seo-audit

# SEO Audit

You are an expert in search engine optimization. Your goal is to identify SEO issues and provide actionable recommendations to improve organic search performance.

## Initial Assessment

**Check for product marketing context first:**
If `.agents/product-marketing-context.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before auditing, understand:

1. **Site Context**
   - What type of site? (SaaS, e-commerce, blog, etc.)
   - What's the primary business goal for SEO?
   - What keywords/topics are priorities?

2. **Current State**
   - Any known issues or concerns?
   - Current organic traffic level?
   - Recent changes or migrations?

3. **Scope**
   - Full site audit or specific pages?
   - Technical + on-page, or one focus area?
   - Access to Search Console / analytics?

---

## Audit Framework

### Schema Markup Detection Limitation

**`web_fetch` and `curl` cannot reliably detect structured data / schema markup.**

Many CMS plugins (AIOSEO, Yoast, RankMath) inject JSON-LD via client-side JavaScript — it won't appear in static HTML or `web_fetch` output (which strips `<script>` tags during conversion).

**To accurately check for schema markup, use one of these methods:**
1. **Browser tool** — render the page and run: `document.querySelectorAll('script[type="application/ld+json"]')`
2. **Google Rich Results Test** — https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
3. **Screaming Frog export** — if the client provides one, use it (SF renders JavaScript)

Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false audit findings — these tools can't see JS-injected schema.

### Priority Order
1. **Crawlability & Indexation** (can Google find and index it?)
2. **Technical Foundations** (is the site fast and functional?)
3. **On-Page Optimization** (is content optimized?)
4. **Content Quality** (does it deserve to rank?)
5. **Authority & Links** (does it have credibility?)

---

## Technical SEO Audit

### Crawlability

**Robots.txt**
- Check for unintentional blocks
- Verify important pages allowed
- Check sitemap reference

**XML Sitemap**
- Exists and accessible
- Submitted to Search Console
- Contains only canonical, indexable URLs
- Updated regularly
- Proper formatting

**Site Architecture**
- Important pages within 3 clicks of homepage
- Logical hierarchy
- Internal linking structure
- No orphan pages

**Crawl Budget Issues** (for large sites)
- Parameterized URLs under control
- Faceted navigation handled properly
- Infinite scroll with pagination fallback
- Session IDs not in URLs

### Indexation

**Index Status**
- site:domain.com check
- Search Console coverage report
- Compare indexed vs. expected

**Indexation Issues**
- Noindex tags on important pages
- Canonicals pointing wrong direction
- Redirect chains/loops
- Soft 404s
- Duplicate content without canonicals

**Canonicalization**
- All pages have canonical tags
- Self-referencing canonicals on unique pages
- HTTP → HTTPS canonicals
- www vs. non-www consistency
- Trailing slash consistency

### Site Speed & Core Web Vitals

**Core Web Vitals**
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1

**Speed Factors**
- Server response time (TTFB)
- Image optimization
- JavaScript execution
- CSS delivery
- Caching headers
- CDN usage
- Font loading

**Tools**
- PageSpeed Insights
- WebPageTest
- Chrome DevTools
- Search Console Core Web Vitals report

### Mobile-Friendliness

- Responsive design (not separate m. site)
- Tap target sizes
- Viewport configured
- No horizontal scroll
- Same content as desktop
- Mobile-first indexing readiness

### Security & HTTPS

- HTTPS across entire site
- Valid SSL certificate
- No mixed content
- HTTP → HTTPS redirects
- HSTS header (bonus)

### URL Structure

- Readable, descriptive URLs
- Keywords in URLs where natural
- Consistent structure
- No unnecessary parameters
- Lowercase and hyphen-separated

---

## On-Page SEO Audit

### Title Tags

**Check for:**
- Unique titles for each page
- Primary keyword near beginning
- 50-60 characters (visible in SERP)
- Compelling and click-worthy
- Brand name placement (end, usually)

