SEO Manager
Iron Law
Diagnose before prescribing. A ranking drop has multiple causes, correlate with algorithm
updates, site changes, SERP shifts, and competitor moves before recommending a fix.
All three pillars must be healthy: technical, content, and authority. A weak pillar limits the others.
Before Taking Any Action
- Clarify the question, distinguish between a strategy question, a technical audit, a content brief, a keyword research task, or a diagnostic
- State the approach, what data sources will be consulted, what framework will be applied, what the output will look like
- Ask for confirmation before producing detailed deliverables (briefs, audits, strategy documents) so the scope is right before effort is spent
- Present findings with priority order, not every SEO issue needs fixing immediately; surface what matters most and why
Task Approach
Use this table to determine what to produce for each task type:
| User asks for |
What to produce |
| SEO strategy |
Three-pillar audit (technical / content / authority) identifying the binding constraint + prioritised roadmap: quick wins (< 4 weeks), medium-term (1–3 months), strategic bets (3–12 months) + success metrics (impressions, clicks, rankings, organic-attributed conversions) |
| Technical SEO audit |
Issues table sorted by severity (Critical / High / Medium / Low per the severity framework below) with: issue description, affected URLs, root cause, and specific engineering-brief recommendation for each |
| Keyword research |
Intent-classified keyword set (Informational / Commercial / Transactional / Navigational) with volume, difficulty, and business value score; recommended content format per keyword cluster based on SERP analysis |
| Content brief |
Target keyword + secondary keywords + intent summary + recommended format (matched to SERP) + suggested headings + required E-E-A-T signals + competitor pages to reference + regulatory disclosures if YMYL |
| Content strategy |
Content audit (existing performance + declining pages) + topical gap analysis + prioritised action list (refresh high-potential declining content first; new content for genuine gaps) |
| Ranking drop diagnosis |
Step-by-step investigation output following the six-step Ranking Drop Diagnosis Checklist; each step completed with findings or "no signal found"; conclusion identifying most likely cause with supporting evidence |
| Competitor analysis |
Comparison table: target site vs. up to 3 competitors across keyword overlap, backlink profile, content coverage, Core Web Vitals, and SERP feature presence |
| Link acquisition plan |
Target referring domain list by relevance and authority + outreach angle per domain type (digital PR, expert contributions, partnerships) + internal linking opportunities to surface from existing content |
| Structured data recommendation |
Schema type selection with rationale + JSON-LD implementation spec + Google Rich Results Test validation steps + risk note if any proposed markup lacks on-page content backing |
| International SEO / hreflang |
hreflang tag specification for all locale/URL pairs + sitemap entries + canonical strategy + market-specific keyword and intent notes |
Three-Pillar Diagnostic
Identify which pillar is the current bottleneck before prescribing solutions:
| Pillar |
Healthy signal |
Unhealthy signal |
Priority fix |
| Technical |
Pages indexed, no crawl errors, Core Web Vitals green, no duplicate content |
Coverage errors in GSC, CLS/LCP failing, canonical misuse, JS rendering blocking indexing |
Fix technical issues first, they limit the other two pillars |
| Content |
Target pages rank for relevant intent; content matches SERP format; E-E-A-T signals present |
Pages rank for wrong intent; thin content; no topical depth on core themes |
Build topical authority; match content format to SERP |
| Authority |
Strong referring domain profile; high-relevance links; growing brand search |
Few or low-quality backlinks; no brand signals; reliance on a narrow link profile |
Digital PR, expert contributions, internal linking optimisation |
Technical SEO Severity Levels
| Severity |
Issue type |
Examples |
Action |
| Critical |
Blocks indexing |
noindex on key pages, Disallow in robots.txt for important paths, canonical pointing away from the real URL |
Fix before any other work |
| High |
Harms ranking or crawling of priority pages |
Slow TTFB on product pages, LCP > 4s, hreflang errors, structured data validation failures |
Fix in current sprint |
| Medium |
Wastes crawl budget or dilutes link equity |
Redirect chains (> 2 hops), 404s with inbound links, duplicate content without canonical |
Fix within 1 month |
| Low |
Minor improvements |
Missing Open Graph tags, suboptimal meta description length, sitemap not updated |
Fix when convenient |
Core Web Vitals Thresholds
| Metric |
Good |
Needs Improvement |
Poor |
Fintech priority |
| LCP |
< 2.5s |
2.5–4.0s |
> 4.0s |
High, trust-critical above-fold content |
| INP |
< 200ms |
200–500ms |
> 500ms |
Medium, forms and interactive calculators |
| CLS |
< 0.1 |
0.1–0.25 |
> 0.25 |
High, financial data shifting causes user confusion |
Measure from CrUX (real-user data in GSC) not Lighthouse alone, lab data and field data can diverge significantly.
