Claude-Skills seo-audit

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/marketing/seo-audit" ~/.claude/skills/borghei-claude-skills-seo-audit && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: marketing/seo-audit/SKILL.md

source content

SEO Audit

Production-grade SEO audit framework with an 85-point checklist across 8 dimensions, severity-weighted scoring, automated diagnostic workflows, and prioritized remediation plans. Covers technical SEO, on-page optimization, content quality, competitive positioning, and migration readiness.

Operating Modes
Initial Assessment
The 85-Point Audit Checklist
Severity-Weighted Scoring
Core Web Vitals Deep Dive
Crawl and Indexation Analysis
On-Page SEO Analysis
Content Quality Assessment
Competitive Gap Analysis
Migration Audit Checklist
Prioritized Remediation Plan
Output Artifacts
Related Skills

Operating Modes

Mode 1: Full Site Audit

Comprehensive audit across all 8 dimensions. Use for initial assessment or annual reviews.

Mode 2: Focused Audit

Single-dimension deep dive. Use when the problem area is already identified (e.g., "our Core Web Vitals are failing" or "we have indexation issues").

Mode 3: Pre-Migration Audit

Checklist for planned URL changes, platform switches, or redesigns. Establishes baseline and creates the redirect mapping framework.

Mode 4: Traffic Drop Diagnosis

Emergency diagnostic when organic traffic drops. Follows the traffic drop decision tree to isolate the cause.

Initial Assessment

Required Context

Question	Why It Matters
What type of site? (SaaS, e-commerce, blog, local business)	Determines which audit dimensions to weight
What is the primary SEO goal?	Focuses the audit on business-relevant outcomes
What is the current organic traffic baseline?	Establishes the benchmark for measuring improvement
Any recent changes? (migration, redesign, content update, algorithm update)	Identifies potential cause of current issues
Do you have Google Search Console access?	Essential for indexation and performance data
Who are 3 organic competitors?	For competitive gap analysis

Scope Definition

Scope	Pages to Audit	Recommended When
Full site	All indexed pages + sample of non-indexed	Annual audit, new client onboarding
Section audit	One directory or content type	Known problem area
Top pages	Top 50 by traffic + top 50 by impressions	Quick wins identification
New pages	Pages published in last 90 days	Content quality check

The 85-Point Audit Checklist

Dimension 1: Crawlability (12 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
1.1	robots.txt accessible and valid	Critical	200 response, no syntax errors
1.2	Important pages not blocked by robots.txt	Critical	No disallow rules for key pages
1.3	XML sitemap exists and is valid	High	Submitted in GSC, < 50K URLs per file
1.4	Sitemap reflects actual site structure	High	No 404s, no redirects, no noindex pages in sitemap
1.5	Crawl depth < 4 clicks from homepage	Medium	95%+ of pages within 3 clicks
1.6	No infinite crawl traps	Critical	No parameter-based infinite loops
1.7	Internal links use crawlable HTML	High	No JavaScript-only navigation
1.8	Pagination uses rel=next/prev or load-more	Medium	Paginated content is crawlable
1.9	No orphan pages (indexed but no internal links)	High	0 orphan pages in indexed set
1.10	Crawl budget not wasted on low-value pages	Medium	< 10% crawl budget on utility pages
1.11	Server response time < 500ms	High	TTFB < 500ms for 95% of pages
1.12	No 5xx errors in crawl	Critical	0% server errors

Dimension 2: Indexation (10 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
2.1	Target pages are indexed	Critical	> 95% of target pages in Google index
2.2	No duplicate content issues	High	No duplicate titles, no near-duplicate content
2.3	Canonical tags implemented correctly	High	Self-referencing on unique pages, cross-domain where needed
2.4	No conflicting signals (canonical vs noindex vs sitemap)	Critical	No page that is both noindex and in sitemap
2.5	Hreflang tags correct (if multilingual)	High	Valid hreflang with return tags
2.6	No index bloat (unnecessary pages indexed)	Medium	Utility pages not indexed
2.7	Thin content pages identified	High	No pages with < 200 words of unique content
2.8	Parameter handling configured	Medium	URL parameters handled in GSC or via canonical
2.9	JavaScript-rendered content indexable	High	Key content visible in cached/rendered version
2.10	New pages getting indexed within 7 days	Medium	Using IndexNow or manual submission

