Claude SEO Skills: Turning Claude Code Into an SEO Assistant
Claude SEO skills are written checklists Claude Code follows every time. What a skill is, where it lives, which SEO jobs suit one, and what to check first.
What are Claude SEO skills? A skill is a written set of instructions you give Claude Code, so it does an SEO job the same way every time. You write the checklist once, and Claude uses it when the job comes up or when you type its name.
A skill won’t make Claude know SEO better than you. It makes Claude follow your way of doing it. That’s the point.
You already work from checklists, don’t you?
Most good SEOs do. A pre-publish list. An audit order. Rules about title length that you’ve learned the hard way.
You keep them because memory slips and shortcuts cost rankings. You don’t trust “I think I checked that.” You check.
A skill is that same checklist, written down where Claude reads it. If you already work from checklists, skills aren’t a new habit. They’re your habit, handed to an assistant that never gets bored of it.
What exactly is a Claude Code skill?
It’s a folder with a file called SKILL.md inside. Anthropic’s docs describe two parts.
The top is a short header. It gives the skill a name and a description of when to use it. The rest is the instructions Claude follows when the skill runs.
Claude keeps the descriptions in view, and loads the full instructions only when a job matches. You can also run a skill yourself by typing a slash and its name.
A skill can carry more than one file. It can hold a reference document, examples, or a script that runs. Skills follow an open standard called Agent Skills, so the format isn’t locked to one tool.
Where does a skill live?
Where you put it decides who gets it.
| Where it lives | Who can use it |
|---|---|
| Your personal skills folder | You, in every project on your computer |
| The project’s skills folder | Anyone working in that project, once it’s committed to Git |
| A plugin | Anyone who installs the plugin |
For an SEO, the project folder is the interesting one. Your audit rules travel with the client’s site. Anyone who opens the project gets the same checks.
Which SEO jobs make good skills?
The ones you repeat and want done the same way every time. Here are a few worth writing down.
A pre-publish check. Title of 60 characters or fewer. Meta description of 155 or fewer. One H1. No skipped heading levels. Alt text on every image.
A structured data check. Google says your structured data should match the visible text on the page. A skill can compare the two on every page.
A fact-check pass. Flag every number, date and claim that doesn’t have a source. Google itself tells you to fact-check AI-assisted content before publishing.
A monthly Search Console read. The same questions, asked of every export, so months can be compared.
Your house style. The phrases you never use and the claims you never make.
What about research? My keyword research runs inside Claude Code, at cents per search instead of a monthly subscription. How that’s wired up is in the free video, not here.
Why does a skill beat a saved prompt?
Because a saved prompt needs you to remember it. A skill doesn’t.
Claude picks a skill up when the job matches its description. The skill lives with the project, so it’s there next month. Your team gets it through Git. And it can carry your style guide alongside the instructions.
A prompt in a notes app does none of that.
How is a skill different from CLAUDE.md?
CLAUDE.md loads at the start of every session. A skill loads only when its job comes up.
So put standing rules in CLAUDE.md. “Never invent a phone number.” “Every page needs one H1.” Put the long, step-by-step jobs in skills, where they don’t crowd every conversation.
Should you install someone else’s SEO skills?
Read them first. A skill can include scripts, and scripts run on your computer.
Don’t install a skill you haven’t read. That goes double for one that promises rankings.
There’s a second reason. Someone else’s checklist holds their judgment, not yours. Check its advice against Google’s own docs. Some “AI SEO” advice tells you to add an llms.txt file, for example. Google says Google Search ignores it.
You’d check a source before quoting it. Check a skill before running it.
What kind of SEO gets the most from skills?
The one who already writes things down. The one who checks the result instead of trusting “done.” The one who reads Google’s docs before believing a forum.
That’s who skills are built for. They don’t change how you work. They make Claude work the way you already do.
I’m a regular guy who builds websites for local businesses with Claude Code, and I use it every day.
One habit still matters. Claude will tell you a job is finished. Open the page and look anyway.
Frequently asked questions
What are Claude Code skills? A skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file of instructions. Claude uses it when a job matches its description, or when you type its name with a slash.
Do Claude skills work for SEO? Yes, for any SEO job you can write down as steps. Pre-publish checks, structured data checks, fact-checking and monthly reporting all suit a skill.
Where do I put a Claude Code skill? In your personal skills folder to use it everywhere, or in a project’s skills folder to share it with that project. Committed to Git, a project skill reaches your whole team.
Are Claude skills free? Skills come with Claude Code, which is included in Claude’s paid plans. Pro is $20 a month, or $17 billed yearly, and Max is $100 or $200.
Want to see Claude Code doing real SEO work on a real site? I made a free video that walks through it. Watch the free video.