SEO is a blend of technical skill, content creation, and strategic thinking. Claude excels at all three—if you know how to prompt it. These 10 prompting techniques separate SEOs who spend hours on tasks from those who finish in minutes.

1. Keyword Research Expansion

Transform seed keywords into comprehensive topic clusters.

The skill: Use Claude to expand keywords into semantically related terms, questions, and long-tail variations.

Example prompt:

I'm targeting the seed keyword "email marketing software"

Generate:
1. 20 long-tail variations with different search intents
2. 15 questions people ask about this topic (People Also Ask style)
3. 10 comparison keywords ([tool] vs [tool])
4. 10 "best X for Y" variations (best email marketing for small business)
5. Related topics that share audience but aren't direct competitors

Why it matters: Keyword research tools give data. Claude gives ideas. Use both together—Claude for expansion, tools for validation with search volume.

Level up: Feed Claude a competitor’s top-ranking pages and ask it to identify keyword gaps you could target.

2. Search Intent Classification

Understand what searchers actually want.

The skill: Analyze keywords to determine intent and appropriate content format.

Example prompt:

Classify the search intent for these keywords and recommend the ideal content format for each:

1. "how to start a podcast"
2. "best podcast microphone"
3. "podcast microphone"
4. "shure sm7b review"
5. "buy shure sm7b"
6. "podcast statistics 2025"

For each, tell me:
- Intent type (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational)
- What the searcher wants to accomplish
- Ideal content format (guide, listicle, product page, comparison, etc.)
- What Google is likely already ranking (and why)

Why it matters: Matching content format to search intent is the difference between ranking and not ranking. Claude helps you think like the searcher.

3. Content Brief Generation

Create comprehensive content briefs in minutes.

The skill: Generate detailed briefs that writers can execute without additional research.

Example prompt:

Create a content brief for the keyword "how to improve website loading speed"

Include:
1. Primary keyword and 10 secondary keywords to include
2. Search intent analysis
3. Recommended word count based on competition
4. H2 and H3 outline (what sections to include)
5. Questions to answer in the content
6. Internal linking opportunities (suggest types of related content)
7. External sources to cite for credibility
8. Content angle that would differentiate from existing results
9. Featured snippet opportunity and format
10. Call-to-action recommendation

Why it matters: Content briefs take 30-60 minutes to create manually. Claude generates a comprehensive first draft in seconds.

Level up: Provide Claude with the top 3 ranking pages (paste content or describe them) and ask for a brief that’s better than all of them.

4. Title Tag and Meta Description Optimization

Generate and optimize metadata at scale.

The skill: Create compelling, optimized metadata that improves CTR.

Example prompt:

Here's my page:

Topic: Guide to remote work productivity
Primary keyword: remote work tips
URL: /blog/remote-work-productivity-tips

Generate 5 title tag options that:
- Include the primary keyword near the front
- Are under 60 characters
- Include a power word or emotional hook
- Differentiate from generic results

Generate 5 meta descriptions that:
- Are 150-155 characters
- Include primary keyword naturally
- Have a clear value proposition
- Include a soft call to action

For scale:

Here are 20 pages that need metadata optimization. For each, generate a title tag and meta description. Current titles and URLs:

[paste list]

Why it matters: Metadata optimization is high-impact but tedious at scale. Claude handles volume while you maintain quality control.

5. Content Optimization and Gap Analysis

Improve existing content based on competitor analysis.

The skill: Identify what’s missing from your content compared to top-ranking pages.

Example prompt:

I'm trying to rank for "saas pricing strategies"

My current content covers:
- Freemium model
- Tiered pricing
- Per-seat pricing
- Usage-based pricing

The top-ranking competitor covers all of that plus:
- Value-based pricing
- Psychological pricing tactics
- Pricing page design
- Annual vs monthly comparison
- Case studies from real companies

What's missing from my content? How should I restructure to be more comprehensive? What sections should I add or expand?

Why it matters: Content gaps are why you’re not ranking. Claude helps identify exactly what to add without manual comparison.

6. Technical SEO Audit Assistance

Diagnose technical issues and generate fixes.

The skill: Describe technical problems and get specific solutions.

Example prompt:

My site has these technical SEO issues (from Screaming Frog):
- 47 pages returning 302 redirects instead of 301
- 23 pages with duplicate title tags
- 156 images missing alt text
- 12 pages with meta robots noindex that shouldn't be noindexed
- Multiple versions of homepage accessible (www, non-www, trailing slash)

For each issue:
1. Explain why it matters for SEO
2. Give me the specific fix
3. Prioritize by impact (high/medium/low)

For code-level fixes:

I need to implement canonical tags properly in Next.js. Currently, I have no canonical tags. Show me:
1. How to add self-referencing canonicals to all pages
2. How to handle dynamic routes
3. How to handle paginated content
4. Common mistakes to avoid

Why it matters: Technical SEO requires knowing the right fix for each issue. Claude provides specific solutions, not just problem identification.

