SEO Content Audit

Skill Purpose

Perform a comprehensive SEO audit of a webpage or website, covering on-page SEO, content quality (E-E-A-T), keyword analysis, technical SEO, and content strategy. This skill combines automated analysis via scripts/analyze_page.py with expert-level manual review to produce an actionable SEO audit document.

When to Use

• User provides a URL and asks for SEO analysis, audit, or recommendations
• User wants to improve organic search rankings and traffic
• User asks about on-page SEO, meta tags, content quality, or technical SEO
• User wants a content gap analysis or content strategy recommendations
• Triggered by /market seo <url> or /market seo

How to Execute

Step 1: Run Automated Analysis

Use the Python analysis script to gather baseline data:

bash
python3 scripts/analyze_page.py <url>

This script extracts:

• Title tag and meta description
• Open Graph tags
• Heading hierarchy (H1-H6)
• Links (internal and external)
• Images and alt text status
• Forms and CTAs
• Schema/structured data
• Social links
• Tracking scripts
• Viewport meta tag (mobile-friendliness indicator)
• Canonical tag
• Robots meta directives

Capture the JSON output and use it as the foundation for the manual analysis.

Step 2: On-Page SEO Checklist

Evaluate each element and score it as Pass, Needs Work, or Fail.

Title Tag

| Criteria | Best Practice | Check | |---|---|---| | Exists | Every page must have a unique title tag | Pass/Fail | | Length | 50-60 characters (displays fully in SERPs) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Primary keyword | Contains the primary target keyword | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Keyword position | Primary keyword appears near the beginning | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Brand name | Includes brand name (typically at the end, separated by pipe or dash) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Uniqueness | Different from other pages on the site | Pass/Fail | | Compelling | Would a searcher want to click this? | Pass/Needs Work/Fail |

Common title tag mistakes:

• Too long (truncated in search results)
• Missing primary keyword
• Keyword stuffing ("Best SEO Tool | Top SEO Tool | SEO Software | SEO Platform")
• Using the same title across multiple pages
• Generic titles ("Home", "Welcome", "Page 1")
• Missing brand name

Meta Description

| Criteria | Best Practice | Check | |---|---|---| | Exists | Every page should have a meta description | Pass/Fail | | Length | 150-160 characters | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Primary keyword | Naturally includes the target keyword | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Call to action | Includes a reason to click | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Unique | Different from other pages | Pass/Fail | | Compelling | Acts as ad copy for the search result | Pass/Needs Work/Fail |

Heading Hierarchy (H1-H6)

| Criteria | Best Practice | Check | |---|---|---| | H1 exists | Exactly one H1 per page | Pass/Fail | | H1 contains keyword | Primary keyword in the H1 | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | H1 differs from title | H1 and title tag are different (but related) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Logical hierarchy | H2 under H1, H3 under H2 (no skipping levels) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Descriptive subheadings | H2s and H3s describe content sections clearly | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Keywords in subheadings | Secondary keywords appear naturally in H2s/H3s | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Not overused | Headers used for structure, not styling | Pass/Needs Work/Fail |

Image Optimization

| Criteria | Best Practice | Check | |---|---|---| | Alt text | Every image has descriptive alt text | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Alt text quality | Alt text describes the image and includes keywords naturally | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | File names | Descriptive filenames (not IMG_001.jpg) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | File size | Images optimized for web (WebP preferred, compressed) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Lazy loading | Below-fold images use lazy loading | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Responsive images | Uses srcset or picture element for different sizes | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Decorative images | Decorative images have empty alt="" (not missing alt) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail |

Internal Linking

| Criteria | Best Practice | Check | |---|---|---| | Internal links present | Page links to other relevant pages on the site | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Anchor text | Internal link anchor text is descriptive (not "click here") | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Deep linking | Links go to specific pages, not just homepage | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Relevant context | Links are contextually relevant to surrounding content | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Reasonable count | 3-10 internal links per 1,000 words of content | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Broken links | No broken internal links (404s) | Pass/Fail |

