seo-and-aeo-strategy

What this skill does

# SEO & AEO Strategy

## Workspace Context

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: `strategy/brand.md` for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; `about/me.md` for personal voice; `content/ideas.md` and `content/calendar.md` for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to `content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md`, and route durable learnings back to `strategy/brand.md`, `about/me.md`, or `content/ideas.md`.

## Operating Contract

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.



Traditional SEO gets pages ranked. AI search optimization (AEO/GEO) gets content **cited**. This skill covers both.

```
SEO  → Rank in traditional search results (blue links)
AEO  → Appear in featured snippets, AI Overviews, voice answers
GEO  → Get cited in generative AI responses (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity)
```

**2025 reality:** AI Overviews appear in ~47% of Google searches. 58% of queries end without a click. Optimize for citation, not just ranking.

---

## Initial Assessment

Use the Workspace Context above first. Only ask for what is missing.

Before auditing, understand:

1. **Site context** — Type (SaaS, e-commerce, blog), primary SEO goal, priority keywords/topics
2. **Current state** — Known issues, organic traffic level, recent changes or migrations
3. **AI visibility** — Does the brand appear in AI-generated answers today? Checked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews?
4. **Scope** — Full site vs. specific pages? Technical + on-page + AI, or one focus area?

---

## Technical SEO

### Crawlability

| Check | What to Verify |
|-------|---------------|
| **robots.txt** | No unintentional blocks, sitemap referenced, AI crawlers allowed |
| **XML Sitemap** | Exists, submitted to Search Console, canonical URLs only, < 50K URLs |
| **Site architecture** | Important pages within 3 clicks, logical hierarchy, no orphan pages |
| **Crawl budget** | Parameterized URLs controlled, faceted nav handled, no session IDs in URLs |

### Indexation

- `site:domain.com` check vs. Search Console coverage report
- Verify no `noindex` on important pages
- Check canonical tags (self-referencing on unique pages, HTTP→HTTPS, www consistency)
- Identify redirect chains/loops, soft 404s, duplicate content

### Core Web Vitals & Speed

| Metric | Target | Tool |
|--------|--------|------|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | < 2.5s | PageSpeed Insights |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | < 200ms | Chrome DevTools |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | < 0.1 | WebPageTest |
| TTFB (Time to First Byte) | < 800ms | Search Console |

### Mobile & Security

- Responsive design (not separate m. site), viewport configured, adequate tap targets (48px min)
- HTTPS across entire site, valid SSL, no mixed content, HSTS header

### URL Structure

- Lowercase, hyphen-separated, < 75 characters
- Include target keywords naturally, avoid unnecessary parameters

---

## On-Page SEO

### Title Tags

- 50–60 characters, primary keyword near beginning
- Unique per page, brand name at end (unless homepage)
- Compelling and click-worthy

### Meta Descriptions

- 150–160 characters, include primary keyword
- Clear value proposition with call-to-action, unique per page

### Heading Structure

- Single `<h1>` per page containing primary keyword
- Logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3), no skipped levels
- Descriptive headings (not generic), include keywords naturally

### Image SEO

- Descriptive filenames with keywords, alt text on all images
- Compressed, modern formats (WebP/AVIF), lazy load below-fold
- Responsive images with `width`/`height` attributes

### Internal Linking

- Descriptive anchor text with keywords (not "click here")
- Important pages well-linked, no broken internal links
- Breadcrumb navigation for hierarchy

### Content Quality (E-E-A-T)

| Signal | Implementation |
|--------|---------------|
| **Experience** | First-hand accounts, case studies, original data |
| **Expertise** | Author credentials visible, accurate detailed information |
| **Authoritativeness** | Cited by others, industry credentials, recognized in space |
| **Trustworthiness** | Transparent sourcing, contact info, privacy policy, HTTPS |

---

## AI Search Optimization (AEO/GEO)

### How AI Search Platforms Select Sources

| Platform | Source Selection | Key Factor |
|----------|-----------------|------------|
| **Google AI Overviews** | Strong correlation with traditional rankings | Top 5 organic positions favored |
| **ChatGPT** | Wider range, not just top-ranked | Branded domain authority, recency |
| **Perplexity** | Always cites with links | Authoritative, recent, well-structured |
| **Gemini** | Google index + Knowledge Graph | E-E-A-T signals, structured data |
| **Copilot** | Bing index | Microsoft ecosystem (LinkedIn, GitHub) |
| **Claude** | Brave Search | Factual density, structural clarity |

For detailed platform-specific ranking factors, see [references/platform-ranking-factors.md](references/platform-ranking-factors.md) and [references/platform-algorithms.md](references/platform-algorithms.md).

### The Three Pillars

**1. Structure — Make content extractable**

AI systems extract passages, not pages. Every key claim should work standalone.

- Lead every section with a direct answer (don't bury it)
- Keep key answer passages to 40–60 words (optimal for snippet extraction)
- Use H2/H3 headings that match how people phrase queries
- Tables beat prose for comparisons; numbered lists beat paragraphs for processes

**Inverted pyramid pattern:**
```
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│  DIRECT ANSWER (1-2 sentences)   │ ← AI extracts this first
├──────────────────────────────────┤
│  KEY FACTS & CONTEXT             │ ← Supporting bullets/data
├──────────────────────────────────┤
│  DETAILED EXPLANATION            │ ← Background, examples
└──────────────────────────────────┘
```

**2. Authority — Make content citable**

The Princeton GEO research (KDD 2024) ranked 9 optimization methods:

| Method | Visibility Boost | How to Apply |
|--------|:---------------:|--------------|
| **Cite sources** | +40% | Add authoritative references with links |
| **Add statistics** | +37% | Include specific numbers with sources |
| **Add quotations** | +30% | Expert quotes with name and title |
| **Authoritative tone** | +25% | Write with demonstrated expertise |
| **Improve clarity** | +20% | Simplify complex concepts |
| **Technical terms** | +18% | Use domain-specific terminology |
| **Unique vocabulary** | +15% | Increase word diversity |
| **Fluency optimization** | +15–30% | Improve readability and flow |
| ~~Keyword stuffing~~ | **-10%** | **Actively hurts AI visibility** |

**Best combination:** Fluency + Statistics = maximum boost. Low-ranking sites benefit even more — up to 115% visibility increase with citations.

For detailed GEO research, see [references/geo-research.md](references/geo-research.md).

**3. Presence — Be where AI looks**

AI systems cite where you appear, not just your site:
- Wikipedia mentions (7.8% of all ChatGPT citations)
- Reddit discussions, YouTube content, Quora answers
- Review sites (G2, Capterra, TrustRadius for B2B SaaS)
- Industry publications and guest posts

### Semantic Triples (Key AEO Technique)

Compact, unambiguous facts AI can't misread. Pattern: `[Subject]` `[specific verb]` `[concrete object]`.

```
✅ "HubSpot CRM syncs contact and company data."
✅ "Lead Scoring assigns priority based on engagement."
❌ "The system helps with various tasks."
❌ "It can do many things for users."
```

### AI Crawler Configuration

Ensure robots.txt allows AI crawlers:

```
User-agent: GPTBot          # OpenAI
Allow: /
User-agent: Cha