Feature: Competitive SEO analysis — audit target client sites and build ranking strategy

[taha-abbasi]

Summary

Two-pronged approach to SEO intelligence:

1. Immediate: Make Scribe Walker a smarter SEO writer — Research real business sites across niches, analyze what ranks and what doesn't, and bake those patterns into Scribe's prompt intelligence. This improves ALL articles for ALL tiers.
2. Future (Tiered): Per-client competitive analysis — Audit a specific client's site and build a custom ranking strategy. Pro+ feature.

---

Part 1: General SEO Intelligence (Improves All Writing)

Research and analyze real business sites across verticals to understand:

What Makes Sites Rank

• Study sites that rank 🏗️ Multi-tenant architecture #1-3 for competitive local keywords (e.g. "roofing salt lake city")
• Analyze their blog content: structure, length, internal linking patterns, keyword usage
• How do they link blog articles → service pages? (This is the money move)
• What heading structures work? H1/H2/H3 patterns that Google favors
• How do they handle location signals? (NAP, geo-modified keywords, service area pages)

What Makes Sites NOT Rank

• Common mistakes: thin content, no internal links, orphan pages, keyword stuffing
• Duplicate/cannibalized content — multiple articles competing for same keyword
• Missing schema markup, poor meta descriptions
• Blog content that doesn't connect to service pages (no strategic intent)

Patterns to Bake Into Prompts

• Internal linking strategy: Articles should naturally reference service-type pages (even on Scribe-hosted blogs, we can create pillar pages)
• Content clustering: Related articles that reinforce topical authority, not random standalone posts
• Local SEO signals: How top-ranking local businesses weave location into content without being spammy
• Conversion architecture: How articles guide readers toward action (not just information)
• Article structure: What H2/H3 patterns, FAQ sections, comparison tables etc. correlate with rankings

Research Methodology

• Pick 5-10 niches Scribe serves (roofing, med spa, bakery, real estate, accounting, etc.)
• For each niche: find 3 top-ranking sites + 3 poor-ranking sites
• Document patterns, differences, and actionable rules
• Update worker/prompts/quality-rules.js and worker/prompts/article-writing.js with findings
• Reference site: https://vertexroofingslc.com/2026/03/ (roofing niche example)

Output

• Updated prompt modules with research-backed SEO rules
• Documentation: platform/docs/SEO-RESEARCH-FINDINGS.md
• Every article Scribe writes gets smarter — all tiers benefit

---

Part 2: Per-Client Competitive Analysis (Tiered Feature — Future)

For Pro+ customers, offer on-demand or onboarding-triggered site audit:

Client Site Audit

• Crawl client's existing site structure
• Identify static service pages (e.g. /roofing-repair/, /roof-replacement/)
• Assess current internal linking structure
• Check existing blog content — avoid duplicating topics
• Identify indexation status

Competitive Landscape

• Top 5-10 competitors ranking for target keywords
• Content strategy analysis: frequency, length, topics
• Keyword gap analysis — what competitors rank for that client doesn't
• Backlink/domain authority comparison

Strategy Output

• Service page → blog article linking map
• Keyword clustering + pillar/cluster content plan
• Prioritized content calendar (difficulty × volume × business value)
• Internal link recommendations

Implementation

• Triggered during onboarding when user provides website URL (Onboarding: collect website URL + social media links (optional) #45)
• Data sources: Google Search Console API (if connected), or scraping/API alternatives
• Output feeds into article generation — articles designed for specific ranking goals
• Could be one-time audit + ongoing monitoring

---

Priority

• Part 1 (prompt intelligence): High — directly improves product quality for everyone. Can start immediately.
• Part 2 (per-client audit): Medium — post-launch feature, requires API integrations.

The Pitch

We don't just write content. We write the right content — informed by what actually ranks in your industry.

Related

• Onboarding: collect website URL + social media links (optional) #45 — Website URL collection during onboarding
• SEO: Brand name integration + CTA in generated articles #44 — Brand name + CTA integration
• IndexNow and search engine submission for published articles #66 — IndexNow (getting articles indexed fast)