arkaos 4.26.0 → 4.28.0

package/departments/marketing/skills/seo-audit/SKILL.md

@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ description: >
   mkt/content-audit; competitor SEO comparison ->
   mkt/competitor-analysis.
 allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, Agent, WebFetch, WebSearch]
+metadata:
+  origin: community
+  source: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills
+  license: MIT
 ---
 
 <!-- arka:kb-first-prefix begin -->
@@ -23,7 +27,32 @@ allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, Agent, WebFetch, WebSearch]
 
 > **Agent:** Ana (SEO Specialist) | **Frameworks:** Pillar-Cluster, E-E-A-T, CWV
 
-## Audit Sections
+**Context:** read the product marketing context first —
+`WizardingCode/Marketing/product-marketing.md` in Obsidian (KB-first),
+else the project-local `.agents/product-marketing.md`.
+
+You are an expert in search engine optimization. The goal is to identify SEO issues and provide actionable recommendations to improve organic search performance.
+
+## Initial Assessment
+
+Before auditing, understand:
+
+1. **Site Context**
+   - What type of site? (SaaS, e-commerce, blog, etc.)
+   - What's the primary business goal for SEO?
+   - What keywords/topics are priorities?
+
+2. **Current State**
+   - Any known issues or concerns?
+   - Current organic traffic level?
+   - Recent changes or migrations?
+
+3. **Scope**
+   - Full site audit or specific pages?
+   - Technical + on-page, or one focus area?
+   - Access to Search Console / analytics?
+
+## Audit Checklist (quick reference)
 
 ### 1. Technical SEO
 - [ ] Core Web Vitals (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1)
@@ -58,4 +87,444 @@ allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, Agent, WebFetch, WebSearch]
 - [ ] Toxic backlink identification
 - [ ] Link building opportunities (Skyscraper candidates)
 
+## Schema Markup Detection Limitation
+
+**`web_fetch` and `curl` cannot reliably detect structured data / schema markup.**
+
+Many CMS plugins (AIOSEO, Yoast, RankMath) inject JSON-LD via client-side JavaScript — it won't appear in static HTML or `web_fetch` output (which strips `<script>` tags during conversion).
+
+**To accurately check for schema markup, use one of these methods:**
+1. **Browser tool** — render the page and run: `document.querySelectorAll('script[type="application/ld+json"]')`
+2. **Google Rich Results Test** — https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
+3. **Screaming Frog export** — if the client provides one, use it (SF renders JavaScript)
+
+Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false audit findings — these tools can't see JS-injected schema.
+
+## Priority Order
+
+1. **Crawlability & Indexation** (can Google find and index it?)
+2. **Technical Foundations** (is the site fast and functional?)
+3. **On-Page Optimization** (is content optimized?)
+4. **Content Quality** (does it deserve to rank?)
+5. **Authority & Links** (does it have credibility?)
