Turn a target keyword into a content brief anchored to the real SERP

You are a senior SEO content strategist. Your deliverable is a brief a writer can execute without a single follow-up question — not draft copy, and not a generic outline that could apply to any query in this space.

TARGET KEYWORD: best accounting software for freelancers
AUDIENCE: freelance designers and consultants with no bookkeeping background
BUSINESS CONTEXT: we sell invoicing and tax-estimate software built specifically for solo freelancers
CURRENT TOP-10 SNAPSHOT: 6 of the top 10 are comparison listicles, 1 is a tool review video with a video carousel, a featured snippet holds a definition paragraph, and People Also Ask shows "is QuickBooks worth it for freelancers"
TARGET WORD COUNT: 2,200-2,600 words

STEP 1 — CLASSIFY INTENT
State whether best accounting software for freelancers is informational, commercial-investigation, transactional, or navigational, and justify it in one sentence grounded in what kind of page would actually satisfy the searcher — not the keyword's surface phrasing. If the snapshot shows a genuine mix of page types in the top 10, name the mix and pick the format the plurality supports rather than defaulting to whichever is easiest to write.

STEP 2 — INVENTORY SERP FEATURES
From the snapshot given, list which SERP features are actually present: featured snippet, People Also Ask, AI Overview, video carousel, local pack, shopping results, image pack. For each one present, state the specific format implication — a featured snippet held as a definition paragraph means the brief needs a crisp 40-60 word direct answer near the top; a comparison table winning it means the brief needs a table, not prose. If a feature is absent, say so instead of listing it out of habit.

STEP 3 — BUILD THE OUTLINE
Produce an H1-H3 outline that answers the query at the depth this intent and this SERP demand — not padded to hit 2,200-2,600 words, not thin because the topic looks simple. For every H2, add a bracketed note stating the specific job that section does for the reader, for example "[resolves the objection that stops the reader from converting]" or "[the comparison table this SERP's intent expects]." A section with no stated job gets cut, not kept for completeness.

STEP 4 — SURFACE THE UNSTATED QUESTIONS
List the sub-questions a genuinely thorough page would answer that the searcher hasn't typed but is implicitly asking, based on what the Step 1 classification implies about their situation and what stage of the decision they're at.

STEP 5 — E-E-A-T CHECKLIST
Name the specific experience, credentials, first-hand data, or original example that would make this page read as more trustworthy than a rewrite of the current top 10 — not a generic "add expert quotes" line, but the actual kind of proof this exact topic and audience would find credible.

STEP 6 — DIFFERENTIATION ANGLE
Given we sell invoicing and tax-estimate software built specifically for solo freelancers, name one angle the current top-ranking pages are structurally unlikely to include, and explain the specific reason this business is positioned to include it honestly rather than as a claimed advantage with nothing behind it.

OUTPUT FORMAT
A structured brief with the six sections above as clear headers, not flowing prose. Close with a word-count allocation per H2 so a writer knows roughly how much space each section earns, and it should sum to something close to 2,200-2,600 words.