Dimension 3: Core Web Vitals (10 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
3.1	LCP < 2.5s	High	75th percentile of page loads
3.2	INP < 200ms	High	75th percentile of interactions
3.3	CLS < 0.1	High	75th percentile of page loads
3.4	Mobile CWV passing	Critical	Mobile scores meeting thresholds
3.5	Desktop CWV passing	Medium	Desktop scores meeting thresholds
3.6	No render-blocking resources	Medium	CSS/JS delivery optimized
3.7	Images optimized (WebP/AVIF, lazy loading)	Medium	All above-fold images preloaded
3.8	Font loading optimized	Low	No FOUT/FOIT, font-display: swap
3.9	Third-party script impact measured	Medium	No third-party scripts adding > 500ms
3.10	HTTPS with no mixed content	Critical	All resources served over HTTPS

Dimension 4: On-Page SEO (15 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
4.1	Unique title tags on every page	Critical	No duplicates, < 60 chars
4.2	Title includes primary keyword	High	Keyword in first 60 chars
4.3	Unique meta descriptions	High	No duplicates, < 155 chars, includes keyword
4.4	H1 tag present and unique per page	High	One H1 per page with primary keyword
4.5	Heading hierarchy logical (H1 > H2 > H3)	Medium	No skipped levels
4.6	Internal links with descriptive anchor text	High	No "click here" or naked URLs
4.7	Images have alt text	Medium	Descriptive alt text on all meaningful images
4.8	URL structure is clean and descriptive	Medium	No IDs, parameters, or excessive depth
4.9	Primary keyword in first 100 words	Medium	Natural inclusion in opening
4.10	Content matches search intent	Critical	Page type matches what Google ranks for query
4.11	No keyword cannibalization	High	No two pages targeting the same primary keyword
4.12	Open Graph and Twitter Card tags	Low	Social sharing metadata present
4.13	Structured data implemented	Medium	Relevant schema types present
4.14	Internal links to relevant pages	High	3-5 contextual internal links per content page
4.15	Breadcrumbs present	Medium	Functional breadcrumbs with schema

Dimension 5: Content Quality (12 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
5.1	Content provides unique value	Critical	Not available elsewhere in same form
5.2	Content depth matches intent	High	Comprehensive coverage of the topic
5.3	Content freshness appropriate	Medium	Updated within last 12 months for evergreen
5.4	No AI-generated content markers	High	No generic filler, overused phrases, or em-dash patterns
5.5	E-E-A-T signals present	High	Author attribution, credentials, experience evidence
5.6	Content readability appropriate	Medium	Matches target audience reading level
5.7	No thin content pages	High	All pages > 300 words of unique content
5.8	No content duplication across pages	High	Jaccard similarity < 50% between any two pages
5.9	Content supports conversion goal	Medium	Clear CTA aligned with page intent
5.10	Visual content present	Medium	Images, charts, or videos enhance understanding
5.11	Content organized with subheadings	Medium	Scannable structure with clear sections
5.12	External references and citations	Low	Links to authoritative sources where relevant

Dimension 6: Technical Infrastructure (10 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
6.1	HTTPS properly configured	Critical	Valid certificate, no mixed content
6.2	Proper redirects (301 not 302)	High	Permanent redirects for permanent moves
6.3	No redirect chains (> 2 hops)	Medium	Direct redirect from origin to destination
6.4	No broken internal links (404s)	High	0 broken internal links
6.5	No broken external links	Low	< 5% broken outbound links
6.6	Mobile-responsive design	Critical	Passes Google's mobile-friendly test
6.7	Proper 404 page	Low	Custom 404 with navigation and search
6.8	Server uptime > 99.9%	Critical	Monitoring in place
6.9	CDN configured for global audience	Medium	If international traffic > 20%
6.10	Security headers present	Low	HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options

Dimension 7: Off-Page Signals (8 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
7.1	Backlink profile health	High	No toxic link patterns
7.2	Referring domain diversity	Medium	> 50 unique referring domains
7.3	Anchor text distribution natural	Medium	< 30% exact-match anchors
7.4	No manual actions in GSC	Critical	Clean manual actions report
7.5	Google Business Profile (if local)	High	Claimed, verified, complete
7.6	Social profiles linked	Low	Active profiles on major platforms
7.7	Brand mentions without links	Low	Unlinked mentions as link opportunities
7.8	Competitor link gap identified	Medium	Top competitors' link sources mapped