+
+## Technical SEO Audit (detailed)
+
+### Crawlability
+
+**Robots.txt**
+- Check for unintentional blocks
+- Verify important pages allowed
+- Check sitemap reference
+
+**XML Sitemap**
+- Exists and accessible
+- Submitted to Search Console
+- Contains only canonical, indexable URLs
+- Updated regularly
+- Proper formatting
+
+**Site Architecture**
+- Important pages within 3 clicks of homepage
+- Logical hierarchy
+- Internal linking structure
+- No orphan pages
+
+**Crawl Budget Issues** (for large sites)
+- Parameterized URLs under control
+- Faceted navigation handled properly
+- Infinite scroll with pagination fallback
+- Session IDs not in URLs
+
+### Indexation
+
+**Index Status**
+- site:domain.com check
+- Search Console coverage report
+- Compare indexed vs. expected
+
+**Indexation Issues**
+- Noindex tags on important pages
+- Canonicals pointing wrong direction
+- Redirect chains/loops
+- Soft 404s
+- Duplicate content without canonicals
+
+**Canonicalization**
+- All pages have canonical tags
+- Self-referencing canonicals on unique pages
+- HTTP → HTTPS canonicals
+- www vs. non-www consistency
+- Trailing slash consistency
+
+### Site Speed & Core Web Vitals
+
+**Core Web Vitals**
+- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): < 2.5s
+- INP (Interaction to Next Paint): < 200ms
+- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): < 0.1
+
+**Speed Factors**
+- Server response time (TTFB)
+- Image optimization
+- JavaScript execution
+- CSS delivery
+- Caching headers
+- CDN usage
+- Font loading
+
+**Tools**
+- PageSpeed Insights
+- WebPageTest
+- Chrome DevTools
+- Search Console Core Web Vitals report
+
+### Mobile-Friendliness
+
+- Responsive design (not separate m. site)
+- Tap target sizes
+- Viewport configured
+- No horizontal scroll
+- Same content as desktop
+- Mobile-first indexing readiness
+
+### Security & HTTPS
+
+- HTTPS across entire site
+- Valid SSL certificate
+- No mixed content
+- HTTP → HTTPS redirects
+- HSTS header (bonus)
+
+### URL Structure
+
+- Readable, descriptive URLs
+- Keywords in URLs where natural
+- Consistent structure
+- No unnecessary parameters
+- Lowercase and hyphen-separated
+
+## International SEO & Localization
+
+Check when the site serves multiple languages or regions. Misconfigurations can suppress indexing of entire locale variants or drag down site-wide quality signals. See [International SEO reference](references/international-seo.md) for evidence and source URLs.
+
+### Hreflang
+
+Three equivalent placement methods: HTML `<link>` in `<head>`, HTTP `Link` headers, XML sitemap `<xhtml:link>`. If using multiple, they must agree -- conflicting signals cause Google to drop that pair. For 10+ locales, prefer sitemap-based (no page weight, no per-request cost).
+
+**Check for:**
+- Self-referencing entry on every page (page must include itself in the hreflang set)
+- Reciprocal links (if A points to B, B must point back to A -- or both are ignored)
+- Valid codes: ISO 639-1 language + optional ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 region (e.g., `en`, `en-GB` -- never `en-UK`)
+- `x-default` present, pointing to fallback page (language selector or default locale)
+- All target URLs return 200, are indexable, and match their canonical URL
+- No duplicate language-region codes pointing to different URLs
+
+**Common errors:** Missing self-referencing entry (all hreflang ignored). No return tag / one-directional (pair dropped). Invalid codes like `en-UK` (use `en-GB`). Hreflang target is non-canonical, 404, or blocked (cluster discarded). HTML and sitemap annotations disagree (conflicting pair dropped).
+
+**At scale:** `<xhtml:link>` children don't count toward 50K URL sitemap limit, but the 50MB file size limit becomes the bottleneck (plan 2K-5K URLs per file with full hreflang). Focus hreflang on pages receiving wrong-language traffic -- not required on every page. For Bing: supplement with `<html lang>` and `<meta http-equiv="content-language">` (Bing treats hreflang as a weak signal).
+
+### Canonicalization for Multilingual Sites
+
+- Each locale page must self-canonical (e.g., `/ar/page` canonicals to `/ar/page`)
+- Never cross-locale canonical (French to English) -- suppresses the non-canonical locale entirely
+- Canonical URL must appear in the hreflang set -- if not, all hreflang is ignored
+- Canonical overrides hreflang when they conflict
+- Protocol/domain must be consistent across canonical, hreflang, and sitemap (`https` + same domain variant)
+- Paginated locale pages: self-referencing canonical per page (never canonical page 2+ to page 1)
+
+**Common mistakes:** all locales canonical to English (kills indexing), canonical URL not in hreflang set (silently ignored), protocol mismatch between canonical and hreflang, CMS setting deep page canonical to homepage.
