SEO content brief generator: Airtable to Ahrefs to Google Docs

Build an agent workflow that turns new Airtable content brief requests into Ahrefs-backed Google Docs briefs.

Trigger: Airtable poll, event type new_record, watching my Content Briefs table. Each row provides a target keyword and a country (two-letter code like us, gb, de). It also has empty columns for the generated doc link and a one-line difficulty verdict.

When a new row appears, the agent should pull the live SEO picture from Ahrefs for that keyword and country, then synthesize a writer-ready brief.

Ahrefs calls to make (always pass the row's country):

1. Get Keyword Overview for the target keyword to capture search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, and parent topic.

2. Get SERP Overview for the target keyword to see the top organic results, their titles, URLs, domain ratings, and traffic.

3. From the SERP, pick the top two or three competing domains and call List Organic Keywords on each to understand the keyword cluster they rank for around this topic.

4. Call List Top Pages on those same competitor domains to identify the dominant content structures and formats winning for this topic.

Use the select parameter on every Ahrefs list call to limit fields to what the brief actually needs, since Ahrefs charges API units per field.

Then synthesize the brief. It should cover: search intent (informational, commercial, navigational, transactional), a suggested title and meta description, a full H2 and H3 outline, questions the article must answer, recommended word count anchored to the top results' length, internal linking ideas pulled from the competitors' related keywords, and a 'unique angle' section that explicitly calls out what the top-ranking pages are missing or doing poorly.

Output: call Google Docs Create Document to make a new doc titled something like 'Content Brief: <keyword> (<country>)'. Then call Batch Update Document to fill it with the brief content using proper heading styles (HEADING_1 for the doc title section, HEADING_2 for major sections, HEADING_3 for subsections) and bullet lists for the outline points and questions. Build the batchUpdate requests array in a single call, and order any position-dependent operations from highest index to lowest.

Write-back: call Airtable Update Record on the source row to populate the doc link column with the new doc's URL, and the difficulty verdict column with a one-line summary like 'KD 42, ~3,200 vol, mid difficulty, winnable with deeper FAQs' so the team can scan Airtable and assign briefs without opening every doc.

Keep the SERP and competitor analysis scoped to the row's country whenever one is supplied. If country is missing, default to us and note that in the verdict.

Additional information

What does this prompt do?

Watches a chosen Airtable table and fires the moment a new content brief request is added with a target keyword and country.
Pulls live SEO data from Ahrefs: search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, the top results in that country, and what the leading competitors already rank for.
Writes a writer-ready brief in Google Docs covering search intent, title and meta description, H2 and H3 outline, questions to answer, suggested word count, internal linking ideas, and a unique angle the top pages miss.
Sends the new doc link and a one-line difficulty verdict back to the Airtable row so your writer can pick it up without a single tab switch.

What do I need to use this?

An Airtable base with a Content Briefs table that has columns for the target keyword and country, plus columns for the doc link and difficulty verdict.
An Ahrefs account on a paid plan with API access enabled.
A Google account that can create and edit Google Docs in the destination folder.

How can I customize it?

Change which Airtable table or view the agent watches, and which column names it reads and writes back to.
Adjust the brief structure: add sections like FAQs, target persona, or schema suggestions, or trim it down to a one-pager.
Set a default country if a row doesn't supply one, or limit which Ahrefs reports run when you want to keep API unit costs low.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a paid Ahrefs plan?

Yes. Ahrefs only issues API keys to paid workspaces, and the keyword, SERP, and competitor reports this workflow uses all consume API units.

What does the finished Google Doc look like?

A structured brief with sections for search intent, suggested title and meta description, an H2 and H3 outline, questions readers want answered, recommended word count, internal linking ideas, and a unique angle that calls out gaps in the top-ranking pages.

Can I run this for keywords in multiple countries?

Yes. The agent reads the country from each Airtable row, so one row can target the US, the next can target the UK or Germany, and the SERP analysis follows.

Will it overwrite a brief if I edit the row later?

No. It only runs when a brand new row is added. Updating an existing row will not retrigger the workflow.

What if the keyword has very little search volume?

The agent still produces a brief and includes the low volume in the difficulty verdict written back to Airtable, so you can decide whether it's worth assigning.