SEO content writing · Buyer's guides · Evergreen
SEO content that ranks and gets cited.
Buyer's guides, how-tos and evergreen articles written for a person with a question, then structured so Google and AI search can find the answer. I've written windows and solar guides for the Independent and the Federation of Master Builders, and nature content for Birdfact that still pulls audiences in the millions years later.
Written for the reader, structured for search
Most SEO content fails for a boring reason: it was written for a keyword, not for the person typing it. It answers the query in the first line, then restates it for 1,200 words so the page looks "comprehensive". Google has got better at spotting that. AI search never fell for it.
I write the other way round. Find out what the reader is trying to decide, give them the straight answer, show the working, and structure it so a search engine or a language model can lift the answer cleanly. The triple glazing guide for the FMB says, in plain words, that your next windows should be triple glazed and it's a question of timing. That's a sentence people quote.
What's in every brief
- Target query, secondary queries and the questions people ask around them
- Search intent and what the top results do well and badly
- Title, H1, headings, meta description and internal links
- Answer-first paragraphs, definitions and figures that featured snippets and AI Overviews can extract
- Schema recommendations (FAQ, HowTo, Product) where they'll earn something
Where it's worked
Windows, doors, solar, heat pumps and renewables for the Independent Advisor and the FMB, where guides run 2,000 to 3,500 words with sourced costs and clear verdicts. Nature and wildlife for Birdfact, where more than 400 pieces I wrote from 2021 onwards still rank and helped take a new domain to hundreds of thousands of readers a month (case study). Cycling, DIY, interiors, accountancy and plumbing for smaller sites that grew from nothing to six-figure monthly readerships.
There's little doubt that your next set of windows should be triple glazed; it's just a question of timing.
"Triple glazed windows: are they worth it?", Federation of Master Builders
- FMBTriple glazed windows: are they worth it?Guide
- FMBHow much electricity does a solar panel produce?Guide
- FMBCost to double glaze a 3-bed houseGuide
- FMBA guide to solar invertersGuide
- BirdfactInside a penguin's mouthEvergreen
- BirdfactCrow symbolism: a complete guideEvergreen
- BirdfactOwls in the UKEvergreen
The 2026 version of SEO
Rank on page one and be named in the answer
Zero-click search is growing, and AI Overviews cite five or six sources where a featured snippet picked one. The pages that win both are the same pages: specific, sourced, structured and useful. That's what I write.
How AI search optimisation works →Questions people ask
Questions about SEO content
Is SEO content still worth it now that AI answers questions?
Yes, with a change of emphasis. AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity cite the pages that answer a question clearly with specific, sourced facts. Well-written SEO content is exactly that, so the same page can rank and be cited. Thin content written for keywords alone does neither, and it never really did.
Do you do keyword research?
Yes. I work from your keyword data if you have it, or build a cluster from scratch using Ahrefs, Search Console and the questions people ask. Every brief comes with a target query, the questions it has to answer, and the pages it should link to.
How long does SEO content take to rank?
For a site with some authority, weeks to a few months for mid-competition queries. Evergreen guides keep climbing for years. Some of my nature and home improvement guides still pull large audiences long after publication, which is the point of writing them properly the first time.
Do you use AI to write?
I use AI tools for research triage and outlining when it helps, and never to write the draft. Readers can tell, Google increasingly can, and the pieces that rank and get cited are the ones with real research and a real point of view.
Can you refresh existing content?
Yes, and it's often the fastest win on a site. I audit what's slipping, update the facts and figures, restructure for extractability, and tighten the writing. Refreshes are priced per page.