Use this skill when optimizing content for search engines - topic cluster strategy, pillar page architecture, E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), content freshness, keyword cannibalization detection, topical authority building, and content gap analysis. Triggers on content planning for SEO, fixing thin content, building topical authority, or resolving cannibalization issues.
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Use this skill when optimizing content for search engines - topic cluster strategy, pillar page architecture, E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), content freshness, keyword cannibalization detection, topical authority building, and content gap analysis. Triggers on content planning for SEO, fixing thin content, building topical authority, or resolving cannibalization issues.
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Content SEO
Content SEO bridges keyword research and on-page implementation. It is the discipline
of structuring, writing, and maintaining content in a way that demonstrates topical
authority to search engines and genuinely serves user intent. Unlike technical SEO,
which focuses on crawlability, or keyword research, which identifies targets, Content
SEO is about how you build and organise content assets once you know what to rank for.
The core outcome is a site that Google treats as the authoritative source on a topic -
achieved through cluster architecture, strong E-E-A-T signals, and a systematic
approach to keeping content accurate and comprehensive over time.
When to use this skill
Trigger this skill when the task involves:
Building or redesigning a topic cluster from a seed keyword or content brief
Creating a pillar page outline to anchor a cluster
Fixing thin content that ranks poorly or has high bounce rates
Auditing content for E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Detecting keyword cannibalization across two or more URLs
Performing a content gap analysis versus competitors or SERP features
Planning a content freshness and update cycle for time-sensitive queries
Do NOT trigger this skill for:
Keyword research and search volume analysis - use the keyword-research skill instead
Technical crawlability issues (robots.txt, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals) - use the technical-seo-engineering skill instead
Key principles
Topical authority beats individual page optimization - A site that covers a
topic comprehensively outranks one that optimises isolated pages. Build clusters
first; refine individual pages second.
Every page must have a unique primary keyword target - Two pages competing for
the same keyword split ranking signals and confuse crawlers. Cannibalization is
always intentional until you fix it.
E-E-A-T is demonstrated, not declared - Writing "we are experts" signals nothing.
Author credentials, first-hand experience markers, citations, and factual accuracy
are the actual signals Google's Quality Raters assess.
Content freshness is a ranking signal for time-sensitive queries - Queries with
a "freshness" intent modifier (news, trends, "best X in [year]") heavily reward
recently updated content. A stale page on a fresh-intent query will lose ranking
regardless of backlinks.
Internal links are the architecture of topical authority - They pass PageRank,
establish semantic relationships between pages, and show crawlers the hierarchy of
your cluster. Treat internal linking as structural engineering, not an afterthought.
Core concepts
Topic clusters
The pillar-spoke model divides content into two tiers. A pillar page provides a
comprehensive overview of a broad topic, targets a high-volume head keyword, and links
to every spoke page in the cluster. Spoke pages cover subtopics in depth, target
long-tail or mid-tail variants, and all link back to the pillar. Every spoke-to-spoke
link that is topically relevant further reinforces the cluster's semantic coherence.
See references/topic-clusters.md for the full model, mapping methodology, and
worked examples.
E-E-A-T
Google's Quality Rater Guidelines use four dimensions to assess content quality:
Signal
What it means
How to demonstrate it
Experience
First-hand involvement with the subject
Personal testing notes, original data, case studies, dates of hands-on use
Expertise
Skill and knowledge depth
Author credentials, technically accurate content, citing primary sources
Authoritativeness
Recognition by others in the field
Backlinks from authoritative sites, brand mentions, citations, press coverage
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) pages - health, finance, legal, safety - are held to
a higher E-E-A-T standard. Any content in these verticals requires the strongest
possible signals in all four dimensions.
See references/eeat-signals.md for the full breakdown including author page templates
and editorial policy requirements.
Content depth vs breadth
Breadth without depth produces thin content. Depth without breadth produces isolated
pages that lack cluster context. The correct balance: pillar pages are broad and link
to deep spokes; spoke pages are deep on one sub-topic and briefly contextualise the
broader topic (linking to the pillar). A page that tries to cover everything in a
cluster at depth becomes unwieldy and should be split.
Keyword cannibalization
Cannibalization occurs when two or more pages on the same site target the same primary
keyword. Search engines must choose which page to rank, often alternating between them,
depressing the performance of both. Detection: export Google Search Console impressions
by page for a target query and look for multiple URLs. Resolution: consolidate the
weaker page into the stronger via a 301 redirect, or differentiate them by search
intent so each has a unique primary target.
