Agentic SEO System - Workflow Examples

Detailed workflow examples with step-by-step instructions and best practices

---

Table of Contents

1. New Client Onboarding
2. Content Strategy Development
3. Technical SEO Audit & Fixes
4. Competitive Intelligence
5. Content Refresh Campaign
6. Local SEO Optimization
7. Keyword Research & Clustering
8. SERP Feature Targeting
9. Internal Linking Optimization
10. Conversion Rate Optimization

---

Workflow 1: New Client Onboarding

Scenario: You've just signed a new SEO client and need a complete initial assessment.

Goal: Comprehensive SEO analysis covering technical health, competitive position, and strategic opportunities.

Time: 2-3 hours (first run), 30 minutes (with cached data)

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Business Context (15 min)

1.1 Create Business Profile

"Create a business profile for [Client Brand Name] based on their website [domain.com]"

What happens:

• business-profile-creator agent researches the brand
• Extracts business information, products, target audience
• Identifies main competitors
• Creates /context/business-profile.md

Review and refine:

# Review the generated profile
cat context/business-profile.md

# Make manual edits if needed
nano context/business-profile.md

1.2 Verify Competitor List

"Review and validate the competitor list for [Client Brand Name]"

Output: /context/competitors.md

Phase 2: Data Collection (30-60 min)

2.1 Crawl Client Site

"Crawl [client-domain.com] and cache all SEO data"

What happens:

• site-crawler agent activates
• Checks cache (will be miss on first run)
• Runs crawler script
• Extracts all SEO data
• Stores in .cache/sites/client-domain-com/

Monitor progress:

# Watch crawl progress
watch -n 5 'cat .cache/sites/client-domain-com/progress.json | jq'

# Check logs
tail -f logs/crawls/2025-10-18-*.log

2.2 Crawl Top 3 Competitors (parallel)

"Crawl competitor1.com, competitor2.com, and competitor3.com in parallel"

Efficiency note: Running in parallel saves 65% time vs. sequential.

2.3 Fetch Keyword Data for Client's Main Topics

"Get keyword data for '[main topic 1]', '[main topic 2]', and '[main topic 3]'"

2.4 Fetch SERP Data for Priority Keywords

"Fetch SERP data for [list of 10-20 priority keywords]"

Phase 3: Technical Analysis (15 min)

3.1 Technical SEO Audit

"Run a comprehensive technical SEO audit on [client-domain.com]"

What happens:

• technical-seo-auditor agent activates
• Uses cached site crawl data (instant access)
• Analyzes all technical factors
• Generates health score (0-100)
• Creates prioritized issue list

Output: analysis/technical-seo-audit-2025-10-18.md

Review priorities:

# Extract critical issues
grep -A 20 "## Critical Issues" analysis/technical-seo-audit-2025-10-18.md

3.2 Internal Linking Analysis

"Analyze internal linking structure for [client-domain.com]"

Uses same crawl cache (no re-crawl needed)

Output: analysis/internal-linking-strategy-2025-10-18.md

3.3 Schema Markup Strategy

"Create schema markup strategy for [client-domain.com]"

Output: analysis/schema-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Phase 4: Competitive Analysis (20 min)

4.1 Keyword Gap Analysis

"Analyze keyword gaps between [client-domain.com] and our top 3 competitors"

What happens:

• keyword-gap-analyzer agent activates
• Uses all 4 cached site crawls
• Identifies keywords competitors rank for (client doesn't)
• Scores opportunities

Output: analysis/keyword-gap-analysis-2025-10-18.md

4.2 Content Gap Analysis

"Identify content gaps compared to top competitors"

Output: analysis/content-gap-analysis-2025-10-18.md

Phase 5: Strategic Planning (15 min)

5.1 Keyword Strategy

"Create comprehensive keyword strategy for [client-domain.com]"

Uses cached data:

• Keyword metrics (from Phase 2.3)
• SERP data (from Phase 2.4)
• Gap analysis (from Phase 4)

Output: analysis/keyword-strategy-2025-10-18.md

5.2 Create Executive Summary

"Create an executive summary of findings and top 10 strategic recommendations"

Output: deliverables/onboarding-executive-summary-2025-10-18.md

Deliverables Checklist

After completing this workflow, you should have:

• Business profile documented
• Competitor list validated
• Technical SEO audit with health score
• Internal linking analysis
• Schema markup strategy
• Keyword gap analysis
• Content gap analysis
• Keyword strategy roadmap
• Executive summary with top 10 recommendations

Next Steps

Based on findings, prioritize:

1. Critical technical fixes (from audit)
2. Quick win keywords (from gap analysis)
3. Priority content creation (from content gaps)
4. Schema implementation (P1 schemas from strategy)

---

Workflow 2: Content Strategy Development

Scenario: Client wants to dominate a specific topic cluster.

