SEO — Audit & Optimization

Expert guidance for identifying SEO issues and implementing improvements to boost organic search performance.

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists, read it before asking questions.

Before auditing, understand:

Site Context — Type (SaaS, e-commerce, blog), primary SEO goal, priority keywords
Current State — Known issues, organic traffic level, recent changes/migrations
Scope — Full site or specific pages? Technical + on-page, or one focus area?

Audit Framework

⚠️ Schema Markup Detection Limitation

web_fetch and curl cannot reliably detect structured data / schema markup. Many CMS plugins inject JSON-LD via client-side JavaScript.

To check for schema markup, use:

Browser tool — render page and run: document.querySelectorAll('script[type="application/ld+json"]')
Google Rich Results Test — https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

Never report "no schema found" based solely on web_fetch or curl.

Priority Order

Crawlability & Indexation — Can Google find and index it?
Technical Foundations — Is the site fast and functional?
On-Page Optimization — Is content optimized?
Content Quality — Does it deserve to rank?
Authority & Links — Does it have credibility?

Technical SEO

Crawlability

Robots.txt — Check for unintentional blocks, verify sitemap reference
XML Sitemap — Exists, submitted to Search Console, contains only canonical indexable URLs
Site Architecture — Important pages within 3 clicks, logical hierarchy, no orphan pages
Crawl Budget (large sites) — Parameterized URLs, faceted navigation, infinite scroll

Indexation

Index Status — site:domain.com check, Search Console coverage
Issues — Noindex on important pages, wrong canonicals, redirect chains, soft 404s, duplicates
Canonicalization — Self-referencing canonicals, HTTP→HTTPS, www consistency, trailing slashes

Core Web Vitals

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s
INP (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1

Speed Factors: TTFB, image optimization, JS execution, CSS delivery, caching, CDN, font loading

Mobile & Security

Responsive design, tap targets, viewport, no horizontal scroll
HTTPS everywhere, valid SSL, no mixed content, HSTS

URL Structure

Readable, descriptive, keyword-rich, lowercase, hyphen-separated

On-Page SEO

Title Tags

Unique per page, primary keyword near beginning, 50-60 chars, compelling
Common issues: Duplicate, truncated, keyword-stuffed, missing

<!-- Good -->
<title>Ultimate Guide to React Hooks - Learn useEffect & useState</title>

Meta Descriptions

Unique per page, 150-160 chars, includes keyword, clear CTA
Common issues: Duplicate, auto-generated, too long/short

Heading Structure

One H1 per page with primary keyword, logical H1→H2→H3 hierarchy
Common issues: Multiple H1s, skipped levels, headings for styling only

Content Optimization

Keyword in first 100 words, related terms used naturally
Sufficient depth/length, answers search intent, better than competitors

Image Optimization

<img
  src="/images/react-hooks-diagram.webp"
  alt="React Hooks lifecycle diagram showing useState and useEffect"
  width="800" height="600" loading="lazy"
/>

Internal Linking

Descriptive anchor text, 3-5 internal links per 1000 words
No orphan pages, no broken links, reasonable link count

Schema Markup (Structured Data)

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Complete Guide to React Hooks",
  "datePublished": "2024-01-15",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Developer" }
}

Common types: Article, Product, FAQ, HowTo, Organization, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList

Content Quality

E-E-A-T Signals

Experience — First-hand experience, original insights/data
Expertise — Author credentials, accurate detailed info
Authoritativeness — Recognized in space, cited by others
Trustworthiness — Transparent, contact info, HTTPS

Content Depth

Comprehensive coverage, answers follow-up questions
Better than top competitors, updated and current

Advanced Strategies

Topic Clusters & Pillar Pages

Pillar: "Complete Guide to React"
  ├── "React Hooks Tutorial"
  ├── "React Context API Guide"
  ├── "React Performance Optimization"
  └── "React Testing Best Practices"

Featured Snippet Optimization

Question-based content with concise answers
List-based and table-based content formats

Common Issues by Site Type

Type	Common Issues
SaaS	Thin product pages, blog not linked to product, missing comparison pages
E-commerce	Thin category pages, duplicate descriptions, missing product schema
Blog	Outdated content, keyword cannibalization, no topic clusters
Local	Inconsistent NAP, missing local schema, no GMB optimization

SEO Content Checklist

Output Format

Executive Summary — Health assessment, top 3-5 priorities, quick wins

Per Issue: Issue → Impact (H/M/L) → Evidence → Fix → Priority

Action Plan:

Critical fixes (blocking indexation)
High-impact improvements
Quick wins (easy, immediate benefit)
Long-term recommendations

Tools

Free: Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Rich Results Test, Bing Webmaster Tools Paid: Screaming Frog, Ahrefs/Semrush, Sitebulb

References

AI Writing Detection: Common AI writing patterns to avoid

Related Skills

audit-website: Automated website auditing with squirrelscan CLI (230+ rules)
page-cro: Optimizing pages for conversion (not just ranking)

seo