seo-rank

SEO Rank Optimizer (2026 Standards)

Audit and optimize web content for traditional search engines (Google, Bing) covering content quality, technical performance, architecture, crawlability, and off-page signals.

Companion skill: Use /ai-rank for LLM answer engine and AI agent optimization. Use both together for complete search visibility across traditional and AI-powered search.

Two Frameworks

SEARCH Framework (Content SEO)

Everything about the content itself — what humans and crawlers read.

TECH Framework (Technical SEO)

Everything about the infrastructure — how crawlers access, parse, and index.

SEARCH Framework (Content SEO)

S - Search Intent Alignment

Classify intent: informational / navigational / transactional / commercial investigation
Match content format to intent (listicle vs product page vs guide vs comparison)
Target one primary intent per page; secondary intents get their own pages
Check SERP features for target queries (featured snippets, PAA, video carousel)
Analyze top 5 ranking pages to understand what Google rewards for this query

E - E-E-A-T Signals

Experience: First-person accounts, case studies, screenshots, real usage evidence
Expertise: Author bios with credentials, technical depth, accurate terminology
Authoritativeness: Citations from authoritative sources, industry recognition, backlinks from trusted domains
Trustworthiness: Accurate claims, updated dates, corrections policy, HTTPS, clear contact info, privacy policy
Author schema markup (Person JSON-LD linked from Article schema)
Sites demonstrating strong E-E-A-T saw 23% gains after recent core updates

A - Audience-Centered Quality

Content originality (not rehashed from competitors)
Depth appropriate to topic (comprehensive but not padded)
Reading level matched to audience
Multimedia support (images, diagrams, video where appropriate)
User engagement signals: clear above-fold value, scannable structure
Internal links to keep users exploring (reduces bounce rate)
No thin content pages (every page must justify its existence)

R - Relevance & Keywords

Primary keyword in H1, title tag, meta description, first 100 words, URL slug
Semantic keyword cluster (related terms, synonyms, LSI) distributed naturally
Keyword density: natural usage, no stuffing (aim for topical coverage, not repetition)
Long-tail variations addressed in H2/H3 subheadings
Content gap analysis vs top 5 ranking pages
Move beyond keywords to topic authority — cover the full topic comprehensively

C - CTR Optimization

Title tag: primary keyword + emotional/power word + brand, under 60 chars
Meta description: action-oriented, includes keyword, under 155 chars
URL slug: short, keyword-rich, hyphenated, no dates or IDs
Structured data for rich results (FAQ, HowTo, Review, Breadcrumb)
Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, og:type)
Twitter Card tags (twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image)

H - Heading Hierarchy & Structure

Single H1 per page matching primary keyword intent
H2s for major sections matching secondary queries
H3s for subsections; never skip levels (H1 > H2 > H3)
Table of contents for content over 1500 words
FAQ section with question-format headings for PAA targeting
Lists, tables, steps over wall-of-text paragraphs
Key takeaways or TL;DR section

TECH Framework (Technical SEO)

T - Time to Interactive (Core Web Vitals)

The three metrics Google uses as ranking signals (measured at 75th percentile):

LCP < 2.5s (Largest Contentful Paint) — optimize hero images, server response time, critical CSS inlining
INP < 200ms (Interaction to Next Paint — replaced FID in March 2024) — minimize JS execution, yield to main thread, break long tasks
CLS < 0.1 (Cumulative Layout Shift) — set explicit width/height on images/embeds, avoid dynamic injection above fold, use font-display: swap

Business impact: Sites passing all three CWV thresholds see 24% lower bounce rates. Pages loading under 2s have 9% bounce rate; over 5s reaches 38%.