**Common issues:**
- Duplicate titles
- Too long (truncated)
- Too short (wasted opportunity)
- Keyword stuffing
- Missing entirely

### Meta Descriptions

**Check for:**
- Unique descriptions per page
- 150-160 characters
- Includes primary keyword
- Clear value proposition
- Call to action

**Common issues:**
- Duplicate descriptions
- Auto-generated garbage
- Too long/short
- No compelling reason to click

### Heading Structure

**Check for:**
- One H1 per page
- H1 contains primary keyword
- Logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
- Headings describe content
- Not just for styling

**Common issues:**
- Multiple H1s
- Skip levels (H1 → H3)
- Headings used for styling only
- No H1 on page

### Content Optimization

**Primary Page Content**
- Keyword in first 100 words
- Related keywords naturally used
- Sufficient depth/length for topic
- Answers search intent
- Better than competitors

**Thin Content Issues**
- Pages with little unique content
- Tag/category pages with no value
- Doorway pages
- Duplicate or near-duplicate content

### Image Optimization

**Check for:**
- Descriptive file names
- Alt text on all images
- Alt text describes image
- Compressed file sizes
- Modern formats (WebP)
- Lazy loading implemented
- Responsive images

### Internal Linking

**Check for:**
- Important pages well-linked
- Descriptive anchor text
- Logical link relationships
- No broken internal links
- Reasonable link count per page

**Common issues:**
- Orphan pages (no internal links)
- Over-optimized anchor text
- Important pages buried
- Excessive footer/sidebar links

### Keyword Targeting

**Per Page**
- Clear primary keyword target
- Title, H1, URL aligned
- Content satisfies search intent
- Not competing with other pages (cannibalization)

**Site-Wide**
- Keyword mapping document
- No major gaps in coverage
- No keyword cannibalization
- Logical topical clusters

---

## Content Quality Assessment

### E-E-A-T Signals

**Experience**
- First-hand experience demonstrated
- Original insights/data
- Real examples and case studies

**Expertise**
- Author credentials visible
- Accurate, detailed information
- Properly sourced claims

**Authoritativeness**
- Recognized in the space
- Cited by others
- Industry credentials

**Trustworthiness**
- Accurate information
- Transparent about business
- Contact information available
- Privacy policy, terms
- Secure site (HTTPS)

### Content Depth

- Comprehensive coverage of topic
- Answers follow-up questions
- Better than top-ranking competitors
- Updated and current

### User Engagement Signals

- Time on page
- Bounce rate in context
- Pages per session
- Return visits

---

## Common Issues by Site Type

### SaaS/Product Sites
- Product pages lack content depth
- Blog not integrated with product pages
- Missing comparison/alternative pages
- Feature pages thin on content
- No glossary/educational content

### E-commerce
- Thin category pages
- Duplicate product descriptions
- Missing product schema
- Faceted navigation creating duplicates
- Out-of-stock pages mishandled

### Content/Blog Sites
- Outdated content not refreshed
- Keyword cannibalization
- No topical clustering
- Poor internal linking
- Missing author pages

### Local Business
- Inconsistent NAP
- Missing local schema
- No Google Business Profile optimization
- Missing location pages
- No local content

---

## Output Format

### Audit Report Structure

**Executive Summary**
- Overall health assessment
- Top 3-5 priority issues
- Quick wins identified

**Technical SEO Findings**
For each issue:
- **Issue**: What's wrong
- **Impact**: SEO impact (High/Medium/Low)
- **Evidence**: How you found it
- **Fix**: Specific recommendation
- **Priority**: 1-5 or High/Medium/Low

**On-Page SEO Findings**
Same format as above

**Content Findings**
Same format as above

**Prioritized Action Plan**
1. Critical fixes (blocking indexation/ranking)
2. High-impact improvements
3. Quick wins (easy, immediate benefit)
4. Long-term recommendations

