SEO Machine Documentation

SEO Machine integrates with the following data sources to inform strategy:

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Provides traffic, engagement, conversion, and trend analysis.
• Google Search Console (GSC): Provides keyword rankings, impressions, clicks, and CTR analysis.
• DataForSEO: Provides competitive rankings, SERP features, and keyword metrics.

Follow these steps to start creating content with SEO Machine:

1. Configure your context files (use the provided templates as a guide).
2. Run /research [your topic] to generate a brief.
3. Review the generated brief.
4. Run /write [your topic] to generate the content.
5. Publish your content.

For the easiest setup with no minimum download requirements, zero transaction fees, and immediate monetization of your entire catalog (including old episodes), use Castos:

1. Sign up for a Castos hosting account (includes a 14-day free trial).
2. Enable Castos Ads with one click.
3. Utilize dynamic ad insertion to manage your revenue.

Standardize the visual and structural elements of your content by setting rules for:

• Headlines: (e.g., specificity, including benefits, using numbers, SEO length).
• Subheadings
• Lists
• Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

To prioritize updates across your site, analyze multiple posts sequentially and review their content health scores to identify which ones have the lowest scores or highest traffic potential.

/analyze-existing https://yoursite.com/blog/post-1
/analyze-existing https://yoursite.com/blog/post-2
/analyze-existing https://yoursite.com/blog/post-3

The writing-examples.md file is used to provide Claude with exemplary blog posts that demonstrate your brand voice, style, and quality standards. This context allows the AI to replicate your specific writing tone and structure when generating new content.

To set this up, add 3-5 complete blog post examples. Each example should ideally be at least 1,500+ words to provide sufficient stylistic data.

## Example 1: [ARTICLE TITLE]

**URL**: [https://yoursite.com/article-url/]
**Primary Keyword**: [target keyword phrase]
**Word Count**: [~X,XXX words]
**Publication Date**: [Month Day, Year]

**What Makes It Great**:
- [Reason 1]
- [Reason 2]
- [Reason 3]

**Full Content**:

[PASTE YOUR COMPLETE ARTICLE TEXT HERE]

Follow these steps to set up Google Cloud credentials:

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

1. Enable the Google Analytics Data API in the Google Cloud Console.
2. Create service account credentials and download the JSON key file.
3. Save the file as data_sources/config/ga4_credentials.json.
4. Add the service account email to your GA4 property with View access.

Google Search Console

1. Enable the Search Console API in the same Google Cloud project.
2. Use the same service account or create OAuth 2.0 credentials.
3. Save the credentials as data_sources/config/gsc_credentials.json.
4. Add the service account to your Search Console property with Owner or Full access.

To enable direct publishing to WordPress via the REST API:

1. Install MU-Plugin: Copy wordpress/seo-machine-yoast-rest.php to your WordPress site's wp-content/mu-plugins/ directory to expose Yoast SEO fields.
2. Application Password: In WordPress admin, go to Users > Profile, enter a name under Application Passwords, and click Add New Application Password. Copy the generated password.
3. Configure: Add the following to your .env file:
   • WP_URL: Your site URL.
   • WP_USERNAME: Your WordPress admin username.
   • WP_APP_PASSWORD: The generated application password.

WP_URL=https://yoursite.com
WP_USERNAME=your_admin_username
WP_APP_PASSWORD=xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Capitalization

• Product Names: 'Castos' is always capitalized.
• Industry Terms: Use 'RSS' (always caps).

Numbers

• Spell out: One through nine.
• Use numerals: 10 and above.
• Exceptions (Always use numerals):
  • Percentages (e.g., 5%, 50%)
  • Money (e.g., $5, $500)
  • Measurements (e.g., 5 GB, 50 MB)
  • Lists/stats for scannability
• Large Numbers: Use commas for 1,000+; spell out 'million' or 'billion' (e.g., 1 million).

Prioritize content creation by categorizing keywords into a pipeline:

• High Priority (Create Soon): Keywords with high volume, achievable difficulty, and strong business value. Include the strategic reason and specific action (e.g., "Create pillar content").
• Medium Priority (Next Quarter): Keywords to target within the next 3 months.
• Low Priority (Future Consideration): Keywords for long-term planning.

Maintain professional standards for ad delivery using these technical guidelines:

• Audio Quality: Ensure ads match the audio quality of your main content. Maintain consistent audio levels, remove background noise, and match the tone/energy of the show.
• Ad Markers: If using dynamic ad insertion, place "ad marker" indicators at specific timestamps during production to tell the hosting platform where to insert ads.
• Ad Zone Configuration:
  • Pre-roll zone: First 5-10% of the episode.
  • Mid-roll zones: 40-60% (for the first mid-roll) and 75-85% (for a second mid-roll).
  • Post-roll zone: Final 90-95% of the episode.