Audit commands:

# Full Lighthouse performance audit
npx lighthouse <url> --output=json --only-categories=performance --chrome-flags="--headless"

# Quick CWV via PageSpeed Insights API (no install)
curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/pagespeedonline/v5/runPagespeed?url=<encoded-url>&strategy=mobile"

E - Efficient Crawling

robots.txt: allow critical paths, block parameter URLs, admin panels, internal search results
sitemap.xml: all indexable URLs, accurate lastmod dates, under 50K URLs per file (use sitemap index for larger sites)
Canonical URLs: self-referencing on every page; point duplicates to the canonical version
Crawl budget: no infinite scroll traps, handle faceted navigation with noindex or canonical
HTTP status codes: no soft 404s, proper 301 redirects, no redirect chains > 2 hops
Index budget: ensure important pages are crawlable, noindex low-value pages (tag archives, search results)

Audit commands:

# Fetch robots.txt
curl -s <domain>/robots.txt

# Fetch sitemap
curl -s <domain>/sitemap.xml | head -100

# Check redirect chain
curl -sIL <url> | grep -E 'HTTP/|Location:'

# Check canonical
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'rel="canonical"'

# Check for noindex
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'noindex'
curl -sI <url> | grep -i 'x-robots-tag'

C - Code & Rendering

Server-side rendering or static HTML (no critical content behind client-side JS only)
Semantic HTML5 elements (<header>, <main>, <article>, <section>, <nav>, <footer>)
Clean DOM: avoid excessive nesting, keep DOM nodes under 1500
CSS and JS minified and bundled; critical CSS inlined
Image optimization: WebP/AVIF format, responsive srcset, lazy loading below fold, explicit width/height
Font optimization: font-display: swap, preload critical fonts, subset if possible
No unused CSS/JS shipped to client
HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 enabled
Gzip or Brotli compression enabled

H - HTTPS & Security

HTTPS is table stakes. Security headers provide indirect SEO benefit through performance, trust, and reduced bounce from browser warnings.

Header	Recommended Value
Strict-Transport-Security	`max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains`
Content-Security-Policy	Restrict to known sources
X-Frame-Options	`DENY` or `SAMEORIGIN`
X-Content-Type-Options	`nosniff`
Referrer-Policy	`strict-origin-when-cross-origin`
Permissions-Policy	Restrict unnecessary APIs

Audit command:

# Check all security headers
curl -sI <url> | grep -iE 'strict-transport|content-security|x-frame|x-content-type|referrer-policy|permissions-policy'

N - Navigation & Architecture

Flat URL hierarchy: max 3 clicks from homepage to any page
Logical URL structure: /category/subcategory/page-slug
Internal linking: every page linked from at least 2 other pages
Breadcrumb navigation with BreadcrumbList JSON-LD
HTML sitemap page for deep content discovery
Pagination: rel="next"/rel="prev" or load-more with crawlable fallback
No orphan pages (pages not linked from anywhere)

I - International & Localization

hreflang tags for every language variant (including x-default)
Critical rule: each language version canonicalizes to ITSELF, never to a "master" version
hreflang return links (if page A points to page B, B must point back to A)
URL structure: subdirectory (/en/, /es/) preferred over subdomains or ccTLDs
Content localization (not just machine translation) — local examples, currency, cultural references
Language attribute on <html> tag per page
Google Search Console geotargeting if applicable

Audit command:

# Check hreflang tags
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'hreflang'

C - Compliance & Accessibility (SEO Overlap)

WCAG-compliant sites gain 23% more organic traffic and rank for 27% more keywords (2026 studies). Key overlaps with SEO:

Alt text on all images (descriptive, not keyword-stuffed)
Heading hierarchy with no skipped levels (H1 > H2 > H3, never H1 > H3)
Tap targets minimum 48x48px on mobile
Font size minimum 16px body text
Color contrast ratio >= 4.5:1 (WCAG AA)
Landmark roles (<main>, <nav>, <header>, <footer>) for screen readers and crawlers
Language attribute on <html> tag
Descriptive link anchor text (not "click here")
Skip navigation links

Audit command:

# Lighthouse accessibility audit
npx lighthouse <url> --output=json --only-categories=accessibility --chrome-flags="--headless"

A - AI & Structured Data

JSON-LD schema on every page. Match schema type to page type:

Page Type	Schema Types
Homepage	Organization, WebSite (with SearchAction)
Blog post	Article, BreadcrumbList
Product page	Product (with Offer), BreadcrumbList
FAQ page	FAQPage, BreadcrumbList
How-to guide	HowTo, BreadcrumbList
Author page	Person
Local business	LocalBusiness (with geo)

Validation: Google Rich Results Test or npx structured-data-testing-tool <url>

For AI/SGE readiness: Run /ai-rank for LLM answer engine optimization, discovery files (llms.txt, agents.txt), and AI crawler access configuration. Do not duplicate that work here.

