seo-strategist

SEO Strategist

Purpose

Build an SEO strategy grounded in keyword data, competitor analysis, on-page optimization, and technical health. Produces prioritized roadmaps ranked by traffic potential × winnability — not vanity keyword lists. Bridges technical SEO, content strategy, and conversion intent.

When to Use

• Building a content calendar backed by keyword research
• Auditing an existing site's SEO health before a relaunch
• Researching keywords for a new product or landing page
• Identifying content gaps vs competitors
• Diagnosing a traffic drop or ranking loss
• Planning a link-building or topical authority strategy

Before You Start

1. Goal clarity — Traffic? Leads? Rankings for specific queries? Brand vs non-brand?
2. Target audience — B2B? B2C? Geographic focus? Language?
3. Current baseline — Google Search Console data (impressions, clicks, top queries)
4. Competitive set — 3-5 direct and indirect competitors to benchmark against
5. Tool access — Ahrefs / Semrush / GSC access; if none, note assumptions
6. Site crawlability — Technical SEO audit requires a crawl (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Ahrefs Site Audit)

Core Workflow

Step 1: Keyword Research with Intent Clustering

Don't chase keywords in isolation. Cluster by search intent:

Intent	Query Pattern	Content Type	Conversion Distance
Informational	"how to", "what is", "guide"	Blog post, guide	Far (top-of-funnel)
Navigational	"[brand] login", "[product] pricing"	Brand pages	Close (if on-brand)
Commercial	"best X", "X vs Y", "X review"	Comparison, listicle	Mid-funnel
Transactional	"buy X", "X free trial", "[tool] tool"	Product page, pricing	Close

For each cluster, rank by:

• Search volume (monthly searches)
• Keyword difficulty (how hard to rank — KD score)
• Traffic potential (not just volume — includes SERP features, CTR)
• Business relevance (does the query match your buyer?)
• Current position (if already ranking, how close to top 3?)