URL Structure

| Criteria | Best Practice | Check | |---|---|---| | Readable | URL is human-readable and descriptive | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Keywords | URL contains relevant keywords | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Length | Under 75 characters (ideally under 60) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Hyphens | Words separated by hyphens (not underscores) | Pass/Fail | | Lowercase | All lowercase characters | Pass/Fail | | No parameters | Clean URLs without unnecessary query parameters | Pass/Needs Work/Fail | | Trailing slashes | Consistent use (either always or never) | Pass/Needs Work/Fail |

Step 3: Content Quality Assessment (E-E-A-T)

Evaluate the content against Google's E-E-A-T framework:

Experience

Does the content demonstrate first-hand experience with the topic?

Check for:

• Personal anecdotes, case studies, or real-world examples
• Screenshots, photos, or evidence of hands-on experience
• Specific details that only someone with experience would know
• "I did X and here's what happened" type content

Score: Strong / Present / Weak / Missing

Expertise

Does the author have demonstrated knowledge in this subject?

Check for:

• Author bio with relevant credentials
• Depth of content (not superficial)
• Accurate information and data
• Proper use of industry terminology
• Links to authoritative sources

Score: Strong / Present / Weak / Missing

Authoritativeness

Is the website and author recognized as an authority on this topic?

Check for:

• Author bylines with real names and bios
• About page with company background
• Industry awards or certifications
• Backlinks from authoritative sites
• Media mentions or press coverage
• Guest posts on industry publications

Score: Strong / Present / Weak / Missing

Trustworthiness

Can users trust this content and this website?

Check for:

• HTTPS (SSL certificate)
• Privacy policy and terms of service
• Physical address and contact information
• Customer reviews and testimonials
• Security badges and certifications
• Transparent business practices
• Accurate, up-to-date information
• Properly sourced claims and statistics

Score: Strong / Present / Weak / Missing

Step 4: Keyword Analysis

Primary Keyword Assessment

| Element | Evaluation | |---|---| | Primary keyword identified | What keyword is this page targeting? | | Search intent alignment | Does the content match what searchers expect? (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational) | | Keyword in title | Present, position, natural usage | | Keyword in H1 | Present, natural usage | | Keyword in first 100 words | Appears early in the content | | Keyword in subheadings | Appears in at least one H2 or H3 | | Keyword in meta description | Present and natural | | Keyword in URL | Present | | Keyword density | 1-2% is ideal. Over 3% is keyword stuffing. |

Secondary Keywords

Identify 5-10 related keywords that should be naturally included in the content:

• Synonyms and variations of the primary keyword
• Long-tail variations
• Related questions (People Also Ask)
• LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords

Search Intent Analysis

Determine the search intent behind the target keyword and evaluate if the content matches:

| Intent Type | User Goal | Content Should Be | |---|---|---| | Informational | Learn something | Blog post, guide, tutorial, FAQ | | Commercial | Compare options | Comparison page, review, list | | Transactional | Buy something | Product page, pricing page, checkout | | Navigational | Find a specific page | Homepage, login page, specific tool |

Misalignment is a ranking killer. If the user searches "how to do X" (informational) and lands on a sales page (transactional), they bounce -- and Google notices.

Step 5: Technical SEO Quick Check

Robots.txt

Check: Does /robots.txt exist and is it properly configured?

• ] robots.txt is accessible
• ] Not blocking important pages or resources
• ] Points to sitemap.xml
• ] Not blocking CSS/JS (needed for rendering)

XML Sitemap

Check: Does /sitemap.xml exist?

