seo-monitor

name

seo-monitor

description

SEO monitoring and delta tracking. Re-runs the collector on a previously audited site, compares current data against the baseline from the first audit, and produces a delta report showing improvements, regressions, and alerts. Use this skill for: "monitor my SEO", "check if the fixes worked", "compare my site to the last audit", "run a follow-up audit", "track SEO progress", "has my SEO improved", "re-scan my site", "SEO health check", "check for regressions", "schedule SEO monitoring", "surveille mon SEO", "vérifie les améliorations". Also triggers when the user references a previous audit or asks about SEO progress over time, or when baseline.json exists in the project monitoring/ folder.

Skill: SEO Monitor — Periodic Delta Tracking

All responses and reports are produced in English by default. Switch to the user's language if they explicitly request it.

---

Overview

This skill is Step 4 in the SEO-GEO pipeline. It re-crawls a previously audited site, compares the current state against the original baseline, and produces a delta report highlighting what improved, what regressed, and what needs attention.

Position in the pipeline

[seo-collector] → site-data.json ──────────────────────┐
                       ↓                                │
[seo-geo-audit] → audit-report.md + audit-actions.json  │
                       ↓                                │
[seo-implementer] → fixes/                              │
                       ↓                                │
             ┌─────────────────────────┐                │
             │   SEO MONITOR (this)    │ ←──────────────┘
             └─────────────────────────┘    (re-uses collector)
                       ↓
              monitoring/
              ├── baseline.json
              ├── delta-[date].md
              └── alerts.md
                       ↓
              ↻ loops back to collector for next cycle

What it produces

seo-project-[domain]/
└── monitoring/
    ├── baseline.json           ← Snapshot from the first audit (created once)
    ├── scan-[date].json        ← Each new crawl result
    ├── delta-[date].md         ← Comparison report (human-readable)
    ├── delta-[date].json       ← Comparison data (machine-readable)
    ├── alerts.md               ← Active alerts (updated each scan)
    └── history.md              ← Score evolution over time

---

Step 0: Determine monitoring mode

First run (no baseline exists)

If no monitoring/baseline.json exists in the project folder:

1. Check if site-data.json and audit-actions.json exist from a previous audit
2. If yes → convert them into the baseline:
   • Copy site-data.json → monitoring/baseline.json (add baseline_date field)
   • Extract scores from audit-actions.json → store in baseline
3. If no → ask the user:

   No previous audit found for this domain.
   Would you like me to:
     1. Run a full audit first (collector + audit) to establish the baseline
     2. Run a quick scan now and use it as the baseline
   

Subsequent runs (baseline exists)

1. Load monitoring/baseline.json
2. Run a fresh data collection (re-use seo-collector methodology)
3. Compare and generate the delta

---

Step 1: Re-collect current data

Re-run the collector methodology on the same URL. Collect the same data points as the original site-data.json:

1.1 Quick scan (default)

Focused on the metrics most likely to change:

Data point	Method	Why it matters
Homepage meta tags	web_fetch homepage	Detect if fixes were applied
Robots.txt	web_fetch /robots.txt	Detect if AI bots were unblocked
Core Web Vitals	web_search PageSpeed data	Detect performance changes
Indexation count	web_search site:[domain]	Detect indexation gains/losses
Schema markup	web_fetch HTML check	Detect if schemas were added
Sample pages (3-5)	web_fetch key pages	Detect meta tag changes
AI bot access	Parse robots.txt for each bot	Detect GEO improvements

Ahrefs MCP data points (if connected)

If Ahrefs MCP was used in the baseline collection, re-query the same endpoints for delta comparison:

Ahrefs data point	Endpoint	What to compare
Domain Rating	domain-rating	DR change since baseline (gaining/losing authority?)
Referring domains	backlinks-stats	New referring domains acquired? Lost any?
Broken backlinks	broken-backlinks	Were broken links fixed? New ones appeared?
Organic keywords	organic-keywords	Keyword position changes, new rankings gained
Top pages traffic	top-pages	Traffic shifts on key pages
Brand Radar	brand-radar	AI citation changes (new mentions? lost mentions?)

Brand Radar delta is critical for GEO monitoring: if the baseline showed 3 AI citations and the current scan shows 5, that's a direct measure of GEO improvement. If it dropped, investigate why (content freshness? bot access changed?).

1.2 Full re-scan (on request)

Runs the complete seo-collector methodology. Use when the user requests a comprehensive re-audit or when significant changes are expected.

Save the scan result to monitoring/scan-[date].json.

