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?

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Audit Framework#

Schema Markup Detection#

To detect structured data / schema markup (including JSON-LD injected via JavaScript by CMS plugins like AIOSEO, Yoast, or RankMath), use Firecrawl to render the page:

1. Firecrawl CLI — renders JavaScript and returns full page content: bash

   firecrawl.js scrape <url>
   
   

   Search the output for application/ld+json blocks to find schema markup.

2. Google Rich Results Test — https://search.google.com/test/rich-results (secondary verification)

Do NOT rely on web_fetch or curl for schema detection — they cannot see JS-injected markup.

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?)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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References#

• AI Writing Detection: 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

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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

Schema detection: Use Firecrawl CLI for JS-rendered schema — see "Schema Markup Detection" section above.

Paid Tools (if available)

• Screaming Frog
• Ahrefs / Semrush
• Sitebulb
• ContentKing

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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