SEO Audit

Audit affiliate blog posts and landing pages for SEO issues — on-page optimization, keyword usage, meta tags, content quality signals, affiliate link attributes, and internal linking. Output is a 10-dimension SEO scorecard with a prioritized fix-it checklist.

Stage

S6: Analytics — 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search. For affiliate bloggers, SEO is the most sustainable traffic source — but most affiliate content has basic SEO mistakes that tank rankings. This skill catches those mistakes and provides quick wins.

When to Use

User has a blog post or landing page and wants an SEO review
User asks "why isn't my page ranking?" or "check my SEO"
User wants to improve search rankings for affiliate content
User says "SEO audit", "SEO checklist", "on-page optimization"
User wants to check affiliate link attributes (nofollow, sponsored)
Chaining from S3 (blog) or S4 (landing): audit content before or after publishing

Input Schema

content: string                # REQUIRED — the content to audit (markdown, HTML, or URL)
                               # If URL, will attempt to fetch and analyze

target_keyword: string         # REQUIRED — primary keyword to optimize for
                               # (e.g., "best AI video tools", "HeyGen review")

content_type: string           # OPTIONAL — "blog_post" | "landing_page"
                               # Default: "blog_post"

competitor_urls:               # OPTIONAL — competitor pages to compare against
  - string                     # e.g., ["competitor.com/heygen-review"]

secondary_keywords:            # OPTIONAL — additional keywords to check
  - string                     # e.g., ["AI video generator", "HeyGen pricing"]

Chaining context: If S3 (blog) or S4 (landing page) was run in the same conversation, pull the generated content directly for audit. The user should not have to paste content just generated.

Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Content Structure

Check:

Word count: Is it competitive? (blog: 1500+ words, landing: varies)
Heading structure: H1 present and unique? H2/H3 hierarchy logical?
Paragraph length: Short paragraphs for readability?
Content depth: Does it cover the topic comprehensively?

Step 2: Check Keyword Usage

Analyze:

Title tag: Contains target keyword? Under 60 characters?
H1: Contains target keyword?
First 100 words: Keyword appears naturally?
Keyword density: 1-2% optimal (not stuffing, not absent)
Keyword in subheadings: At least one H2 contains keyword or variant?
LSI keywords: Related terms present for topical depth?

Step 3: Evaluate Meta Tags

Check:

Title tag length: 50-60 characters optimal
Meta description: Present? 150-160 characters? Contains keyword? Compelling?
OG tags: Open Graph tags for social sharing
Canonical URL: Present and correct?

Step 4: Check E-E-A-T Signals

Evaluate:

Experience: First-person experience with the product?
Expertise: Author credentials or demonstrated knowledge?
Authoritativeness: Citing sources, linking to official pages?
Trustworthiness: Transparent disclosure, balanced (pros AND cons)?

Step 5: Check Affiliate Link Attributes

Verify:

All affiliate links have rel="nofollow sponsored" (Google requirement)
Links are not cloaked in a way that violates search guidelines
FTC disclosure is present and above the fold
Links open in new tab (target="_blank") for UX

Step 6: Check Internal Linking

Evaluate:

Links to related content on the same site?
Anchor text is descriptive (not "click here")?
Table of contents for long content?

Step 7: Score on 10 Dimensions

Rate each 1-10:

Keyword optimization
Content depth and quality
Title tag and meta description
Heading structure
E-E-A-T signals
Affiliate link compliance
Internal linking
Readability and formatting
Mobile friendliness indicators
Technical SEO basics

Step 8: Generate Fix-It Checklist

Prioritize fixes by impact:

Quick wins: Fix in 5 minutes, big impact (meta tags, keyword in H1)
Medium effort: Fix in 30 minutes (add sections, improve depth)
Major revision: Fix in 2+ hours (restructure content, add original research)

Step 9: Self-Validation

Before presenting output, verify:

All 10 SEO dimensions scored (1-10 each)
Overall score is weighted sum of dimension scores
Issues prioritized: quick_win → medium → major
Each fix is specific and actionable (not generic advice)
Keyword density recommendation is 1-2% (not higher)

If any check fails, fix the output before delivering. Do not flag the checklist to the user — just ensure the output passes.

