The Diamond Standard — VPN.com Content Quality Guide

2026-05-07 · Ben · handoff

The Diamond Standard

Every page must pass these checks before going live. The system enforces them automatically at three points:

1. Editor — Publish modal checks and blocks/warns
2. Build — Zod schema rejects pages missing required fields
3. CI — Deploy pipeline runs SEO and enrichment audits before translation

Translation costs $0.02–0.50 per page. The Diamond Standard is the gate that prevents thin content from wasting budget.

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Required Fields

Posts also require: category, permalink. Provider pages also require: template: provider, parent: vpn.

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Publish Checks

Blockers (cannot publish)

• Title, description, or focus keyword is empty
• Date missing
• Word count under 300
• Another page uses the same focus keyword

Warnings (can publish, should fix)

• Title under 40 or over 60 characters
• Description under 120 or over 160 characters
• Focus keyword not in title
• Word count under 1,000 (posts) or 2,000 (provider reviews)
• Content not updated in 180+ days
• Enrichment score below 40/85

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Enrichment Score

Scored out of 85. Measures structural richness beyond plain text.

Fixing a Thin page:

• No FAQ → add 4-6 questions under ## Frequently Asked Questions
• No table → add a comparison, feature matrix, or pricing table
• No internal links → link to 3+ related pages
• No external link → cite PCMag, CNET, or a provider's official page
• Under 1,000 words → the content needs more depth, not padding

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Focus Keyword Rules

One keyword per page, unique across the site. Blocks on collision.

CI checks after build:

• Keyword in <title>, <h1>, meta description, first 100 words, one <h2>
• Keyword reflected in URL slug
• Density 0.5–2%

Cannibalization: Two pages targeting the same intent splits authority — both lose. Either merge the pages or differentiate keywords.

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Content Depth

A 300-word provider review will publish but gets flagged as Thin and excluded from translation.

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Translation Opt-In

Set translate: true in frontmatter (or check "Include in translation" in the editor). Pages with translate: true and enrichment score under 40 are flagged as translation budget risk.

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Deploy Workflow

• Save — stores draft in R2. No effect on live site.
• Publish — runs Diamond Standard check, then Durable Object commits to git. If translate: true, all language versions commit atomically. Live in ~2 minutes.

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Content Freshness

• 180+ days without update → flagged as stale at publish time
• Provider reviews should refresh quarterly (pricing and features change)
• Update updated frontmatter field on meaningful revisions

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Structured Data

Build auto-generates JSON-LD — no manual schema needed if frontmatter is complete.

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Quick Checklist

[ ] Title: 40-60 chars, contains focus keyword
[ ] Description: 120-160 chars
[ ] Focus keyword: unique, specific, in title
[ ] Date present
[ ] Word count: 300+ minimum, 1,000+ recommended
[ ] At least 1 table or comparison
[ ] At least 1 list
[ ] 3+ internal links
[ ] 1+ external link
[ ] Updated within 6 months

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System Files