Dimension 8: Analytics and Tracking (8 points)

#	Check	Severity	Pass Criteria
8.1	Google Search Console verified	Critical	All properties verified
8.2	GA4 properly configured	High	Events tracking, no duplicate tags
8.3	Conversion tracking in place	High	Key conversions tracked
8.4	GSC and GA4 linked	Medium	Data flowing between tools
8.5	Bing Webmaster Tools configured	Low	Verified and sitemap submitted
8.6	Search Console coverage report clean	High	No unexpected errors
8.7	Core Web Vitals field data available	Medium	Enough traffic for CrUX data
8.8	UTM parameter strategy	Low	Consistent campaign tracking

Severity-Weighted Scoring

Scoring Formula

Total Score = Sum of (Dimension Weight x Dimension Pass Rate)

Dimension Pass Rate = (Passed Checks x Severity Multiplier) / (Total Checks x Severity Multiplier)

Severity Multipliers:
  Critical = 4x
  High = 3x
  Medium = 2x
  Low = 1x

Overall Health Grades

Score	Grade	Assessment
90-100	A	Excellent -- focus on competitive edge
80-89	B	Good -- fix remaining high-priority items
70-79	C	Fair -- significant improvements available
60-69	D	Poor -- critical issues blocking performance
< 60	F	Failing -- foundational problems require immediate attention

Core Web Vitals Deep Dive

LCP Optimization Priority Stack

Cause	Detection	Fix	Impact
Slow server response	TTFB > 600ms	CDN, server upgrade, caching	High
Render-blocking CSS/JS	PageSpeed Insights flags	Inline critical CSS, defer JS	High
Large hero image	LCP element is an image > 500KB	WebP/AVIF, responsive sizes, preload	High
Client-side rendering	LCP requires JS execution	SSR or prerendering	Medium
Web font blocking	FOUT delays LCP text	font-display: swap, preload fonts	Medium

INP Optimization Priority Stack

Cause	Detection	Fix	Impact
Long JavaScript tasks	Chrome DevTools Performance tab	Break into smaller tasks, use requestIdleCallback	High
Heavy event handlers	Slow click/scroll responses	Debounce, optimize handler code	High
Main thread blocking	Third-party scripts	Defer or lazy-load third-party JS	Medium
Layout thrashing	Forced reflows on interaction	Batch DOM reads/writes	Medium

CLS Optimization Priority Stack

Cause	Detection	Fix	Impact
Images without dimensions	CLS in PageSpeed Insights	Add width/height attributes	High
Dynamic content injection	Ads, embeds loading late	Reserve space with CSS aspect-ratio	High
Web fonts causing reflow	Text shifts when font loads	font-display: optional or swap	Medium
Late-loading CSS	Styles applied after render	Inline critical CSS	Medium

Crawl and Indexation Analysis

Indexation Gap Analysis

Compare these three data sets to find gaps:

Set A: Pages in XML sitemap (your intended index)
Set B: Pages indexed in Google (site: query + GSC Coverage)
Set C: Pages receiving organic traffic (GSC Performance)

A - B = Submitted but not indexed (quality or crawl issue)
B - A = Indexed but not in sitemap (orphan or forgotten pages)
B - C = Indexed but receiving zero traffic (rank 100+ or deindexed from results)

Traffic Drop Decision Tree

Traffic dropped →
  ├── Sitewide drop?
  │   ├── Yes → Check for manual action in GSC
  │   │         Check for algorithm update (timeline match?)
  │   │         Check for robots.txt or noindex changes
  │   │         Check server uptime/5xx errors
  │   └── No (specific pages/sections) →
  │       ├── Check for cannibalization (new page stealing from old)
  │       ├── Check for content freshness (competitor updated, you didn't)
  │       ├── Check for lost backlinks to those pages
  │       └── Check for SERP feature changes (new featured snippet, AI overview)
  └── Gradual decline vs sudden drop?
      ├── Sudden → Technical issue or algorithm update
      └── Gradual → Content decay, competitive pressure, or authority erosion

On-Page SEO Analysis

Keyword Cannibalization Detection

Two or more pages targeting the same keyword compete with each other. Detection method:

Export all pages + their primary keyword from GSC (queries with most impressions per page)
Group by keyword -- any keyword assigned to 2+ pages is cannibalized
Check which page ranks higher for each cannibalized keyword
Action: Consolidate (merge into one page), differentiate (change one page's target), or canonical (point one to the other)

