Content strategist stack
Market research, SEO, editorial calendar, briefs, production, publishing, reporting and optimisation.
- Selection
- 13 3 optional
- Target budget
- $112 per month
- Profile
- Structuring business stage
Which tool does what?
Core workflowNotion
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.
Core workflowAirtable
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Core workflow
Ahrefs
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Production
SEMrush
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Production
Google Search Console
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Production
ga4
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Production
Looker Studio
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Production
Surfer SEO
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Support / finish
Frase
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Support / finish
Google Docs
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.
Support / finishIf neededChatGPT
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Support / finishIf needed
Claude
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.Support / finishIf needed
Perplexity
Useful in this role workflow to produce, approve, or deliver more cleanly.
Why these tools together?
This stack serves a precise role: Market research, SEO, editorial calendar, briefs, production, publishing, reporting and optimisation. The right choice is not to own every tool, but to keep a clear chain between research, production, approval, and delivery.
A good fit if…
Market research, SEO, editorial calendar, briefs, production, publishing, reporting and optimisation.
Look elsewhere if…
You do not yet have a recurring deliverable or client workflow to structure.
Source of truth
The brief, source files, exports and decisions have to stay connected.
Reliable production
The core tools should cover 80% of the work without piling up duplicates.
Clear sign-off
The client has to be able to approve a version, a budget or a direction without ambiguity.
What should you budget?
SEMrush$117
Ahrefs$108
Airtable$20
Notion$11Looker Studio$9
Google Search ConsoleFree
Surfer SEOVaries
FraseVaries
Google DocsFree
ChatGPToptional$20Claudeoptional$20
Perplexityoptional$20
The target budget is the recommended starting envelope. The list price adds up each core tool's first paid plan, excluding 2 tools without a fixed price. Optional tools are not included.
What to watch out for
Stacking creative tools without connecting brief, production, approval, delivery, and billing.
Dormant subscriptions
A premium creative tool should map to something you invoice.
Scattered assets
Without organisation, references and source files become impossible to maintain.
AI without intent
AI should speed up a direction, not replace professional judgement.
Recurring volume
The stack pays for itself once the deliverable comes round several times a month.
Several stakeholders
Add collaboration, feedback or a DAM once feedback and assets start scattering.
Questions to ask yourself
Is the final deliverable clearly tied back to the original brief?
If not, the project has no single source of truth.
Does each tool play a distinct role in the chain?
If two tools do the same job, one of them should be conditional.
Does the client know what to approve, and where?
If not, feedback will generate avoidable back and forth.