SEO Expert

# Content SEO

## Search Intent
Match content type to query intent — mismatch = no ranking:
- **Informational**: "how to", "what is" → guides, tutorials, explanations
- **Navigational**: brand + product → homepage, product page
- **Transactional**: "buy", "price", "discount" → product/service pages with CTAs
- **Commercial investigation**: "best", "vs", "review" → comparison, reviews

Check intent by searching: what's ranking on page 1? Match that format.

## E-E-A-T
For YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics — health, finance, legal, safety:
- **Experience**: First-hand experience with topic (reviews, case studies)
- **Expertise**: Author credentials, byline with bio
- **Authoritativeness**: Site reputation, citations from authoritative sources
- **Trustworthiness**: Contact info, privacy policy, secure site, accurate content

E-E-A-T signals:
- Author bio with credentials and photo
- About page with company history
- External links to authoritative sources
- Updated date on content
- Cite sources for claims

## Content Quality
- Thin content penalty: <300 words with no unique value → noindex or expand
- Duplicate content: Google picks one version, others filtered — use canonical
- Content depth: cover topic comprehensively, answer related questions
- Unique value: what does YOUR content offer that competitors don't?
- User engagement: low time-on-page and high bounce signals poor content

## Freshness
- Query Deserves Freshness (QDF): time-sensitive topics need recent content
- "Best X 2025" queries: dated content ranks, but must be actually updated
- Update dates: changing date without updating content = spam
- Evergreen content: no dates in URL, update content periodically
- News: requires fast indexing, use Google News sitemap for news sites

## Content Structure
- Answer the query in first 100 words — featured snippet potential
- Table of contents for long content — improves UX and may show as sitelinks
- FAQ section at bottom — captures "People Also Ask" queries
- Bullet points and numbered lists — preferred for featured snippets
- Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences) — easier to read, especially mobile

# Keyword Research & Competitive Analysis

## Keyword Research Process

1. **Seed keywords** — Start with obvious terms for the topic
2. **Expand** — Find related terms, questions, long-tail variations
3. **Analyze** — Check search volume, difficulty, intent
4. **Prioritize** — Balance volume, difficulty, and business value
5. **Map** — Assign keywords to pages (one primary per page)

## Keyword Metrics

| Metric | What It Means | Action |
|--------|---------------|--------|
| Search volume | Monthly searches | Higher = more potential traffic |
| Keyword difficulty | Competition level | Higher = harder to rank |
| CPC | Ad cost per click | Higher = more commercial value |
| SERP features | Snippets, maps, images | Affects CTR potential |

## Keyword Types

**By intent:**
- Informational: "how to", "what is", "guide"
- Navigational: brand names, specific sites
- Transactional: "buy", "price", "discount", "best"
- Commercial: "vs", "review", "alternative"

**By length:**
- Head terms: 1-2 words, high volume, high competition
- Long-tail: 3+ words, lower volume, easier to rank, higher conversion

## Competitive Analysis

### What to Analyze

1. **Who ranks** — Top 10 for target keywords
2. **What they cover** — Topics, subtopics, depth
3. **How they structure** — Format, headings, media
4. **Where they link** — Internal and external links
5. **Why they rank** — Authority, content quality, technical

### Gap Analysis

Find opportunities competitors miss:
- Topics they don't cover
- Questions they don't answer
- Formats they don't use (video, tools, calculators)
- Depth they lack

### Content Comparison

| Factor | Competitor A | Competitor B | Your Content |
|--------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Word count | | | |
| Subtopics covered | | | |
| Media (images, video) | | | |
| Freshness | | | |
| E-E-A-T signals | | | |

## Keyword Mapping

One primary keyword per page. Related keywords support the primary.

```
/page-url/
├── Primary: main target keyword
├── Secondary: related keyword 1, related keyword 2
└── LSI: semantically related terms
```

## Tracking

Track rankings over time:
- Weekly for competitive terms
- Monthly for long-tail
- Note algorithm updates that affect rankings

## Tools

Free options:
- Google Search Console — actual queries driving traffic
- Google Trends — relative search interest
- Google autocomplete — real user queries
- People Also Ask — question-based keywords
- Related searches — bottom of SERP

The skill does keyword research without external tools by analyzing SERPs and using public Google data.