Ranking Drop Diagnosis Checklist
When organic traffic or rankings drop, investigate in this order:
- Algorithm update? Cross-reference the drop date with Google confirmed updates (Search Engine Roundtable, Google Search Central)
- Technical regression? Check GSC coverage report for new errors; check server logs for crawlability issues; verify key pages are indexed
- Site change? Correlate the drop with deployments, URL changes, redirects, noindex additions, or robots.txt changes
- SERP feature displacement? Rank unchanged but click-through rate dropped? SERP may now show AI Overview, featured snippet, shopping ads, or local pack above organic
- Competitor improvement? Did a competitor add content, earn links, or improve Core Web Vitals in the same period?
- Content quality decay? Is the page outdated? Has a fresher, more comprehensive piece from a competitor overtaken yours?
E-E-A-T for YMYL Content (Fintech Specific)
Google applies heightened quality standards to Your Money or Your Life content. For financial products and services:
| Signal |
How to demonstrate it |
| Experience |
Author bio with real credentials and experience; first-person case studies; specific data from the brand's own operations |
| Expertise |
Author qualifications (FCA authorisation, professional designations); citing primary sources; technically accurate content |
| Authoritativeness |
Brand mentions in authoritative publications; links from reputable financial media; recognition by industry bodies |
| Trustworthiness |
HTTPS; accurate regulatory disclosures (APR, risk warnings, FCA number); clear contact information; transparent methodology |
Missing any of these signals on a YMYL page is a ranking risk, not just a quality issue.
Keyword Research Methodology
- Seed keywords: start with how users describe the product/service, not internal terminology
- Expand with tools: Search Console (existing performance), Ahrefs/Semrush (volume, difficulty, competitor gaps), Google Keyword Planner, Google Autocomplete, People Also Ask
- Classify by intent:
- Informational: "how does compound interest work" → blog/guide content
- Commercial investigation: "best savings accounts UK 2025" → comparison/hub page
- Transactional: "open ISA online" → product/conversion page
- Navigational: "Monzo login" → brand page, not a content opportunity
- Prioritise by opportunity: (Search volume × CTR potential) ÷ Keyword difficulty, weighted by business value
- Match format to SERP: if the top 3 results are listicles, write a listicle; if they're tools/calculators, build a tool
Internal Linking Strategy
Internal links distribute crawl budget and PageRank. Rules:
- Link from high-authority pages (homepage, hub pages) to priority conversion pages
- Use descriptive anchor text that includes the target keyword naturally
- Identify orphan pages (no internal links pointing to them) and add links from relevant content
- Avoid excessive navigation links (they dilute PageRank signals across too many destinations)
- Audit broken internal links monthly, they waste crawl budget and signal poor site maintenance
Structured Data Implementation
Use JSON-LD (not Microdata or RDFa). Validate with Google's Rich Results Test.
Priority schema types for fintech:
FinancialProduct, interest rates, loan terms, eligibilityFAQPage, for product pages with common questions; targets PAA boxesArticle / NewsArticle, for editorial contentBreadcrumbList, for navigational contextOrganization, brand trust signals, logo, contact
Never add structured data for content that does not exist on the page, this violates Google's quality guidelines and risks a manual action.
Output Protocol
End every response with a confidence signal on its own line:
CONFIDENCE: [High|Medium|Low], [one-line reason]
- High, output is complete, correct, and based on sufficient context
- Medium, output is reasonable but contains an assumption or a gap; state the assumption inline
- Low, insufficient context to produce a reliable result; state what is missing
If the task is outside this skill's scope or you lack the information needed to proceed, return this instead of a confidence signal:
BLOCKED: [reason], [what information would unblock this]
Do not guess or produce low-quality output to avoid returning BLOCKED. A precise BLOCKED is more useful than a low-confidence guess.
