Advisor SEO Specialist

An autonomous agent that optimizes websites for search engines — conducting keyword research, performing technical SEO audits, creating content optimization strategies, and building link acquisition plans to improve organic search rankings and traffic.

When to Use This Agent

Choose Advisor SEO Specialist when:

• You need keyword research to identify high-value content opportunities
• Your site needs a technical SEO audit (crawlability, performance, structured data)
• You want to optimize existing content for better search rankings
• You need a link building strategy to improve domain authority

Consider alternatives when:

• You need paid search (PPC) campaign management (use a PPC specialist)
• You need content writing (use a content marketer agent, informed by SEO data)
• You need web development changes (use a developer agent with SEO requirements)

Quick Start

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# .claude/agents/seo-specialist.yml
name: advisor-seo-specialist
description: Optimize websites for search engine visibility
agent_prompt: |
  You are an SEO Specialist. Help improve organic search performance:

  1. Conduct keyword research with volume, difficulty, and intent
  2. Perform technical SEO audits (crawlability, indexing, performance)
  3. Optimize on-page elements (titles, meta, headings, content)
  4. Design internal linking and site architecture
  5. Develop link building strategies
  6. Track rankings and organic traffic metrics

  SEO principles:
  - User intent > keyword density
  - Technical foundation > content > links
  - Quality content that answers questions > keyword-stuffed content
  - Page experience (Core Web Vitals) is a ranking factor

Core Concepts

SEO Audit Checklist

Category	Check	Priority
Technical	Crawlability (robots.txt, sitemap)	Critical
Technical	Page speed (Core Web Vitals)	Critical
Technical	Mobile-friendliness	Critical
Technical	HTTPS across all pages	Critical
On-Page	Title tags (unique, < 60 chars, keyword)	High
On-Page	Meta descriptions (unique, < 160 chars)	High
On-Page	Header hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)	High
On-Page	Internal linking structure	High
Content	Keyword coverage and cannibalization	Medium
Content	Content freshness and depth	Medium
Off-Page	Backlink profile quality	Medium
Off-Page	Domain authority trend	Low

Keyword Research Framework

Keyword Evaluation Criteria:
  Volume:     Monthly search volume (higher = more traffic potential)
  Difficulty: How hard to rank on page 1 (lower = easier to rank)
  Intent:     Informational, commercial, transactional, navigational
  CPC:        Cost per click in ads (indicates commercial value)
  Trend:      Rising, stable, or declining interest

Keyword Prioritization:
  Priority 1: High volume + low difficulty + commercial intent
               These are quick wins — target immediately
  Priority 2: High volume + medium difficulty + informational intent
               These build authority — target with pillar content
  Priority 3: Low volume + low difficulty + high intent
               These convert well — target for bottom-of-funnel
  Priority 4: High volume + high difficulty
               Long-term targets requiring link building + authority

On-Page Optimization Template

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<!-- Optimized page structure -->
<head>
  <title>{Primary Keyword} — {Benefit} | {Brand}</title>
  <meta name="description" content="{Compelling description with primary keyword
    and clear value proposition. 120-155 characters.}">
  <link rel="canonical" href="{canonical URL}">

  <!-- Structured data -->
  <script type="application/ld+json">
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "{Title}",
    "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "{Author}" },
    "datePublished": "2025-01-15",
    "dateModified": "2025-03-01"
  }
  </script>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>{Primary keyword in natural heading}</h1>
  <p>{Opening paragraph with primary keyword in first 100 words}</p>

  <h2>{Secondary keyword as section heading}</h2>
  <p>{Content answering the search intent}</p>

  <h2>{Related keyword as section heading}</h2>
  <p>{Content with internal links to related pages}</p>

  <!-- FAQ section targeting featured snippets -->
  <h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2>
  <h3>{Question matching "People Also Ask"}</h3>
  <p>{Concise answer in 40-60 words}</p>
</body>

Configuration

Option	Type	Default	Description
targetRegion	string	"us"	Target search region
searchEngine	string	"google"	Primary search engine
auditDepth	string	"comprehensive"	Audit: quick, standard, comprehensive
keywordCount	number	50	Number of keywords to research
trackRankings	boolean	true	Monitor keyword rankings
competitorDomains	string[]	[]	Competitor domains for gap analysis

Best Practices

1. Fix technical SEO before investing in content — If search engines cannot crawl and index your pages, no amount of content will help. Ensure robots.txt is not blocking important pages, XML sitemap is submitted and accurate, canonical tags prevent duplicate content, and Core Web Vitals pass Google's thresholds.

2. Match content to search intent, not just keywords — If the top results for "best project management tools" are comparison articles, write a comparison article. If they are listicles, write a listicle. Google ranks pages that match the expected format and intent. A beautiful landing page will not rank for an informational query.

3. Build topical authority with content clusters — Create a comprehensive pillar page covering a broad topic, then create 10-15 cluster articles covering subtopics that link back to the pillar. This signals to Google that your site is an authority on the topic, boosting rankings for the entire cluster.

4. Audit for keyword cannibalization regularly — When multiple pages target the same keyword, they compete with each other and dilute ranking potential. Search your own site (site:yoursite.com "keyword") to find competing pages. Merge or differentiate them to consolidate ranking signals.

5. Prioritize user experience metrics (Core Web Vitals) — Google's page experience signals (LCP < 2.5s, FID < 100ms, CLS < 0.1) directly affect rankings. Use PageSpeed Insights to identify specific issues, prioritize LCP improvements (largest impact), and test on real mobile devices, not just desktop.

Common Issues

Rankings plateau despite publishing more content — More content is not always better. If new articles are thin (< 1,000 words), duplicate existing topics (cannibalization), or target impossible keywords (difficulty > 80), they will not rank. Audit existing content quality, update and consolidate old posts, and target achievable keywords before creating new content.

Technical SEO fixes do not improve rankings — Technical fixes (speed, crawlability) are necessary but not sufficient. They remove barriers to ranking but do not provide ranking signals. After fixing technical issues, focus on content quality and relevance (on-page SEO) and then on authority (backlinks, brand signals) to see ranking improvements.

Backlink building efforts produce no results — Sending 100 outreach emails with a 1% response rate is inefficient. Focus on creating link-worthy content (original research, tools, comprehensive guides) that earns links naturally, then amplify through targeted outreach to sites that have linked to similar content. Quality of linking domains matters more than quantity.