Audit command:

# Extract JSON-LD from page
curl -s <url> | grep -oP '<script type="application/ld\+json">.*?</script>' | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g'

L - Local SEO (If Applicable)

Skip this section for purely online businesses with no physical presence.

Google Business Profile: claimed, verified, all fields complete
NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone) identical across all citations
LocalBusiness JSON-LD schema with geo coordinates
Local content: city/region pages if serving multiple areas
Google reviews: structured review markup, link to review page
Local citations: industry directories, Chamber of Commerce, Yelp, etc.
Service area defined if not storefront

Scoring Matrices

Page-Level SEO Score

Category	Weight	Criteria
Search Intent	15%	Intent match, format match, SERP feature alignment
E-E-A-T	15%	Author signals, citations, trust, experience evidence
Content Quality	15%	Originality, depth, readability, multimedia
Keywords & Relevance	10%	Primary in H1/title/URL, semantic cluster, no stuffing
CTR Elements	10%	Title tag, meta description, URL slug, rich results
Structure & Headings	10%	Heading hierarchy, ToC, FAQ, scannable format
Core Web Vitals	10%	LCP, INP, CLS within thresholds
Technical (per page)	10%	Canonical, schema, mobile-friendly, images
Accessibility	5%	Alt text, tap targets, contrast, semantic HTML

Scoring guide:

0 = Missing entirely
1 = Present but critically flawed
2 = Below standard, major issues
3 = Meets minimum standard
4 = Good, minor improvements possible
5 = Excellent, best-practice implementation

Compute the weighted score: sum of (score x weight). Max = 5.0

Range	Rating	Action
4.5-5.0	Excellent	Minor polish only
3.5-4.4	Good	Targeted improvements
2.5-3.4	Needs Work	Significant gaps to address
1.5-2.4	Poor	Major overhaul needed
0-1.4	Critical	Fundamental issues

Site-Level SEO Score

Category	Weight	Criteria
Crawlability	20%	robots.txt, sitemap, canonical, no crawl traps
Architecture	20%	URL structure, internal linking, breadcrumbs, depth
Performance	15%	CWV across sample pages, TTFB, caching, compression
Security	10%	HTTPS, HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options
Structured Data	10%	JSON-LD coverage, validation, correct schema types
International	10%	hreflang, localization, canonical coordination
Accessibility	10%	Site-wide a11y patterns, landmark roles, alt text
Off-Page	5%	Backlink quality, brand mentions, citations

Compute both weighted scores, then the combined SEO Rank Score: (SEARCH score + TECH score) / 2

Always present the final score prominently at the top of every audit report. This is mandatory.

Master Checklists

Page-Level Checklist

Content & Intent

Primary keyword in H1, title tag, meta description, URL slug, first 100 words
Search intent correctly identified and matched (informational/transactional/etc.)
Content format matches SERP expectations for target query
Single H1 per page
H2/H3 hierarchy correct (no skipped levels)
Author byline with credentials (E-E-A-T)
Published date and last-updated date visible
Citations for external claims (links to primary sources)
Original insight, data, or perspective (not rehashed)
FAQ section with question-format headings (if applicable)
Table of contents for content over 1500 words
No thin content — page justifies its existence

Title & Meta

Title tag under 60 characters, includes primary keyword
Meta description under 155 characters, action-oriented, includes keyword
URL slug: short, lowercase, hyphenated, keyword-rich
Open Graph tags (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url)
Twitter Card tags (twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image)

Technical (Per Page)

Canonical URL present (self-referencing or to canonical version)
Mobile-friendly layout (responsive, no horizontal scroll)
Images: WebP/AVIF, srcset for responsive, width/height attributes, lazy loading below fold
Alt text on all images (descriptive, not keyword-stuffed)
No render-blocking JS for critical content
LCP element loads under 2.5s
No CLS-causing elements (images without dimensions, dynamic ads above fold)
INP under 200ms (no long JS tasks blocking interaction)