Goal: Research-backed content strategy with detailed content briefs.

Time: 1-2 hours (first run), 30 minutes (with cached data)

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Topic Research (20 min)

1.1 Seed Keyword Research

"Get keyword data for '[main topic]' and suggest 20-30 related keywords"

Example:

"Get keyword data for 'email marketing' and suggest 20-30 related keywords"

What you get:

• Search volume for main topic
• Keyword difficulty
• Related keywords with metrics
• Cached for 30 days

1.2 Expand Keyword List

Review the suggestions and request additional data:

"Get keyword data for [list of 20-30 related keywords from step 1.1]"

1.3 Fetch SERP Data for All Keywords

"Fetch SERP data for all [X] keywords from our email marketing research"

Phase 2: Strategic Analysis (20 min)

2.1 Keyword Strategy & Clustering

"Create keyword strategy with clustering for our email marketing keyword set"

What happens:

• keyword-strategist agent analyzes all keyword data
• Clusters keywords by topic, intent, and funnel stage
• Calculates opportunity scores
• Identifies quick wins vs. long-term targets
• Creates implementation roadmap

Output: analysis/keyword-strategy-email-marketing-2025-10-18.md

Review clusters:

# Extract keyword clusters
grep -A 30 "## Keyword Clusters" analysis/keyword-strategy-email-marketing-2025-10-18.md

2.2 SERP Analysis

"Analyze SERP patterns for our top 10 keyword opportunities"

What happens:

• serp-analyzer identifies ranking patterns
• Detects dominant content types
• Identifies SERP features present
• Analyzes competitive landscape

Output: analysis/serp-analysis-email-marketing-2025-10-18.md

Phase 3: Content Planning (30 min)

3.1 Extract Top Ranking Content

"Extract and analyze content from top 3 SERP results for 'email marketing best practices'"

Repeat for 3-5 priority keywords

3.2 Content Gap Analysis

"Identify content gaps in our email marketing content compared to top performers"

Output: analysis/content-gap-analysis-email-marketing-2025-10-18.md

3.3 Create Content Briefs

"Create detailed content briefs for our top 5 keyword opportunities:
1. [keyword 1]
2. [keyword 2]
3. [keyword 3]
4. [keyword 4]
5. [keyword 5]"

What happens:

• content-brief-creator runs 5 times (can parallelize)
• Uses cached SERP data (instant)
• Uses cached competitor content (instant)
• Analyzes patterns and creates briefs

Outputs: 5 files in deliverables/content-brief-{keyword}-2025-10-18.md

Phase 4: Editorial Calendar (10 min)

4.1 Prioritize Content

Based on:

• Opportunity score (from keyword strategy)
• Content gap severity
• Business priorities

4.2 Create Editorial Calendar

"Create 3-month editorial calendar based on our email marketing content strategy"

Output: deliverables/editorial-calendar-Q1-2025.md

Deliverables Checklist

• Keyword research (30-50 keywords with metrics)
• Keyword strategy with clusters
• SERP analysis for priority keywords
• Content gap analysis
• 5 detailed content briefs
• 3-month editorial calendar

Time Savings with Caching

First run: ~2 hours Subsequent strategy adjustments: ~30 minutes (80% faster)

Why? Keyword data, SERP data, and competitor content all cached.

---

Workflow 3: Technical SEO Audit & Fixes

Scenario: Monthly technical health check and issue resolution.

Goal: Identify and fix technical SEO issues systematically.

Time: 1 hour audit + implementation time

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Fresh Site Crawl (10 min)

1.1 Force Fresh Crawl

"Crawl [domain.com] with fresh data, bypass cache"

Why bypass cache?

• Monthly audits need current data
• Detect new issues
• Validate previous fixes

Phase 2: Comprehensive Audit (15 min)

2.1 Technical SEO Audit

"Run comprehensive technical SEO audit on [domain.com]"

Output: analysis/technical-seo-audit-2025-10-18.md

2.2 Compare with Previous Audit

# View diff between current and last month
diff analysis/technical-seo-audit-2025-09-18.md \
     analysis/technical-seo-audit-2025-10-18.md

2.3 Additional Technical Analyses

"Analyze site architecture for [domain.com]"
"Analyze URL structure for [domain.com]"
"Review schema markup for [domain.com]"

All use same crawl (65% time savings)

Phase 3: Prioritization (10 min)

3.1 Extract Critical Issues

# Create priority list
grep -B 2 "Critical Issue\|High Priority" \
  analysis/technical-seo-audit-2025-10-18.md > priorities.txt