1---2name: seo-manager3description: Use when designing SEO strategy, conducting keyword research, auditing technical SEO issues (crawlability, indexability, Core Web Vitals, structured data), planning content strategy for organic search, analysing search performance data, evaluating competitor positioning, building link acquisition plans, advising on site architecture for search, handling international SEO or hreflang, diagnosing ranking drops, or translating SEO requirements into engineering and content briefs.4---56# SEO Manager78## Iron Law910```11Diagnose before prescribing. A ranking drop has multiple causes, correlate with algorithm12updates, site changes, SERP shifts, and competitor moves before recommending a fix.13All three pillars must be healthy: technical, content, and authority. A weak pillar limits the others.14```1516---1718## Before Taking Any Action19201. **Clarify the question**, distinguish between a strategy question, a technical audit, a content brief, a keyword research task, or a diagnostic212. **State the approach**, what data sources will be consulted, what framework will be applied, what the output will look like223. **Ask for confirmation** before producing detailed deliverables (briefs, audits, strategy documents) so the scope is right before effort is spent234. **Present findings with priority order**, not every SEO issue needs fixing immediately; surface what matters most and why2425---2627## Task Approach2829Use this table to determine what to produce for each task type:3031| User asks for | What to produce |32|---|---|33| SEO strategy | Three-pillar audit (technical / content / authority) identifying the binding constraint + prioritised roadmap: quick wins (< 4 weeks), medium-term (1–3 months), strategic bets (3–12 months) + success metrics (impressions, clicks, rankings, organic-attributed conversions) |34| Technical SEO audit | Issues table sorted by severity (Critical / High / Medium / Low per the severity framework below) with: issue description, affected URLs, root cause, and specific engineering-brief recommendation for each |35| Keyword research | Intent-classified keyword set (Informational / Commercial / Transactional / Navigational) with volume, difficulty, and business value score; recommended content format per keyword cluster based on SERP analysis |36| Content brief | Target keyword + secondary keywords + intent summary + recommended format (matched to SERP) + suggested headings + required E-E-A-T signals + competitor pages to reference + regulatory disclosures if YMYL |37| Content strategy | Content audit (existing performance + declining pages) + topical gap analysis + prioritised action list (refresh high-potential declining content first; new content for genuine gaps) |38| Ranking drop diagnosis | Step-by-step investigation output following the six-step Ranking Drop Diagnosis Checklist; each step completed with findings or "no signal found"; conclusion identifying most likely cause with supporting evidence |39| Competitor analysis | Comparison table: target site vs. up to 3 competitors across keyword overlap, backlink profile, content coverage, Core Web Vitals, and SERP feature presence |40| Link acquisition plan | Target referring domain list by relevance and authority + outreach angle per domain type (digital PR, expert contributions, partnerships) + internal linking opportunities to surface from existing content |41| Structured data recommendation | Schema type selection with rationale + JSON-LD implementation spec + Google Rich Results Test validation steps + risk note if any proposed markup lacks on-page content backing |42| International SEO / hreflang | hreflang tag specification for all locale/URL pairs + sitemap entries + canonical strategy + market-specific keyword and intent notes |4344---4546## Three-Pillar Diagnostic4748Identify which pillar is the current bottleneck before prescribing solutions:4950| Pillar | Healthy signal | Unhealthy signal | Priority fix |51|---|---|---|---|52| **Technical** | Pages indexed, no crawl errors, Core Web Vitals green, no duplicate content | Coverage errors in GSC, CLS/LCP failing, canonical misuse, JS rendering blocking indexing | Fix technical issues first, they limit the other two pillars |53| **Content** | Target pages rank for relevant intent; content matches SERP format; E-E-A-T signals present | Pages rank for wrong intent; thin content; no topical depth on core themes | Build topical authority; match content format to SERP |54| **Authority** | Strong referring domain profile; high-relevance links; growing brand search | Few or low-quality backlinks; no brand signals; reliance on a narrow link profile | Digital PR, expert contributions, internal linking optimisation |5556---5758## Technical SEO Severity Levels5960| Severity | Issue type | Examples | Action |61|---|---|---|---|62| **Critical** | Blocks indexing | `noindex` on key pages, `Disallow` in robots.txt for important paths, `canonical` pointing away from the real URL | Fix before any other work |63| **High** | Harms ranking or crawling of priority pages | Slow TTFB on product pages, LCP > 4s, hreflang errors, structured data validation failures | Fix in current sprint |64| **Medium** | Wastes crawl budget or dilutes link equity | Redirect chains (> 2 hops), 404s with inbound links, duplicate content without canonical | Fix within 1 month |65| **Low** | Minor improvements | Missing Open Graph tags, suboptimal meta description length, sitemap not updated | Fix when convenient |6667---6869## Core Web Vitals Thresholds7071| Metric | Good | Needs Improvement | Poor | Fintech priority |72|---|---|---|---|---|73| **LCP** | < 2.5s | 2.5–4.0s | > 4.0s | High, trust-critical above-fold content |74| **INP** | < 200ms | 200–500ms | > 500ms | Medium, forms and interactive calculators |75| **CLS** | < 0.1 | 0.1–0.25 | > 0.25 | High, financial data shifting causes user confusion |7677Measure from CrUX (real-user data in GSC) not Lighthouse alone, lab data and field data can diverge significantly.7879---8081## Ranking Drop Diagnosis Checklist8283When organic traffic or rankings drop, investigate in this order:84851. **Algorithm update?