SEO Optimizer

Overview

Optimize websites for search engine visibility through technical SEO, on-page optimization, structured data implementation, and Core Web Vitals performance tuning. This skill covers crawlability, indexability, meta tag strategy, Schema.org markup, sitemap generation, canonical URL management, internationalization (hreflang), and performance optimization for Google's ranking signals.

Apply this skill whenever a site needs better organic search performance, whether for a single page audit or a full-site overhaul.

Multi-Phase Process

Phase 1: Technical Audit

Crawl the site (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or custom script)
Check robots.txt and XML sitemap validity
Identify crawl errors, redirect chains, and broken links
Verify canonical URLs and duplicate content handling
Assess mobile-friendliness and responsive design
Check HTTPS implementation and mixed content
Evaluate page load performance (Core Web Vitals)

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 2 until audit findings are documented and prioritized.

Phase 2: On-Page Optimization

Audit title tags (unique, 50-60 chars, keyword placement)
Review meta descriptions (unique, 150-160 chars, compelling CTAs)
Analyze heading hierarchy (single H1, logical H2-H6 structure)
Optimize image alt text and file names
Review internal linking structure and anchor text
Check URL structure (short, descriptive, hyphenated)
Validate Open Graph and Twitter Card tags

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 3 until on-page changes are implemented and verified.

Phase 3: Structured Data Implementation

Identify applicable Schema.org types for content
Implement JSON-LD structured data
Validate with Google Rich Results Test
Test for rich snippet eligibility
Monitor Search Console for structured data errors

STOP — Do NOT proceed to Phase 4 until structured data passes validation.

Phase 4: Monitoring and Iteration

Set up Google Search Console monitoring
Track Core Web Vitals over time
Monitor indexation status and coverage
Review search performance (clicks, impressions, CTR, position)
Set up alerts for crawl errors and ranking drops

Audit Priority Decision Table

Finding	Severity	Fix Priority	Impact
No HTTPS / mixed content	Critical	Immediate	Ranking penalty, trust signals
Missing canonical URLs	Critical	Immediate	Duplicate content dilution
Broken redirect chains (3+ hops)	High	This sprint	Crawl budget waste, link equity loss
Missing or duplicate title tags	High	This sprint	CTR drop, ranking confusion
No structured data	Medium	Next sprint	Missing rich snippets
Missing alt text on images	Medium	Next sprint	Accessibility and image search loss
Suboptimal Core Web Vitals	Medium	Next sprint	Ranking signal, user experience
Missing hreflang tags (multi-language)	Low	Backlog	Geo-targeting issues
Non-descriptive URL slugs	Low	Backlog	Minor ranking and CTR effect

Meta Tag Reference

Essential Meta Tags

<head>
  <!-- Primary -->
  <title>Primary Keyword - Secondary Keyword | Brand Name</title>
  <meta name="description" content="Compelling 150-160 char description with target keyword and clear value proposition.">
  <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page">

  <!-- Robots -->
  <meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
  <!-- or noindex, nofollow for pages that shouldn't be indexed -->

  <!-- Viewport (mobile) -->
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

  <!-- Open Graph -->
  <meta property="og:type" content="website">
  <meta property="og:title" content="Page Title for Social Sharing">
  <meta property="og:description" content="Description optimized for social sharing.">
  <meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg">
  <meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page">
  <meta property="og:site_name" content="Brand Name">

  <!-- Twitter Card -->
  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
  <meta name="twitter:title" content="Page Title">
  <meta name="twitter:description" content="Twitter-optimized description.">
  <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/twitter-image.jpg">

  <!-- Internationalization -->
  <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/page">
  <link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.com/de/page">
  <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page">
</head>

Meta Tag Optimization Matrix

Element	Max Length	Priority Keywords	Common Mistakes
Title tag	50-60 chars	Front-load primary keyword	Too long, keyword stuffing, duplicate
Meta description	150-160 chars	Include CTA and keyword	Missing, duplicate, no CTA
H1	N/A (single per page)	Primary keyword variation	Multiple H1s, missing H1
URL slug	3-5 words	Target keyword	Too long, parameters, underscores
Image alt	125 chars	Descriptive, keyword if natural	Empty, "image of...", keyword stuffing
OG title	60-90 chars	Engaging, shareable	Same as title tag (missed opportunity)

Structured Data (JSON-LD)

Article

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "How to Optimize Core Web Vitals",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "url": "https://example.com/authors/jane-smith"
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-03-01",
  "dateModified": "2026-03-15",
  "image": "https://example.com/images/article-hero.jpg",
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Example Blog",
    "logo": {
      "@type": "ImageObject",
      "url": "https://example.com/logo.png"
    }
  },
  "description": "A comprehensive guide to improving LCP, FID, and CLS scores."
}
</script>

Product

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Widget Pro",
  "description": "Professional-grade widget for enterprise use.",
  "image": "https://example.com/widget-pro.jpg",
  "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "WidgetCo" },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "49.99",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
    "url": "https://example.com/widget-pro"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.7",
    "reviewCount": "312"
  }
}
</script>

FAQ Page

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Core Web Vitals?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading, interactivity, and visual stability."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Schema Type Decision Guide