Content decay
Most pages lose organic traffic over time as competitors publish fresher content,
search trends shift, or the underlying information becomes stale. Decay is fastest on
time-sensitive queries. A systematic update cycle - prioritised by traffic loss
velocity - is required to maintain rankings.
Common tasks
Design a topic cluster from a seed topic
Define the pillar: what is the broadest query a visitor with general intent would
use for this topic? That is the pillar keyword.
Map subtopics: list every meaningful question, use case, or sub-concept within
the pillar. Each with its own search demand becomes a spoke.
Assign intent: confirm each spoke is informational, navigational, or transactional.
Do not force transactional pages into an informational cluster.
Check for overlap: ensure no two spokes target the same keyword variant.
Plan internal links: pillar links to all spokes; each spoke links back to pillar;
highly related spokes link to each other.
Cluster skeleton:
[Pillar] "Email Marketing" (head keyword, ~40k searches/mo)
├── [Spoke] "Email subject line best practices" (informational)
├── [Spoke] "Email marketing metrics to track" (informational)
├── [Spoke] "How to build an email list" (informational)
├── [Spoke] "Email marketing automation workflows" (informational)
└── [Spoke] "Best email marketing software" (commercial investigation)
Create a pillar page outline
A pillar page outline should follow this structure:
Hero section - primary keyword in H1, 150-200 word intro that covers what,
who it is for, and what the reader will learn.
Table of contents - anchored links to every H2 section; signals comprehensiveness.
Core sections (H2) - one per major subtopic in the cluster. Each H2 corresponds
to a spoke page. Keep these sections at 200-400 words each - deep coverage lives
in the spoke.
Internal links - each H2 section contains a contextual link to the corresponding
spoke page. Do not use "click here" anchors - use descriptive keywords as anchor text.
FAQ section - target featured snippet and People Also Ask real estate.
Summary and CTA - what to do next; link to highest-converting spoke or product page.
Audit content for E-E-A-T signals
Walk through the page using this checklist:
Author byline present with name and credentials linked to an author page
Author page shows professional background, publication history, or verifiable expertise
Page was last reviewed/updated date is visible
Claims backed by citations to primary sources (studies, official data, expert quotes)
About page and editorial policy linked from the footer or byline
No AI-generated filler content that lacks specific, verifiable detail
Product/service reviews include firsthand testing notes (dates, specific findings)
YMYL content reviewed or co-authored by a credentialed professional
Flag any missing items as E-E-A-T gaps and prioritise by YMYL sensitivity.
Detect and fix keyword cannibalization
Detection:
In Google Search Console, filter Performance by query for the target keyword.
Check if multiple pages appear in the "Pages" breakdown for the same query.
Alternatively: site:yourdomain.com "target keyword" in Google to see which URLs
Google has indexed for that query.
Resolution decision tree:
Are both pages genuinely serving different intents?
YES -> Differentiate keyword targets. Rewrite H1 and meta title of
the weaker page to a related but distinct query.
NO -> Is one page significantly stronger (traffic, backlinks, content)?
YES -> 301 redirect the weaker URL to the stronger. Update internal
links to point to the canonical page.
NO -> Consolidate: merge content into one page, 301 redirect the
other, update all internal links.
Perform a content gap analysis vs competitors
Identify 3-5 competitors ranking for your cluster's head keywords.
Export their top-traffic pages using a tool (Ahrefs, Semrush) or manually crawl.
Map their coverage against your own cluster: what subtopics do they cover that you
do not?
Cross-reference with SERP features: what People Also Ask questions appear for your
head keywords that you have no page targeting?
Prioritise gaps by: search volume, alignment with your audience's intent, and
proximity to your existing cluster (semantic relevance).
See references/content-gap-analysis.md for the full prioritisation framework and
manual methods.
Plan a content freshness and update cycle
Classify all content by freshness sensitivity:
Tier
Query type
Update frequency
High
"best X [year]", news, trends, pricing
Review every 3-6 months
Medium
How-to guides, comparison pages
Review annually
Low
Evergreen definitions, fundamentals
Review every 18-24 months
Trigger an update when: organic traffic drops 20%+ over 90 days, a major industry
change invalidates advice, or a competitor publishes a clearly superior version of
the same content.