3.2 Categorize by Type

Group issues:

• Quick Fixes (< 2 hours): Missing meta tags, broken links
• Medium Effort (2-8 hours): URL structure, internal linking
• Major Projects (> 8 hours): Site architecture, migration

3.3 Create Fix Roadmap

"Create implementation roadmap for fixing our top 10 technical SEO issues"

Phase 4: Implementation (varies)

4.1 Quick Fixes (Week 1)

Example: Fix missing meta descriptions

"Optimize meta descriptions for these 15 pages missing them:
[list of URLs]"

Output: deliverables/meta-optimization-batch-1-2025-10-18.md

4.2 Medium Effort Fixes (Week 2-3)

Example: Internal linking improvements

"Create internal linking plan to fix 23 orphan pages identified in audit"

4.3 Major Projects (Month 2+)

Example: URL structure optimization

"Create URL migration plan for restructuring our blog from /blog/YYYY/MM/DD/title to /blog/title format"

Output: analysis/url-migration-plan-2025-10-18.md

Phase 5: Validation (ongoing)

5.1 Monitor Fixes

Re-crawl after major fixes:

"Crawl [domain.com] to validate our recent technical fixes"

5.2 Track Health Score

Create tracking spreadsheet:

Date        | Health Score | Critical | High | Medium | Low
2025-09-18  | 67/100       | 5        | 12   | 18     | 8
2025-10-18  | 74/100       | 2        | 8    | 15     | 6

Best Practices

DO:

• Run technical audits monthly with fresh crawls
• Fix critical issues within 1 week
• Track health score trends
• Validate fixes with re-crawl

DON'T:

• Skip monthly audits (issues accumulate)
• Ignore low-priority issues indefinitely
• Make mass changes without testing
• Forget to document fixes

---

Workflow 4: Competitive Intelligence

Scenario: Deep dive into what competitors are doing right (and wrong).

Goal: Actionable competitive insights for strategic advantage.

Time: 2-3 hours

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Competitor Identification (10 min)

1.1 Identify Main Competitors

"Identify top 5 SEO competitors for [our-domain.com] in the [industry] space"

Output: Updated /context/competitors.md

1.2 Validate List

Review and adjust:

• Direct competitors (same products/services)
• SERP competitors (rank for our keywords)
• Aspirational competitors (where we want to be)

Phase 2: Data Collection (30-45 min)

2.1 Crawl All Competitors

"Crawl [competitor1.com], [competitor2.com], [competitor3.com], [competitor4.com], and [competitor5.com] in parallel"

Cache benefit: Saves for 24 hours, reusable across analyses

2.2 Fetch SERP Data for Shared Keywords

"Fetch SERP data for our top 20 target keywords"

2.3 Extract Competitor Content Samples

"Extract content from top-ranking pages:
- [competitor1.com/page-a]
- [competitor2.com/page-b]
- [competitor3.com/page-c]"

Phase 3: Comparative Analysis (45 min)

3.1 Technical Comparison

"Compare technical SEO health: [our-domain.com] vs. [competitor1.com] vs. [competitor2.com]"

Creates comparison table:

Metric              | Us    | Comp1 | Comp2
--------------------+-------+-------+-------
Health Score        | 74    | 82    | 79
Avg Page Speed      | 2.1s  | 1.8s  | 3.2s
Pages with Schema   | 45%   | 78%   | 23%
Orphan Pages        | 12    | 3     | 45

3.2 Keyword Gap Analysis

"Identify keyword gaps: what keywords do competitors rank for that we don't?"

Output: analysis/keyword-gap-analysis-2025-10-18.md

Key sections:

• Competitor-only keywords (we're missing)
• Shared keywords (competitive overlap)
• Our unique keywords (our advantages)

3.3 Content Gap Analysis

"Identify content gaps: what content types are competitors producing that we're not?"

Output: analysis/content-gap-analysis-2025-10-18.md

Identifies:

• Missing content formats (guides, tools, calculators, etc.)
• Topic clusters they cover (we don't)
• Content depth disparities

3.4 SERP Competitive Analysis

"Analyze competitive SERP landscape for our top 10 target keywords"

Output: analysis/serp-competitive-analysis-2025-10-18.md

3.5 Backlink Comparison (requires external data)

"Analyze backlink gap: where do competitors have links that we don't?"

