seo-craft

SEO Craft — Router Skill

SEO knowledge specific to MyVault's content production. Covers keyword strategy, on-page optimisation, internal linking, structured data, and the conventions that make content rank while staying on-brand.

When to load: Writing or editing blog posts, Resource Library items, landing pages, or any content where organic search ranking is a goal. Do not load for Voice of Markos LinkedIn posts, Newsletter issues (unless the issue has been explicitly designated as SEO-play), or internal / private content.

Three-brand-system honor: SEO techniques below apply to parent-brand content. Newsletter satellite may opt in per-issue. Voice of Markos is not SEO content.

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<essential_principles>

Write for the reader first, the algorithm second

The reader and the algorithm agree more than they disagree. When they diverge, the reader wins. A post that ranks but bounces in 8 seconds ranks lower next month. A post that earns 5 minutes on page ranks higher next month.

Keyword density is dead

There is no target percentage. If the content genuinely covers the topic, the keyword appears naturally at the right frequency. Forced repetition reads as stuffed and ranks worse.

Every section earns its place

See content-craft essential principles. SEO compounds this rule: sections that exist only for keyword presence dilute the page and train Google that you're padding.

Privacy enables intelligence — threaded through topic research

For blog content, the topic-researcher threads findings through this single spine: "Privacy enables intelligence." Secondary narratives (Chaos → Calm, Zero Trust, Tool not personality) remain active but are voice-level rules, not the threading question.

</essential_principles>

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Determine the SEO task

Task	What to load	Section to read first
Writing a new blog post for organic search	All of this skill + keyword families	Keyword families + placement matrix + internal link minimums
Editing an existing blog post for SEO	All of this skill	Placement matrix + on-page checklist + FAQ schema
Keyword research for a new topic	This skill + dataforseo.md playbook	dataforseo.md (cache-first, then live DFS)
SERP analysis / GEO snapshot for a target query	This skill + dataforseo.md playbook	dataforseo.md SERP + GEO sections
Writing a Resource Library item	Subset (keyword families + meta patterns + FAQ schema only)	Keyword families
Writing a landing page	Subset (placement matrix + meta patterns + URL rules)	Placement matrix

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MyVault's keyword families (6 pillars)

Derived from [[50-Website/SEO/blog-keyword-research-plan-2026-04]]. Each pillar is a demand cluster that maps to a brand messaging pillar from brand-system/guardrails/constraints-messaging.md. Source of truth for new keyword research is [[80-Documents/Research/SEO/SEO-Research-Database]].

Pillar 1 — Digital Chaos → Digital Calm (TOFU, problem-aware)

Primary keywords:

• how to organize digital files / how to organize google drive / organize icloud files
• how to organize photos on iphone / how to organize photos on google photos
• file naming conventions / folder structure / best folder structure for personal files
• PARA method / second brain / johnny decimal
• digital declutter / digital minimalism / life admin / adulting checklist

Funnel stage: awareness. Intent: informational. Target-post type: privacy-explainer or resource-walkthrough.

Pillar 2 — Family Protection (high-intent, mid-funnel)

Primary keywords:

• emergency binder / emergency binder checklist / in case of emergency binder
• important documents checklist / important documents list / what papers to keep
• how long to keep documents
• digital legacy / digital executor / what happens to my digital life when I die
• family emergency binder / household binder / family documents app
• organizing parents' paperwork / aging parent checklist / elder care documents
• new baby documents checklist / new parent financial checklist

Funnel stage: consideration. Intent: commercial / transactional (wants a list or template). Target-post type: resource-walkthrough.

Pillar 3 — Smart Insights (BOFU, Finance + Insurance Agents)

Primary keywords:

• am I paying for duplicate subscriptions / subscription audit / forgotten subscriptions
• how to reduce monthly subscriptions / subscription spending
• insurance policy review / do I have enough insurance / life insurance review
• how to read an insurance policy / insurance policy summary / insurance gap analysis
• annual financial review / annual insurance review / bill audit / financial checkup

Funnel stage: decision. Intent: commercial. Target-post type: resource-walkthrough or comparison.

Pillar 4 — Privacy Without Compromise (mid-funnel, Zero Trust category)

Primary keywords:

• is my data safe on google drive / can google read my documents / can apple read my icloud files
• end to end encrypted cloud storage / most secure cloud storage / private cloud storage
• encrypted document storage / how to encrypt documents / how to password protect documents
• alternatives to google drive privacy / alternatives to dropbox privacy
• secure document sharing / how to send documents securely

Funnel stage: consideration. Intent: informational with commercial tilt. Target-post type: privacy-explainer or industry-critique.

