiate]
[Competitive AI Citation Map showing gaps to exploit]

## AI Citation Surface Strategy
[On-site optimization checklist]
[Off-site presence plan with priority channels]

## Content Quality Standards
[Scoring targets for all content]

## Distribution Channels
[Priority channels with specific tactics]

## Content Velocity
- New posts: [N]/week
- Freshness updates: [N]/month

## 90-Day Roadmap
### Month 1: Foundation
### Month 2: Expansion
### Month 3: Optimization

## Measurement
[KPIs and tracking approach]

## Next Steps
1. Run `/smart-blog-skills:calendar` to create the first month's editorial calendar
2. Run `/smart-blog-skills:brief` for the first pillar page
3. Run `/smart-blog-skills:write` to generate the first article