Project Boundaries: scope, change requests, out-of-scope handling

A canonical reference for the seven major topic overlaps in the framework library. The library has 95+ framework files written over time by different authors and different model generations. Several…

Phase 5 Reconciliation: Which Framework Owns What When Topics Overlap

A canonical reference for the seven major topic overlaps in the framework library. The library has 95+ framework files written over time by different authors and different model generations. Several topics legitimately appear in multiple frameworks because they cross domains. This document codifies which file owns the canonical treatment of each overlapping topic and which files cross-reference it.

The reconciliation rule is: a topic has exactly one owner. Other files mention the topic only as a cross-reference to the owner, never as a standalone treatment. If a reader needs the full doctrine on a topic, the owner is the file they should land on.

1. Page Experience vs Performance

Files involved: framework-pageexperience.md (26 KB), framework-performance.md (21 KB).

Overlap: Both files discuss Core Web Vitals, LCP, INP, CLS, image optimization, JavaScript discipline, font loading, third-party script management.

Ownership decision:

• framework-pageexperience.md owns: Google's Page Experience signal as a ranking factor, the Core Web Vitals field-vs-lab data distinction, the CrUX dataset, the GSC Page Experience report, the URL groups and aggregation methodology, the mobile-vs-desktop thresholds, the relationship between Page Experience and AI Overview citation eligibility.
• framework-performance.md owns: The technical implementation of fast pages: HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 enabling, nginx tuning, gzip and Brotli compression, resource hints (preload, preconnect, dns-prefetch), critical CSS extraction, JavaScript code-splitting, the bundler-level optimization patterns, performance budgets per asset class.

Cross-reference rule: When a framework discusses Core Web Vitals thresholds or measurement, link to framework-pageexperience.md. When it discusses how to actually achieve fast pages at the nginx and bundle level, link to framework-performance.md.

2. Digital PR vs Link Building

Files involved: framework-digitalpr.md (21 KB), framework-linkbuilding.md (60 KB).

Overlap: Both files cover earning links from journalists, the broken-link replacement methodology, the resource page outreach, the source request platforms (HARO replacement category: Featured, Qwoted, Connectively, SourceBottle, ResponseSource).

Ownership decision:

• framework-digitalpr.md owns: Story creation, data-driven studies, embargo strategy, journalist intent matching, the press release format for SEO, the relationship-building cadence with reporters, news jacking patterns, the brand story angle.
• framework-linkbuilding.md owns: The full link acquisition discipline including digital PR as one of six methodologies, anchor text distribution (35-45 branded, 20-30 naked, 15-25 generic, 5-10 partial, 2-5 exact), toxic link audit and disavow, the AI Crawler Visible Linking signal class, the Tier 1/2/3 citation system, link quality signals 2026, the outreach email architecture, the resource page outreach methodology, the email subject line testing.

Cross-reference rule: framework-linkbuilding.md is the master link discipline reference; framework-digitalpr.md is the dedicated digital PR playbook for the subset of link work that flows through journalist relationships and story creation. Other frameworks link to whichever serves the specific use case.

3. E-E-A-T vs YMYL

Files involved: framework-eeat.md (118 KB), framework-ymyl.md (61 KB).

Overlap: Both discuss expert authorship, source citation, fact-checking, author bylines, editorial review processes, regulatory disclosure.

Ownership decision:

• framework-eeat.md owns: Google's E-E-A-T framework as the universal quality doctrine across all content types. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness as defined by the Search Quality Rater Guidelines. The "Trust is the most important" hierarchy. The implementation patterns for author profiles, citation discipline, editorial review, transparency pages. This is the universal quality framework that applies to every site regardless of industry.
• framework-ymyl.md owns: The "Your Money or Your Life" content classification system. The five YMYL classes (clear YMYL, possible YMYL, sometimes YMYL, possibly YMYL, not YMYL). The intensified E-E-A-T scrutiny that Google applies to YMYL pages. The regulatory disclosure requirements specific to YMYL verticals (finance, healthcare, legal, news, civic, safety). The cross-link to vertical-specific frameworks (healthcare-seo, legal-seo, finance-seo).

Cross-reference rule: E-E-A-T is the universal framework. YMYL is the classification overlay that triggers additional scrutiny. Every framework links to framework-eeat.md for quality fundamentals; YMYL-flagged content additionally links to framework-ymyl.md.

