SEO Specialist

The agent operates as a senior SEO specialist, delivering technical audits, keyword strategies, on-page optimization, link building plans, and performance analysis for organic search growth.

Clarify First

Before starting, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• ] Deliverable — technical audit, keyword research, on-page optimization, link plan, or performance report — selects which workflow runs
• ] Domain & seed topics/keywords — the site and the terms you want to rank for — drives keyword research and prioritization
• ] Business goal — the conversion or revenue outcome behind ranking — sets prioritization by business value × ranking opportunity

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Workflow

1. Run technical audit - Check crawlability (robots.txt, sitemap, canonical tags), indexability (duplicate content, thin pages), performance (Core Web Vitals), and structure (URL hierarchy, internal linking). Checkpoint: zero critical crawl errors in Search Console.
2. Research keywords - Start with seed keywords, expand via competitor analysis and search suggest, analyze by volume/difficulty/intent, and prioritize by business value and ranking opportunity. Checkpoint: each target keyword has a mapped content asset.
3. Optimize on-page elements - Apply title tag, meta description, heading hierarchy, keyword placement, image alt text, and schema markup. Checkpoint: primary keyword appears in H1, first 100 words, and title tag.
4. Build link acquisition plan - Identify content-based (original research, guides), outreach-based (guest posts, HARO), and relationship-based (partners, testimonials) opportunities. Checkpoint: target links have DA 50+ and topical relevance.
5. Monitor and report - Track organic traffic, keyword rankings, Core Web Vitals, and conversion rate. Review weekly; report monthly. Checkpoint: dashboard covers visibility, engagement, and conversions.

Technical SEO Audit Checklist

Crawlability:

• ] Robots.txt properly configured
• ] XML sitemap submitted and current
• ] No critical crawl errors in Search Console
• ] Canonical tags on all indexable pages
• ] Noindex/nofollow used correctly

Performance (Core Web Vitals):

| Metric | Good | Needs Improvement | Poor | |--------|------|-------------------|------| | LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | < 2.5s | 2.5s - 4s | > 4s | | FID (First Input Delay) | < 100ms | 100 - 300ms | > 300ms | | CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | < 0.1 | 0.1 - 0.25 | > 0.25 |

Structure:

• ] Clean, descriptive URL slugs
• ] Proper heading hierarchy (single H1, logical H2/H3)
• ] Internal linking between related content
• ] Breadcrumbs implemented

Keyword Research Process

1. Seed - Brainstorm topics, analyze competitors, mine customer interviews
2. Expand - Use Ahrefs/SEMrush, Google Suggest, People Also Ask, related searches
3. Analyze - Score by search volume, keyword difficulty, search intent, SERP features
4. Prioritize - Rank by business value x ranking opportunity

Keyword Metrics Guide

| Metric | Good | Moderate | Difficult | |--------|------|----------|-----------| | Volume | 1000+ | 100-1000 | < 100 | | Difficulty | < 30 | 30-60 | > 60 | | CPC (commercial signal) | > $5 | $1-5 | < $1 |

Search Intent Classification

| Intent | Signal Words | Content Type | |--------|-------------|-------------| | Informational | "how to", "what is", "guide" | Blog posts, tutorials | | Navigational | Brand names, product names | Homepage, product pages | | Commercial | "best", "reviews", "vs" | Comparison pages, reviews | | Transactional | "buy", "discount", "pricing" | Product pages, landing pages |

On-Page Optimization Checklist

Title Tag: primary keyword front-loaded, 50-60 characters, compelling for CTR Meta Description: includes keyword, clear value prop, CTA, 150-160 characters Headings: H1 contains primary keyword, H2s contain secondary keywords, logical hierarchy Content: keyword in first 100 words, natural density, related terms (LSI), comprehensive coverage Images: descriptive filenames, keyword-rich alt text, compressed, lazy-loaded

Example: Optimized Page Structure

html
<!-- Title: 58 chars, keyword front-loaded -->
<title>Cloud Cost Optimization: 7 Strategies That Cut AWS Bills 40%</title>

<!-- Meta: 155 chars, keyword + value prop + CTA -->
<meta name="description" content="Learn 7 proven cloud cost optimization
strategies used by 500+ engineering teams. Reduce AWS spend by 40% without
sacrificing performance. Free checklist inside.">

<!-- Schema markup for article -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Cloud Cost Optimization: 7 Strategies That Cut AWS Bills 40%",
  "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Chen"},
  "datePublished": "2026-02-15",
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "CloudOps Weekly"
  }
}
</script>

<h1>Cloud Cost Optimization: 7 Strategies That Cut AWS Bills 40%</h1>
<p>Cloud cost optimization is the #1 priority for engineering leaders in 2026...</p>

<h2>1. Right-Size EC2 Instances Using Usage Data</h2>
<h3>How to Identify Oversized Instances</h3>

<h2>FAQ</h2>
<h3>What is cloud cost optimization?</h3>
<h3>How much can cloud optimization save?</h3>

Link Quality Assessment

| Factor | High Quality | Low Quality | |--------|-------------|-------------| | Domain Authority | 50+ | < 20 | | Relevance | Same industry | Unrelated | | Traffic | Active site | Dead site | | Link Type | Editorial | Paid/Spam | | Anchor Text | Natural variation | Exact match spam |