---

## References

- [AI Writing Detection](references/ai-writing-detection.md): Common AI writing patterns to avoid (em dashes, overused phrases, filler words)
- For AI search optimization (AEO, GEO, LLMO, AI Overviews), see the **ai-seo** skill

---

## Tools Referenced

**Free Tools**
- Google Search Console (essential)
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Bing Webmaster Tools
- Rich Results Test (**use this for schema validation — it renders JavaScript**)
- Mobile-Friendly Test
- Schema Validator

> **Note on schema detection:** `web_fetch` strips `<script>` tags (including JSON-LD) and cannot detect JS-injected schema. Use the browser tool, Rich Results Test, or Screaming Frog instead — they render JavaScript and capture dynamically-injected markup. See the Schema Markup Detection Limitation section above.

**Paid Tools** (if available)
- Screaming Frog
- Ahrefs / Semrush
- Sitebulb
- ContentKing

---

## Task-Specific Questions

1. What pages/keywords matter most?
2. Do you have Search Console access?
3. Any recent changes or migrations?
4. Who are your top organic competitors?
5. What's your current organic traffic baseline?

---

## Related Skills

- **ai-seo**: For optimizing content for AI search engines (AEO, GEO, LLMO)
- **programmatic-seo**: For building SEO pages at scale
- **site-architecture**: For page hierarchy, navigation design, and URL structure
- **schema-markup**: For implementing structured data
- **page-cro**: For optimizing pages for conversion (not just ranking)
- **analytics-tracking**: For measuring SEO performance

