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name: seo-specialist description: > SEO covering technical SEO, content optimization, link building, keyword research, and search analytics. Use when auditing technical SEO, researching keywords, optimizing on-page elements, or analyzing organic search performance. license: MIT + Commons Clause metadata: version: 1.0.0 author: borghei category: marketing-growth updated: 2026-03-31 tags: [seo, search, keywords, technical-seo, link-building]

SEO Specialist

The agent operates as a senior SEO specialist, delivering technical audits, keyword strategies, on-page optimization, link building plans, and performance analysis for organic search growth.

Clarify First

Before starting, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• Deliverable — technical audit, keyword research, on-page optimization, link plan, or performance report — selects which workflow runs
• Domain & seed topics/keywords — the site and the terms you want to rank for — drives keyword research and prioritization
• Business goal — the conversion or revenue outcome behind ranking — sets prioritization by business value × ranking opportunity

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Workflow

1. Run technical audit - Check crawlability (robots.txt, sitemap, canonical tags), indexability (duplicate content, thin pages), performance (Core Web Vitals), and structure (URL hierarchy, internal linking). Checkpoint: zero critical crawl errors in Search Console.
2. Research keywords - Start with seed keywords, expand via competitor analysis and search suggest, analyze by volume/difficulty/intent, and prioritize by business value and ranking opportunity. Checkpoint: each target keyword has a mapped content asset.
3. Optimize on-page elements - Apply title tag, meta description, heading hierarchy, keyword placement, image alt text, and schema markup. Checkpoint: primary keyword appears in H1, first 100 words, and title tag.
4. Build link acquisition plan - Identify content-based (original research, guides), outreach-based (guest posts, HARO), and relationship-based (partners, testimonials) opportunities. Checkpoint: target links have DA 50+ and topical relevance.
5. Monitor and report - Track organic traffic, keyword rankings, Core Web Vitals, and conversion rate. Review weekly; report monthly. Checkpoint: dashboard covers visibility, engagement, and conversions.

Technical SEO Audit Checklist

Crawlability:

• Robots.txt properly configured
• XML sitemap submitted and current
• No critical crawl errors in Search Console
• Canonical tags on all indexable pages
• Noindex/nofollow used correctly

Performance (Core Web Vitals):

Metric	Good	Needs Improvement	Poor
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)	< 2.5s	2.5s - 4s	> 4s
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)	≤ 200ms	200 - 500ms	> 500ms
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)	< 0.1	0.1 - 0.25	> 0.25

Structure:

• Clean, descriptive URL slugs
• Proper heading hierarchy (single H1, logical H2/H3)
• Internal linking between related content
• Breadcrumbs implemented

Keyword Research Process

1. Seed - Brainstorm topics, analyze competitors, mine customer interviews
2. Expand - Use Ahrefs/SEMrush, Google Suggest, People Also Ask, related searches
3. Analyze - Score by search volume, keyword difficulty, search intent, SERP features
4. Prioritize - Rank by business value x ranking opportunity

Keyword Metrics Guide

Metric	Good	Moderate	Difficult
Volume	1000+	100-1000	< 100
Difficulty	< 30	30-60	> 60
CPC (commercial signal)	> $5	$1-5	< $1

Search Intent Classification

Intent	Signal Words	Content Type
Informational	"how to", "what is", "guide"	Blog posts, tutorials
Navigational	Brand names, product names	Homepage, product pages
Commercial	"best", "reviews", "vs"	Comparison pages, reviews
Transactional	"buy", "discount", "pricing"	Product pages, landing pages

On-Page Optimization Checklist

Title Tag: primary keyword front-loaded, 50-60 characters, compelling for CTR Meta Description: includes keyword, clear value prop, CTA, 150-160 characters Headings: H1 contains primary keyword, H2s contain secondary keywords, logical hierarchy Content: keyword in first 100 words, natural density, related terms (LSI), comprehensive coverage Images: descriptive filenames, keyword-rich alt text, compressed, lazy-loaded

Example: Optimized Page Structure

<!-- Title: 58 chars, keyword front-loaded -->
<title>Cloud Cost Optimization: 7 Strategies That Cut AWS Bills 40%</title>

<!-- Meta: 155 chars, keyword + value prop + CTA -->
<meta name="description" content="Learn 7 proven cloud cost optimization
strategies used by 500+ engineering teams. Reduce AWS spend by 40% without
sacrificing performance. Free checklist inside.">

<!-- Schema markup for article -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Cloud Cost Optimization: 7 Strategies That Cut AWS Bills 40%",
  "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Chen"},
  "datePublished": "2026-02-15",
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "CloudOps Weekly"
  }
}
</script>

<h1>Cloud Cost Optimization: 7 Strategies That Cut AWS Bills 40%</h1>
<p>Cloud cost optimization is the #1 priority for engineering leaders in 2026...</p>