Content Type	Schema Type	Rich Result
Blog post	Article	Article snippet
Product page	Product	Price, rating, availability
FAQ section	FAQPage	Expandable Q&A
How-to guide	HowTo	Step-by-step snippet
Recipe	Recipe	Image, time, rating
Event	Event	Date, location, price
Local business	LocalBusiness	Map pack, hours
Software	SoftwareApplication	Rating, price
Breadcrumbs	BreadcrumbList	Breadcrumb trail
Video	VideoObject	Thumbnail, duration

Core Web Vitals

Metrics and Thresholds

Metric	Good	Needs Improvement	Poor	Measures
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)	<= 2.5s	<= 4.0s	> 4.0s	Loading performance
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)	<= 200ms	<= 500ms	> 500ms	Interactivity
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)	<= 0.1	<= 0.25	> 0.25	Visual stability

LCP Optimization

<!-- Preload hero image -->
<link rel="preload" as="image" href="/hero.webp" fetchpriority="high">

<!-- Use modern image formats -->
<picture>
  <source srcset="/hero.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="/hero.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="/hero.jpg" alt="Hero description" width="1200" height="600"
       fetchpriority="high" decoding="async">
</picture>

CLS Prevention

/* Always set dimensions on images and video */
img, video {
  width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  aspect-ratio: 16 / 9;
}

/* Reserve space for dynamic content */
.ad-slot {
  min-height: 250px;
}

/* Avoid inserting content above existing content */
.notification-bar {
  position: fixed; /* doesn't shift layout */
}

INP Optimization

// Break long tasks with yield
async function processLargeDataset(data) {
  for (let i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
    processItem(data[i]);
    if (i % 100 === 0) {
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 0)); // yield to main thread
    }
  }
}

// Use requestIdleCallback for non-critical work
requestIdleCallback(() => {
  loadAnalytics();
  initNonCriticalFeatures();
});

XML Sitemap

Generation Pattern

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
    <priority>1.0</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/products</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-14</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>

Sitemap Best Practices

Maximum 50,000 URLs per sitemap file
Use sitemap index for larger sites
Include only canonical, indexable URLs
Update lastmod only when content genuinely changes
Submit via Google Search Console and robots.txt

robots.txt Template

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /search?
Disallow: /*?sort=
Disallow: /*?filter=

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Next.js / React SEO Patterns

Next.js Metadata API (App Router)

import type { Metadata } from 'next';

export const metadata: Metadata = {
  title: {
    template: '%s | Brand Name',
    default: 'Brand Name - Tagline',
  },
  description: 'Site-wide default description.',
  openGraph: {
    type: 'website',
    locale: 'en_US',
    url: 'https://example.com',
    siteName: 'Brand Name',
  },
  twitter: {
    card: 'summary_large_image',
  },
  robots: {
    index: true,
    follow: true,
  },
  alternates: {
    canonical: 'https://example.com',
  },
};

Dynamic Metadata per Page

export async function generateMetadata({ params }): Promise<Metadata> {
  const product = await getProduct(params.slug);

  return {
    title: product.name,
    description: product.description.slice(0, 160),
    openGraph: {
      title: product.name,
      description: product.description.slice(0, 200),
      images: [{ url: product.image, width: 1200, height: 630 }],
    },
  };
}

Anti-Patterns / Common Mistakes

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails	What To Do Instead
Keyword stuffing in titles/content	Triggers spam filters, reduces CTR	Use primary keyword once naturally, add variations
Same title/description across pages	Duplicate content signals, wasted opportunity	Unique, page-specific meta for every indexable URL
Blocking CSS/JS in robots.txt	Googlebot cannot render pages	Allow all rendering resources
Structured data mismatching page content	Google penalties, rich snippet removal	Schema must reflect visible content exactly
Redirect chains > 2 hops	Crawl budget waste, link equity loss	Redirect directly to final destination
JS-only navigation without SSR links	Crawler cannot discover pages	Server-render navigation links
Ignoring Core Web Vitals	Ranking signal degradation	Profile and optimize LCP, INP, CLS
Missing canonical URLs	Duplicate content penalties	Set canonical on every indexable page
Over-optimized anchor text	Unnatural link patterns trigger penalties	Use descriptive, varied anchor text
Hiding content with CSS for SEO	Cloaking violation	All SEO content must be visible to users

Anti-Rationalization Guards

Do NOT skip the technical audit because "the site looks fine" -- crawl it.
Do NOT add structured data without validating it passes the Rich Results Test.
Do NOT assume meta tags are correct without checking every page type.
Do NOT deploy SEO changes without before/after measurement.
Do NOT optimize for search engines at the expense of user experience.

Integration Points

Skill	How It Connects
`content-creator`	SEO informs keyword targeting and headline strategy for marketing content
`content-research-writer`	Research-backed content needs SEO-optimized structure and meta tags
`senior-frontend`	Core Web Vitals optimization requires frontend performance tuning
`performance-optimization`	Page speed directly affects LCP and INP scores
`deployment`	SEO changes need proper cache invalidation and redirect configuration
`tech-docs-generator`	Documentation sites need sitemap, canonical, and structured data setup

Skill Type

FLEXIBLE — Adapt the optimization strategy to the site's technology stack, content type, and competitive landscape. Technical SEO fundamentals and structured data best practices are strongly recommended; specific implementation patterns vary by framework.

seo-optimizer