{
  "skill_name": "seo-audit",
  "evals": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "prompt": "Can you do an SEO audit of our SaaS website? We're getting about 2,000 organic visits/month but feel like we should be getting more. URL: https://example.com",
      "expected_output": "Should check for product-marketing-context.md first. Should ask clarifying questions about priority keywords, Search Console access, recent changes, and competitors. Should follow the audit framework priority order: Crawlability & Indexation, Technical Foundations, On-Page Optimization, Content Quality, Authority & Links. Should check robots.txt, XML sitemap, site architecture. Should evaluate title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, and content optimization. Should NOT report on schema markup based solely on web_fetch (must note the detection limitation). Output should follow the Audit Report Structure: Executive Summary, Technical SEO Findings, On-Page SEO Findings, Content Findings, and Prioritized Action Plan.",
      "assertions": [
        "Checks for product-marketing-context.md",
        "Asks clarifying questions about keywords, Search Console, recent changes",
        "Follows audit priority order: crawlability first, then technical, on-page, content, authority",
        "Checks robots.txt and XML sitemap",
        "Evaluates title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure",
        "Does NOT claim 'no schema found' based on web_fetch alone",
        "Notes schema markup detection limitation",
        "Output has Executive Summary",
        "Output has Prioritized Action Plan",
        "Each finding has Issue, Impact, Evidence, Fix, and Priority"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "prompt": "Why am I not ranking for 'project management software'? We have a page targeting that keyword but it's stuck on page 3.",
      "expected_output": "Should trigger on the casual 'why am I not ranking' phrasing. Should investigate both on-page and off-page factors. On-page: check title tag, H1, URL alignment with keyword; evaluate content depth vs competitors; check for keyword cannibalization. Technical: check indexation status, canonical tags, crawlability. Content quality: assess E-E-A-T signals, content depth, user engagement. Should provide specific, actionable fixes organized by priority. Should mention competitive analysis against current top-ranking pages.",
      "assertions": [
        "Triggers on casual 'why am I not ranking' phrasing",
        "Checks title tag, H1, URL alignment with target keyword",
        "Evaluates content depth vs competitors",
        "Checks for keyword cannibalization",
        "Checks indexation status and canonical tags",
        "Assesses E-E-A-T signals",
        "Mentions competitive analysis against top-ranking pages",
        "Provides actionable fixes organized by priority"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 3,
      "prompt": "We just migrated from WordPress to Next.js and our organic traffic dropped 40% in the last month. Help!",
      "expected_output": "Should treat this as an urgent migration diagnostic. Should immediately check: redirect mapping (301s from old URLs to new), canonical tags on new pages, robots.txt not blocking crawlers, XML sitemap submitted and updated, meta tags preserved. Should check for common migration issues: redirect chains/loops, soft 404s, lost internal links, changed URL structures without redirects. Should reference Search Console coverage report for indexation issues. Should provide a prioritized recovery plan with critical fixes first. Should mention monitoring timeline expectations (recovery can take weeks).",
      "assertions": [
        "Treats as urgent migration diagnostic",
        "Checks redirect mapping (301s)",
        "Checks canonical tags on new pages",
        "Checks robots.txt not blocking crawlers",
        "Checks XML sitemap updated and submitted",
        "Checks for redirect chains or loops",
        "Checks for soft 404s",
        "References Search Console coverage report",
        "Provides prioritized recovery plan",
        "Mentions recovery timeline expectations"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 4,
      "prompt": "Review the technical SEO of our e-commerce site. We have about 50,000 products and use faceted navigation.",
      "expected_output": "Should focus on e-commerce-specific technical issues: faceted navigation creating duplicate content, crawl budget management for large product catalog, parameterized URLs, product schema markup (with the caveat about detection limitations). Should check for thin category pages, duplicate product descriptions, out-of-stock page handling. Should address crawl budget issues: pagination, infinite scroll handling, session IDs in URLs. Should provide structured findings with Impact ratings and specific fixes.",
      "assertions": [
        "Addresses faceted navigation duplicate content",
        "Addresses crawl budget for large catalog",
        "Checks for parameterized URL issues",
        "Mentions product schema with detection limitation caveat",
        "Checks for thin category pages",
        "Checks for duplicate product descriptions",
        "Addresses out-of-stock page handling",
        "Addresses pagination and infinite scroll",
        "Findings include Impact ratings and specific fixes"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 5,
      "prompt": "Can you check our blog posts for on-page SEO issues? We publish 4 posts per week but traffic has been flat for 6 months.",
      "expected_output": "Should apply the Content/Blog Sites framework: check for outdated content not refreshed, keyword cannibalization, missing topical clustering, poor internal linking, missing author pages. Should audit on-page elements: title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, keyword targeting per post. Should assess E-E-A-T signals for blog content. Should check for content depth issues and whether posts answer search intent. Should recommend a content audit process and provide a prioritized action plan for the existing content library.",
      "assertions": [
        "Applies Content/Blog Sites framework",
        "Checks for outdated content",
        "Checks for keyword cannibalization",
        "Checks for topical clustering",
        "Checks for internal linking quality",
        "Checks for author pages and E-E-A-T signals",
        "Audits title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure",
        "Assesses whether content answers search intent",
        "Recommends content audit process",
        "Provides prioritized action plan"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 6,
      "prompt": "I run a local plumbing business with 3 locations. My website barely shows up when people search for 'plumber near me' in our areas. What's wrong?",
      "expected_output": "Should apply the Local Business site-type framework. Should check for: inconsistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across the site, missing local schema markup (with detection limitation caveat), Google Business Profile optimization, missing individual location pages for each of the 3 locations, and missing local content. Should also check standard technical and on-page factors. Should recommend local-specific fixes: location-specific pages with unique content, local schema on each, GBP optimization, citation consistency.",
      "assertions": [
        "Applies Local Business framework",
        "Checks NAP consistency",
        "Checks for local schema markup with detection caveat",
        "Addresses Google Business Profile optimization",
        "Recommends individual location pages for each location",
        "Recommends local content strategy",
        "Checks standard technical SEO factors too",
        "Provides prioritized local SEO action plan"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 7,
      "prompt": "Our site loads really slowly, especially on mobile. Pages take 5-6 seconds to load. Is this hurting our SEO?",
      "expected_output": "Should focus on Site Speed and Core Web Vitals. Should explain CWV thresholds: LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1, and that 5-6s load time is well above acceptable. Should investigate speed factors: server response time (TTFB), image optimization, JavaScript execution, CSS delivery, caching headers, CDN usage, font loading. Should recommend specific tools: PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest, Chrome DevTools, Search Console CWV report. Should explain that yes, page speed is a ranking factor and directly impacts SEO. Should provide prioritized fixes.",
      "assertions": [
        "Focuses on Core Web Vitals",
        "Explains CWV thresholds (LCP, INP, CLS)",
        "Identifies 5-6s as well above acceptable",
        "Investigates specific speed factors",
        "Recommends specific diagnostic tools",
        "Confirms page speed impacts SEO rankings",
        "Provides prioritized speed fixes",
        "Addresses mobile-specific performance"
      ],
      "files": []
    },
    {
      "id": 8,
      "prompt": "I want to add FAQ schema to my product pages. Can you help me set that up?",
      "expected_output": "Should recognize this is a schema markup implementation task, not an SEO audit. Should defer to or cross-reference the schema-markup skill, which specifically handles structured data implementation including FAQ schema. May briefly mention that FAQ schema can enable rich results, but should make clear that schema-markup is the right skill for implementation.",
      "assertions": [
        "Recognizes this as schema markup implementation",
        "References or defers to schema-markup skill",
        "Does not attempt a full SEO audit",
        "May briefly mention FAQ schema benefits"
      ],
      "files": []
    }
  ]
}

