Definitions are structurally ideal
A definition is short, self-contained, and answers a question completely — everything retrieval selects for. That makes definition content unusually efficient: a paragraph of work can be cited for years.
Write the first sentence as the whole answer
The opening sentence should define the term completely, without depending on anything before it. Everything after can add nuance, but the first sentence has to survive alone — the property that decides whether a passage gets quoted.
If your definition needs the paragraph before it, it isn’t a definition.
Define what you sell in your own words
If your category is new or contested, your definition can become the reference one. That is genuine positioning power — provided you also use the plain term buyers already know so you are findable by people who lack your vocabulary.
Include the distinctions
“X versus Y” and “X is not Z” are among the most-asked follow-ups. Answering them on the same page captures the comparison questions, which are closer to a purchase than the definition itself.
Beware the glossary of everything
Hundreds of thin definitions of terms you have no authority over is the pattern that gets classified as scaled content. Define what you genuinely work with — depth over coverage applies here more than anywhere.
Link the term wherever it appears
Every use of a defined term elsewhere on the site should link to the definition. That is how a glossary becomes structural rather than decorative, and it is the internal linking lever at its easiest.