> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rankforce.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create content briefs and AI drafts with Rankforce

> Use the Rankforce Content Engine to research keywords, build a content brief, generate an SEO-optimized draft, and publish it straight to your CMS.

The Rankforce Content Engine takes a target keyword and does the research work for you — analyzing search intent, identifying competitor gaps, suggesting a content structure, and then generating a full draft built around every insight it uncovered. The result is content that's optimized for traditional search, generative engines, and answer engines from the first draft, rather than something you optimize retroactively. The Content Engine is available on the **Growth** and **Scale** plans.

## What the Content Engine produces

For any keyword or topic you enter, the Content Engine generates two things in sequence: a **content brief** and, once you approve the brief, a **draft**.

The **brief** is a research document — the strategic layer. It tells you what to write, who you're writing for, and how to position the content relative to what already ranks. The **draft** is the execution layer — a full piece of content that follows the brief's structure, written to hit the target word count and optimized for all three of Rankforce's scoring dimensions.

Use the Content Engine when you're planning a new article, landing page, or resource and want to move from keyword idea to publish-ready draft without spending hours on manual research.

<Note>
  The Content Engine requires the **Growth** (\$49/mo) or **Scale** plan. If you're on the Starter plan and don't see the **Content** menu in your dashboard, upgrade under [Plans & Billing](/account/plans-billing).
</Note>

## Create a content brief

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Content Engine">
    From the **Dashboard**, click **Content** in the left navigation panel. This opens the Content Engine homepage, which shows any briefs and drafts you've previously created.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start a new brief">
    Click **New Brief** in the top-right corner. A new brief dialog opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter your target keyword">
    Type your primary target keyword into the **Target Keyword** field. Be specific — *"B2B SaaS onboarding email sequence"* will produce a better brief than *"email sequences"*. You can also add an optional **Topic Context** note to give the Content Engine additional guidance, such as your target audience or the page type you're creating.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate the brief">
    Click **Generate Brief**. Rankforce's research agents analyze search results, competitor content, related keyword clusters, and intent signals. Brief generation typically takes 30–60 seconds. You'll see a progress indicator while it runs.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Review the content brief

Once generation is complete, the brief opens automatically. Each section of the brief represents a distinct layer of research — read through all of it before editing or generating a draft, so you understand the full picture.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Target Keyword" icon="bullseye">
    The primary keyword the brief and draft are built around, confirmed from your input. Rankforce also shows the estimated monthly search volume and keyword difficulty alongside it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Related Keywords" icon="tags">
    A curated set of semantically related terms, long-tail variations, and entity-linked phrases to weave into the content. Including these strengthens topical authority and improves GEO performance.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Audience Intent" icon="users">
    An analysis of what people searching for this keyword actually want — whether that's an answer to a specific question, a comparison of options, a how-to guide, or a product to buy. The draft is written to match this intent.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Competitor Gap Analysis" icon="chart-bar">
    A breakdown of what currently-ranking pages cover and — more importantly — what they're missing. These gaps are where your content has the best opportunity to stand out and earn featured placements.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Suggested Headings" icon="heading">
    A full proposed outline with H1, H2, and H3 headings built around your keyword, the competitor gaps, and the intent analysis. Each heading is chosen to address a specific user question or subtopic.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Recommended Word Count" icon="file-word">
    A target word count derived from analyzing the depth of top-ranking content for this keyword. The range shown gives you a floor (competitive minimum) and a ceiling (diminishing returns point).
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Edit the brief before drafting

The brief is a living document — edit any section before you generate the draft to make sure the output reflects your specific knowledge, brand perspective, and content strategy.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Adjust the suggested headings">
    Click any heading in the **Suggested Outline** to edit it inline. You can reword headings, reorder them by dragging, add new H2 or H3 entries, or delete any section you don't want covered in the draft.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add or remove related keywords">
    In the **Related Keywords** section, remove any terms that don't fit your content angle by clicking the **×** on the keyword chip. Add your own terms by typing into the keyword input field and pressing **Enter**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update the audience intent note">
    If the intent interpretation doesn't match your intended angle — for example, you're writing for an enterprise audience but the brief is angled toward individual users — click **Edit Intent** and update the description in plain language. The draft generator will use your updated note.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the target word count">
    Adjust the word count target by editing the number in the **Word Count** field. The recommended range stays visible as a reference while you type.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  The most impactful edit you can make to a brief is refining the competitor gap section. If you have first-hand knowledge of a gap the research missed — a question your customers ask that no competitor answers well — add it as a heading. Original insight from your team is what separates good AI-assisted content from generic content.
</Tip>

