The foundation
under every
piece of work
Before Digital Traction drafts a page or builds an ad group, it writes down what is true about your business: the brand kit, the knowledge base and the intent map. Content, paid search and advertising in AI answers all draw from it.
Talk through your foundation- Brand kit
Positioning, offerings, audiences, proof and confirmed facts.
- Knowledge base
Your own material, organized by the page types your site has.
- Intent map
Every buyer question, scored and given a decision.
- Three uses
Content briefs, paid search ad groups and plans for ads in AI answers.
What goes into it
Each piece is a working document Content Engine reads on every run, not a deck that gets filed and forgotten. AI agents draft it from your material and research, and your team confirms what is true. It is updated on a schedule and whenever the business changes. A fact confirmed once counts for every document, and edits your team makes to drafts are sorted and folded back in.
| Piece | What it holds | How it stays current |
|---|---|---|
| Brand kit | Positioning, offerings, audiences, proof, and what the business will and will not claim | Updated on a regular schedule, and when something changes |
| Voice guide | How the business sounds, the rules it writes by, and the mistakes reviewers have already corrected | Each recurring edit becomes a named rule |
| Knowledge base | Your own material, documents and expert knowledge, organized by the page types your site has | New material is added as it is published |
| Confirmed facts | Business facts, each with its date and source, that every draft is checked against | A corrected fact is recorded and applied across the work |
| Buyer-question map | The questions buyers ask at five stages: learning the category, comparing, cost and process, checking the provider, ready to act | New questions come in from each intent map run |
| Intent map | Every search and question, clustered, scored and given a decision | Refreshed as new data comes in |
| Competitive read | Who actually shows up for your questions, and where the site can win | A running log of findings |
| Site inventory | Every live page, what type it is and what it covers | Rebuilt on every run |
- Piece: Brand kit, What it holds: Positioning, offerings, audiences, proof, and what the business will and will not claimHow it stays current: Updated on a regular schedule, and when something changes
- Piece: Voice guide, What it holds: How the business sounds, the rules it writes by, and the mistakes reviewers have already correctedHow it stays current: Each recurring edit becomes a named rule
- Piece: Knowledge base, What it holds: Your own material, documents and expert knowledge, organized by the page types your site hasHow it stays current: New material is added as it is published
- Piece: Confirmed facts, What it holds: Business facts, each with its date and source, that every draft is checked againstHow it stays current: A corrected fact is recorded and applied across the work
- Piece: Buyer-question map, What it holds: The questions buyers ask at five stages: learning the category, comparing, cost and process, checking the provider, ready to actHow it stays current: New questions come in from each intent map run
- Piece: Intent map, What it holds: Every search and question, clustered, scored and given a decisionHow it stays current: Refreshed as new data comes in
- Piece: Competitive read, What it holds: Who actually shows up for your questions, and where the site can winHow it stays current: A running log of findings
- Piece: Site inventory, What it holds: Every live page, what type it is and what it coversHow it stays current: Rebuilt on every run
The intent map
The intent map is where the foundation meets demand. It brings together what your business says is true, the questions buyers ask, keyword and competitor research, your Search Console data and, if you run it, your Google Ads data. Each cluster of questions gets a score, then a decision: paid now, test later, earn with content, or leave alone. A term kept out of paid search is routed to content, not dropped.
What each cluster is scored on
- commercial intent
- readiness to convert
- lead quality
- strategic value
- value to the business, where revenue data exists
- how ready the landing page is
- competition
- cost per click
- organic and AI-answer opportunity
- demand trend
The score supports the decision. A person makes it.
| Buyer stage | Buyer question | Intent | Decision | Page type | Ad group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning the category | What does the service include? | Research | Earn with content | Explainer article | None |
| Comparing | Monthly plan or one-time project: which fits a smaller team? | Comparison | Content first, paid test later | Comparison page | Comparison (test) |
| Cost and process | What does it cost? | Cost | Paid now, plus a page | Core service page | Cost |
| Checking the provider | Who has used it, and how did it go? | Validation | Earn with content | Proof page | None |
| Ready to act | Service provider nearby | Local, core conversion | Paid now | Location page | Core service, local |
| Poor fit | Free template to do it yourself | Exclusion | Leave alone | None | Added as a negative |
Buyer question: What does the service include?
- Buyer stage
- Learning the category
- Intent
- Research
- Decision
- Earn with content
- Page type
- Explainer article
- Ad group
- None
Buyer question: Monthly plan or one-time project: which fits a smaller team?
- Buyer stage
- Comparing
- Intent
- Comparison
- Decision
- Content first, paid test later
- Page type
- Comparison page
- Ad group
- Comparison (test)
Buyer question: What does it cost?
- Buyer stage
- Cost and process
- Intent
- Cost
- Decision
- Paid now, plus a page
- Page type
- Core service page
- Ad group
- Cost
Buyer question: Who has used it, and how did it go?
- Buyer stage
- Checking the provider
- Intent
- Validation
- Decision
- Earn with content
- Page type
- Proof page
- Ad group
- None
Buyer question: Service provider nearby
- Buyer stage
- Ready to act
- Intent
- Local, core conversion
- Decision
- Paid now
- Page type
- Location page
- Ad group
- Core service, local
Buyer question: Free template to do it yourself
- Buyer stage
- Poor fit
- Intent
- Exclusion
- Decision
- Leave alone
- Page type
- None
- Ad group
- Added as a negative
Each cluster goes to one page
Every page type is in scope: service, product and category pages, comparisons, cost and process pages, location pages, FAQs and articles. The page map sends questions that belong together to the one page that fits, instead of five thin pages that compete with each other. The knowledge base is organized by the same page types, so each page draws on the material that fits it.
Query fan-out does not mean you need more pagesOne map, three uses
Paid and organic read from the same map, so the search, the ad and the page read as one answer.
Content
The page map, the queue and every brief come from the intent map, so each page answers the questions it was chosen for.
Paid search
Campaigns are set by what needs separate control. Ad groups are set by intent, destination, message and qualification, and audiences are never mixed in one. Negative keywords come from real search terms, and broad match waits until tracking and lead quality support it.
Advertising in AI answers
Readiness starts from the same map: which questions to show up for, which page each one lands on, and what the ad may promise. Build plans are prepared as drafts a person reviews and runs.
The website is now an input to the ads
When AI Max for Search is on, Google can write headlines and descriptions from a business’s landing pages, domain, existing ads and keywords, and can send the click to a different page on the site. Performance Max does the same from landing page content, domain and current ads, and Google says the advertiser remains responsible for the accuracy of that page content and every generated asset.
Because Google can write ad text from a website and choose which page receives the click when AI Max or Performance Max features are on, Digital Traction treats a vague website as a paid search problem as well as a content problem.
Digital Traction’s view is that a claim on a page can now reach a buyer through a generated ad or an agent’s answer, so each claim needs an owner, a source and a review date.
Your website now writes part of your Google adsWhat your team gives it
- interviews with the people who know the business
- the documents behind important facts: price sheets, policies, service terms
- access to Search Console, GA4, your CMS and, if you run it, Google Ads
- a named person who confirms what is true