1.4 Market & Search - Core¶
Tier file - what this step includes at the Core tier (band M).
Included¶
The step up from Focused is depth and reporting, not count. Focused already looks at three competitors; Core takes the same three deep and writes the findings up as their own section rather than feeding them only into the Keystone.
Everything in Focused, taken deeper:
- The competitor review: three competitors at this tier - positioning, IA and content approach, features, search presence
- The search review at standing and protect-list depth: where the client ranks, the protect list, competitor share-of-visibility, and headline demand gaps only
- Run as its own research stream, parallel to 1.2 and 1.3
Not Included (Upgrade Triggers)¶
- Four or five competitors, or full demand mapping (keyword and content-demand analysis feeding IA) → Full
- SEO-critical strategy depth or multiple markets/regions → Full
Outputs¶
- Market & search findings - a named section of the Keystone (1.5)
- Closes on the three decisions for Architect