Blog -- Content Engine for Rankings & AI Citations

Full-lifecycle blog management: strategy, briefs, outlines, writing, analysis, optimization, schema generation, repurposing, and editorial planning. Dual-optimized for Google's December 2025 Core Update and AI citation platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini).

Quick Reference

Command	What it does
/blog write <topic>	Write a new blog post from scratch
/blog rewrite <file>	Rewrite/optimize an existing blog post
/blog analyze <file-or-url>	Audit blog quality with 0-100 score
/blog brief <topic>	Generate a detailed content brief
/blog calendar [monthly|quarterly]	Generate an editorial calendar
/blog strategy <niche>	Blog strategy and topic ideation
/blog outline <topic>	Generate SERP-informed content outline
/blog seo-check <file>	Post-writing SEO validation checklist
/blog schema <file>	Generate JSON-LD schema markup
/blog repurpose <file>	Repurpose content for other platforms
/blog geo <file>	AI citation readiness audit
/blog audit [directory]	Full-site blog health assessment
/blog image [generate|edit|setup]	AI image generation and editing via Gemini
/blog update <file>	Update existing post with fresh stats (routes to rewrite)

Orchestration Logic

Command Routing

1. Parse the user's command to determine the sub-skill
2. If no sub-command given, ask which action they need
3. Route to the appropriate sub-skill:
   • write → blog-write (new articles from scratch)
   • rewrite → blog-rewrite (optimize existing posts)
   • analyze → blog-analyze (quality scoring)
   • brief → blog-brief (content briefs)
   • calendar / plan → blog-calendar (editorial calendars)
   • strategy / ideation → blog-strategy (positioning and topics)
   • outline → blog-outline (SERP-informed outlines)
   • seo-check / seo → blog-seo-check (SEO validation)
   • schema → blog-schema (JSON-LD generation)
   • repurpose → blog-repurpose (cross-platform content)
   • geo / aeo / citation → blog-geo (AI citation audit)
   • audit / health → blog-audit (site-wide assessment)
   • image → blog-image (AI image generation and editing)
   • update → blog-rewrite (with freshness-update mode)

Platform Detection

Detect blog platform from file extension and project structure:

Signal	Platform	Format
.mdx files, next.config	Next.js/MDX	JSX-compatible markdown
.md files, hugo.toml	Hugo	Standard markdown
.md files, _config.yml	Jekyll	Standard markdown with YAML front matter
.html files	Static HTML	HTML with semantic markup
wp-content/ directory	WordPress	HTML or Gutenberg blocks
ghost/ or Ghost API	Ghost	Mobiledoc or HTML
.astro files	Astro	MDX or markdown
.njk files, .eleventy.js	11ty	Nunjucks/Markdown
gatsby-config.js	Gatsby	MDX/React

Adapt output format to detected platform. Default to standard markdown if unknown.

Core Methodology -- The 6 Pillars

Every blog post targets these 6 optimization pillars:

Pillar	Impact	Implementation
Answer-First Formatting	+340% AI citations	Every H2 opens with 40-60 word stat-rich paragraph
Real Sourced Data	E-E-A-T trust	Tier 1-3 sources only, inline attribution
Visual Media	Engagement + citations	Pixabay/Unsplash images + AI generation via Gemini + built-in SVG charts
FAQ Schema	+28% AI citations	Structured FAQ with 40-60 word answers
Content Structure	AI extractability	50-150 word chunks, question headings, proper H hierarchy
Freshness Signals	76% of top citations	Updated within 30 days, dateModified schema

Quality Gates

These are hard rules. Never ship content that violates them:

Rule	Threshold	Action
Fabricated statistics	Zero tolerance	Every number must have a named source
Paragraph length	Never > 150 words	Split or trim
Heading hierarchy	Never skip levels	H1 → H2 → H3 only
Source tier	Tier 1-3 only	Never cite content mills or affiliate sites
Image alt text	Required on all images	Descriptive, includes topic keywords naturally
Self-promotion	Max 1 brand mention	Author bio context only
Chart diversity	No duplicate types	Each chart must be a different type

Scoring Methodology

Blog quality is scored across 5 categories (100 points total):

Category	Weight	What it measures
Content Quality	30 pts	Depth, readability (Flesch 60-70), originality, structure, engagement, grammar/anti-pattern
SEO Optimization	25 pts	Heading hierarchy, title tag, keyword placement, internal linking, meta description
E-E-A-T Signals	15 pts	Author attribution, source citations, trust indicators, experience signals
Technical Elements	15 pts	Schema markup, image optimization, page speed, mobile-friendliness, OG meta
AI Citation Readiness	15 pts	Passage citability, Q&A format, entity clarity, AI crawler accessibility

Scoring Bands

Score	Rating	Action
90-100	Exceptional	Publish as-is, flagship content
80-89	Strong	Minor polish, ready for publication
70-79	Acceptable	Targeted improvements needed
60-69	Below Standard	Significant rework required
< 60	Rewrite	Fundamental issues, start from outline

Reference Files

Load on-demand as needed (12 references):

• references/google-landscape-2026.md -- December 2025 Core Update, E-E-A-T, algorithm changes
• references/geo-optimization.md -- GEO/AEO techniques, AI citation factors
• references/content-rules.md -- Structure, readability, answer-first formatting
• references/visual-media.md -- Image sourcing (Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels), AI image generation, SVG chart integration
• references/quality-scoring.md -- Full 5-category scoring checklist (100 points)
• references/platform-guides.md -- Platform-specific output formatting (9 platforms)
• references/distribution-playbook.md -- Content distribution strategy (Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.)
• references/content-templates.md -- Content type template index (12 templates)
• references/eeat-signals.md -- Author E-E-A-T requirements, Person schema, experience markers
• references/ai-crawler-guide.md -- AI bot management, robots.txt, SSR requirements
• references/schema-stack.md -- Complete blog schema reference (JSON-LD templates)
• references/internal-linking.md -- Link architecture, anchor text, hub-and-spoke model

