Imagine someone entering a shop for a bottle of water. Helping them find water matters before telling the shop’s history. A timer page works the same way: show the duration and Start button first. Arrange the page around the visitor’s task.
Do this one thing now
Draw three boxes on paper or in a document: what this page does → how to start → help to read when needed. Put one sentence in each.
Here is a completed example
Box 1: Free meditation timer. No download. Box 2: Choose 5 minutes → Start timer. Box 3: How to pause; what happens at the end. Page address: None yet. This is a sketch; the buttons do not work.
Continue with your situation
I do not have a website
Three boxes are enough, and plain text is fine. No site builder, website, or account is needed.
I have a website
Check whether an existing page already serves this task. Record “update this page” and its address where appropriate. Plan a new page only for a distinct need. This is planning, not deleting pages or changing addresses.
Keep it on your own paper or in your own document. No upload is needed. Mark work you have not done “not checked”; do not guess.
How do I know I am done?
The boxes follow the user’s sequence. You can point to where someone starts. Mark paper-plan features “not built yet”; use “available” only for working features on an existing site.
What can wait?
You do not need to plan the entire website or learn URL settings. If there is no page address, write “none yet.”
Open when you need more
Why make this plan?
It tells the writer what to explain and the person building the page what to make first. This is a small page brief; the three-box sketch is enough to begin.
Complete work checklist, technical guides, templates, and sources
After the small exercise, consult this for your real project as needed. It retains the full scope of the original six-stage workflow.
Editorial sources reviewed · Not tested end-to-end on a live site
Entry requirement
Enter with a clear audience and question; an existing page can also be re-briefed here.
Goal
Turn the need into a writable, testable brief without unnecessary overlap with existing pages.
Concepts first
- Page format: tutorials support action, comparisons support choice, product pages explain an offer, and tools complete a task. Choose the format around the need.
- Internal links connect pages on your site. A URL is a page address. Canonical signals a preferred URL for equivalent content; it does not delete duplicates.
Search intent
The task someone wants to complete with a search.
Do not confuse: Your sales goal is not necessarily their goal; intent is a hypothesis.
See examples and evidence →Keyword / query
A query is what someone searches; a keyword is a term you use to plan content.
Do not confuse: Synonyms need not each get a page; repetition is not the goal.
See examples and evidence →Long-tail keyword
A less frequently searched query, often expressing a more specific need.
Do not confuse: Long-tail does not just mean more words, or guarantee easy rankings or conversions.
See examples and evidence →SERP
The full results page, which can include organic results, ads, and other features.
Do not confuse: An ad is not an organic ranking; one screenshot is not everyone’s result.
See examples and evidence →Usage / conversion
A visitor completes a valuable action you defined in advance.
Do not confuse: A page visit is not automatically a conversion; a GA4 key event is not automatically revenue.
See examples and evidence →Canonical URL
The representative URL you recommend for duplicate or very similar content.
Do not confuse: Canonical is a signal, not a command, redirect, or deletion.
See examples and evidence →Internal link
A link from one page of your site to another.
Do not confuse: A sitemap entry is not an internal link; important links should be usable and crawlable.
See examples and evidence →hreflang
An annotation identifying equivalent language or regional versions for Google.
Do not confuse: It does not translate pages or make unrelated pages equivalents.
See examples and evidence →Page title / title link
Your title describes the page; Google may generate the result’s title from multiple sources.
Do not confuse: HTML title, visible H1, and search-result title are distinct.
See examples and evidence →Inputs
- A stage 1 opportunity card or an existing page’s audience, question, and evidence.
- Related existing URLs, site sections, and available source material.
Actions
02.1Decide whether to create or update
Check whether an existing page already serves the task. Consider updating it when the task is the same; use a new page for a distinct task and connect related pages. A keyword variation alone is not a new-page rationale. Record the decision; do not casually remove pages or change URLs.
Output: Create/update decision and target URL.
02.2Define reader success
Write: “After this page, this reader can do this task.” List 3–5 essential questions in the order a reader would act. Put unrelated material in a backlog rather than writing an encyclopedia.
Output: Reader outcome, page format, working title, and outline.
02.3Assign evidence and assets
Assign screenshots, demonstrations, data, experience, or primary sources to each section. Explain the practical value you will add. Remove or flag unsupported assertions. Plan one task-relevant next action, such as a checklist download.
Output: Section-to-evidence map and next-action plan.
02.4Plan links and languages
Choose a relevant section or article that can link to the page and useful onward resources. For bilingual content, plan stable URLs and matching translations; language switching should preserve the current article. Validate needs separately in each language.
Output: Internal-link plan and, where relevant, locale URL pairs.
Tools
- Notes/editor and current site navigation. Optional public-page extraction helps organize material but does not decide demand.
Tasks to delegate within this stage
Deliverables
- Page brief: audience, outcome, primary question, format, target URL, create/update rationale, title, outline, evidence, inbound link, next step, and acceptance criteria.
Copy this stage’s blank template →
Acceptance criteria
- Another writer could use the brief; every section has a purpose; related existing pages have been reviewed; bilingual scope is explicit.
Stop conditions
- If the page does not connect to a real need, return to stage 1. For URL migrations or merges, prepare a separate redirect and traffic-risk plan rather than making blind changes.
Next step
Take the brief and evidence list to stage 3.
Official sources
- Canonical URL methods ↗
Canonical signals and consistency with links and sitemaps. · 2026-10-10 - Tell Google about localized versions ↗
Locale-specific URLs and reciprocal hreflang. · 2026-10-10 - Link best practices for Google ↗
Crawlable links and descriptive anchors. · 2026-10-10
Stage structure, checklists, output templates, and diagnostic sequence are original First Crawl teaching design, not a Google-certified curriculum or ranking formula.
I understand this step. See how AI can help.
Optional. Check the required input and expected result first. Installing a Skill does not complete the work or authorize publishing, messaging, or account access.
- Page brief and search intent
Build a page brief with intent, outline, evidence needs and content acceptance.
The complete packages are source-reviewed; live-site execution is NOT_RUN. Private reports require existing access. Complete instruction packages are available in Chinese and English.
Continue to the next lesson
Next: turn the boxes into content someone can follow.