name	seo-optimizer
description	Comprehensive SEO optimization for web applications. Use when asked to improve search rankings, add meta tags, create structured data, generate sitemaps, optimize for Core Web Vitals, or analyze SEO issues. Works with Next.js, Astro, React, and static HTML sites.

SEO Optimizer

Transform your web application from invisible to discoverable. This skill analyzes your codebase and implements comprehensive SEO optimizations that help search engines and social platforms understand, index, and surface your content.

Philosophy: SEO as Semantic Communication

SEO is not about gaming algorithms—it's about clearly communicating what your content IS to machines (search engines, social platforms, AI crawlers) so they can properly understand and surface it.

Before optimizing, ask:

What is this page actually about? (not what keywords we want to rank for)
Who is the intended audience and what are they searching for?
What unique value does this content provide?
How should machines categorize and understand this content?

Core Principles:

Accuracy Over Optimization: Describe what IS, not what you wish would rank
User Intent First: Match content to what searchers actually want
Semantic Clarity: Use structured data to make meaning machine-readable
Progressive Enhancement: Basic SEO for all pages, rich optimization for key pages
Framework-Native: Use each framework's idioms, not generic hacks

The SEO Hierarchy (prioritize in order):

1. Content Quality      ← Foundation: Valuable, accurate, unique content
2. Technical Access     ← Can crawlers find and index your pages?
3. Semantic Structure   ← Do machines understand your content's meaning?
4. Meta Optimization    ← Are your titles/descriptions compelling?
5. Structured Data      ← JSON-LD for rich search results
6. Performance          ← Core Web Vitals affect rankings

Codebase Analysis Workflow

ALWAYS analyze before implementing. Different codebases need different approaches.

Step 1: Discover Framework and Structure

Identify the framework and routing pattern:

Next.js: Look for next.config.js, app/ or pages/ directory
Astro: Look for astro.config.mjs, src/pages/
React Router: Look for route configuration, react-router-dom
Gatsby: Look for gatsby-config.js, gatsby-node.js
Static HTML: Look for .html files in root or public/

Step 2: Audit Current SEO State

Check for existing implementations:

Meta tags in <head> (title, description, viewport)
Open Graph tags (og:title, og:image, etc.)
Twitter Card tags (twitter:card, twitter:image)
Structured data (<script type="application/ld+json">)
Sitemap (sitemap.xml or generation config)
Robots.txt file
Canonical URLs
Alt text on images

Step 3: Identify Page Types

Different pages need different SEO approaches:

Page Type	Priority	Key Optimizations
Landing/Home	Critical	Brand keywords, comprehensive structured data
Product/Service	High	Product schema, reviews, pricing
Blog/Article	High	Article schema, author, publish date
Documentation	Medium	HowTo/FAQ schema, breadcrumbs
About/Contact	Medium	Organization schema, local business
Legal/Privacy	Low	Basic meta only, often noindex

Step 4: Generate Implementation Plan

Based on analysis, prioritize:

Quick wins: Missing meta tags, viewport, basic structure
High impact: Structured data for key pages, sitemap
Refinement: Performance, advanced schema, social optimization

See references/analysis-checklist.md for detailed audit procedures.

Meta Tags Implementation

Essential Meta Tags (Every Page)

<!-- Required -->
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>{Page Title} | {Site Name}</title>
<meta name="description" content="{150-160 char description}">

<!-- Recommended -->
<link rel="canonical" href="{full canonical URL}">
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">

Title Tag Best Practices

Format: {Primary Content} | {Brand} or {Primary Content} - {Brand}

Guidelines:

50-60 characters (Google truncates at ~60)
Front-load important keywords
Unique for every page
Accurately describe page content
Include brand for recognition (usually at end)

Title Patterns by Page Type:

Homepage:     {Brand} - {Value Proposition}
Product:      {Product Name} - {Key Benefit} | {Brand}
Article:      {Article Title} | {Brand}
Category:     {Category} Products | {Brand}
Search:       Search Results for "{Query}" | {Brand}

Meta Description Best Practices

Guidelines:

150-160 characters (Google may truncate at ~155)
Include a call to action when appropriate
Accurately summarize page content
Unique for every page
Include primary keyword naturally

DO NOT:

Stuff keywords unnaturally
Use the same description across pages
Write descriptions that don't match content
Start with "Welcome to..." or similar filler

Open Graph Tags (Social Sharing)

<meta property="og:type" content="website">
<meta property="og:url" content="{canonical URL}">
<meta property="og:title" content="{title}">
<meta property="og:description" content="{description}">
<meta property="og:image" content="{1200x630 image URL}">
<meta property="og:site_name" content="{Site Name}">

Twitter Card Tags

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@{handle}">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="{title}">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="{description}">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="{image URL}">

See references/meta-tags-complete.md for comprehensive tag reference.

Structured Data (JSON-LD)

Structured data enables rich search results (star ratings, prices, FAQs, etc.).

When to Use Which Schema

Content Type	Schema	Rich Result
Organization info	Organization	Knowledge panel
Products	Product	Price, availability, reviews
Articles/Blog	Article	Headline, image, date
How-to guides	HowTo	Step-by-step in search
FAQs	FAQPage	Expandable Q&A
Events	Event	Date, location, tickets
Recipes	Recipe	Image, time, ratings
Local business	LocalBusiness	Maps, hours, contact
Breadcrumbs	BreadcrumbList	Navigation path

Implementation Pattern

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Company Name",
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "logo": "https://example.com/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/company",
    "https://linkedin.com/company/company"
  ]
}
</script>

Multiple Schemas Per Page

Use @graph to combine schemas:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    { "@type": "Organization", ... },
    { "@type": "WebSite", ... },
    { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", ... }
  ]
}

See references/structured-data-schemas.md for complete schema examples.

