SEO Content Brief Template for U.S. Fintech Teams

This checklist-style brief is designed for U.S. fintech content and SEO teams producing YMYL-sensitive pages (articles, product/feature pages, help center, calculators). It’s practical, copyable, and aligned with compliance and E-E-A-T standards. Use it as your standard template and require sign‑off from SEO, SME, Compliance, and Legal before publishing.

Informational disclaimer: This template provides general information for content operations and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Confirm requirements with your compliance/legal team.

1) Administrative & Goals

• Define objective: Specify the business goal and the primary conversion (e.g., demo request, pre‑qualification start).
• Identify audience: State ICP/persona, pain points, and funnel stage (awareness, consideration, decision).
• Set scope boundaries: Clarify what the page will cover and explicitly note that it does not provide individualized financial advice.
• List owners & reviewers: Name the SEO lead, writer, SME, compliance officer, and legal reviewer; include emails.
• Establish deadlines: Draft due, review dates, and target publish/update date.
• Capture competitor baseline: List top 3–5 competitors ranking for the target query today.

2) Keyword, Intent, and Entity Mapping

• Select primary keyword: Add U.S. geo qualifier if needed; classify intent (informational, transactional, navigational).
• Add secondary keywords & variants: Include long‑tails; note where they will appear (H2s, FAQ).
• Map related questions: Capture PAA and common customer questions to answer concisely.
• Define core entities: List key financial/brand entities to cover consistently.
• Note regional constraints: Indicate any state‑level nuances (e.g., APR caps, licensing) that affect wording.

3) Outline & UX Structure

• Draft headings (H1–H3): Ensure logical hierarchy; each section answers a mapped intent.
• Place answer blocks early: Include concise definition/list/steps/table near top to win snippets and support AI summaries.
• Add CTA placement notes: Position CTAs after disclosures; avoid pushing action before key terms are visible.
• Include scannability aids: Bullets, short paragraphs, clear subheadings; avoid jargon or define it inline.

4) On‑Page SEO Requirements

• Title tag: 50–60 characters; include primary keyword and value proposition.
• Meta description: 120–155 characters; clarify benefits + disclosures if space allows.
• URL slug: Short, lowercase, hyphenated; reflect primary keyword.
• H1: Match topic; no year added (evergreen).
• Image alt text: Descriptive, non‑promotional; include relevant entities when natural.
• Canonical & header order: Confirm canonical tag and proper heading nesting.

5) Evidence & E‑E‑A‑T Controls

• Add byline with credentials: Include author expertise; link profile or About page.
• Require expert review: Assign a qualified financial professional or compliance officer to review sensitive claims.
• Show last reviewed/updated date: Display visibly near byline.
• Cite authoritative sources: Link to U.S. regulators or recognized industry authorities; avoid unverifiable claims.
• Avoid guarantees: Do not promise approvals, rates, or returns; provide qualified language and “as of” dates for stats.
• Why this matters: Finance is YMYL—Google expects strong E‑E‑A‑T; see the 2025 emphasis in the Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines (PDF).

6) Compliance Controls (U.S. Fintech)

• Truth in Lending / Regulation Z: If you show APR or payment terms, include required disclosures in the same interface (APR, finance charge, amount financed, total of payments, payment schedule). Reference the CFPB Regulation Z resource (12 CFR Part 1026) and confirm with your counsel.
• Electronic Fund Transfers / Regulation E: For EFT topics (payments, P2P, cards), present consumer rights, error resolution (generally 60 days from statement), and liability limits within account opening/help center; see CFPB Regulation E overview.
• FTC Endorsements & Affiliate Disclosures: Place clear, conspicuous disclosures (“Sponsored,” “Paid partnership,” etc.) adjacent to endorsements/affiliate links and visible on all devices; follow the FTC Endorsement Guides Q&A (2023 updates).
• SEC Investment Adviser Marketing Rule: If presenting investment performance/testimonials, include standardized periods, past‑performance disclaimers, criteria, and recordkeeping per the SEC Marketing Rule FAQs (2025).
• FINRA Rule 2210 (Broker‑Dealer): Keep communications fair, balanced, non‑misleading; pair benefits with risks; route retail comms for principal approval; see FINRA Advertising Regulation overview.
• FDIC/NCUA Insured Advertising: Accurately display insured statements for deposits; do not imply non‑deposit products are insured; follow signage/advertising rules such as FDIC Part 328 final rule (2024) and NCUA Part 740 guidance.
• State Commercial Financing Disclosure Laws: If relevant to business lending, align marketing with offer‑stage standardized disclosures (APR‑equivalents, total repayment). The CFPB’s 2022 determination notes TILA does not preempt several state laws; see the CFPB preemption determination on state CFDLs.
• Do/Don’t guardrails:
  • Do: Include “as of” dates for rates; present risks alongside benefits; make disclosures unavoidable.
  • Don’t: Say “guaranteed returns,” “instant approval” (without conditions), or imply deposit insurance for non‑deposit products.