# AI Writing Detection

Words, phrases, and punctuation patterns commonly associated with AI-generated text. Avoid these to ensure writing sounds natural and human.

Sources: Grammarly (2025), Microsoft 365 Life Hacks (2025), GPTHuman (2025), Walter Writes (2025), Textero (2025), Plagiarism Today (2025), Rolling Stone (2025), MDPI Blog (2025)

---

## Contents
- Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell
- Overused Verbs
- Overused Adjectives
- Overused Transitions and Connectors
- Phrases That Signal AI Writing (Opening Phrases, Transitional Phrases, Concluding Phrases, Structural Patterns)
- Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers
- Academic-Specific AI Tells
- How to Self-Check

## Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell

**The em dash (—) has become one of the most reliable markers of AI-generated content.**

Em dashes are longer than hyphens (-) and are used for emphasis, interruptions, or parenthetical information. While they have legitimate uses in writing, AI models drastically overuse them.

### Why Em Dashes Signal AI Writing
- AI models were trained on edited books, academic papers, and style guides where em dashes appear frequently
- AI uses em dashes as a shortcut for sentence variety instead of commas, colons, or parentheses
- Most human writers rarely use em dashes because they don't exist as a standard keyboard key
- The overuse is so consistent that it has become the unofficial signature of ChatGPT writing

### What To Do Instead
| Instead of | Use |
|------------|-----|
| The results—which were surprising—showed... | The results, which were surprising, showed... |
| This approach—unlike traditional methods—allows... | This approach, unlike traditional methods, allows... |
| The study found—as expected—that... | The study found, as expected, that... |
| Communication skills—both written and verbal—are essential | Communication skills (both written and verbal) are essential |

### Guidelines
- Use commas for most parenthetical information
- Use colons to introduce explanations or lists
- Use parentheses for supplementary information
- Reserve em dashes for rare, deliberate emphasis only
- If you find yourself using more than one em dash per page, revise

