An SEO plan is a prioritized strategy for improving a site's search visibility through technical, content, architecture, and authority work. Claude SEO builds plans for new or existing sites with industry templates, competitor analysis, content calendars, site structure, and a phased implementation roadmap.
When you run /seo plan, Claude SEO walks through a 6-step strategic planning process: discovery, competitive analysis, architecture design, content strategy, technical foundation, and implementation roadmap. Each step produces actionable deliverables tailored to your business type.
The planner loads industry-specific templates that adapt URL hierarchy, content strategy, schema recommendations, and KPI targets. It analyzes your top 5 competitors for content gaps, E-E-A-T signals, and domain authority estimates.
What each planning step covers
The 6-step process produces a complete SEO strategy. Each step builds on the previous one, so the final roadmap reflects your specific business type, competitive landscape, and goals.
01
DISCOVERY
Business type, target audience, competitors, goals. Current site assessment (if exists). Budget and timeline constraints. Key performance indicators (KPIs) defined upfront.
02
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Identify top 5 competitors. Analyze their content strategy, schema usage, technical setup. Identify keyword gaps and content opportunities. Assess E-E-A-T signals and estimate domain authority.
03
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN
Load industry template. Design URL hierarchy and content pillars. Plan internal linking strategy. Sitemap structure with quality gates. Information architecture for user journeys.
04
CONTENT STRATEGY
Content gaps vs competitors. Page types and estimated counts. Blog and resource topics with publishing cadence. E-E-A-T building plan with author bios, credentials, and experience signals.
05
TECHNICAL FOUNDATION
Hosting and performance requirements. Schema markup plan per page type. Core Web Vitals baseline targets. AI search readiness requirements. Mobile-first considerations.
SaaS/software companies, local service businesses, e-commerce stores, content publishers/media, agencies and consultancies, and a generic business template. Each adapts recommendations to the industry.
KPI TRACKING
MEASURABLE TARGETS
Organic traffic, keyword rankings, domain authority, indexed pages, and Core Web Vitals tracked at baseline, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month intervals. Clear success criteria per phase.
OPTIONAL
DATAFORSEO INTEGRATION
When DataForSEO MCP tools are available, uses real competitor domain analysis, traffic estimation, keyword difficulty data, and local business listings for enhanced competitive intelligence.
// ROADMAP
How does phased implementation work?
The implementation roadmap breaks your SEO strategy into 4 phases over 12 months. Each phase has clear deliverables, resource requirements, dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies.
Replace "saas" with your business type: saas, local-service, ecommerce, publisher, agency, or generic. Claude SEO loads the matching industry template and generates 5 deliverable files with your complete SEO strategy.
Output files
SEO-STRATEGY.md - complete strategic plan with goals, target audience, and approach
COMPETITOR-ANALYSIS.md - competitive insights from your top 5 competitors
CONTENT-CALENDAR.md - content roadmap with publishing cadence and topic priorities
IMPLEMENTATION-ROADMAP.md - 4-phase action plan with timelines and dependencies
SITE-STRUCTURE.md - URL hierarchy and information architecture
// FAQ
QUESTIONS ABOUT SEO PLANNING
The SEO plan produces 5 deliverables: SEO-STRATEGY.md (complete strategic plan), COMPETITOR-ANALYSIS.md (competitive insights from top 5 competitors), CONTENT-CALENDAR.md (content roadmap with publishing cadence), IMPLEMENTATION-ROADMAP.md (phased action plan across 4 phases over 12 months), and SITE-STRUCTURE.md (URL hierarchy and information architecture).
Claude SEO includes 6 industry-specific templates: SaaS/software companies, local service businesses, e-commerce stores, content publishers/media, agencies and consultancies, and a generic business template. Each template adapts URL hierarchy, content strategy, schema recommendations, and KPI targets to the specific industry.
The roadmap spans 12 months across 4 phases. Phase 1 Foundation (weeks 1-4): technical setup, core pages, essential schema, analytics. Phase 2 Expansion (weeks 5-12): content creation, blog launch, internal linking, local SEO. Phase 3 Scale (weeks 13-24): advanced content, link building, GEO optimization, performance. Phase 4 Authority (months 7-12): thought leadership, PR mentions, advanced schema, continuous optimization.
Yes, optionally. When DataForSEO MCP tools are available, the planner uses real competitive intelligence including competitor domain analysis, domain intersection data, bulk traffic estimation, keyword search volume and difficulty, and local business listings data. The core planning works without any API keys.
Yes. Claude SEO is fully open-source under the MIT license. The SEO planner runs entirely through Claude Code with no external API costs. Optional DataForSEO integration requires their own API key but is not required. No paid tiers, no freemium.
// RELATED SKILLS
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FULL SITE AUDIT
The full-site audit delegates to up to 15 specialists and combines 7 weighted categories in one prioritized action plan.