Note: Export backlink data from Ahrefs/Semrush first

Phase 4: Strategic Insights (20 min)

4.1 Identify Competitive Advantages

What they do well:

• Technical SEO strengths
• Content strategies
• SERP feature dominance
• Link building tactics

4.2 Identify Competitive Weaknesses

Their gaps we can exploit:

• Technical issues they haven't fixed
• Content gaps in their coverage
• Keywords they're not targeting
• SERP opportunities they're missing

4.3 Create Competitive Strategy

"Create competitive strategy document: how to outrank [main competitor] in next 6 months"

Output: deliverables/competitive-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Should include:

• Quick wins (exploit their weaknesses)
• Defensive strategies (protect our strengths)
• Offensive strategies (attack their strengths)
• Long-term positioning

Deliverables Checklist

• Updated competitor list
• Technical comparison table
• Keyword gap analysis
• Content gap analysis
• SERP competitive analysis
• Backlink gap analysis
• 6-month competitive strategy

Monitoring Frequency

• Monthly: SERP position tracking
• Quarterly: Full competitive analysis refresh
• Annually: Competitor list validation

---

Workflow 5: Content Refresh Campaign

Scenario: Declining traffic on older content needs rescue.

Goal: Identify and refresh underperforming content for traffic recovery.

Time: 1 hour analysis + refresh time per page

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Identify Refresh Candidates (20 min)

1.1 Crawl Current Site

"Crawl [our-domain.com] with fresh data"

1.2 Content Refresh Prioritization

"Identify content refresh priorities for [our-domain.com] - which pages should we update first?"

What happens:

• content-refresh-prioritizer analyzes all content
• Identifies stale content (>365 days old)
• Scores refresh opportunities
• Prioritizes by ROI potential

Output: analysis/content-refresh-priorities-2025-10-18.md

Key sections:

• Top 10 refresh priorities with scores
• Quick wins (high impact, low effort)
• Strategic overhauls (major updates needed)

Phase 2: Deep Analysis of Priority Pages (15 min per page)

2.1 Semantic Analysis

"Analyze semantic quality of [priority-page-url]"

What happens:

• semantic-content-analyzer extracts content
• Analyzes entity coverage, topic comprehensiveness
• Identifies content gaps vs. competitors
• Scores semantic quality (0-100)

Output: analysis/semantic-content-analysis-{page}-2025-10-18.md

2.2 SERP Analysis for Page's Target Keywords

"Fetch and analyze current SERP data for keywords that [priority-page-url] targets"

Identifies:

• Current top-ranking content patterns
• New SERP features appeared since page published
• Competitive landscape changes

2.3 Content Gap Analysis

"Compare [priority-page-url] content depth with current top 3 ranking pages"

Phase 3: Create Refresh Briefs (30 min)

3.1 Generate Refresh Brief

"Create content refresh brief for [priority-page-url] including:
- Current content audit
- What's working (keep)
- What's outdated (update)
- What's missing (add)
- Updated content structure
- New keywords to target"

Output: deliverables/content-refresh-brief-{page}-2025-10-18.md

Repeat for top 5-10 priority pages

Phase 4: Batch Implementation (varies)

4.1 Group Pages by Refresh Type

Quick Freshness Updates (1-2 hours each):

• Update stats and data
• Add current year mentions
• Refresh outdated screenshots
• Add recent examples

Content Expansions (3-5 hours each):

• Add new sections identified in gap analysis
• Expand shallow sections
• Add multimedia (videos, infographics)
• Improve structure

Strategic Overhauls (8+ hours each):

• Complete rewrite using brief
• New structure and outline
• Target additional keywords
• Significantly expand depth

4.2 Track Refresh Progress

Create tracking document:

Page                | Status      | Type      | Completed | Re-published
--------------------+-------------+-----------+-----------+--------------
/blog/post-1        | In Progress | Expansion | 2025-10-20| -
/blog/post-2        | Complete    | Quick     | 2025-10-18| 2025-10-18
/blog/post-3        | Planned     | Overhaul  | -         | -

Phase 5: Monitor Results (ongoing)

5.1 Track Ranking Recovery

Monitor keywords for refreshed pages:

• Week 1-2: Google re-crawl
• Month 1-2: Initial ranking movements
• Month 2-3: Stabilized new rankings

5.2 Track Traffic Recovery

Expected timeline:

• Week 1-2: Minimal change
• Week 3-4: Initial traffic uptick
• Month 2-3: Substantial traffic recovery (50-300% possible)

5.3 Measure ROI

Page Traffic Before | Page Traffic After | Increase | Hours Spent | Traffic/Hour
--------------------+--------------------+----------+-------------+-------------
500/mo              | 1,200/mo           | +140%    | 4 hrs       | 175 visits/hr

Best Practices

Prioritization Formula (from content-refresh-prioritizer):

Score = (Search Volume × Rank Gap × Freshness Factor × Content Gap)

Where:
- Search Volume: monthly searches for target keyword
- Rank Gap: difference between current rank and previous best rank
- Freshness Factor: how stale (days old / 365)
- Content Gap: depth gap vs. current top rankers (word count diff / 1000)

DO:

• Refresh pages with previous ranking success
• Focus on pages with declining but not dead traffic
• Update publish date after substantial refreshes
• Add "Last Updated: {DATE}" notice

DON'T:

• Refresh pages that never ranked well (better to create new)
• Make minor edits and claim "updated" (Google sees through it)
• Forget to update images, screenshots, data
• Ignore newly appeared SERP features

---

Workflow 6: Local SEO Optimization

Scenario: Business with physical location(s) needs local visibility.

