# Blog Improvement Quick Reference

**Last Updated:** 2026-04-04

One-page checklist for blog post improvement workflow.

## Workflow Order

1. **Keyword Derivation** – Run derive-target-keywords first; never run SISTRIX/FAQ with wrong keywords. After `--update-post`, review `secondary_keywords` for **substring bleed** (e.g. appliance or unrelated compounds matching part of the head term) and drop noise before locking meta.
2. **Data Collection** – GA4, GSC (URL-based) → derive → SISTRIX → **parallel** PAA + SERP + competition + intent → FAQ Research → competitor chain (use `run-post-improvement-pipeline.php`; `--dry-run` shows DAG)
3. **SERP Review** – Manual browser search, top 10 analysis, min 30 min
4. **Outline** – Skyscraper: cover everything + more + better format
5. **Write** – Full rework; keep only calculators, videos, essential images
6. **Validate** – Schema, FAQ, content flow, pillar links

## Commands

### Single-Entry Pipeline

```bash
php v2/scripts/blog/run-post-improvement-pipeline.php --post=SLUG --category=CATEGORY
# Preview: --dry-run  |  PAA: --skip-paa, --allow-paa-failure  |  Firecrawl search: --use-firecrawl-search / --no-firecrawl-search
```

### Step-by-Step

Prefer the **single-entry pipeline** above. If running collectors manually, order must match the orchestrator: SISTRIX keywords → **finish** PAA + SERP + competition + intent (can run together via parallel batch) → **then** `collect-faq-research-data.php` → competitor chain. Optional pre-check:

```bash
php v2/scripts/blog/validate-data-pipeline-order.php --post=SLUG --category=CATEGORY
```

### Validation

```bash
php v2/scripts/blog/validate-target-keywords.php --post=SLUG --category=CATEGORY
php v2/scripts/blog/validate-data-collection.php --post=SLUG --category=CATEGORY
php v2/scripts/blog/validate-improvement-readiness.php --post=SLUG --category=CATEGORY  # Phase gate before content
```

## Key Rules

- **Keyword-first:** Always derive target keywords before SISTRIX/FAQ/SERP collectors
- **Full rework mandatory when:** Quality \< 60 OR Word Count \< 80% target OR no SERP_ANALYSIS.md. Do not patch.
- **Phase gate:** Run `php v2/scripts/blog/validate-improvement-readiness.php --post=SLUG --category=CATEGORY` before content edits. Exit 0 = ready.
- **SERP minimum:** 30 min manual review before content creation
- **Skyscraper:** Document top 10 → outline covers all + more → write to exceed

## Notes

- **Batch runs:** For multiple posts, use `run-sistrix-collection-batch.php` for SISTRIX/PAA/competitor collection efficiency.

## References

- [MANUAL_REVIEW_RESUME_RUNBOOK.md](MANUAL_REVIEW_RESUME_RUNBOOK.md) – Full runbook
- [BLOG_POST_IMPROVEMENT_PROCESS.md](BLOG_POST_IMPROVEMENT_PROCESS.md) – Complete process
- [SERP_ANALYSIS_WORKFLOW.md](SERP_ANALYSIS_WORKFLOW.md) – SERP research