## Generate a draft from the brief

When you're satisfied with the brief, you're ready to generate the draft.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Generate Draft">
    At the top of the brief page, click **Generate Draft**. Rankforce's writing agents use the finalized brief — including your edits — as their complete instruction set. Draft generation takes one to three minutes depending on the target word count.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for the draft to appear">
    A progress bar tracks generation in real time, broken into phases: *Outlining → Writing → SEO Pass → GEO Pass → AEO Pass*. Each pass is a separate optimization layer applied on top of the base draft.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the draft">
    When generation completes, click **View Draft** to open it in the Rankforce editor.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Review and edit the draft

The draft opens in a full-screen editor with an inline SEO, GEO, and AEO score panel on the right side. The scores reflect the draft's current state and update in real time as you make edits.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Edit content inline" icon="pen">
    Click anywhere in the draft to edit the text directly. The editor supports standard formatting: headings, bold, italic, bulleted and numbered lists, and blockquotes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Check optimization scores" icon="chart-line">
    The right-hand panel shows your SEO, GEO, and AEO scores for the draft. Expand any score to see the specific signals contributing to it and suggestions for improving each dimension before you publish.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Read through the full draft before sending it to your CMS. Check for:

* Factual accuracy — AI-generated content occasionally requires corrections to specific statistics, dates, or product details
* Brand voice consistency — adjust tone, terminology, and perspective to match how your brand speaks
* Internal linking opportunities — the draft may not know your full site architecture, so add links to relevant existing pages where appropriate

<Warning>
  Always review AI-generated drafts for factual claims, especially statistics and quotes attributed to external sources. Rankforce's agents cite their research, but you are responsible for verifying accuracy before publishing.
</Warning>

## Send the draft to your CMS

Once you're satisfied with the draft, send it directly to your connected CMS without copying and pasting.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Send to CMS">
    At the top-right of the editor, click **Send to CMS**. A dialog appears showing your connected site and the destination options.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a destination">
    For **WordPress**, select the post type (Post or Page), choose a category, and optionally assign tags. For **Framer**, select the collection and page template the draft should be added to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the publish status">
    Choose whether to send the draft as a **Published** page or a **Draft** (saved but not live). Sending as a Draft is recommended if you want to do a final review inside your CMS before going live.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the transfer">
    Click **Send**. Rankforce pushes the full content — including the title, meta description, headings, body copy, and any schema markup — to your CMS. A confirmation message with a link to the new page in your CMS appears when the transfer is complete.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Meta titles, meta descriptions, and schema markup generated during the SEO, GEO, and AEO optimization passes are included in the CMS transfer automatically. You won't need to add them separately in WordPress or Framer.
</Info>

## Best practices for the Content Engine

Following a few consistent habits will make your Content Engine output noticeably stronger over time.

**Create one brief per target keyword.** Trying to target two or more distinct keywords in a single brief dilutes the intent signal and produces content that ranks well for neither. If you have a related keyword cluster to cover, create separate briefs and interlink the resulting articles.

**Align new content with your existing site.** Before generating a draft, check whether you already have content covering similar ground. Use the competitor gap analysis section to differentiate the new piece from your own existing pages, not just from external competitors — this prevents keyword cannibalization.

**Iterate on the brief, not just the draft.** If a draft misses the mark, the most efficient fix is usually to update the brief and regenerate rather than editing the draft extensively by hand. Refining the intent note and heading structure takes two minutes and produces a much better starting point.

**Use the scoring panel as a checklist.** The inline SEO, GEO, and AEO scores in the editor are specific — they show you exactly which signals are weak. Working through the lowest-scoring signals before sending to your CMS means your new content starts at a strong baseline rather than needing retroactive optimization after publishing.