7. Schema Markup Generation

Generate structured data for any content type.

The skill: Describe your content and get properly formatted schema.

Example prompt:

Generate JSON-LD schema markup for this FAQ page:

Q1: How long does shipping take?
A1: Standard shipping takes 5-7 business days. Express shipping takes 2-3 business days.

Q2: What is your return policy?
A2: We accept returns within 30 days of purchase. Items must be unworn with tags attached.

Q3: Do you ship internationally?
A3: Yes, we ship to over 50 countries. International shipping takes 10-14 business days.

For complex types:

Generate schema markup for this recipe:
- Title: Classic Margherita Pizza
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Servings: 4
- Calories: 285 per serving
- Ingredients: [list]
- Instructions: [list]
- Author: Chef John
- Rating: 4.8 from 156 reviews

Why it matters: Schema markup improves rich snippet eligibility. Manual creation is error-prone. Claude generates valid markup instantly.

8. Internal Linking Strategy

Build content clusters with strategic internal links.

The skill: Map internal linking opportunities across your content.

Example prompt:

Here are my existing blog posts:

1. "Complete Guide to Email Marketing" (pillar page)
2. "How to Write Subject Lines That Get Opened"
3. "Email List Building Strategies"
4. "Email Automation for Beginners"
5. "Email Marketing Metrics to Track"
6. "Best Email Marketing Tools 2025"

Create an internal linking strategy:
1. Which posts should link to which?
2. What anchor text should each link use?
3. What content gaps exist in this cluster?
4. What new posts would strengthen the topic cluster?

Why it matters: Internal linking is how you signal topic relevance to Google. Claude helps you see the structure and identify gaps.

9. Competitor Content Analysis

Understand why competitors rank and how to outrank them.

The skill: Analyze competitor content strategy and find opportunities.

Example prompt:

I'm analyzing a competitor's content strategy. Here's their top 10 blog posts by traffic (from Ahrefs):

1. "How to Start a Podcast" - 45,000 monthly visits
2. "Best Podcast Hosting Platforms" - 32,000 monthly visits
3. [etc.]

Based on this:
1. What topics are they dominating?
2. What's their content format pattern? (guides, lists, comparisons)
3. What topic clusters are they building?
4. Where are potential gaps I could exploit?
5. What would a counter-strategy look like?

Why it matters: Competitor analysis informs strategy. Claude helps pattern-match across competitor content to find your opportunities.

10. Content Repurposing for SEO

Transform one piece of content into multiple SEO assets.

The skill: Expand a single topic into multiple formats targeting different keywords.

Example prompt:

I have a comprehensive guide: "Complete Guide to Home Coffee Brewing" (3,000 words)

Create a content expansion plan:
1. What standalone articles can be spun off from sections?
2. What FAQ schema opportunities exist?
3. What comparison articles could branch from this?
4. What tool-focused content (best X for Y) can be created?
5. What beginner vs advanced split would work?

For each piece, give me the target keyword and how it relates to the pillar content.

Why it matters: One piece of research can fuel dozens of ranking opportunities. Claude helps you see the full map of possibilities.

Workflow Integration Tips

Batch Processing

For repetitive SEO tasks:

I have 50 product pages that need unique meta descriptions. Here's the template:

Product: [name]
Category: [category]
Key features: [features]
Price: [price]

Generate a unique 155-character meta description for each. Output as a CSV with columns: URL, Meta Description

Quality Control Prompts

After generating content:

Review this content for SEO issues:
- Is the keyword used naturally in H1, first paragraph, and throughout?
- Are there opportunities for more semantic variations?
- Is the content comprehensive compared to typical search results?
- What's missing that a searcher would expect to find?

SERP Analysis

For the keyword "best crm software", the current SERP shows:
- 3 listicle posts (10 best, 15 best, 7 best)
- 2 comparison posts
- 2 software review sites
- 1 vendor landing page

What does this tell me about:
1. User intent
2. Content format to use
3. Difficulty to rank
4. Angle that might differentiate

The SEO Multiplier

These skills transform Claude from a toy into a production tool. An SEO professional who masters Claude:

  • Creates content briefs in 2 minutes instead of 30
  • Generates metadata for 100 pages in the time it takes to do 10 manually
  • Identifies content gaps without hours of competitor research
  • Produces schema markup without JSON-LD debugging
  • Scales content production without proportional time increase

The work changes. Less execution, more strategy. Less typing, more directing.

Claude handles the mechanical parts of SEO. You provide the judgment—what to prioritize, what quality means, how to differentiate.

Master these 10 skills. Do more SEO in less time. Get results.