# Links & Authority

## Internal Linking
- Every page should be reachable within 3 clicks from homepage
- Use descriptive anchor text — "SEO guide" not "click here"
- Link from high-authority pages to important pages — passes PageRank
- Contextual links (in content) more valuable than nav/footer links
- Fix broken internal links — 404s waste crawl budget
- Don't overdo it — 100+ links per page dilutes value

## Anchor Text
- Exact match: "SEO tips" linking to SEO tips page — powerful but risky if overdone
- Partial match: "learn about SEO strategies" — safer, still relevant
- Branded: "Google's guide" — natural, builds brand
- Naked URL: "https://example.com" — looks natural in some contexts
- Generic: "click here", "read more" — wastes link opportunity

Mix of anchor text types looks natural. All exact match = penalty risk.

## Backlinks
- Quality > quantity — one link from NYT > 100 from random blogs
- Relevance matters — link from SEO blog > link from cooking blog (for SEO site)
- Domain authority (DA/DR) — higher = more valuable, but not everything
- Follow vs nofollow — follow passes PageRank, nofollow doesn't (but still has value)
- Link placement — in-content links > sidebar > footer

## Link Building (White Hat)
- Create linkable assets — tools, research, original data, infographics
- Guest posting — write for relevant blogs, include contextual link
- HARO (Help a Reporter Out) — journalist queries, get press links
- Broken link building — find broken links, offer your content as replacement
- Resource page outreach — get listed on "best resources" pages
- Digital PR — newsworthy content that journalists want to cover

## Link Penalties
- Buying links — Google detects payment patterns, manual actions
- Link exchanges — "I'll link you if you link me" at scale
- PBNs (Private Blog Networks) — footprints get detected
- Excessive reciprocal links — some OK, pattern-based penalized
- Low-quality directories — mass directory submission is outdated
- Comment/forum spam — nofollow anyway, plus looks desperate

## Disavow
- Use only when you can't remove bad links manually
- Upload disavow file in Search Console
- Disavow at domain level for spammy sites: `domain:spamsite.com`
- Don't disavow links you didn't build — Google ignores most bad links automatically
- Takes weeks to months to see effect

# Local SEO

## Google Business Profile
- Claim and verify your listing — unverified profiles don't rank
- Complete ALL fields: hours, services, attributes, products
- Primary category: choose the most specific match (not generic "Business")
- Photos: businesses with photos get 42% more direction requests
- Posts: weekly updates show activity, appear in Knowledge Panel
- Q&A: seed with common questions, monitor for spam

## NAP Consistency
- NAP = Name, Address, Phone — must be IDENTICAL everywhere
- Format matters: "Street" vs "St." is a mismatch to Google
- Check major directories: Yelp, Yellow Pages, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing Places
- Use local phone number — toll-free looks non-local
- Update NAP when moving — inconsistency tanks rankings for months

## Local Keywords
- "[Service] + [City]" pages for each location served
- "near me" queries: proximity + relevance + prominence
- Neighborhood/district names for dense metros
- Location in title tag: "Plumber in Austin, TX | Company Name"
- Service area pages: one per city, unique content each

## Reviews
- Quantity + recency + rating: all three matter for local pack
- Respond to ALL reviews — especially negative, shows engagement
- Never buy fake reviews — Google detects patterns, leads to suspension
- Review velocity: steady flow better than sudden burst
- Ask at point of transaction — "leave a review" links in receipts/emails

## Citations
- Structured citations: business directories with NAP
- Unstructured citations: mentions in articles, blogs, news
- Industry-specific directories: lawyers on Avvo, restaurants on TripAdvisor
- Chamber of commerce and local business associations
- Data aggregators (Factual, Localeze) push to multiple directories

## Local Content
- Location pages with unique content — not just NAP + map
- Local news/events coverage — shows community involvement
- Case studies with local clients — builds local relevance signals
- Embed Google Maps — helps Google verify location