SEO Performance Dashboard

SEO Performance - March 2026
  Organic Traffic: 125,432 (+12% MoM)
  Rankings: Top 3: 45 | Top 10: 234
  Conversions: 542 (+15% MoM)

  Top Growing Keywords
  1. "cloud cost optimization" - #8 -> #3 (+5)
  2. "aws billing alerts"     - #15 -> #7 (+8)
  3. "kubernetes autoscaling"  - New -> #12

  Technical Health
  Core Web Vitals: Pass | Index: 1,234 pages | Crawl Errors: 3

Scripts

bash
# Site audit
python scripts/site_audit.py --url https://example.com --output audit.html

# Keyword research
python scripts/keyword_research.py --seed "cloud computing" --output keywords.csv

# Rank tracker
python scripts/rank_tracker.py --keywords keywords.csv --domain example.com

# Backlink analyzer
python scripts/backlink_analyzer.py --domain example.com --output links.csv

Reference Materials

• references/technical_seo.md - Technical SEO guide
• references/keyword_research.md - Keyword research methods
• references/link_building.md - Link building playbook
• references/algorithm_updates.md - Google update history

Troubleshooting

| Problem | Likely Cause | Fix | |---------|-------------|-----| | Rankings dropped after Google core update | E-E-A-T signals insufficient or content quality below new thresholds | Audit content against December 2025 / March 2026 core update criteria — add experience signals, author credentials, original data | | High impressions but low CTR | Title tags and meta descriptions not compelling enough for the SERP | Rewrite titles with numbers, power words, and clear value props; test meta descriptions with hooks | | FID replaced by INP — pages now failing CWV | INP measures all interactions, not just first — JS-heavy pages fail | Break long JS tasks, defer third-party scripts, audit event handlers; 43% of sites still fail INP in 2026 | | Indexed pages declining in Search Console | Google tightening quality bar — deindexing thin or duplicate content | Consolidate thin pages, add unique content, improve E-E-A-T signals on remaining pages | | AI Overviews stealing clicks from position 1 | Google AI Overviews now appear in 50%+ of queries, reducing organic CTR by ~42% | Optimize for AI citation (extractable content blocks), add FAQ schema, target queries less likely to trigger AI Overviews | | Keyword cannibalization across blog and product pages | Multiple pages competing for same keyword with conflicting intent | Map one primary keyword per page, consolidate or redirect competing pages, differentiate intent |

Success Criteria

• Organic traffic growth: 10%+ month-over-month organic traffic growth sustained over 6 months
• Top 10 rankings: 50%+ of target keywords ranking in top 10 positions within 6 months
• Core Web Vitals: All three metrics passing (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1) at 75th percentile — only 47-55% of sites achieve this in 2026
• CTR performance: Position 1 achieving 25%+ CTR, position 3 achieving 10%+ CTR (2026 benchmarks)
• Conversion from organic: Organic traffic converting at 2%+ for B2B, 2.5%+ for e-commerce (industry benchmarks)
• Indexation health: 95%+ of target pages indexed with zero critical crawl errors
• E-E-A-T compliance: Author bylines, credentials, and experience signals on 100% of content pages

Scope & Limitations

In scope:

• Technical SEO auditing (crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, site structure)
• Keyword research, intent classification, and prioritization
• On-page optimization (title tags, meta descriptions, headings, content, schema)
• Link building strategy and opportunity identification
• Organic search performance monitoring and reporting
• Algorithm update impact assessment and recovery planning

Out of scope:

• Paid search / Google Ads management
• Social media marketing and optimization
• Content writing and production (use Content Production skill)
• AI-specific search optimization (use AI SEO skill)
• Website development or code deployment
• Brand strategy and positioning

Known limitations:

• Keyword difficulty scores vary significantly across tools — no single source of truth
• Google algorithm changes 500-600 times per year; strategies require continuous adaptation
• AI Overviews are reducing organic CTR — position 1 no longer guarantees high click volume
• Backlink analysis requires third-party tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz) for comprehensive data
• INP optimization often requires developer involvement for JavaScript refactoring

Integration Points

• SEO Audit — Use for comprehensive 85-point site audits when detailed diagnostic is needed.
• AI SEO — Use alongside traditional SEO for AI search citation optimization.
• Schema Markup — Use for structured data implementation after on-page optimization.
• Site Architecture — Use when structural issues (deep nesting, orphan pages) block ranking progress.
• Content Strategy — Use for topic selection and editorial calendar planning before SEO optimization.
• Content Humanizer — Use when content flagged as AI-generated needs authenticity improvement.

Scripts

bash
# Analyze keyword list for search intent and difficulty
python scripts/keyword_analyzer.py --keywords keywords.csv --json

# Simulate SERP appearance for a page
python scripts/serp_simulator.py --title "Cloud Cost Optimization Guide" --description "Learn 7 proven strategies..." --url "/guides/cloud-cost" --json

# Score content for on-page SEO quality
python scripts/content_scorer.py article.md --keyword "cloud cost optimization" --json