name	seo-optimizer
description	Optimize blog posts for search engines and improve discoverability. Use when improving SEO, analyzing keywords, or enhancing post visibility.

SEO Optimizer

Optimize blog posts for better search engine visibility and discoverability. This skill helps improve content structure, metadata, and overall SEO performance for the Hugo blog.

When to Use This Skill

Use the seo-optimizer skill when you need to:

Improve post search engine rankings
Optimize post titles and descriptions
Enhance keyword targeting
Analyze and improve content structure
Add or optimize meta tags
Improve internal linking
Optimize images for SEO
Audit posts for SEO best practices

SEO Configuration

The blog is already configured with key SEO features in config.yml:

baseURL: https://novemberde.github.io/
enableRobotsTXT: true
googleAnalytics: "G-9SF4VDQ4N0"
params:
  env: production  # Enables opengraph, twitter-cards, schema

SEO Checklist for Posts

Title Optimization

Best Practices:

Keep titles between 50-60 characters
Include primary keyword near the beginning
Make titles compelling and click-worthy
Use title case or sentence case consistently
For Korean posts, ensure proper Korean SEO keywords

Good Examples:

# Technical post
title: "AWS Lambda Best Practices: Complete Guide for 2025"

# Korean post
title: "AWS Lambda 모범 사례: 2025년 완벽 가이드"

# Leadership post
title: "10x Engineering Leadership: Lessons from Building Platform Teams"

Bad Examples:

# Too long (>60 chars)
title: "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About AWS Lambda Functions and Serverless Architecture Best Practices"

# No keywords
title: "My Thoughts"

# Not descriptive
title: "Tutorial"

Meta Description

Hugo PaperMod theme automatically generates descriptions from content. To optimize:

In Post Content:

Write a strong opening paragraph (first 155-160 characters)
Include primary keywords naturally
Make it compelling to encourage clicks

Example Opening:

AWS Lambda revolutionizes serverless computing by letting you run code without managing servers. This guide covers best practices for production Lambda functions, including performance optimization, cost management, and security.

Tags and Keywords

Tag Strategy:

Use 4-8 relevant tags per post
Mix broad and specific tags
Include trending keywords when relevant
Use both English and Korean tags for bilingual SEO
Maintain tag consistency across similar posts

Tag Optimization:

# Good - Specific and relevant
tags: ["aws-lambda", "serverless", "nodejs", "performance", "best-practices"]

# Better - Includes Korean for bilingual SEO
tags: ["aws-lambda", "serverless", "서버리스", "nodejs", "모범사례"]

# Bad - Too generic or too many
tags: ["programming", "code", "tech", "aws", "amazon", "cloud", "serverless", "lambda", "tutorial", "guide", "2025"]

URL Structure

Current URL Pattern:

https://novemberde.github.io/post/YYYY/MM/DD/Post-Title/

URL Optimization Tips:

Keep filenames concise and descriptive
Use hyphens (not underscores)
Include primary keyword in filename
Avoid special characters
Keep URLs under 75 characters when possible

Good Filenames:

AWS-Lambda-Best-Practices.md
10x-Engineering-Leadership.md
Docker-Container-Optimization.md

Bad Filenames:

post1.md
my_new_article_about_stuff.md
this-is-a-very-long-filename-that-goes-on-and-on.md

Header Structure

Proper header hierarchy helps both SEO and readability:

# Post Title (H1 - automatically generated from frontmatter)

## Main Section (H2 - use for primary topics)

### Subsection (H3 - use for subtopics)

#### Detail (H4 - use sparingly)

SEO Tips for Headers:

Include keywords in H2 and H3 headers
Use descriptive headers, not generic ones
Maintain logical hierarchy
Don't skip header levels

Good Header Structure:

## AWS Lambda Performance Optimization

### Cold Start Reduction Techniques

#### Provisioned Concurrency Configuration

### Memory and Timeout Settings

## Cost Optimization Strategies

Bad Header Structure:

## Part 1

### Thing A

#### Another Thing

## Part 2

### Something

## Conclusion

Content Optimization

Keyword Density:

Primary keyword: 1-2% of content
Related keywords: Naturally throughout
Avoid keyword stuffing
Use synonyms and variations

Content Length:

Aim for 1000+ words for technical guides
500-800 words for shorter posts
Longer content tends to rank better (if quality is maintained)

Content Structure:

Start with key information (inverted pyramid)
Use short paragraphs (3-4 sentences)
Include code examples for technical posts
Add lists and bullet points for scannability
Include images with descriptive alt text

Image Optimization

Image SEO Best Practices:

# Good - Descriptive alt text
![AWS Lambda function architecture diagram showing event source, Lambda, and destination](/images/lambda-architecture.png)

# Bad - Generic or missing alt text
![Image](/img/screenshot.png)
![](/image1.png)

Image File Optimization:

# Use descriptive filenames
lambda-cold-start-comparison.png  # Good
image1.png                        # Bad

# Compress images
# Use tools like imagemagick, tinypng, or squoosh
convert original.png -quality 85 optimized.png

# Use appropriate formats
# - PNG for diagrams and screenshots
# - JPG for photos
# - WebP for better compression (if supported)

Internal Linking

Link to Related Posts:

For more information on serverless architecture, see [Building Serverless APIs with AWS Lambda](/post/2024/03/15/serverless-api-guide/).

This builds on concepts from my previous post on [AWS Lambda Best Practices](/post/2024/01/10/lambda-best-practices/).

Internal Linking Strategy:

Link to 2-5 related posts per article
Use descriptive anchor text (not "click here")
Link to both newer and older relevant content
Create topic clusters (pillar posts + supporting posts)

Code Block Optimization

Always Include Language Tags:

# Good
```javascript
const handler = async (event) => {
  return { statusCode: 200 };
};

Bad

const handler = async (event) => {
  return { statusCode: 200 };
};


**Code Block SEO Benefits:**
- Improves syntax highlighting
- Better for accessibility
- Search engines understand code context
- Helps with featured snippets

## Schema Markup

Hugo PaperMod automatically includes schema markup when `env: production` is set. This provides:
- Article schema
- Breadcrumb schema
- Organization schema
- Social media cards (OpenGraph, Twitter)

**Verify Schema:**
1. Build the site: `hugo`
2. Check generated HTML in `public/`
3. Use Google's Rich Results Test: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

## Social Media Optimization

**OpenGraph and Twitter Cards** are automatically generated by PaperMod theme.

**To Enhance Social Sharing:**

Add custom parameters to frontmatter (optional):
```yaml
---
title: "Your Post Title"
tags: ["tag1", "tag2"]
date: "2025-12-22T10:00:00+00:00"
ShowBreadCrumbs: true
ShowReadingTime: true
ShowPostNavLinks: true
# Optional social media overrides
# cover:
#   image: "/images/post-cover.png"
#   alt: "Description of cover image"
---

SEO Audit Workflow

Audit a Single Post

# 1. Title Check
- [ ] 50-60 characters
- [ ] Includes primary keyword
- [ ] Compelling and clear

# 2. Content Check
- [ ] Strong opening paragraph (155-160 chars)
- [ ] 1000+ words (for guides)
- [ ] Proper header hierarchy (H2, H3)
- [ ] Keywords in headers
- [ ] Code blocks have language tags
- [ ] Lists and bullet points for scannability

# 3. Meta Check
- [ ] 4-8 relevant tags
- [ ] Date is correct
- [ ] Required frontmatter fields present

# 4. Image Check
- [ ] All images have descriptive alt text
- [ ] Filenames are descriptive
- [ ] Images are optimized/compressed

# 5. Link Check
- [ ] 2-5 internal links to related posts
- [ ] External links open in new tab (if desired)
- [ ] No broken links

# 6. URL Check
- [ ] Filename is concise and includes keyword
- [ ] Uses hyphens, not underscores
- [ ] No special characters

Audit All Posts

# Find posts without proper tags (less than 3 tags)
for file in content/post/**/*.md; do
  tag_count=$(grep -oP '(?<=tags: \[).*(?=\])' "$file" | tr ',' '\n' | wc -l)
  if [ "$tag_count" -lt 3 ]; then
    echo "$file has only $tag_count tags"
  fi
done

# Find posts with missing alt text in images
grep -r "!\[\](" content/post/

# Find very short posts (less than 500 words)
for file in content/post/**/*.md; do
  word_count=$(wc -w < "$file")
  if [ "$word_count" -lt 500 ]; then
    echo "$file: $word_count words"
  fi
done

Keyword Research

Finding Keywords

For Technical Posts:

Use Google Trends: https://trends.google.com
Check AWS documentation for official terminology
Look at Stack Overflow questions
Review GitHub discussions

For Korean Content:

Use Naver search suggestions
Check Korean developer communities
Look at Korean tech blog trends

Competitor Analysis

# Research similar blogs
# 1. Identify top-ranking posts for your target keywords
# 2. Analyze their:
#    - Title structure
#    - Content length
#    - Header usage
#    - Tag strategy
#    - Internal linking

# 3. Create better content:
#    - More comprehensive
#    - Better examples
#    - Clearer explanations
#    - Updated information

Common SEO Improvements

Improve Post Titles

Before:

title: "Lambda Tutorial"

After:

title: "AWS Lambda Tutorial: Build Serverless Functions in 2025"

Add Descriptive Alt Text

Before:

![](/images/img1.png)

After:

![AWS Lambda architecture diagram showing API Gateway triggering Lambda function connected to DynamoDB](/images/lambda-architecture-diagram.png)

Optimize Tags

Before:

tags: ["aws", "code"]

After:

tags: ["aws-lambda", "serverless", "nodejs", "tutorial", "aws-best-practices"]

Improve Content Structure

Before:

This post talks about Lambda.

