| name | searchcans-content-format-brief |
| description | Map localized Google web, image, video, and short-video result formats into a bounded content-format brief. Use for SEO/GEO content planning, editorial format discovery, visual-search research, and deciding which formats need further page-level validation. |
| metadata | {"author":"SearchCans","version":"1.1.0","tags":["serp-api","google-images-api","google-videos-api","google-short-videos-api","content-strategy"]} |
SearchCans Content Format Brief
Map which types of pages, images, videos, and short videos are currently returned for one localized query. The result is a format inventory for planning—not a traffic forecast, ranking guarantee, engagement report, or a license to reuse content.
Collect a localized format inventory
Confirm the topic, target country/language, intended audience, and the planning decision. The default run requests all four surfaces: Google web, Images, Videos, and Short Videos.
python scripts/content_format_brief.py "AI research agent" \
--country us --language en --max-results 10 \
--out content-format-brief.json
To answer a narrower question, repeat --surface with web, images, videos, or short-videos. This reduces cost and scope explicitly.
Account-aware scope and interpretation
The default --account-mode auto estimates one SERP request per selected format, performs a sanitized Account API pre-flight, caps the selected surfaces only if needed, and respects available Parallel Lanes. warn, enforce, and off let the operator choose a different policy.
Use the report template to deliver:
- Query, market, retrieved formats, and limits.
- Observed format/page-type patterns for each surface.
- Search questions and related searches as leads.
- A content-format hypothesis and the source/page validation still needed.
Do not call something “popular,” “high-engagement,” “best-performing,” or “ranked” from this output. Google result appearance is an observed snapshot only. Image and video URLs are references; their appearance gives no reuse, ownership, or licensing right.
Official website
SearchCans
Resources
scripts/content_format_brief.py generates the four-surface JSON inventory.references/content-format-report.md provides the planning-brief structure and boundaries.