Goal: Dominate local pack for target location + keyword combinations.

Time: 2-3 hours strategy + ongoing implementation

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Local SEO Audit (30 min)

1.1 Verify Business Profile Has Location Data

# Check if business profile includes location info
grep -i "location\|address\|city" context/business-profile.md

If missing, update business profile with:

• Physical address
• Service area
• Multiple locations (if applicable)

1.2 Local SEO Strategy

"Create comprehensive local SEO strategy for [business name] in [city, state]"

What happens:

• local-seo-strategist analyzes business type and location
• Audits current local SEO signals
• Creates location-specific optimization plan

Output: analysis/local-seo-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Key sections:

• Google Business Profile optimization
• Local pack ranking factors
• Citation & NAP audit
• Review management strategy
• On-page local SEO
• Local content strategy

Phase 2: Google Business Profile Optimization (30 min)

2.1 GBP Completeness Audit

From local SEO strategy, extract GBP checklist:

grep -A 30 "Google Business Profile Audit" \
  analysis/local-seo-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Optimize:

• Business name (match website exactly)
• Categories (primary + 5-9 secondary)
• Description (750 chars, keyword-rich)
• Hours (accurate, including special hours)
• Phone number (local number preferred)
• Website URL (UTM tagged for tracking)
• Attributes (all applicable selected)
• Photos (minimum 10, updated monthly)
• Logo (high-resolution)
• Cover photo (updated seasonally)

2.2 GBP Content Calendar

"Create Google Business Profile posting calendar for next 3 months"

Post types:

• Weekly: What's New, Offers, Events
• Daily: Photos (product, team, behind-scenes)

Phase 3: Citation Building (60 min)

3.1 Citation Gap Analysis

From local SEO strategy:

grep -A 50 "Citation Gap Analysis" \
  analysis/local-seo-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Priority citations:

1. Tier 1 (must-have): Yelp, Facebook, BBB, YellowPages
2. Tier 2 (industry): Industry-specific directories
3. Tier 3 (local): Local chamber, local directories

3.2 NAP Consistency Audit

Ensure identical NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across:

• Website footer
• Contact page
• Google Business Profile
• Facebook
• All citations

Format standardization:

Good: 123 Main Street, Suite 200
Bad:  123 Main St., Ste 200
      123 Main Street #200

3.3 Build/Fix Citations

Create citation list:

Citation Source    | Status      | NAP Match | URL Correct | Notes
-------------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+-------
Google Business    | Complete    | ✓         | ✓           | -
Yelp               | Incomplete  | ✓         | ✗           | Missing website
Facebook           | Needs Fix   | ✗         | ✓           | Address format

Phase 4: On-Page Local Optimization (30 min)

4.1 Crawl Current Site

"Crawl [our-domain.com]"

4.2 Identify Pages Needing Local Optimization

From local SEO strategy:

grep -A 30 "On-Page Local SEO" \
  analysis/local-seo-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Priority pages:

• Homepage
• Location pages (if multi-location)
• Service pages (create service + city variants)
• Contact page

4.3 Optimize Pages

Homepage:

• Title tag: "[Service] in [City, State] | [Brand]"
• H1: "Best [Service] in [City, State]"
• First paragraph mentions city/region
• Schema: LocalBusiness with complete NAP

Location pages (if multi-location):

• Create /locations/[city-name] pages
• Unique content per location (not duplicated)
• Embedded Google Map
• Location-specific photos
• Local testimonials

Service + City pages:

• Create "/[service]/[city]" if serving multiple cities
• Example: "/plumbing/austin-tx", "/plumbing/dallas-tx"

Phase 5: Review Management (ongoing)

5.1 Review Generation Campaign

From local SEO strategy:

grep -A 30 "Review Management" \
  analysis/local-seo-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Implement:

• Email campaign to happy customers
• QR code at physical location
• Staff training on requesting reviews
• Incentivize (legally) where allowed

5.2 Review Response Strategy

Create response templates:

"Create review response templates for:
1. 5-star positive reviews
2. 3-4 star mixed reviews
3. 1-2 star negative reviews"

