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

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, 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; google-ads for Search targeting. PPC conversion data can prioritize SEO keywords; organic rank 4+ may reduce need for PPC on those terms.

Reference: Backlinko – SEO and PPC: 8 Smart Ways to Align

Alternative SEO Strategies

Strategy	When	Skill
Programmatic SEO	Scale pages with template + data	programmatic-seo
Parasite SEO	Leverage high-authority platforms	parasite-seo
GEO	AI search visibility, citations	generative-engine-optimization
Localization	Multi-language, international	localization-strategy
Multi-domain brand SEO	Multiple domains; brand query control	multi-domain-brand-seo

Output Format

• Workflow phase (where you are; what's next)
• Priority list (P0–P3 tasks)
• Skill mapping (which skill for each task)
• Recommendation (start with X; then Y)

Task tracking: Use templates/project-task-tracker.md to track task status; references this workflow.

Related Skills

• domain-selection: Initial domain choice (Brand/PMD/EMD, TLD); do before website-structure for new sites
• website-structure: Plan which pages to build; do before or alongside Technical phase
• keyword-research: Discovery; informs content-strategy, content-optimization, and google-ads
• google-ads, paid-ads-strategy: Paid–organic synergy; cold start; PPC data for SEO priority
• pmf-strategy: Validate PMF before scaling SEO; cold start uses other channels
• content-strategy: Topic clusters, pillar pages; content planning
• programmatic-seo: Template-based scale; alternative to manual content
• parasite-seo: High-authority platforms; alternative to owned-site SEO
• generative-engine-optimization: AI search visibility; complements traditional SEO
• localization-strategy: Multi-language SEO
• domain-architecture: Domain structure (subfolder/subdomain/independent); do before or with website-structure when multiple products
• rebranding-strategy: Domain change, 301 redirects; use when rebranding
• multi-domain-brand-seo: Brand search control when Hub and Spoke domains coexist