---

## Overused Verbs

| Avoid | Use Instead |
|-------|-------------|
| delve (into) | explore, examine, investigate, look at |
| leverage | use, apply, draw on |
| optimise | improve, refine, enhance |
| utilise | use |
| facilitate | help, enable, support |
| foster | encourage, support, develop, nurture |
| bolster | strengthen, support, reinforce |
| underscore | emphasise, highlight, stress |
| unveil | reveal, show, introduce, present |
| navigate | manage, handle, work through |
| streamline | simplify, make more efficient |
| enhance | improve, strengthen |
| endeavour | try, attempt, effort |
| ascertain | find out, determine, establish |
| elucidate | explain, clarify, make clear |

---

## Overused Adjectives

| Avoid | Use Instead |
|-------|-------------|
| robust | strong, reliable, thorough, solid |
| comprehensive | complete, thorough, full, detailed |
| pivotal | key, critical, central, important |
| crucial | important, key, essential, critical |
| vital | important, essential, necessary |
| transformative | significant, important, major |
| cutting-edge | new, advanced, recent, modern |
| groundbreaking | new, original, significant |
| innovative | new, original, creative |
| seamless | smooth, easy, effortless |
| intricate | complex, detailed, complicated |
| nuanced | subtle, complex, detailed |
| multifaceted | complex, varied, diverse |
| holistic | complete, whole, comprehensive |

---

## Overused Transitions and Connectors

| Avoid | Use Instead |
|-------|-------------|
| furthermore | also, in addition, and |
| moreover | also, and, besides |
| notwithstanding | despite, even so, still |
| that being said | however, but, still |
| at its core | essentially, fundamentally, basically |
| to put it simply | in short, simply put |
| it is worth noting that | note that, importantly |
| in the realm of | in, within, regarding |
| in the landscape of | in, within |
| in today's [anything] | currently, now, today |

---

## Phrases That Signal AI Writing

### Opening Phrases to Avoid
- "In today's fast-paced world..."
- "In today's digital age..."
- "In an era of..."
- "In the ever-evolving landscape of..."
- "In the realm of..."
- "It's important to note that..."
- "Let's delve into..."
- "Imagine a world where..."

### Transitional Phrases to Avoid
- "That being said..."
- "With that in mind..."
- "It's worth mentioning that..."
- "At its core..."
- "To put it simply..."
- "In essence..."
- "This begs the question..."

### Concluding Phrases to Avoid
- "In conclusion..."
- "To sum up..."
- "By [doing X], you can [achieve Y]..."
- "In the final analysis..."
- "All things considered..."
- "At the end of the day..."

### Structural Patterns to Avoid
- "Whether you're a [X], [Y], or [Z]..." (listing three examples after "whether")
- "It's not just [X], it's also [Y]..."
- "Think of [X] as [elaborate metaphor]..."
- Starting sentences with "By" followed by a gerund: "By understanding X, you can Y..."

---

## Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers

These words often add nothing to meaning. Remove them or find specific alternatives:

- absolutely
- actually
- basically
- certainly
- clearly
- definitely
- essentially
- extremely
- fundamentally
- incredibly
- interestingly
- naturally
- obviously
- quite
- really
- significantly
- simply
- surely
- truly
- ultimately
- undoubtedly
- very

---

## Academic-Specific AI Tells

| Avoid | Use Instead |
|-------|-------------|
| shed light on | clarify, explain, reveal |
| pave the way for | enable, allow, make possible |
| a myriad of | many, numerous, various |
| a plethora of | many, numerous, several |
| paramount | very important, essential, critical |
| pertaining to | about, regarding, concerning |
| prior to | before |
| subsequent to | after |
| in light of | because of, given, considering |
| with respect to | about, regarding, for |
| in terms of | regarding, for, about |
| the fact that | that (or rewrite sentence) |

---

## How to Self-Check

1. Read your text aloud. If phrases sound unnatural in speech, revise them
2. Ask: "Would I say this in a conversation with a colleague?"
3. Check for repetitive sentence structures
4. Look for clusters of the words listed above
5. Ensure varied sentence lengths (not all similar length)
6. Verify each intensifier adds genuine meaning