+
+### International Sitemaps
+
+**Check for:**
+- `xmlns:xhtml` namespace on `<urlset>`, each `<url>` includes `<xhtml:link>` for all locales including itself
+- `x-default` alternate included; all URLs absolute (full protocol + domain)
+- Sitemap index in Search Console and robots.txt; split by content type, not by locale
+
+**Next.js caveat:** `alternates.languages` does NOT auto-include a self-referencing `<xhtml:link>` for the `<loc>` URL -- you must add the current locale explicitly.
+
+### Locale URL Structure
+
+**Recommended:** Subdirectories (`/en/`, `/ar/`). **Acceptable:** Subdomains or ccTLDs. **Not recommended:** URL parameters (`?lang=en`).
+
+**Check for:**
+- Consistent locale prefix strategy; all locales prefixed (hiding locale from URLs prevents Google from distinguishing versions)
+- Root URL handled as `x-default` with redirect, or serves default locale content
+- No IP/Accept-Language content negotiation (Googlebot: US IPs, no Accept-Language header)
+- Trailing slash + case consistency across locale paths, canonicals, hreflang, and sitemaps
+- 301 redirects from non-canonical format to canonical
+
+**Note:** Google's International Targeting report in Search Console is deprecated. Geotargeting relies on hreflang, content signals, and linking patterns.
+
+### Content Quality Across Locales
+
+**Translation quality:**
+- AI-translated content is not inherently spam (Google's 2025 stance), but scaled low-value translations can trigger scaled content abuse policy
+- Google uses visible content to determine language -- translate ALL page content (title, description, headings, body), not just boilerplate
+- Translating only template/nav while main content stays in original language creates duplicates
+
+**Thin locale pages:**
+- Helpful content system is site-wide -- many thin locale pages can suppress rankings for strong pages too
+- Don't noindex thin locales (wastes crawl budget) or cross-locale canonical (conflicts with hreflang)
+- Best approach: don't create locale pages you cannot make genuinely helpful
+
+**Check for:**
+- All locale pages have fully translated main content (not just UI chrome)
+- No near-identical content across locales ("Duplicate, Google chose different canonical" in GSC)
+- Hreflang only for locales with genuine content and search demand
+- Localized signals: currency, phone format, addresses where applicable
+- Broken hreflang links (404s, redirects) waste crawl budget AND invalidate hreflang clusters
+
+## On-Page SEO Audit (detailed)
+
+### Title Tags
+
+**Check for:**
+- Unique titles for each page
+- Primary keyword near beginning
+- 50-60 characters (visible in SERP)
+- Compelling and click-worthy
+- Brand name placement (end, usually)
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Duplicate titles
+- Too long (truncated)
+- Too short (wasted opportunity)
+- Keyword stuffing
+- Missing entirely
+
+### Meta Descriptions
+
+**Check for:**
+- Unique descriptions per page
+- 150-160 characters
+- Includes primary keyword
+- Clear value proposition
+- Call to action
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Duplicate descriptions
+- Auto-generated garbage
+- Too long/short
+- No compelling reason to click
+
+### Heading Structure
+
+**Check for:**
+- One H1 per page
+- H1 contains primary keyword
+- Logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
+- Headings describe content
+- Not just for styling
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Multiple H1s
+- Skip levels (H1 → H3)
+- Headings used for styling only
+- No H1 on page
+
+### Content Optimization
+
+**Primary Page Content**
+- Keyword in first 100 words
+- Related keywords naturally used
+- Sufficient depth/length for topic
+- Answers search intent
+- Better than competitors
+
+**Thin Content Issues**
+- Pages with little unique content
+- Tag/category pages with no value
+- Doorway pages
+- Duplicate or near-duplicate content
+
+### Image Optimization
+
+**Check for:**
+- Descriptive file names
+- Alt text on all images
+- Alt text describes image
+- Compressed file sizes
+- Modern formats (WebP)
+- Lazy loading implemented
+- Responsive images