Output: deliverables/review-response-templates-2025-10-18.md

5.3 Monitor & Respond

Set up:

• Daily Google Business Profile checks
• Weekly Yelp/Facebook checks
• Respond to ALL reviews within 24 hours

Phase 6: Local Content Strategy (30 min)

6.1 Local Content Ideas

From local SEO strategy:

grep -A 30 "Local Content Strategy" \
  analysis/local-seo-strategy-2025-10-18.md

Content types:

• Local area guides ("[City] Neighborhood Guide for [Audience]")
• Local event coverage ("Best Events in [City] This Month")
• Community involvement ("[Business] Sponsors [Local Event]")
• Local partnerships ("[Business] Partners with [Local Organization]")
• Local statistics/data ("[Industry] Trends in [City] 2025")

6.2 Create Local Content Calendar

"Create local content calendar for next 3 months focusing on [city] community"

KPIs to Track

Local Pack Rankings:

• Track rankings for "[service] + [city]" keywords
• Track local pack appearances
• Goal: Top 3 local pack for priority keywords

Google Business Profile Metrics:

• Profile views (monthly trend)
• Search queries driving views
• Actions (calls, website clicks, direction requests)
• Photo views

Reviews:

• Review count (month-over-month growth)
• Average rating (maintain 4.5+)
• Review response rate (maintain 100%)
• Review velocity (new reviews per month)

Website Traffic:

• Organic traffic from local keywords
• Traffic from Google Business Profile
• Conversion rate from local traffic

Timeline Expectations

• Month 1: Citation building, GBP optimization, on-page fixes
• Month 2: Review generation campaign, local content creation
• Month 3: See initial local pack ranking improvements
• Month 4-6: Solidify local pack positions, continue review growth

---

Workflow 7: Keyword Research & Clustering

Scenario: Need to understand keyword landscape for a topic or niche.

Goal: Comprehensive keyword dataset with strategic clustering.

Time: 1-2 hours

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: Seed Keyword Generation (15 min)

1.1 Initial Brainstorm

Create seed list (10-20 keywords):

• Main topic keyword
• Product/service names
• Common customer language
• Competitor targeting

1.2 Get Seed Keyword Data

"Get keyword data for [list of 10-20 seed keywords]"

1.3 Expand with Suggestions

"Based on the keyword data, suggest 30-50 related keywords to research"

Uses:

• DataForSEO related keywords
• SERP "People Also Ask" analysis
• Competitor ranking keywords (if crawled)

Phase 2: Comprehensive Data Collection (20 min)

2.1 Fetch Expanded Keyword Data

"Get keyword data for all [X] keywords from our expanded list"

Batch efficiently (up to 1000 keywords per API call)

2.2 Fetch SERP Data for Priority Keywords

"Fetch SERP data for top 20 keywords by search volume"

Why? SERP data reveals:

• User intent signals
• Content type preferences
• SERP feature opportunities
• Competitive landscape

Phase 3: Strategic Analysis & Clustering (30 min)

3.1 Create Keyword Strategy

"Create comprehensive keyword strategy with clustering for our [topic] keyword set"

What happens:

• keyword-strategist analyzes all keyword metrics
• Clusters keywords by:
  • Topic similarity
  • User intent (informational, commercial, transactional)
  • Funnel stage (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU)
• Calculates opportunity scores
• Identifies quick wins and long-term targets

Output: analysis/keyword-strategy-{topic}-2025-10-18.md

Key sections:

## Keyword Clusters

### Cluster 1: [Topic Name]
- Primary keyword: [keyword] (Volume: X, Difficulty: Y)
- Secondary keywords: [list]
- Intent: Informational
- Funnel stage: TOFU
- Opportunity score: 78/100

### Cluster 2: [Topic Name]
...

3.2 SERP Pattern Analysis

"Analyze SERP patterns across our keyword clusters - what content types dominate?"

Identifies per cluster:

• Dominant content formats (listicles, how-tos, videos, tools)
• Common SERP features (featured snippets, PAA, videos)
• Content depth (average word count of top rankers)
• Domain authority levels (can we compete?)

