The Claude SEO Skill turns Claude into a senior SEO specialist: audits pages, generates content briefs, optimizes on-page, finds keyword opportunities and proposes cluster strategy. Guide covers building it, real use cases and honest limits.
What the SEO Skill does
- On-page audit: title, meta, H-tags, schema, internal linking, Core Web Vitals.
- Content briefs: outline + keywords + entities + intent.
- Keyword research: long-tail, gap analysis, intent classification.
- Cluster strategy: hub-and-spoke + cannibalization + consolidation.
- Technical SEO: robots, sitemap, hreflang, canonical, JSON-LD.
When to activate the SEO Skill
- Before writing a new article: brief and outline.
- Full-domain audit: prioritize quick wins.
- URL cannibalization resolution.
- Schema validation (Article, FAQ, BreadcrumbList).
- SERP research before a new piece.
Core SKILL.md instructions
SKILL.md defines: triggers, audit rules (mandatory checklist), output format (structured markdown), and prohibitions (never recommend keyword stuffing or spammy linking).
Example internal instruction
“When auditing a page, analyze in this order: (1) intent match with target query; (2) subtopic coverage vs SERP top 10; (3) missing NLP entities; (4) inbound/outbound internal linking; (5) relevant schema; (6) reported Core Web Vitals. Return findings with priority (P0/P1/P2) and estimated effort.”
Real use cases
- Brief for “ChatGPT vs Claude” article: 90 minutes saved.
- Audit of 40 cannibalizing URLs: priority in 1 hour.
- JSON-LD schema for hubs: auto generation + validation.
- Cluster map of 30 pieces: hub-spoke with suggested links.
Recommended tools to pair
- Rank Math or Yoast: for WordPress.
- Search Console: real impression/click data.
- Ahrefs / SEMrush: keyword + competitive analysis.
- Screaming Frog: technical audit at scale.
- Schema Markup Validator: JSON-LD validation.
Honest limitations
- No live Search Console data access (unless you wire an MCP).
- Algorithm knowledge has a training cutoff.
- Cannot crawl websites without external tools.
- Keyword density recommendations must be verified with real data.
Frequently asked questions
Does an SEO Skill replace a human specialist?
No. It accelerates specialist work (briefs, audit, analysis) but final strategy and editorial judgment remain human.
Can it combine with Content Marketing Skill?
Yes, natural combination. SEO defines keywords + intent. Content Marketing defines calendar and editorial angle.
Does it work without Claude Code?
Yes, as Custom Style or Project in Claude.ai with equivalent instructions.