# Memory Template — SEO

## ~/seo/memory.md

```markdown
# SEO Memory

## Status
- Last audit: [date]
- Active sites: [count]
- Keywords tracked: [count]

## Sites

### [site-name]
- Domain: example.com
- Type: e-commerce / blog / saas / local
- Last audit: [date]
- Priority issues: [list]
- Notes: [context]

## Keyword Tracking

| Keyword | Site | Current | Target | Trend | Last Checked |
|---------|------|---------|--------|-------|--------------|
| [keyword] | [site] | [rank] | [goal] | ↑/↓/→ | [date] |

## Audit History

### [date] — [site]
- Issues found: [count]
- Critical: [list]
- Fixed: [list]
- Pending: [list]

## Content Pipeline

| Title | Target Keyword | Status | Published |
|-------|----------------|--------|-----------|
| [title] | [keyword] | draft/review/live | [date/url] |

## Backlink Opportunities

| Site | DA | Status | Notes |
|------|----|---------| ------|
| [domain] | [score] | contacted/pending/secured | [context] |

## Notes

[Learnings, patterns, site-specific context]
```

## Audit Report Template

Save audit reports to `~/seo/audits/[site]-[date].md`:

```markdown
# SEO Audit — [site] — [date]

## Summary
- Overall health: [score]/100
- Critical issues: [count]
- Warnings: [count]
- Passed: [count]

## Critical Issues
1. [Issue] — [impact] — [fix]

## Warnings
1. [Issue] — [recommendation]

## Recommendations
1. [Priority action]
2. [Next action]

## Technical Details
- Core Web Vitals: LCP [x]s, INP [x]ms, CLS [x]
- Mobile: [pass/fail]
- Indexing: [x] pages indexed
- Crawl errors: [count]

## Next Steps
1. [Action item with deadline]
```

# On-Page SEO Traps

## Title Tag
- 50-60 chars MAX — Google truncates at ~60, shows "..." which hurts CTR
- Primary keyword in first 30 chars — attention drops after that
- NEVER repeat same keyword twice in title — looks spammy
- Brand name at END, not start — unless brand is the search term
- Pipe `|` or dash `-` as separator — avoid colons, look like error messages

## Meta Description
- 150-160 chars — longer gets truncated, shorter wastes space
- Google often rewrites it — but well-written ones used ~70% of time
- Include primary keyword — gets bolded in search results
- Call-to-action works: "Learn how...", "Discover...", "Get started..."
- NEVER duplicate across pages — Google may show "no description available"

## Headers
- ONE H1 per page — multiple H1s confuse hierarchy
- H1 ≠ Title tag — related but different, doubles keyword opportunities
- H2s for main sections, H3s for subsections — hierarchy matters for featured snippets
- Keyword variations in H2s — don't repeat exact primary keyword
- NEVER use H1 for logo or nav — semantic misuse

## Keywords
- Primary keyword in: title, H1, first 100 words, URL, meta description
- Density under 3% — modern Google detects stuffing patterns
- LSI keywords (related terms) — signals topic depth, not just single keyword
- Long-tail in H2/H3 — captures "how to..." and question queries

## Images
- Alt text describes image — "Golden retriever playing fetch" not "dog"
- Keyword in alt only if natural — forced keywords get penalized
- File names with hyphens: `email-marketing-tips.jpg` not `IMG_4532.jpg`
- Compress under 100KB — larger images kill page speed
- WebP format: 25-35% smaller than JPEG at same quality
- Lazy loading for below-fold images — improves LCP

## URLs
- Short, descriptive, lowercase: `/seo-guide/` not `/page?id=123`
- Hyphens between words: `/email-marketing/` not `/emailmarketing/`
- No dates unless content is time-sensitive — allows evergreen updates
- No stop words unless needed for clarity — "how-to-seo" not "how-to-do-seo"
- NEVER change URLs without 301 redirect — breaks links, loses authority

# Structured Data (Schema Markup)

## Basics
- JSON-LD format preferred — script tag in head, cleanest implementation
- Test with Rich Results Test — not all schema triggers rich results
- Test with Schema Validator (schema.org) — catches syntax errors
- Required vs recommended properties — missing required = invalid
- One schema type per thing — don't mark same content as Article AND BlogPosting

## Common Schema Types

### Article / BlogPosting
```json
{
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "...",
  "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "..."},
  "datePublished": "2025-01-15",
  "dateModified": "2025-01-20",
  "image": "..."
}
```
- `datePublished` required — omitting it loses rich result eligibility
- `dateModified` shows in search when different from published
- `image` recommended for better visual in search results