Phase 4: Content Mapping (15 min)

4.1 Map Keywords to Content

For each cluster, decide:

Cluster              | Existing Page | Action
---------------------+---------------+--------
[Cluster 1 Name]     | /page-a       | Optimize (add secondary keywords)
[Cluster 2 Name]     | /page-b       | Expand (add sections)
[Cluster 3 Name]     | None          | Create new comprehensive guide
[Cluster 4 Name]     | /page-c       | Split (too many topics on one page)

4.2 Prioritize Content Creation

Priority matrix:

Quick Wins (High Volume, Low Difficulty):
1. [Keyword cluster] - Estimated 500 visits/month, Difficulty: 25
2. [Keyword cluster] - Estimated 350 visits/month, Difficulty: 30

Strategic Targets (High Volume, Medium Difficulty):
1. [Keyword cluster] - Estimated 2000 visits/month, Difficulty: 55
2. [Keyword cluster] - Estimated 1500 visits/month, Difficulty: 60

Long-Term Targets (High Volume, High Difficulty):
1. [Keyword cluster] - Estimated 5000 visits/month, Difficulty: 85

Phase 5: Implementation Planning (15 min)

5.1 Create Content Roadmap

"Create 6-month content roadmap based on our keyword strategy, prioritizing quick wins first"

Output: deliverables/content-roadmap-6-month-2025-10-18.md

Includes:

• Month 1: Quick wins (3-5 pieces)
• Month 2: Strategic targets (2-3 pieces)
• Month 3: More quick wins + 1 long-term
• Month 4-6: Mix of strategic and long-term

5.2 Assign Ownership

Month | Keyword Cluster      | Content Type  | Owner    | Due Date
------+----------------------+---------------+----------+-----------
10    | Email Marketing Tips | List article  | Writer A | 2025-10-30
10    | Email Subject Lines  | How-to guide  | Writer B | 2025-10-31
11    | Email Segmentation   | Deep dive     | Writer A | 2025-11-15

Pro Tips

Clustering Criteria:

• Topic clusters: Group by semantic similarity
• Intent clusters: Group by user intent (info/commercial/transactional)
• Funnel clusters: Group by buyer journey stage (awareness/consideration/decision)

Opportunity Scoring Formula:

Opportunity Score = (Volume × CPC) / (Difficulty + 1)

Where:
- Higher volume = more traffic potential
- Higher CPC = more commercial value (even for organic)
- Lower difficulty = easier to rank

Quick Win Thresholds:

• Search volume: 100+
• Keyword difficulty: <35
• Currently ranking: #11-#30 (or not ranking)
• Low competition in SERP (weak domains)

---

Workflow 8: SERP Feature Targeting

Scenario: Want to capture featured snippets, PAA boxes, and other SERP features.

Goal: Optimize content for specific SERP feature types.

Time: 1-2 hours per feature type

Step-by-Step

Phase 1: SERP Feature Analysis (30 min)

1.1 Identify Target Keywords

Choose keywords where:

• You currently rank #1-#10
• SERP feature present
• You don't own the feature yet

1.2 Fetch SERP Data

"Fetch SERP data for [list of 20 target keywords with SERP features]"

1.3 Analyze SERP Features

"Analyze SERP features present for our target keywords - which types appear most frequently?"

What happens:

• serp-analyzer examines all SERP data
• Identifies feature types (featured snippets, PAA, videos, images, etc.)
• Calculates frequency per feature type
• Identifies which you can realistically capture

Output: analysis/serp-feature-opportunities-2025-10-18.md

Feature types to target:

1. Featured Snippets (paragraph, list, table)
2. People Also Ask (PAA boxes)
3. Related Searches
4. Image Packs
5. Video Carousels

Phase 2: Featured Snippet Optimization (30 min per page)

2.1 Analyze Current Featured Snippet Holder

"Extract and analyze content from [URL currently holding featured snippet]"

Identifies:

• Content format (paragraph, list, table)
• Answer length (character/word count)
• HTML structure (tags used)
• Answer completeness

2.2 Optimize Your Page for Snippet

For Paragraph Snippets:

<h2>What is [Keyword]?</h2>
<p><strong>[Keyword]</strong> is [concise 40-60 word definition that directly answers the question].</p>

For List Snippets:

<h2>How to [Do Something]</h2>
<ol>
  <li><strong>Step 1:</strong> [Concise step description]</li>
  <li><strong>Step 2:</strong> [Concise step description]</li>
  <li><strong>Step 3:</strong> [Concise step description]</li>
</ol>

For Table Snippets:

<h2>[Comparison/List Topic]</h2>
<table>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>Item</th><th>Value 1</th><th>Value 2</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Data</td><td>Data</td><td>Data</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

2.3 Schema Markup for Snippets

"Create FAQ schema for [page-url] to target People Also Ask boxes"

Output: JSON-LD code to add to page

Phase 3: People Also Ask (PAA) Targeting (20 min)

3.1 Extract PAA Questions

From SERP data:

grep -A 50 "People Also Ask" \
  .cache/serps/*/data.json | jq '.paa'

3.2 Create FAQ Section

Add to bottom of existing content:

<h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2>

<h3>Question 1 from PAA?</h3>
<p>Concise answer (40-60 words) that directly answers the question.</p>

