seo-strategy

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When to Invest in SEO

Stage

Recommendation

Cold start

Use email, ads, or influencers for first users; SEO takes time (sandbox, 6+ months)

Post-PMF

SEO scales; combine with paid for faster feedback; see pmf-strategy, paid-ads-strategy

Team

Many SMBs use contractors; SEO spans content, links, tech, UX—full-time team when scaling

Principle: Don't do SEO for SEO's sake; don't fight Google rules; prioritize real user experience.

AI Search Era & Channel Integration

Challenge

Response

Zero-click, AI Overviews

~30% clicks go to Google-owned properties; AI Overviews ~12–15% SERP share; TOFU (what/why/how) CTR declining

Algorithm volatility

5000+ updates/year; traffic swings common; focus on helpful content, E-E-A-T

Response

Elevate SEO to search experience optimization—user-centric, not rank-centric; see generative-engine-optimization for AI visibility

Channel integration: SEO + ads (validate keywords, retarget); SEO + influencers (backlinks, mentions); SEO + social (UGC, embeddable content). Plugins/apps: functional links back to site.

Workflow Order

Fix foundation before optimizing pages. Execute in this order:

Phase

Focus

Skills

1. Technical

Crawlability, indexing, sitemap

robots-txt, xml-sitemap, canonical-tag, indexing, indexnow, site-crawlability

2. On-Page

Metadata, structure, schema

title-tag, meta-description, page-metadata, schema-markup, internal-links, url-structure, heading-structure

3. Content

Keywords, clusters, optimization

keyword-research, content-strategy, content-optimization

4. Off-Page

Backlinks, authority

link-building, backlink-analysis

Technical issues block indexing and crawl; on-page issues limit how well content ranks; content and off-page build authority over time.

Product-Led SEO

SEO leverages content you already have—brand, features, scenarios, input, output, prompt, processes, knowledge—published in a structured way. Even without SEO, you'd showcase product features; SEO makes that content benefit you in traffic.

Principle: Do SEO around product/users, not around industry/search engines.

Products Suited for SEO

Type

Suited because

Tool

Users have clear use cases and needs

Content

Users have clear information needs

E-commerce

Users have clear purchase needs

Service

Users have clear service needs

Agent/Copilot products: Pure native Agent hard to grow via SEO; users rarely search "agent." Release related features first (e.g., CRM, sales bot for sales agent) to build traffic, then funnel to Agent product. See keyword-research for product positioning test.

SEO Audit Approach

Scenario

Order

Focus

New site

domain-selection → website-structure → Technical → On-Page → Content

Choose domain first (if needed); plan pages; build foundation; add content

Existing site

Technical audit → On-Page audit → Content gap → Off-Page

Fix crawl/index first; then metadata, schema; then content gaps; then links

Low traffic

keyword-research → content-strategy → content-optimization

Often content or intent mismatch

Not indexing

indexing, robots-txt, site-crawlability

Technical blockers

SEO Roadmap Priorities

Priority

Meaning

Examples

P0

Blocker—fix first

Crawlability, indexing, robots blocking

P1

Core—do soon

Title, meta, schema, sitemap, internal links

P2

Important—not urgent

Open Graph, Twitter Cards, IndexNow

P3

Nice to have

Rich results, sitelinks optimization

Paid–Organic Alignment

SEO and PPC share the same SERP—ads, AI overviews, videos, organic links. Without alignment, you risk duplication, cannibalization, and wasted spend. Shared keyword data: Use keyword-research for both; google-ads for Search targeting. PPC conversion data can prioritize SEO keywords; organic rank 4+ may reduce need for PPC on those terms.

Reference: Backlinko – SEO and PPC: 8 Smart Ways to Align

Alternative SEO Strategies

Strategy

When

Skill

Programmatic SEO

Scale pages with template + data

programmatic-seo

Parasite SEO

Leverage high-authority platforms

parasite-seo

GEO

AI search visibility, citations

generative-engine-optimization

Localization

Multi-language, international

localization-strategy

Multi-domain brand SEO

Multiple domains; brand query control

multi-domain-brand-seo

Output Format

• Workflow phase (where you are; what's next)

• Priority list (P0–P3 tasks)

• Skill mapping (which skill for each task)

• Recommendation (start with X; then Y)

Task tracking: Use templates/project-task-tracker.md to track task status; references this workflow.

Related Skills

• domain-selection: Initial domain choice (Brand/PMD/EMD, TLD); do before website-structure for new sites

• website-structure: Plan which pages to build; do before or alongside Technical phase

• keyword-research: Discovery; informs content-strategy, content-optimization, and google-ads

• google-ads, paid-ads-strategy: Paid–organic synergy; cold start; PPC data for SEO priority

• pmf-strategy: Validate PMF before scaling SEO; cold start uses other channels

• content-strategy: Topic clusters, pillar pages; content planning

• programmatic-seo: Template-based scale; alternative to manual content

• parasite-seo: High-authority platforms; alternative to owned-site SEO

• generative-engine-optimization: AI search visibility; complements traditional SEO

• localization-strategy: Multi-language SEO

• domain-architecture: Domain structure (subfolder/subdomain/independent); do before or with website-structure when multiple products

• rebranding-strategy: Domain change, 301 redirects; use when rebranding

• multi-domain-brand-seo: Brand search control when Hub and Spoke domains coexist