### LocalBusiness
```json
{
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "...",
  "address": {"@type": "PostalAddress", ...},
  "telephone": "...",
  "openingHoursSpecification": [...]
}
```
- Use specific subtype: `Restaurant`, `Dentist`, `LegalService`
- `geo` coordinates help Google verify location
- `priceRange` shows in Knowledge Panel

### FAQ
```json
{
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {"@type": "Question", "name": "...", "acceptedAnswer": {...}}
  ]
}
```
- FAQ schema shows expandable Q&A in search results — HUGE CTR boost
- Content must be visible on page — hidden FAQ = spam
- Max ~10 questions typically shown

### Product
```json
{
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "...",
  "offers": {"@type": "Offer", "price": "...", "priceCurrency": "USD"},
  "aggregateRating": {...}
}
```
- `offers` required for price in search results
- `aggregateRating` shows stars — needs actual review data
- `availability` (InStock, OutOfStock) shows availability badge

### HowTo
- Step-by-step instructions with images
- Can show as rich result with step previews
- Each step needs `text`, optionally `image`

### Review
- Individual review with `reviewRating`
- Self-serving reviews (reviewing own business) = spam

## Traps
- Marking invisible content — schema must match visible page content
- Fake reviews/ratings — Google detects and penalizes
- Schema for content that doesn't exist — "Product" on info page
- Mixing incompatible types — Article + Product on same page
- Not updating `dateModified` when content changes

# Setup — SEO

## First Use

This skill works immediately with no setup required.

## Workspace Integration

For persistent tracking across sessions, create workspace:

```
mkdir -p ~/seo/audits ~/seo/content
```

Register in your main memory file:

```markdown
## SEO Workspace
Location: ~/seo/
- Audit reports: ~/seo/audits/
- Content drafts: ~/seo/content/
```

## Optional Configuration

Track specific sites in `~/seo/memory.md`:

```markdown
# SEO Memory

## Sites
- example.com — Main project, e-commerce
- blog.example.com — Content hub

## Keyword Tracking
| Keyword | Current Rank | Target | Last Checked |
|---------|--------------|--------|--------------|
| best widgets | 12 | 3 | 2025-01-15 |
```

## No Setup Required

The skill provides complete SEO guidance without any configuration. Workspace setup is optional for users who want to track multiple sites or audit history.

# Technical SEO

## Core Web Vitals
- **LCP** (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s — largest visible element load time
- **INP** (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms — response to user interaction
- **CLS** (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1 — visual stability, no jumping content
- Test with PageSpeed Insights — field data from real users matters more than lab
- Poor CWV = ranking demotion in competitive queries

## Crawlability
- robots.txt: `Disallow: /admin/` blocks crawlers — check with `robots.txt Tester` in GSC
- NEVER block CSS/JS in robots.txt — Google needs them to render JavaScript
- Crawl budget: large sites (>10K pages) must prioritize important pages
- Orphan pages (no internal links) won't get crawled regularly
- XML sitemap: max 50K URLs or 50MB per file, link in robots.txt

## Indexing
- `noindex` meta tag: prevents indexing but wastes crawl budget
- `canonical` URL: self-referencing on all pages, cross-domain for syndicated content
- Parameter URLs (`?sort=price`) need canonical to main version
- Pagination: use rel="next"/"prev" or canonical to page 1, depending on content
- Check indexing in GSC: URL Inspection tool shows render and index status

## Mobile
- Mobile-first indexing: Google indexes mobile version, desktop secondary
- Viewport meta tag required: `<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">`
- Touch targets minimum 48x48px — failing this hurts mobile usability score
- No intrusive interstitials — popups that block content get demoted
- Test with Mobile-Friendly Test — failing blocks ranking in mobile search

## HTTPS
- Required for rankings — HTTP sites show "Not Secure" warning
- Mixed content (HTTP resources on HTTPS page) breaks padlock
- HSTS header: tells browsers to always use HTTPS
- After migration: 301 redirect all HTTP to HTTPS, update canonical URLs

## Speed
- TTFB < 200ms — server response time, hosting matters
- Render-blocking CSS: inline critical CSS, defer rest
- JavaScript: async/defer attributes, avoid blocking main thread
- Images: lazy load, responsive srcset, modern formats (WebP/AVIF)
- Fonts: font-display: swap prevents invisible text during load
- CDN for static assets — reduces latency globally