<h3>Question 2 from PAA?</h3>
<p>Concise answer (40-60 words) that directly answers the question.</p>

3.3 Add FAQ Schema

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Question from PAA?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Concise answer that directly answers the question."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Phase 4: Image Pack Optimization (15 min)

4.1 Identify Image Pack Keywords

Target keywords where image packs appear:

• Visual/product keywords
• "Best [X]" listicles
• Comparison keywords

4.2 Image Optimization Checklist

For each target keyword page:

• 3-5 high-quality images (min 1200px wide)
• Descriptive file names (best-email-marketing-tools.jpg not img123.jpg)
• Alt text with target keyword (alt="Best email marketing tools comparison chart")
• Captions with context
• Image schema (ImageObject)
• Responsive images (srcset)

4.3 Create Image Sitemap

Add images to sitemap or create dedicated image sitemap:

<url>
  <loc>https://example.com/page</loc>
  <image:image>
    <image:loc>https://example.com/image.jpg</image:loc>
    <image:caption>Descriptive caption</image:caption>
    <image:title>Image title</image:title>
  </image:image>
</url>

Phase 5: Video Carousel Targeting (30 min)

5.1 Identify Video Carousel Keywords

Target keywords where video carousels appear:

• How-to keywords
• Tutorial keywords
• "What is" keywords

5.2 Video SEO Checklist

• Create YouTube video for topic
• Video title = target keyword
• Description includes keyword + transcript excerpt
• Tags include target keyword + related terms
• Thumbnail optimized (1280x720, compelling)
• Embed video on page targeting keyword
• Add VideoObject schema to page

5.3 VideoObject Schema

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "Video title with keyword",
  "description": "Video description",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/thumbnail.jpg",
  "uploadDate": "2025-10-18",
  "duration": "PT5M30S",
  "contentUrl": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxx",
  "embedUrl": "https://youtube.com/embed/xxx"
}
</script>

Phase 6: Monitoring & Iteration (ongoing)

6.1 Track SERP Feature Wins

Create tracking spreadsheet:

Keyword               | Feature Type | Status      | Captured Date
----------------------+--------------+-------------+---------------
[keyword 1]           | Featured     | Captured    | 2025-10-25
[keyword 2]           | PAA          | In Progress | -
[keyword 3]           | Images       | Captured    | 2025-10-18

6.2 Monitor Weekly

SERP features change frequently:

• Check if you're still holding features
• Identify new feature opportunities
• Adjust optimization as needed

Expected Results Timeline

• Week 1-2: Google re-crawls optimized pages
• Week 3-4: Initial featured snippet captures (if optimized well)
• Month 2-3: Stable featured snippet holdings
• Ongoing: Continue monitoring and optimizing

Pro Tips

Featured Snippet Best Practices:

• Answer questions directly and concisely (40-60 words optimal)
• Use question as H2 heading
• Place answer immediately after heading
• Use proper HTML structure (lists as <ol>/<ul>, tables as <table>)

PAA Box Best Practices:

• Answer 5-10 related questions on single page
• Use FAQ schema
• Keep answers concise but comprehensive
• Link to related sections for "learn more"

Image Pack Best Practices:

• Original images outperform stock photos
• Infographics and charts perform well
• Include text overlay for context
• Compress for speed without quality loss

---

[Workflows 9-10 continue with similar detailed step-by-step guidance for Internal Linking Optimization and Conversion Rate Optimization...]

---

General Workflow Best Practices

Before Starting Any Workflow

1. Check business profile exists: cat context/business-profile.md
2. Verify cache status: .claude/scripts/cache/stats.sh
3. Review recent reports: ls -lt analysis/ | head -10

During Workflows

1. Monitor progress: Check logs and progress files
2. Validate cache hits: Confirm reuse of cached data
3. Document decisions: Note why you chose specific strategies

After Completing Workflows

1. Archive deliverables: Move finalized reports to dated folders
2. Update tracking: Log completion in project management system
3. Schedule follow-ups: Set reminders for monitoring and iteration

Efficiency Tips

Parallelize when possible:

Good: "Crawl site1.com, site2.com, and site3.com in parallel"
Slow: "Crawl site1.com" then "Crawl site2.com" then "Crawl site3.com"

Reuse cached data:

Efficient: Run technical audit, internal linking, and schema analysis on same day (share crawl)
Wasteful: Run each on different days (3 separate crawls)

Batch API requests:

Good: "Get keyword data for all 50 keywords at once"
Slow: "Get keyword data for keyword1" [repeat 50 times]

---

Questions about workflows? See FAQ (docs/faq.md) or User Guide (docs/user-guide.md).

Last Updated: 2025-10-18