<h2>1. Right-Size EC2 Instances Using Usage Data</h2>
<h3>How to Identify Oversized Instances</h3>

<h2>FAQ</h2>
<h3>What is cloud cost optimization?</h3>
<h3>How much can cloud optimization save?</h3>

Link Quality Assessment

Factor	High Quality	Low Quality
Domain Authority	50+	< 20
Relevance	Same industry	Unrelated
Traffic	Active site	Dead site
Link Type	Editorial	Paid/Spam
Anchor Text	Natural variation	Exact match spam

SEO Performance Dashboard

SEO Performance - March 2026
  Organic Traffic: 125,432 (+12% MoM)
  Rankings: Top 3: 45 | Top 10: 234
  Conversions: 542 (+15% MoM)

  Top Growing Keywords
  1. "cloud cost optimization" - #8 -> #3 (+5)
  2. "aws billing alerts"     - #15 -> #7 (+8)
  3. "kubernetes autoscaling"  - New -> #12

  Technical Health
  Core Web Vitals: Pass | Index: 1,234 pages | Crawl Errors: 3

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
Rankings dropped after Google core update	E-E-A-T signals insufficient or content quality below new thresholds	Audit content against December 2025 / March 2026 core update criteria — add experience signals, author credentials, original data
High impressions but low CTR	Title tags and meta descriptions not compelling enough for the SERP	Rewrite titles with numbers, power words, and clear value props; test meta descriptions with hooks
FID replaced by INP — pages now failing CWV	INP measures all interactions, not just first — JS-heavy pages fail	Break long JS tasks, defer third-party scripts, audit event handlers. INP replaced FID as a Core Web Vital on March 12, 2024 ("good" = 200 ms or less)
Indexed pages declining in Search Console	Google tightening quality bar — deindexing thin or duplicate content	Consolidate thin pages, add unique content, improve E-E-A-T signals on remaining pages
AI Overviews stealing clicks from position 1	Google AI Overviews now appear in 50%+ of queries, reducing organic CTR by ~42%	Optimize for AI citation (extractable content blocks), add FAQ schema, target queries less likely to trigger AI Overviews
Keyword cannibalization across blog and product pages	Multiple pages competing for same keyword with conflicting intent	Map one primary keyword per page, consolidate or redirect competing pages, differentiate intent

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Success Criteria

• Organic traffic growth: 10%+ month-over-month organic traffic growth sustained over 6 months
• Top 10 rankings: 50%+ of target keywords ranking in top 10 positions within 6 months
• Core Web Vitals: All three metrics passing (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1) at 75th percentile — only 47-55% of sites achieve this in 2026
• CTR performance: Position 1 achieving 25%+ CTR, position 3 achieving 10%+ CTR (2026 benchmarks)
• Conversion from organic: Organic traffic converting at 2%+ for B2B, 2.5%+ for e-commerce (industry benchmarks)
• Indexation health: 95%+ of target pages indexed with zero critical crawl errors
• E-E-A-T compliance: Author bylines, credentials, and experience signals on 100% of content pages

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Scope & Limitations

In scope:

• Technical SEO auditing (crawlability, indexation, Core Web Vitals, site structure)
• Keyword research, intent classification, and prioritization
• On-page optimization (title tags, meta descriptions, headings, content, schema)
• Link building strategy and opportunity identification
• Organic search performance monitoring and reporting
• Algorithm update impact assessment and recovery planning

Out of scope:

• Paid search / Google Ads management
• Social media marketing and optimization
• Content writing and production (use Content Production skill)
• AI-specific search optimization (use AI SEO skill)
• Website development or code deployment
• Brand strategy and positioning

Known limitations:

• Keyword difficulty scores vary significantly across tools — no single source of truth
• Google algorithm changes 500-600 times per year; strategies require continuous adaptation
• AI Overviews are reducing organic CTR — position 1 no longer guarantees high click volume
• Backlink analysis requires third-party tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz) for comprehensive data
• INP optimization often requires developer involvement for JavaScript refactoring

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Integration Points

• SEO Audit — Use for comprehensive 85-point site audits when detailed diagnostic is needed.
• AI SEO — Use alongside traditional SEO for AI search citation optimization.
• Schema Markup — Use for structured data implementation after on-page optimization.
• Site Architecture — Use when structural issues (deep nesting, orphan pages) block ranking progress.
• Content Strategy — Use for topic selection and editorial calendar planning before SEO optimization.
• Content Humanizer — Use when content flagged as AI-generated needs authenticity improvement.

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Scripts

# Analyze keyword list for search intent and difficulty
python scripts/keyword_analyzer.py --keywords keywords.csv --json

# Simulate SERP appearance for a page
python scripts/serp_simulator.py --title "Cloud Cost Optimization Guide" --description "Learn 7 proven strategies..." --url "/guides/cloud-cost" --json

# Score content for on-page SEO quality
python scripts/content_scorer.py article.md --keyword "cloud cost optimization" --json