For Copywriter / Content Writers ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have Surfer SEO's Content Editor open and working — showing you exactly how long your article needs to be, which keywords to include, and how your content scores in real time as you write. Instead of guessing whether your content will rank, you'll have a data-driven target to hit.
What you'll need
What you should see: A new Content Editor opens with a word count target (e.g., "Target: 1,500–2,200 words"), a list of recommended terms, and a score gauge (0–100).
Troubleshooting: If the keyword is very niche and Surfer doesn't have enough data, it may show a low-confidence score. Try a slightly broader keyword or include 2–3 related keyword variants.
Before typing a single word, scan the right-side panel:
Spend 5 minutes reading through the "Terms" list. You'll see which subtopics the algorithm expects you to cover. These become your outline sections.
What you should see: Terms organized by importance, with green checkmarks as you hit targets while writing.
You have two options:
What you should see: As you write, terms on the right turn green when you've included them enough times. Your Content Score ticks upward.
Your target is a Content Score of 75 or higher (some SEO teams target 80+, but 75 is a solid baseline).
Look at the terms still highlighted in red or yellow — these are keywords you haven't covered enough yet. Weave them into the draft naturally:
Troubleshooting: If your score is stuck below 70 even after hitting most keyword targets, check the word count — you may be under the minimum. Adding 200–300 words to thin sections usually lifts the score significantly.
When your score is 75+:
Use these in ChatGPT alongside Surfer to write faster:
For each H2 section: "Write a 300-word section on [H2 topic] for a blog post about [main topic] targeting [audience]. Include these keywords naturally: [list 3-4 terms from Surfer's recommendations]."
For the conclusion: "Write a 150-word conclusion for a blog post about [topic]. Summarize the 3 key takeaways and end with a call to action for [goal]."
For thin sections: "Expand this section by 100 words without repeating what's already there: [paste existing section]."
For a meta description: "Write an SEO meta description (155 chars) for a blog post titled '[title].' Include the keyword '[keyword]' and end with a benefit."