7) Linking Strategy

• Internal links: Plan contextual links to product/pricing/docs/support and related guides to avoid orphan pages; use descriptive anchors.
• External links: Cite primary sources (regulators, official specs) sparingly and only where claims warrant; one link per fact.
• UTM governance: Define when UTMs are allowed and ensure consistency for measurement.

8) Schema & SERP Features

• Article markup: Add JSON‑LD that matches visible content; validate.
• FAQ/HowTo constraints: Understand current limits—FAQ rich results are limited to authoritative government/health sites, and HowTo rich results are desktop‑only; see the Google Search Central update on FAQ/HowTo (2023).
• Organization/Service markup: Use accurate org details; align with contact/privacy pages.
• Featured snippet & AI Overview readiness: Provide concise answer blocks, lists, and tables; ensure indexability and straightforward language; reference Google guidance on AI features and helpful content.

9) Media & Interactive Components

• Calculators/tools: Define purpose, inputs, and data sources; include methodology and “as of” dates.
• Performance: Budget script weight; lazy‑load non‑critical assets; defer heavy embeds.
• Accessibility for media: Provide captions/transcripts; ensure controls are keyboard accessible.

10) Accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA)

• Alt text for images: Concise and descriptive; no keyword stuffing.
• Color contrast: Maintain at least 4.5:1 for normal text (3:1 for large); see the W3C’s Contrast Minimum understanding page.
• Heading order: Preserve semantic structure; avoid skipping levels.
• Descriptive link text: Make link purpose clear without relying on surrounding text.
• Focus visibility & target size: Ensure focus isn’t obscured and clickable targets are at least 24×24 CSS px; see the WCAG 2.2 spec.

11) Technical Hygiene & Core Web Vitals

• HTTPS and security: Confirm TLS and privacy/ownership pages.
• Crawlability: Check robots.txt, meta robots, and XML sitemaps; ensure index status is “Indexed.”
• Core Web Vitals budgets: Target LCP ≤ 2.5s, INP ≤ 200ms, CLS ≤ 0.1; practical guidance via Google’s Core Web Vitals documentation.
• Schema validation: Test with Rich Results and structured data tools; fix mismatches.

12) Measurement & Success Criteria

• KPIs: Define non‑brand organic clicks, qualified lead rate, scroll depth, featured snippet/PAA capture, CWV pass rate.
• Baselines: Note current rankings and competitors for target queries.
• Event tracking: Confirm analytics events for form starts/completions and outbound clicks.
• Refresh cadence: Rate/offer‑sensitive pages every 90–180 days; evergreen education annually; adjust when regulations change.

13) Review & Refresh Workflow (Sign‑off Required)

• Role sequence: SEO lead → SME → Compliance → Legal → Publisher.
• Check prohibited claims list: Verify no risky language remains.
• Archive approvals: Export/print the brief with reviewer names, dates, and URLs; store in compliance archive.
• Re‑review triggers: Initiate re‑review upon material regulatory updates or substantive product changes.

---

Copy‑and‑Paste Brief Template (Fill‑in Fields)

• Objective:
• Primary conversion:
• Persona & funnel stage:
• Owners & reviewers (names/emails):
• Deadlines (draft/review/publish):
• Primary keyword (intent):
• Secondary keywords/variants:
• Related questions (PAA/customer FAQs):
• Core entities:
• Regional constraints (state‑level notes):
• Outline (H1–H3s):
• Snippet answer blocks (definition/list/steps/table):
• Title tag:
• Meta description:
• URL slug:
• Image alt text notes:
• Byline (credentials) + reviewed by:
• Last reviewed/updated date:
• Sources to cite (regulators/authorities):
• Disclosures required (APR/fees/eligibility/risks):
• Restricted phrases to avoid:
• Internal link targets (product/pricing/docs/support):
• External authoritative links (1 per claim):
• Schema types (Article/Organization/FAQ/HowTo) + validation:
• Media/tools (calculators) + methodology:
• Accessibility checks (alt text/contrast/headings/links):
• Technical checks (HTTPS/indexability/CWV):
• KPIs & baselines:
• Refresh schedule:
• Sign‑off (SEO/SME/Compliance/Legal):
• Archive location (file path or CMS ID):

Use this template as your repeatable standard. Completing every item helps protect consumers, uphold trust, and improve sustainable organic performance under U.S. fintech regulations.