seo

seo is a local CLI, MCP server, and report engine using crawl, Search Console, Google Analytics, optional Bing evidence, and optional research providers. Reports keep observations, estimates, findings, caveats, costs, and provenance separate. Storage stays local; requested crawls and provider operations still make direct network requests. Discover reports at runtime instead of memorising them.

Discover, describe, run

With the MCP server (preferred):

1. seo_list_reports returns report ids and purposes, optionally by category.
2. seo_describe_report returns one report's usage, schema, reading order, limits, verification, and related ids.
3. seo_run_report runs bounded params. Read structuredContent, not display text.

The same catalog exists without MCP:

seo reports list --json
seo reports describe <report-id> --json
seo reports run <report-id> --params '<json>' --json

Describe a report before its first run. Follow readOrder, doNotClaim, and related; reuse its schema and do not guess parameters. When fixableChecks exists, fetch guidance only for failed or warning ids in topActions with seo_describe_report using id and check (CLI: seo reports describe <report-id> --check <check-id>).

Setup and selection

Use setup-check or seo doctor when auth is unknown. Select profiles with --project <id> and list them with seo projects list --json. Without one, pass --site sc-domain:example.com or --url https://example.com. Crawl audits need no Google connection. Agent commands use --json, which never prompts.

Common jobs

Run the first report, read it, then decide. Do not run a whole chain blindly.

Without provider API access, describe ranked-keywords, ranking-pages, serp-competitors, or competitor-keyword-gap and pass one to four local ranked-keyword exports through researchFiles. Read evidence.imports before using the rows. If headings are unfamiliar, use the report schema's explicit columns map rather than guessing. File dates, hashes, included fields, column mappings, filtered historical rows, rejected rows, and caps define the evidence boundary.

Use seo report first for a broad performance question with a known project. For a large or unfamiliar URL, run sitemap health before a full crawl.

Create a client HTML report

For a polished or branded report, create one standalone HTML file from structured data. Built-in --format html is a predictable fallback. Start with compact JSON and request --full only when deeper evidence is needed. Follow supplied brand direction and design for the findings. Use responsive, accessible, print-friendly HTML, embedded CSS, noindex,nofollow, and no remote scripts or assets.

Show site, period, generated date, provider labels, data status, priorities, limitations, and verification. Preserve partial, capped, sampled, missing, and skipped states. Keep observations separate from interpretation and providers separate from each other. Never invent scores, forecasts, causes, or missing values. Omit secrets and unnecessary raw rows. Save locally and report the path.

For a large site, run site-crawl with health: true and an explicit sitemapUrl when known. Read config.strategy, access, failures, limits, and sitemap completeness. Full crawl second only for page content, metadata, canonicals, links, structured data, or rendered HTML.

Requests use SEO-Skill/<version> (+https://seoskill.dev). For access.blockedRequests, show provider evidence and the identity. Ask for a temporary exception scoped by audit IP, host or paths, and blocking rule. Never recommend a User-Agent-only bypass.

Evidence rules

• Check dataStatus, selection counts, caveats, and warnings before summarising any report. Name skipped or incomplete evidence first.
• Partial, capped, filtered, or sampled sources never support a zero or an all-clear. Grouped Search Console totals undercount because anonymised query rows are withheld.
• Values marked heuristic are prioritisation aids, not forecasts. Never promise clicks, rankings, indexing, or AI citations from any report.
• Quote principle and evidenceRef when explaining a recommendation, and give the user the report's verification step alongside any suggested change.
• If a report returns no rows, say so plainly.
• Intentional controls such as noindex, canonicals, and robots rules are observations until the user confirms they are unintended.
• Provider traffic, volume, difficulty, visibility, intent, authority, and ranking history are estimates. Keep them separate from Search Console, Google Analytics, crawl, and live result evidence.

Beyond the report catalog

Use seo help all for direct provider and administration commands. Bing setup uses seo providers bing; link evidence uses seo links --project <id> --json, seo links --provider ahrefs --target <domain> --json, seo links --provider dataforseo --target <domain> --json, or a local file. IndexNow writes externally: validate with seo indexnow submit --dry-run --json and remove dry run only when authorised. Receipt does not prove crawling or indexing. Prefer registered reports.

Use refresh: true or --refresh only when fresh data is requested. Sitemap health always bypasses page-body cache and never writes page responses.