Output Schema

output_schema_version: "1.0.0"  # Semver — bump major on breaking changes
audit:
  url_or_title: string
  target_keyword: string
  overall_score: number        # out of 100 (sum of 10 dimensions × 10)
  word_count: number

scores:
  - dimension: string
    score: number              # 1-10
    status: string             # "good" | "needs_work" | "critical"
    notes: string

issues:
  - priority: string           # "quick_win" | "medium" | "major"
    dimension: string
    issue: string
    fix: string                # specific action to take
    impact: string             # "high" | "medium" | "low"

checklist:
  - task: string
    priority: string
    done: boolean              # always false (user checks off)

Output Format

SEO Scorecard — table with 10 dimensions, scores, and status
Overall Score — X/100 with assessment (Excellent >80, Good 60-80, Needs Work 40-60, Critical <40)
Quick Wins — fixes that take <5 minutes and have high impact
Full Fix-It Checklist — all issues ordered by priority with specific actions
Competitor Comparison — brief notes if competitor URLs were provided

Error Handling

No content provided: "Paste the content of your blog post or landing page. I'll audit it for SEO issues and give you a prioritized fix-it list."
No target keyword: "What keyword are you trying to rank for? (e.g., 'HeyGen review', 'best AI video tools'). This helps me check keyword usage and optimization."
Content is too short (<300 words): "This content is quite short (X words). For competitive keywords, aim for 1,500+ words. I'll audit what's here, but content depth is likely your biggest SEO issue."
URL provided but cannot be fetched: "I couldn't fetch that URL. Paste the page content directly and I'll audit it."

Examples

Example 1: Blog post with common issues

User: "Audit this blog post for 'best AI video tools': [pastes 2000-word blog post]" Action: Score each dimension. Common findings: keyword not in H1 (fix: add to title), affiliate links missing rel="nofollow sponsored" (fix: add attributes), no meta description (fix: write one), thin intro section (fix: expand first paragraph). Overall score: 62/100. Quick wins: meta description, H1 keyword, link attributes.

Example 2: Landing page audit

User: "Check the SEO on my HeyGen landing page" [content from S4 in conversation] Action: Pull landing page content from S4 output. Note: landing pages are typically not SEO-optimized (they're conversion-focused). Score accordingly — different expectations for landing pages vs blog posts. Focus on: title tag, meta description, canonical, affiliate link compliance.

Example 3: Competitive comparison

User: "Audit my Semrush review and compare to these competitor pages: [competitor URLs]" Action: Audit user's content first. Then use web_search or web_browse to analyze competitor content structure (word count, headings, topics covered). Identify content gaps — topics competitors cover that the user doesn't. Recommend additions to improve competitiveness.

References

shared/references/ftc-compliance.md — FTC disclosure requirements for affiliate content. Checked in Step 5.
shared/references/affiliate-glossary.md — SEO and affiliate terminology. Referenced throughout.
shared/references/flywheel-connections.md — master flywheel connection map

Flywheel Connections

Feeds Into

monopoly-niche-finder (S1) — ranking data reveals niches you're already winning in
keyword-cluster-architect (S3) — ranking gaps reveal keyword opportunities
content-decay-detector (S3) — declining pages to investigate
internal-linking-optimizer (S6) — link structure issues to fix

Fed By

github-pages-deployer (S5) — deployed site URL to audit
affiliate-blog-builder (S3) — published articles to audit

Feedback Loop

SEO audit results feed back to S3 Blog (content improvements) and S1 Research (niche opportunities from ranking data) — closing the SEO flywheel

chain_metadata:
  skill_slug: "seo-audit"
  stage: "analytics"
  timestamp: string
  suggested_next:
    - "content-decay-detector"
    - "internal-linking-optimizer"
    - "keyword-cluster-architect"