---

Step 2: Compare against baseline

For each data point, compute the delta:

2.1 Score comparison

{
  "comparison_date": "[ISO 8601]",
  "baseline_date": "[ISO 8601 from baseline]",
  "days_since_baseline": 0,
  "scores": {
    "technical_seo": {
      "baseline": 0,
      "current": 0,
      "delta": 0,
      "trend": "improved|regressed|unchanged"
    },
    "core_web_vitals": { "..." },
    "local_or_content": { "..." },
    "eeat": { "..." },
    "entity_seo": { "..." },
    "geo": { "..." },
    "ux_conversion": { "..." },
    "overall": {
      "baseline": 0,
      "current": 0,
      "delta": 0,
      "max": 90
    }
  }
}

2.2 Specific change detection

For each category, track specific changes:

Meta tags changes:

{
  "url": "https://example.com/page",
  "field": "title",
  "baseline_value": "[old title]",
  "current_value": "[new title]",
  "status": "fixed|regressed|unchanged|new_issue"
}

Robots.txt changes:

{
  "bot": "GPTBot",
  "baseline_status": "blocked",
  "current_status": "allowed",
  "status": "fixed"
}

Indexation changes:

{
  "google_indexed": { "baseline": "~340", "current": "~380", "delta": "+~40" },
  "bing_indexed": { "baseline": true, "current": true },
  "brave_indexed": { "baseline": "unknown", "current": true }
}

Core Web Vitals changes:

{
  "lcp_mobile": { "baseline": "3.2s", "current": "2.4s", "delta": "-0.8s", "status": "improved" },
  "cls_mobile": { "baseline": "0.12", "current": "0.08", "delta": "-0.04", "status": "improved" },
  "inp_mobile": { "baseline": "280ms", "current": "190ms", "delta": "-90ms", "status": "improved" }
}

Save the full comparison to monitoring/delta-[date].json.

---

Step 3: Generate alerts

Evaluate each change against alert thresholds:

Alert levels

Level	Trigger	Example
🔴 CRITICAL	Score dropped by > 10 points overall, or a previously fixed issue has returned	Overall score went from 62 to 48; H1 that was fixed is missing again
🟠 WARNING	Score dropped in any single dimension by > 3 points, or a new issue appeared	GEO score dropped from 14 to 10; a new 404 page detected
🟢 POSITIVE	Score improved in any dimension, or a fix was confirmed working	Core Web Vitals improved; schema markup now detected
ℹ️ INFO	Change detected but no clear positive/negative impact	Indexation count changed by < 5%; new page added to sitemap

Alert file: monitoring/alerts.md

# SEO Alerts — [domain]
Last scan: [date] | Baseline: [date] | Days elapsed: [N]

## 🔴 CRITICAL
- [Description of critical alert with details and recommended action]

## 🟠 WARNING
- [Description of warning with details]

## 🟢 POSITIVE CHANGES
- [Description of improvement confirmed]

## ℹ️ INFO
- [Description of neutral change]

---
No alerts = ✅ All clear — site is stable since last scan.

---

Step 4: Generate delta report

File: monitoring/delta-[date].md

# SEO Monitoring Report — [domain]
Scan date: [date] | Baseline: [date] | Days since baseline: [N]

---

## Score evolution

| Dimension | Baseline | Current | Delta | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical SEO | [X]/10 | [Y]/10 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| Core Web Vitals | [X]/10 | [Y]/10 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| Local/Content & Authority | [X]/20 | [Y]/20 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| E-E-A-T | [X]/10 | [Y]/10 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| Entity SEO | [X]/10 | [Y]/10 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| GEO | [X]/20 | [Y]/20 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| UX & Conversion | [X]/10 | [Y]/10 | [+/-Z] | ↑/↓/→ |
| **OVERALL** | **[X]/90** | **[Y]/90** | **[+/-Z]** | **↑/↓/→** |

## Fixes confirmed working ✅
[List each fix from audit-actions.json that has been successfully implemented]

## Fixes not yet applied ⏳
[List each fix that was recommended but hasn't been implemented yet]

## Regressions detected 🔴
[List any metrics that got worse since the baseline]

## New issues found 🆕
[List any problems that didn't exist at baseline time]

## Recommendations
[Prioritized next actions based on the current state]

---

## Next scan recommended: [date — baseline + interval]

---

Step 5: Update history

File: monitoring/history.md

Append each scan result to a running history:

# SEO Score History — [domain]

| Date | Overall /90 | Tech | CWV | Content | E-E-A-T | Entity | GEO | UX | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [baseline date] | [X] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | [x] | Initial audit |
| [scan date] | [Y] | [y] | [y] | [y] | [y] | [y] | [y] | [y] | [key change noted] |
| ... | | | | | | | | | |

This table grows with each scan. It provides a quick view of the site's SEO health trajectory.

