A Claude SEO skill for Claude Code is the difference between asking Claude to “write an SEO article” and having it run your exact SEO process — your research method, your formatting rules, your CTAs, your publishing steps — every time, without re-explaining. I’ve written about the skill I use to rank; this page is the how-to underneath it: what a Claude Code skill actually is, where the files go, a SKILL.md skeleton you can copy, the rules worth putting in it, and why I run several small SEO skills instead of one giant one. The video above shows the Claude Code SEO agent this approach grew out of.
Key takeaways
- A Claude Code skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file: YAML frontmatter (
name,description) on top, your process in plain markdown below. - Location decides scope:
~/.claude/skills/for every project on your machine, or.claude/skills/inside one project. - The description is the trigger — Claude reads it to decide when to load the skill, so write it like a list of the requests it should handle.
- Split by job: I run separate skills for keyword research, SEO articles and WordPress posting — small skills trigger reliably and are easy to fix.
How a Claude SEO skill for Claude Code works
Claude Code skills are packaged instructions that load on demand. Each one lives in its own folder with a SKILL.md file; the frontmatter tells Claude what the skill is called and when to use it, and the body holds the actual process. When a request matches the description, Claude pulls the skill in and follows it — or you can call it directly by name. Nothing is compiled or installed: it’s a markdown file, which means your whole SEO method becomes something you can read, version and edit.
That’s why skills beat prompts for SEO. A prompt is whatever you remember to type today; a skill is the process you decided on when you were thinking clearly — the heading rules, the internal-link rules, the source requirements, the CTA placement — applied identically on the hundredth article as on the first.
Installing a Claude SEO skill for Claude Code
Create the folder and the file (user-level, so it works in every project):
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/seo-articles- Create
~/.claude/skills/seo-articles/SKILL.mdwith frontmatter like this: ---/name: seo-articles/description: Write and publish SEO articles. Use when asked for an SEO article, a ‘best X’ listicle, or to publish a keyword to my sites./---- Below the frontmatter, write the process as numbered steps: research, outline rules, writing rules, QA checks, publish and index.
Restart your Claude Code session and ask for an SEO article — it should announce it’s using the skill. If it doesn’t, your description is too vague; add the exact phrases you actually type. For a single site, put the folder in that project’s .claude/skills/ instead so it only loads there. The Agent OS SEO Pack takes the same approach, shipping a ready-made blog-post.md skill file you drop into your home site’s .claude/skills folder — covered in my Claude SEO tool guide.
Want this working on your site, not just bookmarked? Getting the exact SEO skill files I use, set up in your Claude Code is exactly what we build together inside the AI Profit Boardroom — 3,700+ members, four live calls a week, daily tutorials, plug-and-play templates and a 30-day roadmap.
Prefer it mapped for your exact site first? Book a free SEO strategy session and we’ll build your gameplan together.
What to put inside your Claude SEO skill
| Section | What it tells Claude | Why it matters for rankings |
|---|---|---|
| Source rule | Never write without a real source — transcript, docs, data | Kills generic AI filler; gives the page facts worth citing |
| Keyword placement | Keyword in the first line, 2+ headings and the last line | Relevance signals, applied every time |
| Answer-first blocks | Direct answer in the first sentence of each section | Wins snippets and AI answers (AEO) |
| Internal links | Link to 3+ existing pages; check they exist first | Topical clusters, no broken links |
| Schema & FAQ | Article + FAQPage JSON-LD, 4–6 FAQs | Parsability for search and answer engines |
| QA gate | Word count, headings, links, CTAs checked before publish | Consistency at scale |
| Publish & index | Push live, verify, submit for indexing | Same-day discovery |
Keep one job per skill. My own setup runs keyword-research (finds gaps from Search Console), seo-articles (writes and deploys to a static-site network) and wordpress-posts (publishes to WordPress over the REST API) as separate skills. Each has a tight description, so the right one loads for the right request, and when a rule needs changing I edit one file, not a 3,000-word monster.
Honest limits, dated 28 September 2026: a skill is only as good as the rules in it — it encodes your process, it doesn’t invent a better one. Start with a small batch, read every output, and tighten the rules where it drifts. And never put passwords or API keys inside a SKILL.md: skills are plain text, so reference a credentials file the skill reads instead.
The bottom line on a Claude SEO skill for Claude Code
A Claude SEO skill for Claude Code is a folder, a SKILL.md, a sharp description and your process written down — and it turns Claude from a writer into a teammate who follows your SEO method every time. Build one skill per job, put your ranking rules in plain language, test on a small batch, and refine. Want my exact skill files instead of building from scratch? Members get them inside the AI Profit Boardroom.
FAQ: claude seo skill for claude code
What is a Claude SEO skill for Claude Code?
A folder containing a SKILL.md file that tells Claude Code your SEO process — research, writing rules, QA, publishing — with frontmatter describing when to use it. Claude loads it automatically when a request matches.
Where do Claude Code skills go?
In ~/.claude/skills/ for every project on your machine, or in a project’s .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project. Each skill gets its own folder with a SKILL.md inside.
Why isn’t Claude using my SEO skill?
Usually the description is too vague. Rewrite it to include the exact phrases you use — ‘SEO article’, ‘best X listicle’, ‘publish to my sites’ — then start a new session.
What rules should an SEO skill include?
A no-source-no-article rule, keyword placement, answer-first sections, verified internal links, Article and FAQPage schema, a pre-publish QA gate, and publish-and-index steps.
Should I use one big SEO skill or several?
Several small ones. Separate skills for keyword research, article writing and publishing trigger more reliably and are much easier to fix when something drifts.
Can I get a ready-made Claude SEO skill?
Yes — the Agent OS SEO Pack ships a blog-post skill file, and AI Profit Boardroom members get the exact skill files I run.
Two free resources while you’re here: grab the 200+ AI SEO Prompts — the exact prompt library behind these workflows — and the free link building book, ten years of outreach lessons in one download.
Two ways I can help from here. If you want the community, the templates and the weekly momentum, join the AI Profit Boardroom — it’s where your Claude Code SEO skill gets built with 3,700+ members doing the same.
If you want a personal plan first, book a free SEO strategy session and bring your questions — no pitch-fest, just the gameplan.
About Julian Goldie
I’m Julian Goldie — SEO agency founder, best-selling author, and one of the most-watched AI SEO educators on YouTube with 394K+ subscribers. I’ve spent 10+ years in SEO and link building, hold a 100% Job Success Score on Upwork, and run a community of 75K+ members learning AI-powered SEO. I test everything on my own sites first — what you read here comes from those tests. Join the AI Profit Boardroom for the daily builds, or book a free SEO strategy session to get your gameplan.
Related reading
- Claude AI SEO Skill: The One I Use To Rank #1
- Claude SEO Tool: The Agent OS SEO Pipeline
- Agentic SEO Skill: It Publishes, Not Just Writes
Last updated September 2026. This page is a living guide to claude seo skill for claude code — the facts here move fast and I update it as they do.