Technical SEO

Sitemap Generation

XML Sitemap Requirements:

Include all indexable pages
Exclude noindex pages, redirects, error pages
Update <lastmod> when content changes
Submit to Google Search Console

Framework implementations: See references/framework-implementations.md

Robots.txt

Standard Template:

User-agent: *
Allow: /

# Block admin/private areas
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /private/

# Point to sitemap
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Canonical URLs

Always set canonical URLs to:

Prevent duplicate content issues
Consolidate link equity
Specify preferred URL version

Handle:

www vs non-www
http vs https
Trailing slashes
Query parameters

Performance (Core Web Vitals)

Core Web Vitals affect rankings. Monitor:

Metric	Target	What It Measures
LCP	< 2.5s	Largest Contentful Paint (loading)
INP	< 200ms	Interaction to Next Paint (interactivity)
CLS	< 0.1	Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability)

Quick wins:

Optimize images (WebP, lazy loading, proper sizing)
Minimize JavaScript bundles
Use efficient fonts (display: swap)
Implement proper caching

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

❌ Keyword Stuffing

<!-- BAD -->
<title>Best Shoes | Buy Shoes | Cheap Shoes | Shoes Online | Shoe Store</title>

<!-- GOOD -->
<title>Running Shoes for Marathon Training | SportShop</title>

Why bad: Search engines penalize unnatural keyword repetition. Users don't click spammy titles.

❌ Duplicate Descriptions Using the same meta description across multiple pages. Why bad: Misses opportunity for page-specific relevance. Google may ignore and auto-generate.

❌ Description/Content Mismatch Writing descriptions for keywords rather than actual content. Why bad: High bounce rates signal low quality. Users feel deceived.

❌ Missing Alt Text

<!-- BAD -->
<img src="product.jpg">

<!-- GOOD -->
<img src="product.jpg" alt="Blue Nike Air Max running shoe, side view">

Why bad: Accessibility violation. Missed image search opportunity.

❌ Blocking Crawlers Unintentionally

# Accidentally blocking everything
User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Why bad: Complete deindexing. Check robots.txt carefully.

❌ Ignoring Mobile Not having responsive design or mobile-specific considerations. Why bad: Google uses mobile-first indexing. Most traffic is mobile.

❌ Over-Optimization Adding structured data for content that doesn't exist. Why bad: Schema violations can result in penalties. Trust erosion.

❌ Generic Auto-Generated Content

<!-- BAD: Template without customization -->
<meta name="description" content="Welcome to our website. We offer great products and services.">

Why bad: Provides no value. Won't rank. Won't get clicks.

Variation Guidance

IMPORTANT: SEO implementation should vary based on context.

Vary based on:

Industry: E-commerce needs Product schema; SaaS needs Software schema
Content type: Blog posts vs landing pages vs documentation
Audience: B2B vs B2C affects tone and keywords
Competition: Highly competitive niches need more sophisticated optimization
Framework: Use native patterns (Next.js metadata API vs manual tags)

Avoid converging on:

Same title format for all page types
Generic descriptions that could apply to any site
Identical structured data without page-specific content
One-size-fits-all sitemap configuration

Framework Quick Reference

Next.js (App Router)

// app/page.tsx
import { Metadata } from 'next'

export const metadata: Metadata = {
  title: 'Page Title | Brand',
  description: 'Page description',
  openGraph: {
    title: 'Page Title',
    description: 'Page description',
    images: ['/og-image.png'],
  },
}

Next.js (Pages Router)

// pages/index.tsx
import Head from 'next/head'

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <Head>
      <title>Page Title | Brand</title>
      <meta name="description" content="Page description" />
    </Head>
  )
}

Astro

---
// src/pages/index.astro
import Layout from '../layouts/Layout.astro';
---
<Layout
  title="Page Title | Brand"
  description="Page description"
  ogImage="/og-image.png"
/>

React (react-helmet)

import { Helmet } from 'react-helmet';

function Page() {
  return (
    <Helmet>
      <title>Page Title | Brand</title>
      <meta name="description" content="Page description" />
    </Helmet>
  );
}

See references/framework-implementations.md for complete guides.

Scripts

analyze_seo.py

Analyzes a codebase for SEO issues and opportunities:

python scripts/analyze_seo.py <path-to-project>

Output:

Current SEO state (what's implemented)
Missing elements by priority
Page-by-page recommendations
Structured data opportunities

generate_sitemap.py

Generates sitemap.xml from project routes:

python scripts/generate_sitemap.py <path-to-project> --domain https://example.com

Remember

SEO is semantic communication, not algorithm manipulation.

The best SEO:

Accurately describes what content IS
Helps machines understand meaning through structured data
Prioritizes user value over keyword optimization
Uses framework-native patterns
Implements progressively based on page importance

Focus on making your content findable and understandable. The rankings follow from genuine value clearly communicated.

Claude is capable of comprehensive SEO analysis and implementation. These guidelines illuminate the path—they don't fence it.

seo-optimizer

Install Skill

SKILL.md