Build internal linking strategy for topical authority
Start from the pillar: every spoke must link back to the pillar with the pillar's
primary keyword as anchor text (or a close variant).
Map spoke-to-spoke links where subtopics are related - a reader of "email list
building" should be linked to "email automation workflows" when context allows.
Avoid orphan pages: every page must have at least two inbound internal links.
Use descriptive anchor text: never use "read more" or "click here" - the anchor
text is a relevance signal.
Audit with a crawl tool (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb) to visualise the link graph
and find orphans or thin internal link equity.
Anti-patterns / common mistakes
Anti-pattern
Problem
Fix
Thin content padding
Adding word count with no informational value to hit an arbitrary length target
Forcing the primary keyword into every heading and paragraph
Use the keyword naturally; add semantic variants; Google reads meaning, not frequency
Search intent mismatch
Writing an informational article for a transactional query (or vice versa)
Audit the SERP for the target query - the top 3 results define the dominant intent
Duplicate content across similar pages
Publishing nearly identical guides for overlapping topics
Consolidate with 301 redirects or clearly differentiate by search intent and keyword target
No author attribution
Publishing content anonymously, especially in YMYL categories
Add named authors with visible credentials and link to author pages
Publishing and forgetting
Never updating time-sensitive content after initial publish
Implement a freshness review cycle - calendar reminders keyed to traffic decay thresholds
Cluster without pillar
Creating many spoke pages without a comprehensive pillar page linking them
Build the pillar first; it is the structural anchor that amplifies all spoke rankings
Generic E-E-A-T signals
Adding a generic "we have 10 years of experience" footer line and calling it done
Make signals specific: "tested on 47 devices in Q1 2024", named author with verifiable credits
Ignoring content decay
Assuming a well-ranked page will stay ranked without maintenance
Track organic traffic per page week-over-week; queue for update at first sign of sustained decline
Gotchas
Cannibalization from near-identical intent pages - Two pages targeting "best CRM software" and "top CRM tools" appear different but serve identical intent and will cannibalize each other. Check the actual SERP overlap, not just keyword wording. If the top-ranking URLs for both queries are the same, consolidate.
Freshness signals differ by query type - Adding a new publish date to an old page does not help a truly evergreen query. Freshness only matters as a ranking signal for queries Google's systems classify as having "freshness intent" (news, trends, "best X in [year]"). Updating an evergreen page without improving substance has no ranking effect.
Internal link anchor text over-optimization - Using the exact primary keyword as anchor text on every internal link pointing to a pillar page can trigger over-optimization signals. Use natural variants: "learn more about email marketing," "our email marketing guide," not always "email marketing" verbatim.
E-E-A-T is assessed per page, not per site - A site with strong domain authority still gets low E-E-A-T marks on individual pages that lack author credentials or first-hand signals. YMYL pages need author attribution at the page level, not just a site-level "About" page.
Cluster spoke pages linking only to the pillar - Spoke-to-spoke links are a significant part of the cluster's semantic coherence benefit. A cluster where every spoke only links back to the pillar misses the cross-linking signals. Highly related spokes should link to each other where contextually relevant.
References
Load these files when the task requires deeper detail on a specific sub-topic:
references/topic-clusters.md - Pillar-spoke model in depth, cluster mapping from
keyword research output, internal linking patterns, and when to split vs merge clusters.
Load when designing or restructuring a cluster.
references/eeat-signals.md - Full E-E-A-T breakdown with implementation guidance
for each signal, YMYL thresholds, author page templates, and editorial policy
requirements. Load when auditing E-E-A-T or improving trustworthiness signals.
references/content-gap-analysis.md - Methods for finding gaps: competitor analysis,
SERP feature gaps, PAA mining, funnel stage gaps. Prioritisation framework and both
tool-assisted and manual approaches. Load when performing a content gap audit.
Only load a references file when the current task requires deep detail on that topic.
Companion check
On first activation of this skill in a conversation: check which companion skills are installed by running ls ~/.claude/skills/ ~/.agent/skills/ ~/.agents/skills/ .claude/skills/ .agent/skills/ .agents/skills/ 2>/dev/null. Compare the results against the recommended_skills field in this file's frontmatter. For any that are missing, mention them once and offer to install:
