SKILL.md
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Metric
Purpose
Data Source
Pages indexed / not indexed
Coverage; early focus: all target pages indexed
GSC, site: command, SEO tools
Keyword count per page
More keywords = more potential traffic
SEO tools
Index coverage
Target pages indexed; functional pages findable
GSC, site: command
Early priority: Ensure all pages that need to rank are indexed.
2. Traffic
Metric
Purpose
Data Source
Total traffic
Growth; keyword relevance (irrelevant traffic has little value)
GA4, SEO tools
Subdirectory traffic
Per-section performance; concentration vs dispersion
SEO tools, GA4
Competitive comparison
Organic, keyword traffic, total clicks vs competitors
SEO tools
Organic by page / country
Granular breakdown
GA4, GSC
3. Keywords
Metric
Purpose
Data Source
Rank changes
Target keyword movement
GSC, SEO tools
Keyword count
New gains / losses per page
SEO tools, GSC
4. Backlinks
Metric
Purpose
Data Source
Referring domains vs backlinks
Ratio; directory links can be high volume but low value
SEO tools
Backlink quality
Do links drive traffic? Low ROI = deprioritize
SEO tools, GA4 (referral)
Natural Traffic Benchmark
Location: GA4 > Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition
- Review organic traffic trend
- Record baseline (e.g., monthly total)
- Compare periodically to detect growth or decline
Tip: Add CTA events on key articles to track content ROI (see analytics-tracking).
Article Database
Track per-article performance to find high/low patterns:
Field
Use
URL, publish date, target keywords
Content metadata
Index status, rank, traffic, backlinks
Performance
vs benchmark or competitors
Context
Use to guide topic selection, optimization, and resource allocation.
Tool Selection
Tool examples are illustrative; no endorsement implied.
Use
Tools
Precise attribution
GA4, GSC, Bing Webmaster, Yandex Webmaster
Visit analytics
Analytics platforms (e.g. Umami, Plausible)
Third-party estimates
SEO tools
SEO data
SEO tools
Attribution config:
- User ID: Cross-device, cross-session identification; send to GA4
- GSC API: Index, clicks, impressions, coverage for automation, dashboards
Choose by privacy, cost, and team workflow.
Traffic Diversification
Principle
Guideline
Search share
Keep organic search below ~75% of total
Health
Higher direct + referral share = healthier
Brand sites
Diversified traffic is common for strong brands
Non-brand
Possible without brand (e.g., tool sites)
Reputation
Site/brand reputation matters; Google assessors evaluate it
Engagement
Content, email, social, free tools drive return visits
Penalty Recovery
Step
Action
Identify
Which algorithm update caused the impact
Analyze
Site issues; draft fix plan
Assess cost
Decide if fixes are worth it; sometimes abandoning is best
Execute
Implement changes; wait at least 3 months until next major update
Parallel
Use other channels for quality traffic; improve engagement data for Google
Data window
Google typically uses ~6 months of data for site quality
Recovery
Outcome is uncertain; do what you can, then wait
Monitoring Metrics Table
Traffic
Metric
Source
Notes
Total sessions
GA4
Channel share
GA4
Channel absolute
GA4
Country % and absolute
GA4
Top pages
SEO tools
Compare with competitors
Key page traffic
GA4
Define "key pages" first
Engagement
Metric
Source
Notes
Pages per session
GA4
Use GA for own site; third-party for competitors
Avg session duration
GA4
Bounce rate
GA4
Backlinks
Metric
Source
Notes
Domain authority
SEO tools
Backlinks, referring domains
SEO tools
Top referring domains by authority
SEO tools
Important links
Manual log
Track loss
Link graph
SEO tools
Health check
New quality links (self + competitors)
SEO tools
Outreach
Indexed pages
SEO tools
High-authority pages; internal linking
Outbound domains
SEO tools
Partnership opportunities
Keywords
Metric
Source
Notes
Keyword count
SEO tools
How many keywords rank
Content Output
Metric
Source
Notes
Articles published
Manual
Weekly count
Published vs indexed
GSC
New content indexing
New page traffic
GA4
Fresh content performance
Monthly Record Template
Category
Metric
Source
Notes
Month 1
Month 2
Traffic
Total sessions
GA4
Traffic
Channel share
GA4
Engagement
Pages per session
GA4
Backlinks
Referring domains
SEO tools
Content
Articles published
Manual
Adjust rows as needed.
Work Document Management
- Structure: Metrics, sources, notes, monthly values
- Benefits: Regular review, month-over-month trends, clear ownership
- Format: Spreadsheet or doc; assign owners per metric
Output Format
- Core metrics summary (indexing, traffic, keywords, backlinks)
- Benchmark and trend
- Article database structure (if applicable)
- Tool recommendations
- Monitoring table (customized)
- Action items and owners
Related Skills
- traffic-analysis: Traffic sources, attribution, diversification
- analytics-tracking: GA4, events, CTA attribution, User ID
- google-search-console: GSC reports, indexing, API
- ai-traffic-tracking: AI search traffic
- backlink-analysis: Backlink audit, toxic links
- indexing: Fix indexing issues