Intent Match Scoring

For each target keyword, verify that your page type matches what Google actually ranks:

Google Ranks	Your Page Type	Match?	Action
Listicles	Single product page	No	Create a listicle targeting this keyword
How-to guides	Blog opinion piece	No	Restructure as how-to
Comparison tables	Feature page	Partial	Add comparison elements
Videos	Text-only page	No	Add video or target a different keyword

Content Quality Assessment

AI Content Detection Signals

Watch for these patterns that signal low-quality AI-generated content:

Signal	Example	Fix
Excessive em dashes	"The tool -- which is powerful -- delivers results"	Use commas or periods
Filler hedging	"It's important to note that..."	Delete and get to the point
Generic superlatives	"This groundbreaking, cutting-edge solution"	Use specific, evidence-based language
Perfect paragraph symmetry	Every section has exactly 3 paragraphs of 4 sentences	Vary structure naturally
No first-person experience	Zero personal anecdotes or experience markers	Add genuine experience signals
Overused transitions	"Furthermore", "Moreover", "Additionally" at every paragraph	Vary connectors or remove them

E-E-A-T Scoring

Signal	Weight	Check
Author byline with credentials	High	Named author with bio and expertise
Author page with sameAs links	High	Links to LinkedIn, publications
Original research or data	High	First-party data, surveys, experiments
Experience evidence	High	Screenshots, photos, personal narrative
Citations to authoritative sources	Medium	Links to primary sources
Publication date and update date	Medium	Visible and accurate
About page with team credentials	Medium	Company expertise established
External reviews and mentions	Low	Third-party validation

Competitive Gap Analysis

Framework

For each of your top 3 competitors, compare:

Dimension	Your Site	Competitor 1	Competitor 2	Competitor 3
Domain Rating
Indexed pages
Organic keywords (top 100)
Estimated organic traffic
Content publishing frequency
Avg content depth (word count)
Referring domains
Top-performing content types

Keyword Gap Priority Matrix

Gap Type	Description	Priority
Uncontested	Keyword with volume, no competitor ranks	Highest
Weak competition	You could realistically rank page 1	High
Content gap	Competitor has content, you don't	Medium
Quality gap	Both have content, theirs ranks better	Medium
Authority gap	Competitor's DR advantage is the barrier	Lower (long-term)

Migration Audit Checklist

Pre-Migration (2-4 weeks before)

Crawl entire current site and export all URLs
Map every old URL to its new URL (1:1 redirect mapping)
Export current rankings and organic traffic baseline
Document all existing 301 redirects (chain them to new destinations)
Verify robots.txt will be correct on new site
Verify XML sitemap will be updated
Test new site in staging environment
Verify all schema markup transfers to new templates

During Migration

Implement all 301 redirects
Submit updated XML sitemap to GSC
Verify robots.txt is not blocking critical pages
Test 50 sample redirects for correctness
Monitor server errors in real-time

Post-Migration (2-8 weeks after)

Monitor GSC Coverage report daily for 2 weeks
Track organic traffic vs. baseline daily
Check for crawl errors in GSC
Verify old URLs redirect correctly (batch test)
Monitor rankings for top 50 keywords
Check for broken internal links on new site
Verify analytics tracking is firing correctly

Prioritized Remediation Plan

Priority Framework

Every finding gets classified:

Priority	Criteria	Timeline
P0 Emergency	Blocking indexation or causing active ranking loss	Fix today
P1 Critical	Major negative impact on rankings or traffic	Fix this week
P2 High	Significant improvement potential	Fix this month
P3 Medium	Moderate improvement, standard best practice	Fix this quarter
P4 Low	Minor improvement or nice-to-have	Backlog

Remediation Plan Template

#	Finding	Dimension	Severity	Current State	Recommended Fix	Expected Impact	Effort
1
2

Output Artifacts

Artifact	Format	Description
Executive Summary	3-5 bullet points	Overall grade, top issues, quick wins
Full Audit Report	85-point checklist	Pass/fail per check with evidence
Severity Scorecard	Weighted score table	Per-dimension scores and overall grade
Prioritized Fix List	Ranked table	Every finding with severity, fix, effort, impact
Keyword Cannibalization Map	Table	Pages competing for same keywords with resolution action
Competitive Gap Report	Comparison matrix	Your site vs. 3 competitors across 8 dimensions
Migration Checklist	Checkbox list	Pre/during/post migration tasks