Strict: Never use the term "zero-knowledge" in this pillar (or anywhere else). The correct term is Zero Trust — see [[Decisions/ADR-0001-Zero-Trust-not-Zero-Knowledge]].

Pillar 5 — Your Data, Your Control (AI-specific privacy long-tail)

Primary keywords (deliberately long-tail — broad "AI privacy" is 42-64% KD, news-dominated):

• how to stop google docs from training ai (confirmed: 1,600/mo, KD 35%)
• how to opt out of [platform] ai training
• [platform] ai privacy settings

Funnel stage: mid-awareness. Intent: informational, high-specificity. Target-post type: resource-walkthrough (practical how-to).

Pillar 6 — Asset Intelligence (Home Inventory, high intent)

Primary keywords:

• best home inventory app (confirmed: 260/mo, KD 50)
• home inventory checklist / home inventory for insurance / home inventory spreadsheet
• how to do a home inventory
• warranty tracker
• net worth calculator (high-volume adjacent)

Funnel stage: decision. Intent: commercial. Target-post type: resource-walkthrough or comparison.

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Keyword integration rules

Required placements (per blog post)

Location	Rule
H1 (title)	Primary keyword appears verbatim. Sentence case for blog posts.
First 100 words	Primary keyword appears verbatim, naturally, in the opening paragraph or second paragraph.
2+ H2 subheadings	Primary keyword OR close semantic variant ("emergency binder" for "emergency binder checklist") in 2 or more H2s. Do not force into every H2.
Meta title	Primary keyword, front-loaded. Under 60 characters.
Meta description	Primary keyword in first half. 150–160 characters.
URL slug	Primary keyword, hyphen-separated, no stop words.
Closing section	Primary keyword or semantic variant appears once.

Integration principles

• Write for the reader first. If a keyword makes a sentence awkward, rephrase or move it.
• Use natural variations. "emergency binder checklist" can also appear as "checklist for an emergency binder" or "emergency binder contents." Google understands synonyms.
• Don't force keywords into headings that don't need them. A heading like "The two-version rule" is fine — it doesn't need to say "emergency binder checklist: the two-version rule."
• Repeat the clearest term, don't cycle synonyms. "Documents" throughout, not "documents" → "files" → "papers" → "paperwork" to avoid repetition.

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Meta description patterns

150–160 characters. Include primary keyword, a benefit, and a number where possible.

Pattern	Example
Keyword + benefit + freshness	"The emergency binder checklist for 2026 — what your family actually needs, where to store it without trading privacy for access, and how to keep it current."
Keyword + number + pivot	"Home inventory checklist with 47 items across 6 categories. Zero Trust storage so your insurer can't read what you haven't filed a claim on."
Keyword + comparison + outcome	"Is Google Drive safe for personal documents? Here's what each major provider can and can't read — and what the private alternative looks like."
Question + answer + number	"How long should you keep tax documents? A year-by-year guide for personal records, with 3 rules the IRS actually enforces."

Avoid: Generic descriptions that could apply to any tool ("Organise your life with MyVault"), descriptions without the primary keyword, descriptions over 160 characters (Google truncates), exclamation marks.

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Heading hierarchy

Rule	Detail
H1 once	One H1 per page. It's the page title.
H2 for sections	Major content sections. Visible in table of contents.
H3 for subsections	Breakdowns within H2.
No skipping levels	Don't jump from H2 to H4.
Scannable	A reader skimming only headings should get the argument.
Keyword placement	Primary keyword in H1. Primary or variant in 2+ H2s. Don't force into every heading.
Length	H2s ≤8 words where possible. Sentence case.
No rhetorical questions as headings	"How does it work?" is weak. "Why cloud storage fails at privacy" is strong.

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Internal linking minimums (per blog post)

MyVault-specific link types:

Link Type	Minimum	Where
Other MyVault blog posts	2	Woven into analysis where related topics arise
Resource Library item (/resources/[item])	1	Where the topic intersects with an existing resource
Product-adjacent page (/ homepage, /pricing, feature pages)	1	Closing section or where context fits
Cross-cluster link	1	Link from pillar-1 post to pillar-2, etc., for topical authority

Linking principles

• Natural, not dumped. Weave into sentences where the reader would genuinely want to explore.
• Descriptive anchor text. "See our estate planning checklist" not "click here" or "learn more."
• Link to the most relevant page. A mention of home inventory links to /resources/home-inventory-checklist, not the homepage.
• Cross-link within pillars. A Family Protection post links to other Family Protection posts. A Smart Insights post links to other Smart Insights posts. This builds topical authority.
• No Related Posts dump at the bottom. Frame inline.