Structured Data (Per Page)

Appropriate JSON-LD schema for page type (Article, Product, FAQPage, HowTo)
BreadcrumbList JSON-LD
Schema validates in Google Rich Results Test
No schema spam (markup matches visible content)

Accessibility (Per Page)

All images have alt text
Heading hierarchy sequential (no skipping H2 to H4)
Links have descriptive anchor text (not "click here")
Color contrast ratio >= 4.5:1
Tap targets >= 48x48px on mobile
Language attribute on <html> tag

International (If Multi-Language)

hreflang tag for each language variant
x-default hreflang pointing to default version
Canonical URL is self-referencing (not cross-language)
Content is localized (not just machine-translated)
hreflang return links present (bidirectional)

Site-Level Checklist

Crawlability

robots.txt exists, is valid, and allows Googlebot/Bingbot on critical paths
robots.txt blocks admin, parameter URLs, internal search results
sitemap.xml exists, is valid, submitted to Google Search Console
sitemap.xml has accurate lastmod dates (not all the same date)
sitemap.xml includes all indexable pages, excludes noindex pages
No orphan pages (pages not linked from anywhere)
No redirect chains longer than 2 hops
No soft 404s (200 status on error pages)
404 page returns proper 404 HTTP status code
No crawl traps (infinite scroll, faceted navigation generating infinite URLs)

Architecture

URL structure is logical and hierarchical
All pages reachable within 3 clicks from homepage
Internal linking: contextual links between related content
Breadcrumb navigation on all pages below homepage
HTML sitemap page (for deep sites with 50+ pages)
Pagination implemented correctly

Performance

TTFB under 600ms (server response time)
HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 enabled
Gzip or Brotli compression enabled
Browser caching headers set (Cache-Control, ETag)
CDN for static assets
No unused CSS/JS shipped to client
font-display: swap on all custom fonts
Preconnect to critical third-party origins

Security

Valid SSL certificate, not expiring within 30 days
HSTS header: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
Content-Security-Policy header configured
X-Frame-Options: DENY or SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Referrer-Policy set
No mixed content (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages)

Structured Data (Site-Wide)

Organization JSON-LD on homepage
WebSite JSON-LD with SearchAction on homepage
BreadcrumbList on all subpages
Appropriate schema on every content page
No schema validation errors across the site

International (Site-Wide)

Consistent hreflang implementation across all pages
hreflang return links verified (bidirectional)
x-default set on all pages
Language switcher links match hreflang URLs
Google Search Console geotargeting set if applicable

Off-Page

Google Search Console verified and monitored
Bing Webmaster Tools verified
Backlink profile reviewed: no toxic/spammy links (disavow if needed)
Brand mentions reclaimed (unlinked mentions → linked)
Key industry directories and citations claimed
Social profiles linked from site (Organization schema sameAs)

CLI Commands Reference

Quick reference for all audit commands Claude Code can run:

Performance

# Full Lighthouse audit (all categories)
npx lighthouse <url> --output=json --only-categories=performance,accessibility,seo,best-practices --chrome-flags="--headless"

# CWV only
npx lighthouse <url> --output=json --only-categories=performance --chrome-flags="--headless"

# PageSpeed Insights API (no install needed)
curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/pagespeedonline/v5/runPagespeed?url=<encoded-url>&strategy=mobile"

Crawlability

# robots.txt
curl -s <domain>/robots.txt

# sitemap.xml
curl -s <domain>/sitemap.xml | head -100

# Redirect chain
curl -sIL <url> | grep -E 'HTTP/|Location:'

# Canonical tag
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'rel="canonical"'

# Noindex check
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'noindex'
curl -sI <url> | grep -i 'x-robots-tag'

# Hreflang tags
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'hreflang'

Security Headers

curl -sI <url> | grep -iE 'strict-transport|content-security|x-frame|x-content-type|referrer-policy|permissions-policy'

Structured Data

# Extract JSON-LD
curl -s <url> | grep -oP '<script type="application/ld\+json">.*?</script>' | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g'

Meta Tags & Content

# Extract key meta tags
curl -s <url> | grep -iE '<title>|meta name="description"|<h1|og:|twitter:'

# Count headings by level
curl -s <url> | grep -oiE '<h[1-6][^>]*>' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

# Images missing alt text
curl -s <url> | grep -oiE '<img [^>]*>' | grep -v 'alt=' | wc -l

# Total images
curl -s <url> | grep -oiE '<img [^>]*>' | wc -l

# Viewport meta tag
curl -s <url> | grep -i 'viewport'

Local Source Analysis (SSG/Astro Sites)

# Check for missing alt text in source
grep -rn '<img' src/ | grep -v 'alt=' | head -20

# Missing meta descriptions in frontmatter
grep -rL 'description:' src/content/posts/

# Validate heading hierarchy in markdown
grep -n '^#' src/content/posts/<file>.md

Workflow

Phase 1: Gather Context

Ask user for:

Scope: Single page URL/file, or full site audit?
Target keywords: 3-10 primary queries to rank for
Content type: Blog / Landing page / Product / Docs / E-commerce
Competitors: Top 2-3 competing URLs (optional, for gap analysis)
International: Multi-language? Which languages?
Local: Is local SEO relevant? (physical location, service area)
Access: Can I run CLI commands against the live URL, or local files only?
Known issues: Any existing penalties, ranking drops, or known problems?

Phase 2: Technical Audit

Run automated checks first (fast, objective):

Fetch and inspect robots.txt and sitemap.xml
Run Lighthouse for CWV, performance, accessibility, SEO scores
Check security headers via curl
Extract structured data and validate
Check meta tags, canonical, hreflang
Check HTTP status codes and redirect chains

Output: TECH Framework scorecard with specific findings per pillar.

Phase 3: Content Audit

Analyze content quality (requires reading the page):

Identify search intent for target keywords
Evaluate E-E-A-T signals in content
Analyze keyword usage — H1, title, meta description, body, URL
Check heading hierarchy and content structure
Assess content quality — originality, depth, accuracy
Review CTR elements — title tag, meta description, URL slug

Output: SEARCH Framework scorecard with specific findings per pillar.

Phase 4: Generate Recommendations

Prioritize by impact and effort:

Quick Wins (fix today)

Missing meta descriptions
Broken canonical tags
Missing alt text
Schema markup additions
Security header fixes
Title tag optimization

Medium Effort (this week)

Content rewriting for intent alignment
Internal linking improvements
Image optimization (format, sizing, lazy loading)
Heading hierarchy fixes
hreflang corrections

Strategic (this month)

Content gap creation (new pages for uncovered keywords)
Architecture restructuring
Performance optimization (code splitting, CDN, caching)
Backlink outreach
International SEO implementation

Phase 5: Implementation

For each recommendation:

Show current state (what's wrong)
Show target state (what it should be)
Provide the exact code/content change
For content: produce rewritten text preserving voice (reference /tone-of-voice if available)
For technical: produce code snippet or config change

Phase 6: Site-Level Review

After page-level work, assess site-wide:

Run Site-Level Checklist
Cross-check with /ai-rank site-level items (discovery files, AI crawler access)
Generate missing structured data templates
Identify site architecture improvements
Produce sitemap.xml or robots.txt improvements if needed
Review off-page signals and recommend actions

Audit Report Template

## SEO Audit Report — [URL or Site Name]
**Date:** [date]
**Audited by:** Claude Code (seo-rank skill)

### Score

**You MUST compute and present this score. It is not optional.**

SEO RANK SCORE: X.X / 5.0 (Rating)
├── SEARCH Score: X.X / 5.0 (Content SEO)
└── TECH Score:   X.X / 5.0 (Technical SEO)

### Executive Summary
- Critical issues: [count]
- Quick wins available: [count]
- Estimated impact: [high/medium/low]

### SEARCH Framework Scores (Content SEO)
| Principle | Score 0-5 | Key Issues |
|-----------|-----------|------------|
| S - Search Intent | | |
| E - E-E-A-T | | |
| A - Audience Quality | | |
| R - Relevance & Keywords | | |
| C - CTR Elements | | |
| H - Heading & Structure | | |
| **Weighted Average** | **X.X** | |