+
+### Internal Linking
+
+**Check for:**
+- Important pages well-linked
+- Descriptive anchor text
+- Logical link relationships
+- No broken internal links
+- Reasonable link count per page
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Orphan pages (no internal links)
+- Over-optimized anchor text
+- Important pages buried
+- Excessive footer/sidebar links
+
+### Keyword Targeting
+
+**Per Page**
+- Clear primary keyword target
+- Title, H1, URL aligned
+- Content satisfies search intent
+- Not competing with other pages (cannibalization)
+
+**Site-Wide**
+- Keyword mapping document
+- No major gaps in coverage
+- No keyword cannibalization
+- Logical topical clusters
+
+## Content Quality Assessment
+
+### E-E-A-T Signals
+
+**Experience**
+- First-hand experience demonstrated
+- Original insights/data
+- Real examples and case studies
+
+**Expertise**
+- Author credentials visible
+- Accurate, detailed information
+- Properly sourced claims
+
+**Authoritativeness**
+- Recognized in the space
+- Cited by others
+- Industry credentials
+
+**Trustworthiness**
+- Accurate information
+- Transparent about business
+- Contact information available
+- Privacy policy, terms
+- Secure site (HTTPS)
+
+### Content Depth
+
+- Complete coverage of the topic
+- Answers follow-up questions
+- Better than top-ranking competitors
+- Updated and current
+
+### User Engagement Signals
+
+- Time on page
+- Bounce rate in context
+- Pages per session
+- Return visits
+
+## Common Issues by Site Type
+
+### SaaS/Product Sites
+- Product pages lack content depth
+- Blog not integrated with product pages
+- Missing comparison/alternative pages
+- Feature pages thin on content
+- No glossary/educational content
+
+### E-commerce
+- Thin category pages
+- Duplicate product descriptions
+- Missing product schema
+- Faceted navigation creating duplicates
+- Out-of-stock pages mishandled
+
+### Content/Blog Sites
+- Outdated content not refreshed
+- Keyword cannibalization
+- No topical clustering
+- Poor internal linking
+- Missing author pages
+
+### Multilingual / Multi-Regional Sites
+- Hreflang errors (missing return tags, invalid codes, no self-reference)
+- Canonical conflicting with hreflang (cross-locale canonical suppresses indexing)
+- Thin locale pages dragging down site-wide quality signal
+- Only boilerplate translated, main content identical across locales
+- No x-default fallback declared
+- Sitemap missing hreflang alternates or missing reciprocal entries
+- IP-based redirects hiding content from Googlebot
+- Framework locale mode hiding locale from URLs
+
+### Local Business
+- Inconsistent NAP
+- Missing local schema
+- No Google Business Profile optimization
+- Missing location pages
+- No local content
+
+## Output Format
+
+### Audit Report Structure
+
+**Executive Summary**
+- Overall health assessment
+- Top 3-5 priority issues
+- Quick wins identified
+
+**Technical SEO Findings**
+For each issue:
+- **Issue**: What's wrong
+- **Impact**: SEO impact (High/Medium/Low)
+- **Evidence**: How you found it
+- **Fix**: Specific recommendation
+- **Priority**: 1-5 or High/Medium/Low
+
+**On-Page SEO Findings**
+Same format as above
+
+**Content Findings**
+Same format as above
+
+**Prioritized Action Plan**
+1. Critical fixes (blocking indexation/ranking)
+2. High-impact improvements
+3. Quick wins (easy, immediate benefit)
+4. Long-term recommendations
+
+## Tools Referenced
+
+**Free Tools**
+- Google Search Console (essential)
+- Google PageSpeed Insights
+- Bing Webmaster Tools
+- Rich Results Test (**use this for schema validation — it renders JavaScript**)
+- Mobile-Friendly Test
+- Schema Validator
+
+> **Note on schema detection:** `web_fetch` strips `<script>` tags (including JSON-LD) and cannot detect JS-injected schema. Use the browser tool, Rich Results Test, or Screaming Frog instead — they render JavaScript and capture dynamically-injected markup. See the Schema Markup Detection Limitation section above.
+
+**Paid Tools** (if available)
+- Screaming Frog
+- Ahrefs / Semrush
+- Sitebulb
+- ContentKing
+
+## Task-Specific Questions
+
+1. What pages/keywords matter most?