** Cross-reference the drop date with Google confirmed updates (Search Engine Roundtable, Google Search Central)862. **Technical regression?** Check GSC coverage report for new errors; check server logs for crawlability issues; verify key pages are indexed873. **Site change?** Correlate the drop with deployments, URL changes, redirects, noindex additions, or robots.txt changes884. **SERP feature displacement?** Rank unchanged but click-through rate dropped? SERP may now show AI Overview, featured snippet, shopping ads, or local pack above organic895. **Competitor improvement?** Did a competitor add content, earn links, or improve Core Web Vitals in the same period?906. **Content quality decay?** Is the page outdated? Has a fresher, more comprehensive piece from a competitor overtaken yours?9192---9394## E-E-A-T for YMYL Content (Fintech Specific)9596Google applies heightened quality standards to Your Money or Your Life content. For financial products and services:9798| Signal | How to demonstrate it |99|---|---|100| **Experience** | Author bio with real credentials and experience; first-person case studies; specific data from the brand's own operations |101| **Expertise** | Author qualifications (FCA authorisation, professional designations); citing primary sources; technically accurate content |102| **Authoritativeness** | Brand mentions in authoritative publications; links from reputable financial media; recognition by industry bodies |103| **Trustworthiness** | HTTPS; accurate regulatory disclosures (APR, risk warnings, FCA number); clear contact information; transparent methodology |104105Missing any of these signals on a YMYL page is a ranking risk, not just a quality issue.106107---108109## Keyword Research Methodology1101111. **Seed keywords**: start with how users describe the product/service, not internal terminology1122. **Expand with tools**: Search Console (existing performance), Ahrefs/Semrush (volume, difficulty, competitor gaps), Google Keyword Planner, Google Autocomplete, People Also Ask1133. **Classify by intent**:114 - **Informational**: "how does compound interest work" → blog/guide content115 - **Commercial investigation**: "best savings accounts UK 2025" → comparison/hub page116 - **Transactional**: "open ISA online" → product/conversion page117 - **Navigational**: "Monzo login" → brand page, not a content opportunity1184. **Prioritise by opportunity**: (Search volume × CTR potential) ÷ Keyword difficulty, weighted by business value1195. **Match format to SERP**: if the top 3 results are listicles, write a listicle; if they're tools/calculators, build a tool120121---122123## Internal Linking Strategy124125Internal links distribute crawl budget and PageRank. Rules:126- Link from high-authority pages (homepage, hub pages) to priority conversion pages127- Use descriptive anchor text that includes the target keyword naturally128- Identify orphan pages (no internal links pointing to them) and add links from relevant content129- Avoid excessive navigation links (they dilute PageRank signals across too many destinations)130- Audit broken internal links monthly, they waste crawl budget and signal poor site maintenance131132---133134## Structured Data Implementation135136Use JSON-LD (not Microdata or RDFa). Validate with Google's Rich Results Test.137138Priority schema types for fintech:139- `FinancialProduct`, interest rates, loan terms, eligibility140- `FAQPage`, for product pages with common questions; targets PAA boxes141- `Article` / `NewsArticle`, for editorial content142- `BreadcrumbList`, for navigational context143- `Organization`, brand trust signals, logo, contact144145Never add structured data for content that does not exist on the page, this violates Google's quality guidelines and risks a manual action.146147---148149## Output Protocol150151End every response with a confidence signal on its own line:152153```154CONFIDENCE: [High|Medium|Low], [one-line reason]155```156157- **High**, output is complete, correct, and based on sufficient context158- **Medium**, output is reasonable but contains an assumption or a gap; state the assumption inline159- **Low**, insufficient context to produce a reliable result; state what is missing160161If the task is outside this skill's scope or you lack the information needed to proceed, return this instead of a confidence signal:162163```164BLOCKED: [reason], [what information would unblock this]165```166167Do not guess or produce low-quality output to avoid returning BLOCKED. A precise BLOCKED is more useful than a low-confidence guess.
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