### TECH Framework Scores (Technical SEO)
| Pillar | Score 0-5 | Key Issues |
|--------|-----------|------------|
| T - Core Web Vitals | | |
| E - Efficient Crawling | | |
| C - Code & Rendering | | |
| H - HTTPS & Security | | |
| N - Navigation & Architecture | | |
| I - International | | |
| C - Compliance & Accessibility | | |
| A - AI & Structured Data | | |
| L - Local SEO | | |
| **Weighted Average** | **X.X** | |

### Core Web Vitals
| Metric | Value | Threshold | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| LCP | Xs | < 2.5s | PASS/FAIL |
| INP | Xms | < 200ms | PASS/FAIL |
| CLS | X.XX | < 0.1 | PASS/FAIL |

### Security Headers
| Header | Status | Value |
|--------|--------|-------|
| HSTS | PRESENT/MISSING | |
| CSP | PRESENT/MISSING | |
| X-Frame-Options | PRESENT/MISSING | |
| X-Content-Type-Options | PRESENT/MISSING | |
| Referrer-Policy | PRESENT/MISSING | |

### Prioritized Recommendations

#### Quick Wins (fix today)
1. ...

#### Medium Effort (this week)
1. ...

#### Strategic (this month)
1. ...

### Cross-Reference
- Run `/ai-rank audit` for LLM answer engine and AI agent optimization
- Run `/ai-rank discovery` to generate llms.txt, agents.txt

Examples

Example 1: Blog Post SEO Audit (Markdown/Astro)

Input: User runs /seo-rank on a markdown blog post

Before (frontmatter):

---
title: "Flag Theory Guide"
description: "A guide about flag theory"
publishDate: 2026-01-15
tags: ["flag-theory"]
---

Issues found:

Title: generic, doesn't match search intent, missing qualifier
Description: too short, not action-oriented, no value proposition
No updatedDate (E-E-A-T freshness signal)
Tags too narrow (missing semantic variations)

After (optimized):

---
title: "Flag Theory for Digital Nomads: The 2026 Practical Guide"
description: "Learn flag theory basics: residency, banking, incorporation across jurisdictions. Step-by-step for online entrepreneurs saving 30-45% on taxes legally."
publishDate: 2026-01-15
updatedDate: 2026-03-30
tags: ["flag-theory", "tax-optimization", "digital-nomad", "international-business"]
---

Why this works:

Title matches intent query "flag theory guide" + qualifier "digital nomads" + freshness "2026"
Description: 155 chars, action-oriented ("Learn"), specific numbers ("30-45%"), audience-targeted
updatedDate signals freshness to crawlers
Broader tag coverage for semantic relevance

Example 2: Technical Quick Audit

Input: /seo-rank tech https://example.com

Claude runs:

curl -sI https://example.com | grep -iE 'strict-transport|content-security|x-frame|x-content-type|referrer-policy'
curl -s https://example.com/robots.txt
curl -s https://example.com/sitemap.xml | head -50
curl -s https://example.com | grep -i 'rel="canonical"'
npx lighthouse https://example.com --output=json --only-categories=performance --chrome-flags="--headless"

Output: TECH scorecard with CWV numbers, security header status, crawlability findings, and prioritized fixes with exact code.

Example 3: International SEO Audit (Multi-Language Astro Site)

Input: /seo-rank i18n on an Astro site with /en/, /es/, /fr/, /it/ routes

Checks performed:

hreflang tag presence on every page variant
hreflang return links (bidirectional verification)
x-default set correctly
Canonical URLs self-referencing within each language (not cross-language)
Content localization quality (not just machine translation)
Language attribute on <html> tag per route
sitemap.xml includes all language variants
URL structure consistency across languages

Common findings:

Spanish page canonical pointing to English page (breaks hreflang)
Missing x-default on some pages
hreflang tags present in HTML but not in sitemap
Some pages missing from certain language variants (incomplete translation coverage)