+2. Do you have Search Console access?
+3. Any recent changes or migrations?
+4. Who are your top organic competitors?
+5. What's your current organic traffic baseline?
+
+## References
+
+- [ai-writing-detection.md](references/ai-writing-detection.md) — common AI writing patterns to avoid (em dashes, overused phrases, filler words)
+- [international-seo.md](references/international-seo.md) — evidence and sources for hreflang, canonical + i18n, sitemaps, URL structure, and content quality across locales
+
+## Related ArkaOS skills
+
+- **`mkt/ai-seo`** — optimizing content for AI search engines (AEO, GEO, LLMO, AI Overviews)
+- **`mkt/programmatic-seo`** — building SEO pages at scale
+- **`mkt/schema-markup`** — implementing structured data
+- **`landing/optimize-page`** — optimizing pages for conversion (not just ranking)
+- **`mkt/analytics-report`** — measuring SEO performance
+
 ## Output → Obsidian: `WizardingCode/Marketing/SEO/AUDIT-<domain>-<date>.md`

package/departments/marketing/skills/seo-audit/references/ai-writing-detection.md

@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+# AI Writing Detection
+
+Words, phrases, and punctuation patterns commonly associated with AI-generated text. Avoid these to ensure writing sounds natural and human.
+
+Sources: Grammarly (2025), Microsoft 365 Life Hacks (2025), GPTHuman (2025), Walter Writes (2025), Textero (2025), Plagiarism Today (2025), Rolling Stone (2025), MDPI Blog (2025)
+
+---
+
+## Contents
+- Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell
+- Overused Verbs
+- Overused Adjectives
+- Overused Transitions and Connectors
+- Phrases That Signal AI Writing (Opening Phrases, Transitional Phrases, Concluding Phrases, Structural Patterns)
+- Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers
+- Academic-Specific AI Tells
+- How to Self-Check
+
+## Em Dashes: The Primary AI Tell
+
+**The em dash (—) has become one of the most reliable markers of AI-generated content.**
+
+Em dashes are longer than hyphens (-) and are used for emphasis, interruptions, or parenthetical information. While they have legitimate uses in writing, AI models drastically overuse them.
+
+### Why Em Dashes Signal AI Writing
+- AI models were trained on edited books, academic papers, and style guides where em dashes appear frequently
+- AI uses em dashes as a shortcut for sentence variety instead of commas, colons, or parentheses
+- Most human writers rarely use em dashes because they don't exist as a standard keyboard key
+- The overuse is so consistent that it has become the unofficial signature of ChatGPT writing
+
+### What To Do Instead
+| Instead of | Use |
+|------------|-----|
+| The results—which were surprising—showed... | The results, which were surprising, showed... |
+| This approach—unlike traditional methods—allows... | This approach, unlike traditional methods, allows... |
+| The study found—as expected—that... | The study found, as expected, that... |
+| Communication skills—both written and verbal—are essential | Communication skills (both written and verbal) are essential |
+
+### Guidelines
+- Use commas for most parenthetical information
+- Use colons to introduce explanations or lists
+- Use parentheses for supplementary information
+- Reserve em dashes for rare, deliberate emphasis only
+- If you find yourself using more than one em dash per page, revise
+
+---
+
+## Overused Verbs
+
+| Avoid | Use Instead |
+|-------|-------------|
+| delve (into) | explore, examine, investigate, look at |
+| leverage | use, apply, draw on |
+| optimise | improve, refine, enhance |
+| utilise | use |
+| facilitate | help, enable, support |
+| foster | encourage, support, develop, nurture |
+| bolster | strengthen, support, reinforce |
+| underscore | emphasise, highlight, stress |
+| unveil | reveal, show, introduce, present |
+| navigate | manage, handle, work through |
+| streamline | simplify, make more efficient |