• ] Sitemap exists and is accessible
• ] Contains all important pages
• ] No broken URLs in sitemap
• ] Submitted to Google Search Console
• ] Last modified dates are accurate

Canonical Tags

• ] Canonical tag present on the page
• ] Points to the correct URL (self-referencing or to the canonical version)
• ] Consistent with robots.txt and sitemap

Page Speed

Reference benchmarks:

| Metric | Good | Needs Work | Poor | |---|---|---|---| | Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | Under 2.5s | 2.5-4.0s | Over 4.0s | | First Input Delay (FID) | Under 100ms | 100-300ms | Over 300ms | | Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | Under 0.1 | 0.1-0.25 | Over 0.25 | | Time to First Byte (TTFB) | Under 200ms | 200-500ms | Over 500ms | | First Contentful Paint (FCP) | Under 1.8s | 1.8-3.0s | Over 3.0s |

Common speed issues to flag:

• Unoptimized images (recommend WebP format, compression)
• Render-blocking JavaScript or CSS
• No browser caching headers
• No CDN detected
• Excessive third-party scripts (tracking, widgets, fonts)
• Unminified CSS and JavaScript
• Missing compression (gzip or brotli)

Mobile-Friendliness

• ] Viewport meta tag present (<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">)
• ] Text readable without zooming (minimum 16px body text)
• ] Tap targets adequately sized and spaced (minimum 48x48px)
• ] No horizontal scrolling required
• ] Responsive images
• ] Forms usable on mobile

Step 6: Content Gap Analysis

Methodology for identifying content gaps:

1. Identify the topic cluster: What is the main topic this page/site covers?
2. Map existing content: What subtopics are already covered?
3. Identify missing subtopics: What related topics are competitors covering that this site is not?
4. Analyze People Also Ask: What questions do searchers have about this topic?
5. Check related searches: What does Google suggest at the bottom of the SERP?

Content Gap Template: | Missing Topic | Search Volume Potential | Competition | Content Type Needed | Priority | |---|---|---|---|---| | Topic] | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | Blog/Guide/Tool/Page | 1-5 |

Step 7: Featured Snippet Optimization

Identify opportunities to capture featured snippets:

Types of featured snippets:

1. Paragraph snippet -- Answer in 40-60 words. Use a clear question as H2/H3 followed by a concise answer.
2. List snippet -- Use ordered or unordered lists with H2 containing the target query.
3. Table snippet -- Use HTML tables with clear headers.
4. Video snippet -- Include video with descriptive title and timestamps.

Optimization checklist:

• ] Target question-based queries ("how to", "what is", "why does")
• ] Place answer immediately after the question heading
• ] Keep paragraph answers between 40-60 words
• ] Use structured lists and tables where appropriate
• ] Include the target query in an H2 or H3

Step 8: Schema Markup Audit

Check for structured data implementation:

| Schema Type | Applicable To | Status | |---|---|---| | Organization | Homepage, About page | Present/Missing | | LocalBusiness | Local businesses | Present/Missing/N/A | | Product | Product pages | Present/Missing/N/A | | Article | Blog posts, news | Present/Missing/N/A | | FAQ | FAQ sections | Present/Missing | | HowTo | Tutorial content | Present/Missing/N/A | | Review/AggregateRating | Reviews, testimonials | Present/Missing/N/A | | BreadcrumbList | All pages with breadcrumbs | Present/Missing | | WebSite/SearchAction | Homepage (sitelinks search box) | Present/Missing | | Event | Event pages | Present/Missing/N/A |

Implementation guidance:

• Use JSON-LD format (Google's preferred format)
• Validate with Google's Rich Results Test
• Don't mark up content that isn't visible on the page
• Keep schema data consistent with on-page content

Step 9: Internal Linking Opportunities

Identify specific internal linking improvements:

1. Orphan pages -- Pages with no internal links pointing to them
2. Hub pages -- High-authority pages that should link to related content
3. Topical clusters -- Group related content and create linking structures
4. CTA links -- Blog content should link to relevant product/service pages
5. Footer/sidebar links -- Sitewide links to important pages

Linking Architecture Assessment:

Homepage
  |-- Category/Service Pages (Pillar Content)
       |-- Individual Blog Posts/Articles (Cluster Content)
            |-- Back-links to Pillar Content
  |-- Key Conversion Pages (Pricing, Signup, Contact)
       |-- Linked from relevant content

Step 10: Core Web Vitals Impact Assessment

Evaluate the revenue impact of Core Web Vitals performance:

Research-backed impacts:

• Sites passing all Core Web Vitals see 24% fewer page abandonments
• A 100ms decrease in LCP correlates with a 1.1% increase in conversion rates
• Reducing CLS by 0.1 corresponds to a 15% decrease in bounce rate
• Pages loading within 2 seconds have an average bounce rate of 9%, while pages loading in 5 seconds have a 38% bounce rate

Recommendations by metric: | Metric | If Failing | Typical Fixes | |---|---|---| | LCP | Over 2.5s | Optimize hero image, preload critical resources, use CDN, reduce server response time | | FID/INP | Over 100ms | Reduce JavaScript execution, defer non-critical scripts, use web workers | | CLS | Over 0.1 | Set image dimensions, reserve space for ads/embeds, avoid inserting content above existing content |

Step 11: Blog and Content Strategy Recommendations

Based on the audit findings, recommend:

1. Publishing cadence -- How often to publish based on competition and resources
2. Content types -- Blog posts, guides, tools, videos, infographics
3. Keyword targeting strategy -- Balance between high-volume and long-tail
4. Content length -- Benchmark against top-ranking content for target keywords
5. Content update strategy -- How often to refresh existing content
6. Distribution plan -- How to promote content beyond organic search

Content Prioritization Matrix: | Content Idea | Search Volume | Competition | Business Value | Priority Score | |---|---|---|---|---| | Topic] | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | High/Med/Low | 1-10 |

Scoring: High volume + Low competition + High business value = Highest priority

Output Format

Generate a file called SEO-AUDIT.md with:

markdown
# SEO Content Audit
## [URL]
### Date: [Date]

---

## SEO Health Score: [X/100]

---

## On-Page SEO Checklist

### Title Tag
- Status: [Pass/Needs Work/Fail]
- Current: "[current title]"
- Recommended: "[improved title]"
- Issues: [list issues]

### Meta Description
- Status: [Pass/Needs Work/Fail]
- Current: "[current meta]"
- Recommended: "[improved meta]"

### Heading Hierarchy
[H1-H6 structure analysis]

### Image Optimization
[Alt text audit results]

### Internal Linking
[Link analysis]

### URL Structure
[URL assessment]

---

## Content Quality (E-E-A-T)
| Dimension | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | [Strong/Present/Weak/Missing] | [details] |
| Expertise | [Strong/Present/Weak/Missing] | [details] |
| Authoritativeness | [Strong/Present/Weak/Missing] | [details] |
| Trustworthiness | [Strong/Present/Weak/Missing] | [details] |

---

## Keyword Analysis
- Primary Keyword: [keyword]
- Search Intent: [type]
- Keyword Placement: [checklist results]
- Secondary Keywords: [list]

---

## Technical SEO
[Quick check results]

---

## Content Gap Analysis
[Missing topics table]

---

## Featured Snippet Opportunities
[Specific opportunities]

---

## Schema Markup
[Current vs recommended]

---

## Internal Linking Opportunities
[Specific recommendations]

---

## Core Web Vitals
[Performance assessment with revenue impact]

---

## Content Strategy Recommendations
[Publishing plan, content priorities]

---

## Prioritized Recommendations

### Critical (Fix Immediately)
1. [recommendation with expected impact]

### High Priority (This Month)
1. [recommendation]

### Medium Priority (This Quarter)
1. [recommendation]

### Low Priority (When Resources Allow)
1. [recommendation]

Key Principles

• SEO audits should be educational, not just diagnostic. Explain WHY each element matters so the client understands the value.
• Always provide the "before" (current state) and "after" (recommended change) so the client can see exactly what needs to change.
• Tie SEO improvements to business outcomes. "Optimizing your title tag" means nothing to a business owner. "Optimizing your title tag could increase your click-through rate by 20-35%, bringing an estimated 500 more visitors per month to this page" is actionable.
• Use the automated script data as a starting point, but add expert analysis on top. The script finds the data; the skill interprets what it means.
• Prioritize recommendations by effort-to-impact ratio. A title tag change takes 5 minutes but can impact every search impression. A full content rewrite takes weeks.
• If the user has run /market audit or /market landing previously, cross-reference those findings with the SEO audit for a more complete picture.