External link handling

External links in blog posts must be:

• Rendered with rel="nofollow noopener" and target="_blank" (Framer setting or post-render script — confirm for each publish)
• Cited at the point of claim, not collected in a bottom Sources section (matches Ahrefs / Backlinko / HubSpot standard)

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FAQ schema patterns

FAQ sections at the bottom of blog posts target long-tail keywords and qualify for Google rich snippets.

Format (JSON-LD)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What should be in an emergency binder?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "A modern emergency binder includes nine categories: identity documents, medical info, legal/estate documents, financial accounts and insurance, property and assets, digital accounts, subscriptions, photos and family contacts, and pet information."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Add via Framer custom code block on the page. Validate with Google's Rich Results Test before publish.

Rules

• 3–5 questions per post. Target questions people actually search (pull from People Also Ask).
• Each answer: 2–3 sentences. Concise, specific, includes a number where possible.
• Include MyVault naturally where relevant — don't force it into every answer.
• Don't repeat what the post body already said. The FAQ adds new value.
• Questions target long-tail variations of the primary keyword.

Good FAQ patterns for MyVault content

Post type	Example questions
Resource walkthrough	"What should be in a [topic]?" / "Where should I store my [topic]?" / "How often should I update my [topic]?"
Privacy explainer	"Is [provider] safe for personal documents?" / "What does [term] mean for everyday users?"
Comparison	"Is [provider] worth it for [use case]?" / "What's the most private option for [task]?"
Industry critique	"What does [misleading term] actually mean?" / "Why is [industry practice] a problem for [audience]?"

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Image alt text rules

Every image needs alt text. Alt text serves accessibility first, SEO second.

Rule	Detail
Descriptive	Describe what's in the image: "Paper emergency binder open on a kitchen counter beside an open laptop"
Keyword naturally	If the image illustrates an emergency binder, "emergency binder" belongs in the alt text. Don't stuff it.
No "image of" / "photo of"	Screen readers announce the image already. Start with the content.
Under 125 characters	Long alt text truncates.
Unique per image	No duplicates across a page.

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URL structure

Content type	Pattern	Example
Blog posts	/blog/[slug]	/blog/emergency-binder-checklist
Resource Library items	/resources/[slug]	/resources/home-inventory-checklist
Comparison posts	/blog/[topic]-vs-[alternative]	/blog/myvault-vs-icloud-privacy
Landing pages	/[page-name]	/pricing, /privacy

URL rules

• Lowercase, hyphen-separated
• No stop words (a, the, in, of, for, and) unless they aid clarity
• Include the primary keyword
• No dates in the URL (evergreen)
• Under 5 path segments
• Under 60 characters where possible

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Framer-specific notes

The marketing site is Framer (JS-rendered). SEO quirks to know:

• Per-page SEO fields must be set in Framer editor (title, description, OG image). Pages without these are empty shells to crawlers. This is why only 8 of 51 pages indexed as of Feb 2026.
• Schema markup requires a custom code block per page. Framer does not auto-generate JSON-LD from content.
• Canonical tags set in Framer. Verify they don't break after a slug change.
• Sitemap.xml auto-generated by Framer. Check it lists the new post after publish.

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<reference_index>

Internal references (this skill only)

Reference	Purpose
skills/seo-craft/dataforseo.md	The MyVault DataForSEO playbook — which 10 of the 79 DFS tools to use for blog work, in what order, with cache-first discipline against the vault's SEO-Research-Database. Covers keyword discovery, SERP autopsy, content parsing, internal-link mapping, and the GEO snapshot (ChatGPT scraper + LLM mention tracking).

External references (other skills)

Reference	Purpose
[[50-Website/SEO/blog-keyword-research-plan-2026-04]]	Current keyword pipeline, 6-pillar detail, hypotheses to validate
[[80-Documents/Research/SEO/SEO-Research-Database]]	Confirmed keyword data, tiered by volume/KD
[[50-Website/SEO/SEO-Audit-Report-Feb-2026]]	Site-level technical SEO state (grade D, 8 of 51 indexed)
[[50-Website/Site-Content-Snapshots/blog-content.md]]	What's already published — check before proposing new topics
[[Decisions/ADR-0001-Zero-Trust-not-Zero-Knowledge]]	Critical: never use "zero-knowledge" in any Pillar 4 content

</reference_index>

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Planned blog posts (internal linking reference)

This list evolves. Used for cross-link planning — each new post should link to 2+ existing posts where the topics intersect. Update this list when a new post ships.

See [[50-Website/SEO/blog-keyword-research-plan-2026-04]] §3 for the current pillar-by-pillar roadmap. Live posts are listed in [[50-Website/Site-Content-Snapshots/blog-content.md]].