---
name: seo-plan
description: >
  Strategic SEO planning for new or existing websites. Industry-specific
  templates, competitive analysis, content strategy, and implementation
  roadmap. Use when user says "SEO plan", "SEO strategy", "SEO planning",
  "SEO best practices for <topic>", "content strategy", "keyword strategy",
  "content calendar", "site architecture", "SEO roadmap", or asks for
  organic growth guidance without a specific URL.
user-invokable: true
argument-hint: "[business-type]"
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: AgriciDaniel
  version: "1.9.6"
  category: seo
---

# Strategic SEO Planning
## Shared Data Cache

**Step 0 -- Check shared data cache:**

Before gathering, check `.seo-cache/` for reusable context from related SEO skills.
Reference: `../seo/references/shared-data-cache.md` for schemas and dependency map.

Check these cache files when present:
- `.seo-cache/site-meta.json` for domain, business type, industry, and crawl context
- `.seo-cache/audit-scores.json` for prior full-audit priorities
- `.seo-cache/pages/{url-slug}/page-analysis.json` for page-level context when a URL is provided

- If found: parse and use clearly valid fields (note "Using cached [X] from [date]")
- If missing, corrupt, or irrelevant: continue with fresh evidence
- If the user says "refresh" or "re-run": ignore cache reads and overwrite on write

## Process

### 1. Discovery
- Business type, target audience, competitors, goals
- Current site assessment (if exists)
- Budget and timeline constraints
- Key performance indicators (KPIs)

### 2. Competitive Analysis
- Identify top 5 competitors
- Analyze their content strategy, schema usage, technical setup
- Identify keyword gaps and content opportunities
- Assess their E-E-A-T signals
- Estimate their domain authority

### 3. Architecture Design
- Load industry template from `assets/` directory
- Design URL hierarchy and content pillars
- Plan internal linking strategy
- Sitemap structure with quality gates applied
- Information architecture for user journeys

### 4. Content Strategy
- Content gaps vs competitors
- Page types and estimated counts
- Blog/resource topics and publishing cadence
- E-E-A-T building plan (author bios, credentials, experience signals)
- Content calendar with priorities

### 5. Technical Foundation
- Hosting and performance requirements
- Schema markup plan per page type
- Core Web Vitals baseline targets
- AI search readiness requirements
- Mobile-first considerations

### 6. Implementation Roadmap (4 phases)

#### Phase 1: Foundation (weeks 1-4)
- Technical setup and infrastructure
- Core pages (home, about, contact, main services)
- Essential schema implementation
- Analytics and tracking setup

#### Phase 2: Expansion (weeks 5-12)
- Content creation for primary pages
- Blog launch with initial posts
- Internal linking structure
- Local SEO setup (if applicable)

#### Phase 3: Scale (weeks 13-24)
- Advanced content development
- Link building and outreach
- GEO optimization
- Performance optimization

#### Phase 4: Authority (months 7-12)
- Thought leadership content
- PR and media mentions
- Advanced schema implementation
- Continuous optimization

## Industry Templates

Load from `assets/` directory:
- `saas.md`: SaaS/software companies
- `local-service.md`: Local service businesses
- `ecommerce.md`: E-commerce stores
- `publisher.md`: Content publishers/media
- `agency.md`: Agencies and consultancies
- `generic.md`: General business template

## Output

### Deliverables
- `SEO-STRATEGY.md`: Complete strategic plan
- `COMPETITOR-ANALYSIS.md`: Competitive insights
- `CONTENT-CALENDAR.md`: Content roadmap
- `IMPLEMENTATION-ROADMAP.md`: Phased action plan
- `SITE-STRUCTURE.md`: URL hierarchy and architecture

### KPI Targets
| Metric | Baseline | 3 Month | 6 Month | 12 Month |
|--------|----------|---------|---------|----------|
| Organic Traffic | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Keyword Rankings | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Domain Authority | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Indexed Pages | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Core Web Vitals | ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Success Criteria
- Clear, measurable goals per phase
- Resource requirements defined
- Dependencies identified
- Risk mitigation strategies

## DataForSEO Integration (Optional)

If DataForSEO MCP tools are available, use `dataforseo_labs_google_competitors_domain` and `dataforseo_labs_google_domain_intersection` for real competitive intelligence, `dataforseo_labs_bulk_traffic_estimation` for traffic estimates, `kw_data_google_ads_search_volume` and `dataforseo_labs_bulk_keyword_difficulty` for keyword research, and `business_data_business_listings_search` for local business data.

## Error Handling

| Scenario | Action |
|----------|--------|
| Unrecognized business type | Fall back to `generic.md` template. Inform user that no industry-specific template was found and proceed with the general business template. |
| No website URL provided | Proceed with new-site planning mode. Skip current site assessment and competitive gap analysis that require a live URL. |
| Industry template not found | Check `assets/` directory for available templates. If the requested template file is missing, use `generic.md` and note the missing template in output. |

## Write to shared data cache

After completing all work, write a concise JSON summary to `.seo-cache/` when the workflow produced durable findings.
Use the schemas and naming rules in `../seo/references/shared-data-cache.md`; include at least `cache_type`, `analyzed_at`, source URL/domain, key findings, issues, recommendations, and tool limitations. Add `.seo-cache/` to `.gitignore` if it is missing.