technical-seo

name	technical-seo
description	Use this skill to implement technical SEO optimizations in code — meta tags, schema markup, Core Web Vitals, crawlability, robots.txt, sitemaps, and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) for AI search engines. This is the implementation skill — for strategy see seo, for content writing see seo-content, for auditing see seo-audit.

Technical SEO Implementation

This skill is the implementation reference for technical SEO. Use it when you need to add, fix, or optimize SEO elements in code — meta tags, schema markup, Core Web Vitals, crawlability, and GEO.

This skill covers how to implement in code. For the other SEO concerns:

• seo — Strategy and planning (keyword research, content architecture, what to build)
• seo-content — Writing content (briefs, humanized prose, SERP feature targeting)
• seo-audit — Auditing an existing codebase (scan, diagnose, produce action plan)

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Metadata

Every indexable page needs these elements correct:

• Title tag: 50-60 chars, primary keyword front-loaded
• Meta description: 120-155 chars, includes CTA
• Canonical: self-referencing or correct target
• Robots: no accidental noindex
• Open Graph: og:title, og:description, og:image for social sharing

For detailed specs and code examples, see ON-PAGE-SEO.md.

HTML Structure

• Exactly one H1 per page, contains primary keyword
• No skipped header levels (H1 → H2 → H3)
• Semantic HTML: <header>, <nav>, <main>, <article>, <section>

Crawlability

• robots.txt exists, not blocking important paths
• XML sitemap exists, all important URLs included
• Canonical tags on every page
• No orphan pages, proper internal linking

For detailed crawlability checklist, see TECHNICAL-AUDIT.md.

Core Web Vitals

Target metrics (2026 thresholds):

Metric	Good	Needs Improvement	Poor
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)	≤ 2.5s	2.5s - 4s	> 4s
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)	≤ 200ms	200ms - 500ms	> 500ms
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)	≤ 0.1	0.1 - 0.25	> 0.25

Note: INP replaced FID as a Core Web Vital in March 2024.

For optimization techniques (LCP, INP, CLS), see TECHNICAL-AUDIT.md.

E-E-A-T & Schema

Signal	Implementation
Experience	First-hand testing, case studies, original photos
Expertise	Author credentials, certifications
Authoritativeness	Quality backlinks, industry mentions
Trustworthiness	HTTPS, contact info, privacy policy, citations

Required JSON-LD schema: Organization, WebSite, Article/BlogPosting, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, Person (author).

For schema code examples and author bio templates, see EEAT-AND-SCHEMA.md.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

Optimize for AI-powered search engines:

Aspect	Traditional SEO	GEO
Goal	Rank in search results	Be cited in AI answers
Success Metric	Click-through rate	Citation frequency
Approach	Keywords, backlinks	Entity clarity, authority signals
Optimization	Pages and snippets	Citable facts and answers

For GEO techniques, llms.txt implementation, and AI crawler management, see GEO.md.

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Fix Priorities

When issues are identified, fix in this order:

Priority 1: Critical (Fix Immediately)

• 404 errors and broken links
• Missing or duplicate title tags
• Broken canonical tags
• noindex on important pages
• HTTPS/security issues
• Blocked by robots.txt

Priority 2: High (Fix Within 1 Week)

• Core Web Vitals failures
• Missing meta descriptions
• Multiple H1 tags
• Missing alt text on key images
• Orphan pages (no internal links)
• Missing schema markup

Priority 3: Medium (Fix Within 1 Month)

• Thin content pages
• Header hierarchy issues
• Internal link optimization
• Image optimization (format, compression)
• Anchor text improvements
• Content freshness updates

Priority 4: Low (Ongoing Optimization)

• A/B testing improvements
• Advanced schema types
• International SEO expansion
• New content for topic clusters
• Competitive gap analysis

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Post-Fix Validation

After applying fixes:

1. Re-crawl the affected pages
2. Verify DOM changes are live
3. Check robots.txt isn't blocking new paths
4. Validate schema with Google's Rich Results Test
5. Test Core Web Vitals with Lighthouse
6. Monitor Search Console for indexing issues

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Monitoring Cadence

Daily: Check Search Console for crawl errors. Monitor site uptime. Review security alerts.

Weekly: Review Core Web Vitals trends. Check for new 404s. Monitor AI referral traffic. Review ranking changes.

Monthly: Full technical audit. Content freshness review. Backlink profile analysis. Schema validation.

Quarterly: Full SEO strategy review. GEO performance analysis. Content gap analysis.

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Quick Reference

SEO Specifications

Element	Specification
Title Tag	50-60 chars, keyword front-loaded
Meta Description	120-155 chars, includes CTA
H1	Exactly 1 per page, contains keyword
URL	Lowercase, hyphens, descriptive
Images	WebP/AVIF, <200KB, alt text, dimensions
Canonical	Self-referencing on every page
robots.txt	Allow important paths, block admin
Sitemap	All indexable URLs, lastmod dates

GEO Checklist

Element	Required
FAQPage Schema	Yes
Answer-first content	Yes
Statistics with sources	Yes
Expert quotes	Recommended
TL;DR blocks	Recommended
llms.txt	Recommended
Fresh content (<90 days)	Yes

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Supporting Files

• TECHNICAL-AUDIT.md — Core Web Vitals optimization, crawlability, mobile-first, HTTPS
• ON-PAGE-SEO.md — Title tags, meta descriptions, headers, images, internal linking
• EEAT-AND-SCHEMA.md — E-E-A-T implementation, schema markup library (JSON-LD)
• GEO.md — Generative Engine Optimization, llms.txt, AI crawlers, framework-specific SEO

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Version History

• v3.0 (March 2026): Reframed as implementation reference (auditing moved to seo-audit skill), added cross-references to seo-content and seo skills, standardized meta description spec to 120-155 chars
• v2.0 (December 2025): Added GEO section, AI crawler management, llms.txt, GA4 AI tracking, updated Core Web Vitals (INP), expanded schema library, framework-specific guides
• v1.0 (December 2024): Initial version with technical audit, on-page SEO, basic schema