Related Skills

programmatic-seo -- Use when audit reveals keyword gap clusters that could be addressed with template-based page generation at scale.
schema-markup -- Use when audit reveals missing or broken structured data opportunities.
site-architecture -- Use when audit uncovers structural issues (orphan pages, deep nesting, poor internal linking) requiring architectural redesign.
content-creator -- Use when audit reveals content quality issues requiring editorial improvement.
competitor-alternatives -- Use when competitive gap analysis reveals positioning opportunities for comparison content.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
Sitewide traffic drop after algorithm update	Core update changed quality thresholds or E-E-A-T weight	Run full E-E-A-T audit, compare content against newly ranking competitors, add experience signals
Pages indexed but receiving zero impressions	Keyword cannibalization or content quality below ranking threshold	Run cannibalization detection, consolidate or differentiate competing pages
Core Web Vitals failing on mobile only	Third-party scripts or unoptimized images loading on mobile viewport	Defer non-critical JS, serve responsive images, audit third-party script impact
Crawl budget exhausted on low-value pages	Parameter URLs, tag archives, or pagination consuming crawl resources	Noindex thin pages, consolidate parameters, block faceted navigation in robots.txt
Manual action in Search Console	Unnatural links, thin content, or structured data misuse detected	Follow Google's reconsideration process — fix all flagged issues, document changes, submit review
Rankings dropped for specific pages only	Competitor published stronger content or lost key backlinks	Check backlink profile changes, compare content depth against new page 1 results
INP failing despite fast server response	Long JavaScript tasks blocking main thread on user interaction	Break JS into smaller tasks, defer non-critical scripts, audit event handler performance

Success Criteria

Overall audit score: Achieve grade B (80+) or higher on the severity-weighted scoring system
Zero critical failures: All Critical-severity checks passing across all 8 dimensions
Core Web Vitals pass rate: All three metrics (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1) passing at 75th percentile — benchmark: only 47-55% of sites pass as of 2026
Indexation coverage: 95%+ of target pages indexed with zero conflicting signals (canonical vs noindex vs sitemap)
Crawl error rate: Zero 5xx errors and fewer than 0.5% 4xx errors in the indexed page set
Organic CTR: Position 1 pages achieving 25%+ CTR, position 2-3 achieving 10%+ (2026 benchmarks: pos 1 avg 27.6%, pos 2 avg 15.8%)
Remediation velocity: All P0 emergency findings fixed within 24 hours, P1 critical within 7 days

Scope & Limitations

In scope:

Technical SEO across all 8 audit dimensions (crawlability, indexation, CWV, on-page, content quality, infrastructure, off-page, analytics)
Severity-weighted scoring with prioritized remediation plans
Traffic drop diagnosis and root cause analysis
Competitive gap analysis across technical and content dimensions
Pre-migration and post-migration audit checklists
AI content quality detection signals

Out of scope:

Content creation or rewriting (use Content Creator)
Structured data implementation (use Schema Markup)
Site architecture redesign (use Site Architecture)
Link building execution (audit identifies gaps, not outreach)
Paid search or advertising campaign audits
Server infrastructure provisioning or CDN setup

Known limitations:

Field CWV data requires sufficient traffic volume for CrUX reporting — low-traffic sites must rely on lab data
Off-page signals (backlinks, brand mentions) require third-party tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush) for comprehensive data
AI Overview impact on CTR varies by query type — no universal benchmark exists
Google's algorithm changes 500-600 times per year; audit findings reflect a point-in-time snapshot

Integration Points

AI SEO -- Run after audit to optimize for AI search citation alongside traditional SEO findings.
Schema Markup -- Use when audit reveals missing or broken structured data opportunities.
Site Architecture -- Use when audit uncovers structural issues requiring architectural redesign.
Content Humanizer -- Use when audit flags AI content detection signals on key pages.
Content Strategy -- Use when audit reveals content gaps or pillar coverage weaknesses.

Scripts

# Check redirect chains and status codes
python scripts/redirect_checker.py --url https://example.com/old-page --json

# Analyze XML sitemap for errors
python scripts/sitemap_analyzer.py --sitemap https://example.com/sitemap.xml

# Score content quality for SEO
python scripts/content_scorer.py article.md --json