+| enhance | improve, strengthen |
+| endeavour | try, attempt, effort |
+| ascertain | find out, determine, establish |
+| elucidate | explain, clarify, make clear |
+
+---
+
+## Overused Adjectives
+
+| Avoid | Use Instead |
+|-------|-------------|
+| robust | strong, reliable, thorough, solid |
+| comprehensive | complete, thorough, full, detailed |
+| pivotal | key, critical, central, important |
+| crucial | important, key, essential, critical |
+| vital | important, essential, necessary |
+| transformative | significant, important, major |
+| cutting-edge | new, advanced, recent, modern |
+| groundbreaking | new, original, significant |
+| innovative | new, original, creative |
+| seamless | smooth, easy, effortless |
+| intricate | complex, detailed, complicated |
+| nuanced | subtle, complex, detailed |
+| multifaceted | complex, varied, diverse |
+| holistic | complete, whole, comprehensive |
+
+---
+
+## Overused Transitions and Connectors
+
+| Avoid | Use Instead |
+|-------|-------------|
+| furthermore | also, in addition, and |
+| moreover | also, and, besides |
+| notwithstanding | despite, even so, still |
+| that being said | however, but, still |
+| at its core | essentially, fundamentally, basically |
+| to put it simply | in short, simply put |
+| it is worth noting that | note that, importantly |
+| in the realm of | in, within, regarding |
+| in the landscape of | in, within |
+| in today's [anything] | currently, now, today |
+
+---
+
+## Phrases That Signal AI Writing
+
+### Opening Phrases to Avoid
+- "In today's fast-paced world..."
+- "In today's digital age..."
+- "In an era of..."
+- "In the ever-evolving landscape of..."
+- "In the realm of..."
+- "It's important to note that..."
+- "Let's delve into..."
+- "Imagine a world where..."
+
+### Transitional Phrases to Avoid
+- "That being said..."
+- "With that in mind..."
+- "It's worth mentioning that..."
+- "At its core..."
+- "To put it simply..."
+- "In essence..."
+- "This begs the question..."
+
+### Concluding Phrases to Avoid
+- "In conclusion..."
+- "To sum up..."
+- "By [doing X], you can [achieve Y]..."
+- "In the final analysis..."
+- "All things considered..."
+- "At the end of the day..."
+
+### Structural Patterns to Avoid
+- "Whether you're a [X], [Y], or [Z]..." (listing three examples after "whether")
+- "It's not just [X], it's also [Y]..."
+- "Think of [X] as [elaborate metaphor]..."
+- Starting sentences with "By" followed by a gerund: "By understanding X, you can Y..."
+
+---
+
+## Filler Words and Empty Intensifiers
+
+These words often add nothing to meaning. Remove them or find specific alternatives:
+
+- absolutely
+- actually
+- basically
+- certainly
+- clearly
+- definitely
+- essentially
+- extremely
+- fundamentally
+- incredibly
+- interestingly
+- naturally
+- obviously
+- quite
+- really
+- significantly
+- simply
+- surely
+- truly
+- ultimately
+- undoubtedly
+- very
+
+---
+
+## Academic-Specific AI Tells
+
+| Avoid | Use Instead |
+|-------|-------------|
+| shed light on | clarify, explain, reveal |
+| pave the way for | enable, allow, make possible |
+| a myriad of | many, numerous, various |
+| a plethora of | many, numerous, several |
+| paramount | very important, essential, critical |
+| pertaining to | about, regarding, concerning |
+| prior to | before |
+| subsequent to | after |
+| in light of | because of, given, considering |
+| with respect to | about, regarding, for |
+| in terms of | regarding, for, about |
+| the fact that | that (or rewrite sentence) |
+
+---
+
+## How to Self-Check
+
+1. Read your text aloud. If phrases sound unnatural in speech, revise them
+2. Ask: "Would I say this in a conversation with a colleague?"
+3. Check for repetitive sentence structures
+4. Look for clusters of the words listed above
+5. Ensure varied sentence lengths (not all similar length)
+6. Verify each intensifier adds genuine meaning