Content Templates

12 structural templates for different content types. Auto-selected by blog-write and blog-brief:

Template	Type	Word Count
how-to-guide	Step-by-step tutorials	2,000-2,500
listicle	Ranked/numbered lists	1,500-2,000
case-study	Real-world results with metrics	1,500-2,000
comparison	X vs Y with feature matrix	1,500-2,000
pillar-page	Comprehensive authority guide	3,000-4,000
product-review	First-hand product assessment	1,500-2,000
thought-leadership	Opinion/analysis with contrarian angle	1,500-2,500
roundup	Expert quotes + curated resources	1,500-2,000
tutorial	Code/tool walkthrough	2,000-3,000
news-analysis	Timely event analysis	800-1,200
data-research	Original data study	2,000-3,000
faq-knowledge	Comprehensive FAQ/knowledge base	1,500-2,000

Templates are in templates/ and contain section structure, markers, and checklists.

Sub-Skills

Sub-Skill	Purpose
blog-write	Write new blog articles with template selection, TL;DR, citation capsules
blog-rewrite	Optimize existing posts with AI detection, anti-AI patterns
blog-analyze	5-category 100-point quality audit with AI content detection
blog-brief	Content briefs with template recommendation, distribution plan
blog-calendar	Editorial calendars with decay detection, 60/30/10 content mix
blog-strategy	Positioning, topic clusters, AI citation surface strategy
blog-outline	SERP-informed outlines with competitive gap analysis
blog-seo-check	Post-writing SEO validation (title, meta, headings, links, OG)
blog-schema	JSON-LD schema generation (BlogPosting, Person, FAQ, Breadcrumb)
blog-repurpose	Cross-platform repurposing (social, email, YouTube, Reddit)
blog-geo	AI citation readiness audit with 0-100 GEO score
blog-audit	Full-site blog health assessment with parallel subagents
blog-chart	Generate inline SVG data visualization charts with dark-mode styling
blog-image	AI image generation and editing for blog content via Gemini MCP

Agents

Agent	Role
blog-researcher	Research specialist -- finds statistics, sources, images, competitive data
blog-writer	Content generation specialist -- writes optimized blog content
blog-seo	SEO validation specialist -- checks on-page SEO post-writing
blog-reviewer	Quality assessment -- runs 100-point scoring, AI content detection

Agent Details

blog-researcher: Runs as a Task subagent. Uses WebSearch to find current statistics, competitor content, and SERP analysis. Outputs structured research packets with source tier classifications (Tier 1: primary research, Tier 2: major publications, Tier 3: reputable industry sources). Also sources Pixabay/Unsplash/Pexels image URLs.

blog-writer: Receives research packets and content briefs. Writes content using the selected template structure. Applies answer-first formatting, citation capsules, and TL;DR blocks. Outputs platform-formatted content ready for the SEO agent.

blog-seo: Post-writing validation agent. Checks title tag length (50-60 chars), meta description (150-160 chars), heading hierarchy, keyword density, internal link count, image alt text, and Open Graph meta tags. Returns pass/fail checklist.

blog-reviewer: Final quality gate. Runs the full 5-category 100-point scoring rubric. Detects AI-generated content patterns (repetitive sentence starters, hedge words, over-qualification). Outputs a scorecard with category breakdowns and prioritized improvement recommendations.

Execution Flow

Standard execution order for /blog write:

1. Parse -- Identify topic, detect platform, select template
2. Research -- Spawn blog-researcher agent for statistics, sources, SERP data
3. Outline -- Build section structure from template + research gaps
4. Write -- Spawn blog-writer agent with research packet and outline
5. Optimize -- Spawn blog-seo agent for on-page validation
6. Score -- Spawn blog-reviewer agent for 100-point quality audit
7. Deliver -- Output final content with scorecard and improvement notes

For /blog analyze, only steps 1 and 6 run (read + score). For /blog audit, step 6 runs in parallel across all posts in the directory.

Internal Workflows (Not User-Facing Commands)

The blog-chart sub-skill is invoked internally by blog-write and blog-rewrite when chart-worthy data is identified. It is not a standalone slash command.

The blog-image sub-skill is both user-invocable (/blog image generate) and callable internally by blog-write and blog-rewrite when AI-generated images are needed (requires nanobanana-mcp configured). Falls back gracefully when MCP is not available.

Integration

Chart generation is built-in — no external dependencies required for full functionality.

Optional companion skills (for deeper analysis of published pages):

• /seo — Full SEO audit of published blog pages
• /seo-schema — Schema markup validation and generation
• /seo-geo — AI citation optimization audit

Anti-Patterns (Never Do These)

Anti-Pattern	Why
Fabricate statistics	December 2025 Core Update penalizes unsourced claims
Use the same chart type twice	Visual monotony, reduces engagement
Keyword-stuff headings or meta	Google ignores/penalizes this
Bury answers in paragraphs	AI systems extract from section openers
Skip source verification	Broken links and wrong data destroy trust
Use tier 4-5 sources	Low authority hurts E-E-A-T
Generate without research	AI-generated consensus content is penalized
Skip visual elements entirely	Blogs with images get 94% more views