gsc-ahrefs-browser-audit

GSC + Ahrefs browser SEO audit

Goal

Produce actionable findings to improve CTR, rankings, and impressions by combining:

Google Search Console — Performance report (queries + pages).
Ahrefs (optional) — Site Explorer, organic keywords, and Opportunities.

Use browser automation with the user’s own logged-in sessions. Prefer this over Ahrefs API or Ahrefs MCP when those hit rate limits quickly; the browser carries normal UI quota and features.

Tools

Use whatever browser automation your environment exposes (e.g. Playwright MCP, Cursor IDE browser tools). Names and refs differ by product; always take a fresh snapshot after navigation or login before clicking.

Before you start: resolve the site

Determine the canonical hostname (e.g. example.com) before building URLs. Order of inference:

User explicitly states the domain or URL.
Environment variables: SITE_URL, CANONICAL_URL, NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL, VERCEL_URL (normalize to hostname).
package.json — homepage, or repository.url if it is a production site URL.
Framework config — e.g. Next.js metadataBase / siteUrl in config, Astro site, etc.
Project README.md.
If still unclear, ask the user for the domain and whether the GSC property is Domain or URL prefix.

GSC deep link (domain property):

https://search.google.com/search-console/performance/search-analytics?resource_id=sc-domain%3A{hostname}

For URL-prefix properties, open Search Console and let the user select the property (see authentication below); do not guess resource_id.

Ahrefs Site Explorer (subdomains mode, adjust if user prefers path or exact URL):

https://app.ahrefs.com/site-explorer/overview/v2/subdomains/live?target={hostname}

(Older /v2/site-explorer/overview?target=...&mode=subdomains may redirect; either is fine.)

Authentication: wait for the user

Never ask for passwords or 2FA codes. If the page shows login, account picker, “session limit exceeded,” or paywall:

Stop automated clicks that assume a logged-in dashboard.
Tell the user exactly what you see and what they should do (sign in, pick property, dismiss other sessions).
Wait until they confirm or until a new snapshot shows the expected logged-in view.
Resume with a fresh navigation to the target URL if needed.

Repeat for GSC and Ahrefs independently.

If Ahrefs is unavailable

If there is no subscription, paywall, or the user opts out: complete the GSC-only analysis, state clearly that Ahrefs was skipped, and still deliver tiers and recommendations from GSC.

Execution order

Resolve hostname → open GSC Performance (or property chooser).
Complete GSC steps: queries dimension, then pages.
Open Ahrefs Site Explorer for the same hostname (after login if required).
Complete Ahrefs steps: overview, organic keywords (summarize safely), Opportunities, location filters as needed.
Synthesize the report and write the on-disk brief (see Output below).

Large pages and token limits

Ahrefs Organic keywords and similar views can return huge snapshots. If tool output is truncated or errors on size:

Rely on visible rows, filters, sorts, and pagination instead of one full-table scrape.
Summarize top N by volume or position bands.
Use Opportunities views for pre-bucketed lists.

Output

Write seo-work-brief.md to the root of the site repository you audited (default path ./seo-work-brief.md). If the user wants a different path or filename, use theirs and mention it in the brief’s top lines.
Follow references/seo-work-brief.md for the full structure: metrics, Tier 1–3 tables, Ahrefs highlights, action plan, and the ## New guide backlog (for bulk-seo-guides-from-keywords) section with the backlog table populated from keyword research (new pages only).
You may also give a short summary in chat, but the markdown file is the source of truth for the next step (bulk-seo-guides-from-keywords).

Quick pointer: references/output-template.md (on-disk brief reminder).

Implementation follow-up (separate task)

If the user asks you to change titles, meta descriptions, or content in their codebase, treat that as implementation: map GSC/Ahrefs URLs to routes/files in that project using normal repo search. For batched snippet rewrites from tier lists, use the ctr-snippet-batch-optimize skill in this repo. This skill focuses on research and reporting unless the user explicitly asks for edits.

Reference files

File	Purpose
references/gsc-steps.md	Click-path checklist for Performance
references/ahrefs-steps.md	Site Explorer and Opportunities
references/seo-work-brief.md	Full `seo-work-brief.md` spec + backlog for bulk guides
references/output-template.md	Pointer: write brief to disk, not chat-only