Lambda is great. Here's some code.

[code block]

That's it.

After:

AWS Lambda revolutionizes serverless computing by eliminating server management. This comprehensive guide covers Lambda best practices, performance optimization, and cost management strategies.

## Understanding AWS Lambda

Lambda is a serverless compute service that runs your code in response to events...

### Key Benefits

- No server management
- Automatic scaling
- Pay per use

## Performance Optimization

### Cold Start Reduction

One of the most common Lambda challenges is cold starts...

[detailed explanation with code examples]

## Related Resources

For more on serverless architecture, check out [Building Serverless APIs](/post/2024/03/15/serverless-api-guide/).

Monitoring SEO Performance

Google Analytics

The blog has Google Analytics enabled (G-9SF4VDQ4N0). Monitor:

Page views per post
Bounce rate
Average time on page
Traffic sources
Search queries (via Google Search Console)

Google Search Console

Set up Google Search Console for:

Search query data
Click-through rates
Average position
Index coverage
Mobile usability

Key Metrics to Track

Organic Traffic: Traffic from search engines
Click-Through Rate (CTR): % of impressions that result in clicks
Average Position: Where posts rank in search results
Bounce Rate: % of visitors who leave immediately
Time on Page: How long visitors stay

SEO Best Practices Summary

Do's ✓

Write comprehensive, valuable content (1000+ words)
Use descriptive titles with keywords (50-60 chars)
Include 4-8 relevant tags
Add descriptive alt text to all images
Use proper header hierarchy (H2, H3, H4)
Include internal links to related posts
Optimize images (compress, descriptive filenames)
Write strong opening paragraphs
Use code blocks with language tags
Keep URLs concise and descriptive

Don'ts ✗

Don't keyword stuff
Don't use generic titles
Don't skip alt text
Don't use generic filenames (img1.png)
Don't skip header hierarchy levels
Don't write very short posts (unless intentional)
Don't forget to proofread
Don't ignore mobile optimization
Don't use too many tags (over 10)
Don't forget bilingual SEO (English + Korean)

Quick SEO Wins

High-impact, low-effort improvements:

Add Alt Text to Images (5 min per post)
- Improves accessibility and SEO
- Use descriptive, keyword-rich text
Optimize Post Titles (2 min per post)
- Add primary keyword
- Keep under 60 characters
- Make compelling
Add Internal Links (5 min per post)
- Link to 3-5 related posts
- Use descriptive anchor text
Improve Opening Paragraph (5 min per post)
- Make first 160 characters compelling
- Include primary keyword
- Summarize key value
Add More Tags (2 min per post)
- Ensure 4-8 relevant tags
- Include both broad and specific
- Add Korean tags for Korean posts

Tools and Resources

SEO Analysis Tools

Google Search Console
Google Analytics
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google Rich Results Test

Keyword Research

Google Trends
Google Keyword Planner
Naver Keyword Tool (for Korean)

Content Optimization

Yoast SEO (WordPress, but principles apply)
Hemingway Editor (readability)
Grammarly (grammar and clarity)

Image Optimization

TinyPNG
Squoosh
ImageMagick

Troubleshooting

Issue: Post Not Indexed

Check robots.txt: enableRobotsTXT: true in config
Verify sitemap.xml is generated
Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
Check for noindex tags (shouldn't be present)

Issue: Low Click-Through Rate

Improve post title (make more compelling)
Enhance meta description (strong opening paragraph)
Add structured data markup (already enabled)

Issue: High Bounce Rate

Improve content quality and relevance
Add internal links to keep visitors engaged
Ensure mobile responsiveness
Improve page load speed

Issue: Posts Not Ranking

Research and target less competitive keywords
Create more comprehensive content
Build more internal links to the post
Improve content quality and uniqueness
Add more related posts (topic clusters)

Install Skill

SKILL.md

SEO Optimizer

When to Use This Skill

SEO Configuration

SEO Checklist for Posts

Title Optimization

Meta Description

Tags and Keywords

URL Structure

Header Structure

Content Optimization

Image Optimization

Internal Linking

Code Block Optimization

Bad

SEO Audit Workflow

Audit a Single Post

Audit All Posts

Keyword Research

Finding Keywords

Competitor Analysis

Common SEO Improvements

Improve Post Titles

Add Descriptive Alt Text

Optimize Tags

Improve Content Structure

Monitoring SEO Performance

Google Analytics

Google Search Console

Key Metrics to Track

SEO Best Practices Summary

Do's ✓

Don'ts ✗

Quick SEO Wins

Tools and Resources

SEO Analysis Tools

Keyword Research

Content Optimization

Image Optimization

Troubleshooting