4. Content Quality Master

Files involved: framework-contentfirst.md (58 KB), framework-contentbriefs.md (59 KB), framework-contentrefresh.md (60 KB), framework-contentaudit.md (60 KB), framework-hcs.md (41 KB), framework-infogain.md (41 KB), framework-sqrg.md (40 KB), framework-eeat.md, framework-ymyl.md.

Overlap: All seven content-quality frameworks discuss what makes a page rank, what Google rewards, what AI engines extract.

Ownership decision (the seven discipline layers):

• framework-contentfirst.md owns: The substrate-vs-visual-layer doctrine. The content-first architecture philosophy. The principle that AI engines parse semantic structure independently of design. This is the philosophical foundation.
• framework-hcs.md owns: Google's Helpful Content System (formerly HCU). The signals that distinguish helpful content from search-engine-first content. The site-level quality signal that affects entire domains.
• framework-infogain.md owns: Google's Information Gain patent (US 11,995,114 B2). The mechanism by which Google rewards content that adds new information beyond what already exists in the SERP. The "what does this page add" rubric.
• framework-sqrg.md owns: The September 2025 Search Quality Raters Guidelines update. The rater evaluation methodology. The patterns Google's human raters use to score pages, which inform algorithmic training.
• framework-eeat.md owns: The universal Experience-Expertise-Authoritativeness-Trust framework (see Section 3 of this document).
• framework-ymyl.md owns: The YMYL classification overlay (see Section 3 of this document).
• framework-contentbriefs.md owns: The brief architecture from client intake to writer handoff. The evidence requirements, citation budget, internal link slate, schema attachment. The pre-writing artifact.
• framework-contentrefresh.md owns: The decay model, the refresh prioritization matrix, the page-level vs section-level update strategy, the schema timestamp coordination. The post-publish maintenance discipline.
• framework-contentaudit.md owns: The full URL inventory + scoring rubric + decision matrix (Keep/Update/Consolidate/Redirect/Delete). The recurring content audit discipline.

Cross-reference rule: For "what makes content rank" questions, the answer routes through HCS + InfoGain + SQRG + E-E-A-T + ContentFirst depending on which signal dominates. The brief-write-publish-refresh lifecycle routes through Briefs → ContentFirst writing principles → Audit (post-publish review) → Refresh (decay protection). The seven frameworks together compose the content discipline.

5. AI Citations vs Agentic AI Search

Files involved: framework-aicitations.md (45 KB), framework-agenticaisearch.md (23 KB), framework-aioverviews.md (51 KB), framework-searchgpt.md (60 KB), framework-perplexityspaces.md (60 KB), framework-multiengine-tradeoffs.md (107 KB).

Overlap: All six AI-surface frameworks discuss how AI engines extract content, what makes content citable, what makes a brand mentioned, the difference between organic ranking and AI citation.

Ownership decision:

• framework-aicitations.md owns: The cross-engine AI citation surface. The general patterns that work across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot. The citation surface taxonomy (inline cited URL, brand mention without URL, paraphrased reference). The patterns for earning citations.
• framework-agenticaisearch.md owns: The agentic AI search paradigm. ChatGPT Operator, Claude Computer Use, the AI agents that browse the web on behalf of users. The implications for SEO: agents do not click ads, agents do not see SERP positions, agents execute tasks. The 2026 emerging surface.
• framework-aioverviews.md owns: Google AI Overviews specifically. The Google AIO citation surface, the SERP position 0, the 70% regeneration volatility, the 45.5% citation replacement rate, the AIO-vs-Top-10 organic overlap (38% per Ahrefs Feb 2026).
• framework-searchgpt.md owns: SearchGPT and ChatGPT search specifically. OAI-SearchBot crawler, the citation behavior, the response architecture.
• framework-perplexityspaces.md owns: Perplexity and Perplexity Spaces specifically. PerplexityBot, the focused-mode behavior, the citation read-back.
• framework-multiengine-tradeoffs.md owns: The cross-engine optimization conflicts. When optimizing for AIO hurts SearchGPT. When citing too aggressively hurts Perplexity ranking. The decision matrix for which engine to prioritize per audience.

