The keyword brief produces the wrong artefact
A brief consisting of a target phrase and a word count instructs the writer to include a phrase enough times. That was a reasonable specification for an older system and produces exactly the padded prose that engines now discount.
Brief the question, not the phrase
State the specific question a buyer asks, in their words, and the answer you want to be known for. That gives the writer a target they can hit well, and it comes straight out of choosing which questions are worth answering.
Supply the facts you want quoted
Numbers, thresholds, timeframes, and rules you actually follow. Writers cannot invent these and will hedge without them, and hedged prose is unquotable — which is why your best page may not be cited.
If the brief contains no facts, the article will contain no facts. Writers can’t manufacture specifics.
Specify the structure, not the style
Ask for question-shaped headings and an answer in the first sentence under each. Leave voice to the writer — structure is additive to good writing, not a replacement for it.
Name the internal links
List the existing articles this piece should connect to and why. Left to chance, cross-linking either doesn’t happen or is arbitrary, and the link graph is a large part of what makes a library behave like an authority.
Say what not to claim
Give the writer the boundaries: claims you can’t substantiate, competitors you don’t name, guarantees you don’t make. It is faster than editing them out and avoids publishing something you then have to correct across the web.