/seo

name: seo-strategy
description: When the user wants to plan SEO strategy, prioritize SEO work, or understand the SEO workflow. Also use when the user mentions "SEO strategy," "SEO plan," "SEO roadmap," "SEO priority," "SEO audit," "SEO workflow," "where to start SEO," "SEO approach," "organic growth strategy," "why SEO," "SEO value," or "search strategy." For technical/crawl audit execution, use seo-audit. For keyword research, use keyword-research. For AI search visibility, use generative-engine-optimization.
metadata:
  version: 1.3.0

Strategies: SEO

Guides SEO strategy: workflow order, prioritization, Product-Led SEO, and when to use which skills. Use this skill when planning SEO from scratch, auditing an existing site, or deciding what to do next.

**When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Strategic Context: Why SEO

| Value | Rationale | |-------|------------| | **Traffic control** | ~68% of initial web traffic from search; search aggregates most user intent | | **Growth channel** | ~87% of consumers prefer Google when discovering new categories; 43% of conversions from organic (vs ~11% social) | | **Cost efficiency** | SEO user LTV 3–5× paid ads; rank #1 CTR ~27.6% vs #10 ~2.4% | | **Long-term asset** | Quality SEO assets yield 3–5 years of traffic; Core Web Vitals correlate with conversion (e.g., +8% per 0.1s faster) |

**SEO = Google optimization**: Google holds ~91% global search share; B2B buyers use search as research starting point. Optimize for Google first; see **localization-strategy** for non-Google markets.

**Reference**: [Alignify – SEO Core Value and Challenges in AI Search Era](https://alignify.co/zh/insights/reasons-you-need-seo)

When to Invest in SEO

| Stage | Recommendation | |-------|----------------| | **Cold start** | Use email, ads, or influencers for first users; SEO takes time (sandbox, 6+ months) | | **Post-PMF** | SEO scales; combine with paid for faster feedback; see **pmf-strategy**, **paid-ads-strategy** | | **Team** | Many SMBs use contractors; SEO spans content, links, tech, UX—full-time team when scaling |

**Principle**: Don't do SEO for SEO's sake; don't fight Google rules; prioritize real user experience.

AI Search Era & Channel Integration

| Challenge | Response | |-----------|----------| | **Zero-click, AI Overviews** | ~30% clicks go to Google-owned properties; AI Overviews ~12–15% SERP share; TOFU (what/why/how) CTR declining | | **Algorithm volatility** | 5000+ updates/year; traffic swings common; focus on helpful content, E-E-A-T | | **Response** | Elevate SEO to **search experience optimization**—user-centric, not rank-centric; see **generative-engine-optimization** for AI visibility |

**Channel integration**: SEO + ads (validate keywords, retarget); SEO + influencers (backlinks, mentions); SEO + social (UGC, embeddable content). Plugins/apps: functional links back to site.

Workflow Order

**Fix foundation before optimizing pages.** Execute in this order:

| Phase | Focus | Skills | |-------|-------|--------| | **1. Technical** | Crawlability, indexing, sitemap | robots-txt, xml-sitemap, canonical-tag, indexing, indexnow, site-crawlability | | **2. On-Page** | Metadata, structure, schema | title-tag, meta-description, page-metadata, schema-markup, internal-links, outbound-links, url-structure, heading-structure | | **3. Content** | Keywords, clusters, optimization | keyword-research, content-strategy, content-optimization | | **4. Off-Page** | Backlinks, authority | link-building, backlink-analysis |

Technical issues block indexing and crawl; on-page issues limit how well content ranks; content and off-page build authority over time.

Product-Led SEO

SEO leverages content you already have—brand, features, scenarios, input, output, prompt, processes, knowledge—published in a structured way. Even without SEO, you'd showcase product features; SEO makes that content benefit you in traffic.

**Principle**: Do SEO around product/users, not around industry/search engines.

Products Suited for SEO

| Type | Suited because | |------|----------------| | **Tool** | Users have clear use cases and needs | | **Content** | Users have clear information needs | | **E-commerce** | Users have clear purchase needs | | **Service** | Users have clear service needs |

**Agent/Copilot products**: Pure native Agent hard to grow via SEO; users rarely search "agent." Release related features first (e.g., CRM, sales bot for sales agent) to build traffic, then funnel to Agent product. See **keyword-research** for product positioning test.

SEO Audit Approach

| Scenario | Order | Focus | |----------|-------|-------| | **New site** | domain-selection → website-structure → Technical → On-Page → Content | Choose domain first (if needed); plan pages; build foundation; add content | | **Existing site** | Technical audit → On-Page audit → Content gap → Off-Page | Fix crawl/index first; then metadata, schema; then content gaps; then links | | **Low traffic** | keyword-research → content-strategy → content-optimization | Often content or intent mismatch | | **Not indexing** | indexing, robots-txt, site-crawlability | Technical blockers |

SEO Roadmap Priorities

| Priority | Meaning | Examples | |----------|---------|----------| | **P0** | Blocker—fix first | Crawlability, indexing, robots blocking | | **P1** | Core—do soon | Title, meta, schema, sitemap, internal links | | **P2** | Important—not urgent | Open Graph, Twitter Cards, IndexNow | | **P3** | Nice to have | Rich results, sitelinks optimization |

Paid–Organic Alignment

SEO and PPC share the same SERP—ads, AI overviews, videos, organic links. Without alignment, you risk duplication, cannibalization, and wasted spend. **Shared keyword data**: Use **keyword-research** for both; **g