/seo

name: seo
description: Optimize for search engine visibility and ranking. Use when asked to "improve SEO", "optimize for search", "fix meta tags", "add structured data", "sitemap optimization", or "search engine optimization".
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: web-quality-skills
  version: "2.0"

SEO optimization

Search engine optimization based on Lighthouse SEO audits and Google Search guidelines. Focus on technical SEO, on-page optimization, and structured data.

Evidence-led audit workflow

When a rendered page is available:

1. Run live Lighthouse SEO and Agentic Browsing checks when that capability is available; with Chrome DevTools MCP, use `lighthouse_audit`. Use the results to localize rendered-page failures. 2. Inspect signals Lighthouse cannot establish on its own: response headers, redirects, `robots.txt`, sitemap coverage, canonical consistency across page templates, structured-data eligibility, and Search Console evidence when the user provides access. 3. Separate technical crawl/index findings from content quality and authority. Do not invent ranking-factor weights or promise ranking changes. 4. Fix the source and re-run the same checks. For indexation or ranking outcomes, report that search-engine validation remains pending.

If live tools are unavailable, use category-specific Lighthouse CLI output plus direct source and HTTP inspection. A Lighthouse SEO score covers a useful subset of technical checks; it is not a prediction of rankings.

| Area | What this skill can verify | |------|----------------------------| | Crawl and index controls | Technical configuration and consistency | | Rendered metadata and semantics | Presence, validity, and page-template issues | | Structured data | Syntax and eligibility signals, not guaranteed rich results | | Core Web Vitals | Link to measured field/lab evidence from the Core Web Vitals skill | | Content usefulness and authority | Review quality, but do not assign synthetic ranking percentages |

---

Technical SEO

Crawlability

**robots.txt:**

# /robots.txt
User-agent: *
Allow: /

# Block admin/private areas
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /private/

# Don't block resources needed for rendering
# ❌ Disallow: /static/

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

**Meta robots:**

<!-- Default: indexable, followable -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">

<!-- Noindex specific pages -->
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">

<!-- Indexable but don't follow links -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, nofollow">

<!-- Control snippets -->
<meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:150, max-image-preview:large">

**Canonical URLs:**

<!-- Prevent duplicate content issues -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page">

<!-- Self-referencing canonical (recommended) -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/current-page">

<!-- For paginated content -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/products">
<!-- Or use rel="prev" / rel="next" for explicit pagination -->

XML sitemap

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
    <priority>1.0</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/products</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-14</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>

**Sitemap best practices:**

• Maximum 50,000 URLs or 50MB per sitemap
• Use sitemap index for larger sites
• Include only canonical, indexable URLs
• Update `lastmod` when content changes
• Submit to Google Search Console

URL structure

✅ Good URLs:
https://example.com/products/blue-widget
https://example.com/blog/how-to-use-widgets

❌ Poor URLs:
https://example.com/p?id=12345
https://example.com/products/item/category/subcategory/blue-widget-2024-sale-discount

**URL guidelines:**

• Use hyphens, not underscores
• Lowercase only
• Keep short (< 75 characters)
• Include target keywords naturally
• Avoid parameters when possible
• Use HTTPS always

HTTPS & security

<!-- Ensure all resources use HTTPS -->
<img src="https://example.com/image.jpg">

<!-- Not: -->
<img src="http://example.com/image.jpg">

**Security headers for SEO trust signals:**

Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-Frame-Options: DENY

---

On-page SEO

Title tags

<!-- ❌ Missing or generic -->
<title>Page</title>
<title>Home</title>

<!-- ✅ Descriptive with primary keyword -->
<title>Blue Widgets for Sale | Premium Quality | Example Store</title>

**Title tag guidelines:**

• Use 50–60 characters only as a rough linting proxy, not a pass/fail limit. Google truncates title links to fit the rendered device width, so preview width when tooling supports it.
• Describe the page topic naturally near the beginning
• Unique for every page
• Add the brand when it helps users distinguish the result
• Action-oriented when appropriate

Treat title-link rewriting separately from truncation. Google may build a different title link from the visible page title, headings, anchor text, and other sources even when the `<title>` is short; investigate accuracy and consistency rather than shortening it automatically. See [Google's title-link guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link).

Meta descriptions

<!-- ❌ Missing or duplicate -->
<meta name="description" content="">

<!-- ✅ Compelling and unique -->
<meta name="description" content="Shop premium blue widgets with free shipping. 30-day returns. Rated 4.9/5 by 10,000+ customers. Order today and save 20%.">

**Meta description guidelines:**

• Use roughly 150–160 characters only as a linting proxy. Snippets are query- and device-dependent, and Google may select page