Example 4: Content vs Competitor Gap Analysis

Input: /seo-rank compare https://mysite.com/guide https://competitor.com/guide

Analysis:

Extract both pages' H1, H2 structure, word count, schema types
Compare keyword coverage (which terms competitor covers that we don't)
Compare E-E-A-T signals (author bios, citations, dates)
Compare structured data (schema types, completeness)
Compare CWV scores (Lighthouse both URLs)
Produce gap report with specific additions to close gaps

Safety & Quality Rules

Never fabricate metrics — if Lighthouse can't run, say so; don't invent scores
Verify before recommending — check current state before suggesting changes
Don't over-optimize — keyword stuffing is worse than under-optimization
Preserve content voice — SEO optimization must not flatten the author's style. Reference /tone-of-voice if available
Flag uncertainty — if a recommendation depends on server config you can't check, mark with [NEEDS SERVER ACCESS]
Prioritize by impact — always lead with highest-impact, lowest-effort changes
2026 standards only — INP not FID, mobile-first as default, no outdated advice (no meta keywords, no keyword density targets)
No black hat — no hidden text, cloaking, link schemes, doorway pages, or manipulation
No speculation on algorithm — state what Google has confirmed; flag unconfirmed signals as "widely believed but unconfirmed"

Quick Commands

/seo-rank — Full workflow (gather context → audit → recommendations → implementation)
/seo-rank audit — Full audit only (SEARCH + TECH scores), no rewriting
/seo-rank tech — Technical audit only (CWV, security, crawlability, structured data)
/seo-rank content — Content audit only (intent, E-E-A-T, keywords, structure)
/seo-rank cwv — Core Web Vitals check only (LCP, INP, CLS)
/seo-rank headers — Security headers check only
/seo-rank schema — Structured data audit + generate missing JSON-LD
/seo-rank meta — Title tag, meta description, OG tags audit + suggestions
/seo-rank i18n — International SEO audit (hreflang, localization)
/seo-rank local — Local SEO audit (GBP, NAP, local schema)
/seo-rank checklist — Output full page + site checklists
/seo-rank site — Site-level audit (architecture, crawlability, sitemap, robots.txt)
/seo-rank compare <url1> <url2> — Compare two pages for the same target keyword

About this skill

Two Frameworks

SEARCH Framework (Content SEO)

TECH Framework (Technical SEO)

SEARCH Framework (Content SEO)

S - Search Intent Alignment

E - E-E-A-T Signals

A - Audience-Centered Quality

R - Relevance & Keywords

C - CTR Optimization

H - Heading Hierarchy & Structure

TECH Framework (Technical SEO)

T - Time to Interactive (Core Web Vitals)

E - Efficient Crawling

C - Code & Rendering

H - HTTPS & Security

N - Navigation & Architecture

I - International & Localization

C - Compliance & Accessibility (SEO Overlap)

A - AI & Structured Data

L - Local SEO (If Applicable)

Scoring Matrices

Page-Level SEO Score

Site-Level SEO Score

Master Checklists

Page-Level Checklist

Content & Intent

Title & Meta

Technical (Per Page)

Structured Data (Per Page)

Accessibility (Per Page)

International (If Multi-Language)

Site-Level Checklist

Crawlability

Architecture

Performance

Security

Structured Data (Site-Wide)

International (Site-Wide)

Off-Page

CLI Commands Reference

Performance

Crawlability

Security Headers

Structured Data

Meta Tags & Content

Local Source Analysis (SSG/Astro Sites)

Workflow

Phase 1: Gather Context

Phase 2: Technical Audit

Phase 3: Content Audit

Phase 4: Generate Recommendations

Quick Wins (fix today)

Medium Effort (this week)

Strategic (this month)

Phase 5: Implementation

Phase 6: Site-Level Review

Audit Report Template

Examples

Example 1: Blog Post SEO Audit (Markdown/Astro)

Example 2: Technical Quick Audit

Example 3: International SEO Audit (Multi-Language Astro Site)

Example 4: Content vs Competitor Gap Analysis

Safety & Quality Rules

Quick Commands