Guides for the question before they hire
Costs, comparisons and 'how do I choose' pages for the searches people make right before contacting someone.
Best for: Every business. These are the pages that turn into enquiries.
Content
marketing.
Content marketing means publishing useful pages, guides and tools that bring the right people in from Google and AI answers, then help them decide. Most content never gets that far: one large study found 96.55% of pages get no traffic from Google at all. I plan what to publish from your market's real searches, make sure every piece adds something the top results don't, and judge it on enquiries, not visits.
Written by Dan Picken, founder. Last checked 28 October 2026.From my audits
What I find
in most content.
When I look at a business's blog or resources section, the same patterns come up.
- 1
Posts nobody searched for
Company news, 'our thoughts on' pieces and topics picked in a meeting. Fine for the newsletter, invisible on Google.
- 2
The same post as everyone else
'5 tips for choosing a builder', written from the top results, saying what they say. Google has no reason to pick it.
- 3
Ten posts on one topic
Several pages chasing the same search, each half finished, splitting whatever links and attention the topic earns.
- 4
Traffic with no next step
A post that ranks and gets read, then ends. No link to the service, no tool, nothing for someone who's ready.
- 5
Out of date and still live
Old prices, old rules, old screenshots. One wrong fact makes people doubt the rest.
Why most content gets nothing
Most content
is never found.
Publishing more isn't the problem most businesses have. Publishing things nobody searches for, that say what everyone else says, is.
- 01
Nobody searches for it
The same study found the most common reason pages get no traffic is no search demand: nobody looks for the topic, so even a first-place ranking brings nobody.
What I do: Start from what your buyers actually search and ask, not from what you want to say.
- 02
Nothing new to say
Google's guidance asks whether content provides original information, reporting, research or analysis, and whether it adds value beyond copying other sources.
What I do: Every piece needs one thing the top results lack: your numbers, a worked example, a tool, a local detail.
- 03
The answer stops at the summary
Pew Research found Google users who saw an AI summary clicked a regular result in 8% of visits, against 15% without one. Simple answers now get read on Google.
What I do: Make pages people still need to visit: calculators, checklists, comparisons and examples a summary can't hold.
- 04
Written for nobody in particular
A post written for 'everyone interested in plumbing' answers no one's actual question. People search in a state of mind, not a topic.
What I do: Write each piece for one buyer at one moment, with the next step that suits them.
None of this means stop writing. It means write less, and make each piece something only you could publish.
Content triage
Keep it, fix it
or let it go?
Pick one page on your site, ideally an old blog post, and answer six questions. It tells you what to do with it. Run it on your ten oldest posts and you'll have a content plan for the next month without writing anything new.
What to do with this page
Answer the questions
Steps
Removing pages isn't a shortcut to better rankings. The point is a site where every page earns its place, so the good ones aren't buried.
The psychology of reading
Why people stop
reading.
Two findings about how people decide what to read and believe, and what they mean for your pages.
01Deciding whether to keep going
Satisficing
People tend to stop searching once they have an answer that's good enough. In Pew's study, Google users ended their browsing session on 26% of pages with an AI summary, against 16% without one.
If your page only answers the simple question, the summary has already done your job for you.
What I do: Answer the simple question fast, then give them the part a summary can't: their own numbers, a decision, a next step.
02Judging quality
The effort heuristic
People tend to rate work as better when they believe more effort went into it. A 2023 replication found mixed support, so treat it as a tendency, not a law.
Visible effort, like real data, worked examples and sources, may make a page more convincing as well as more useful.
What I do: Show the work: the numbers, the steps, where each fact came from.
Studies linked so you can read them. The effort finding is shakier than the first, and I'd rather say so.
What I plan and make
Five kinds of content
that earn their place.
Not a blog post a week. The format follows the question people are asking.
Tools and calculators
A quote estimator, a savings calculator, a checker. Something people use, not just read.
Best for: When the answer depends on their own numbers, which a summary can't give them.
Worked examples
A real job, product or decision walked through step by step, with the numbers.
Best for: When buyers need to see how it works before they trust it.
Comparison pages
Honest side-by-sides: options, materials, approaches, and when each is the right call.
Best for: When buyers are choosing between things and want someone to say it straight.
Local and industry pages
Pages for a place or a type of customer, each with its own examples, rules and data.
Best for: When you serve different areas or industries. Never the same page with the suburb swapped.
How most content is planned.
How I plan it.
Most contentHow I do it
TopicsBrainstormed, or copied from competitors.Mapped from what your market actually searches and asks AI.Search Relationship Mapping
What it addsA rewrite of the top results.Scored on what it adds that they don't, before it's published.Information Gain Scoring
VolumeA post a week, whatever it says.Fewer pieces, each one worth finding.
SuccessTraffic and time on page.Enquiries and sales that started on the page.
How it works
Four steps.
Nothing hidden.
- 01
Free audit
I check what your current content brings in, and how you show up on Google and in AI answers.
- 02
Triage
Every existing page sorted: keep, update, merge or remove. Often the fastest win.
- 03
The plan
What to publish, in what order, each piece tied to a real search and a buyer state.
- 04
Brief, check and measure
A brief for every piece, a check against the top results before it goes live, and reporting on what it led to.
What you get
- A triage of your existing content: keep, update, merge or remove
- A content plan from real searches and AI questions, in priority order
- A brief for each piece: the search, the buyer, what it must add
- An Information Gain check before anything is published
- Internal linking so new pages get found
- Reporting on enquiries that started on each piece
- Direct access to me, start to finish
Signals this works on
Out of the 8 signals every page and ad sends.
- Relevance signal
- Trust architecture
- AI legibility
Questions
people ask.
What is content marketing?
Publishing useful material, like guides, tools and examples, that brings potential customers to you and helps them decide, instead of interrupting them with ads. It works when it answers questions people actually ask, better than anyone else does.
How long does content marketing take to work?
Usually months, not weeks. New pages take time to be found and trusted. That's why I start with your existing pages: fixing and merging what you have is often faster than publishing something new.
How often should I publish?
As often as you can publish something genuinely useful. One strong piece a month beats four that repeat the top results. Google's own guidance warns against producing lots of content on many topics hoping some of it performs.
Who writes the content?
Your team, your writer or me. Whoever writes it, every piece gets a brief first and a check against the top results before it goes live.
Does AI-written content work?
Google allows it, but judges the result like any other page: is it helpful, original and accurate? AI is useful for research and drafts. What it can't supply is your experience, your numbers and your opinions, which is what makes content worth finding.
Should I delete old blog posts?
Some of them. Posts that bring enquiries or links stay. Posts that repeat each other get merged. Posts with no visits, no links and nothing new can go. The triage tool on this page sorts them one at a time.
Publish less.
Get found more.
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.
Keep going