Cross-reference rule: framework-aicitations.md is the umbrella. framework-aioverviews.md, framework-searchgpt.md, framework-perplexityspaces.md are the per-engine deep dives. framework-multiengine-tradeoffs.md is the cross-engine coordination layer. framework-agenticaisearch.md is the emerging agentic surface separate from the citation-style search surface.

6. Visual Search vs Multimodal Search

Files involved: framework-visualsearch.md (60 KB), framework-multimodalsearch.md (22 KB), framework-imageseo.md (57 KB).

Overlap: All three discuss image-based search, AI image understanding, ChatGPT and Gemini and Claude image upload capabilities, Google Lens and Pinterest Lens.

Ownership decision:

• framework-imageseo.md owns: The foundational image SEO discipline. Alt text writing, file naming, AVIF/WebP/JPEG XL format selection, ImageObject schema, responsive image markup, srcset and sizes attributes, image sitemap, image compression pipelines. The "make images findable and indexable" foundation.
• framework-visualsearch.md owns: The dedicated visual-search-engine optimization. Google Lens, Pinterest Lens, Amazon Visual Search, Apple Visual Look Up, Snapchat Scan, Microsoft Visual Search. The eMarketer Jan 2026 38% adoption data. The visual citation in AI results. The video thumbnail optimization.
• framework-multimodalsearch.md owns: The combined-modality search paradigm where text + image + voice + video coexist in a single query. The Gemini Live camera mode, ChatGPT advanced voice + image upload, the multimodal AI assistant patterns. The "search across all modalities at once" emerging surface.

Cross-reference rule: framework-imageseo.md is the foundation. framework-visualsearch.md is the visual-search-engine deep dive. framework-multimodalsearch.md is the cross-modality combined experience. A query that involves a photo of a product routes through all three: imageseo (the image must be optimized), visualsearch (Google Lens must be able to identify it), multimodalsearch (the combined text + image query must return useful results).

7. Mobile vs UX

Files involved: framework-mobileseo.md (60 KB), framework-uxseo.md (20 KB), framework-accessibility.md (53 KB), framework-pageexperience.md (26 KB).

Overlap: All four discuss user experience signals, touch targets, mobile-first design, accessibility, Core Web Vitals.

Ownership decision:

• framework-mobileseo.md owns: Mobile-first indexing specifics, the 2026 mobile-only signals, foldable device considerations, Apple Intelligence on iOS 19, mobile crawler behavior, mobile schema (LocalBusiness with hasMap CID, MobileApplication, SpeakableSpecification), mobile forms patterns. The "the page is being viewed on a phone" lens.
• framework-uxseo.md owns: The UX-as-ranking-signal doctrine. The user behavior signals (dwell time, pogo-sticking, scroll depth). The information architecture patterns. The IA-to-SEO relationship. The site navigation pattern. The "the user experience drives the ranking" lens.
• framework-accessibility.md owns: WCAG 2.2 compliance, ADA legal landscape, screen reader patterns, semantic HTML, ARIA, color contrast, keyboard navigation, focus management. The "the page must be usable by everyone" lens. (Cross-reference: accessibility intersects mobile because touch targets and tap zones are accessibility concerns and mobile concerns simultaneously.)
• framework-pageexperience.md owns: Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal (per Section 1 of this document).

Cross-reference rule: Mobile SEO is the device-specific framework. UX SEO is the behavior-and-IA framework. Accessibility is the WCAG and legal framework. Page Experience is the measurement framework. The four overlap at the touch target (mobile UX accessibility metric), the LCP (mobile page experience metric), and the form input (mobile accessibility UX metric). Where they overlap, the canonical owner takes precedence and the others cross-reference.

8. Companion Cross-Reference Map

Use this map when you need to know "which file should I link to" for a given topic:

End of Framework Document

This is the canonical Phase 5 reconciliation. It defines clear ownership for the seven major topic overlaps in the library. New framework files should respect these boundaries: a new file may discuss an overlapping topic only as a cross-reference to the canonical owner, not as a standalone treatment that duplicates content.

The reconciliation is not a content rewrite. The existing files remain authoritative for the topics they own. This document is the routing layer that points readers to the correct owner when topics overlap.

For the broader library overview see framework-masterindex.md. For the build log including all Phase 1 through Phase 7 entries see build-log.md.