---

Monitoring frequency recommendations

Site type	Recommended interval	Rationale
E-commerce (active)	Weekly	Frequent product/price changes, competitive market
SaaS / B2B	Bi-weekly	Moderate content velocity, feature pages change
Blog / Media	Weekly	New content published frequently
Local business	Monthly	Slower pace of change, review monitoring more important
Corporate / Institutional	Monthly	Rarely changes, but regressions must be caught
Post-fix verification	1 week after deployment	Confirm fixes took effect before next audit

---

Output summary

After generating the monitoring report, present:

═══════════════════════════════════════════
SEO MONITORING REPORT — [domain]
Scan: [date] | vs Baseline: [date] ([N] days)
═══════════════════════════════════════════

📊 Score evolution: [baseline]/90 → [current]/90 ([+/-delta])

✅ Fixes confirmed: [N] of [total] recommendations implemented
⏳ Pending fixes: [N] not yet applied
🔴 Regressions: [N] metrics worsened
🆕 New issues: [N] new problems detected

📁 Files updated:
   monitoring/delta-[date].md    — Full comparison report
   monitoring/delta-[date].json  — Machine-readable delta
   monitoring/alerts.md          — Active alerts
   monitoring/history.md         — Score timeline

[If regressions detected:]
⚠️ Action needed: [brief description of most critical regression]

[If all good:]
✅ All stable — no critical changes since baseline.

Next scan recommended: [date]

Would you like me to:
  1. Detail the regressions and suggest fixes?
  2. Re-run the full audit for a complete re-score?
  3. Generate an updated implementation checklist?

---

Integration with scheduled tasks

When running as a scheduled task (Pattern 3 from the skill system architecture):

Cron / scheduled task setup

# Weekly SEO monitoring — runs every Monday at 7am
0 7 * * 1 claude "Run SEO monitor on https://[domain]"

# Bi-weekly
0 7 * * 1 [ $(( $(date +%V) % 2 )) -eq 0 ] && claude "Run SEO monitor on https://[domain]"

# Monthly (1st of month)
0 7 1 * * claude "Run SEO monitor on https://[domain]"

Claude Code / Cowork scheduled tasks

Schedule: "Every Monday at 7am, run a quick SEO scan on https://[domain] and compare to baseline. If any critical alerts, notify me."

The monitor should:

1. Load the baseline silently
2. Run the quick scan
3. Generate the delta
4. Only notify the user if there are 🔴 CRITICAL or 🟠 WARNING alerts
5. If all clear, log the scan silently to monitoring/history.md

Pattern 3 applied: Scheduled orchestration. The monitor runs on a schedule without user intervention. It triggers alerts only when something needs attention. The user reviews results, not processes.

---

Edge cases

Situation	Handling
Site is down during scan	Log the failure, retry once after 5 min. If still down → 🔴 CRITICAL alert "Site unreachable"
Domain changed	Detect via redirect. Ask user to confirm new domain. Create new baseline.
Major redesign detected	If > 50% of tracked URLs return 404 or different structure → 🟠 WARNING "Major site changes detected — recommend full re-audit"
CMS changed	Detect via cms_detected mismatch. Flag in delta report.
robots.txt disappeared	🔴 CRITICAL alert — all crawlers may be blocked
Score dropped but fixes were applied	Check if fixes are still in place (could be overwritten by CMS update). Flag specifically.
Baseline is > 6 months old	ℹ️ INFO "Baseline is aging — consider running a full re-audit to reset"

---

Best practices

Data continuity

• Never overwrite baseline.json — it's the reference point
• Each scan creates a new scan-[date].json — full history preserved
• If a full re-audit is done, offer to update the baseline (with user confirmation)

Alert fatigue prevention

• Don't alert on changes within normal variance (< 2% indexation change, < 0.5pt score change)
• Group related alerts (if 3 meta tags regressed on the same template, that's 1 alert, not 3)
• Distinguish between "fix not applied yet" (expected) and "fix was applied but broke" (critical)

Comparison accuracy

• Always compare against the same data points
• If the collector methodology changed between scans, note it in the delta report
• Estimations vs. real data: if baseline was estimated and current has real data, flag the methodology difference