At the start of any SEO task, identify available data sources:

Check for MCP Tools

IF Ahrefs MCP available (tools contain ahrefs_):

Use for: Volume, Keyword Difficulty, Backlinks, Domain Rating
Confidence: HIGH
Label: "Analysis enhanced with Ahrefs data"

IF SEMrush MCP available (tools contain semrush_):

Use for: Volume, Keyword Difficulty, Competitor keywords, Domain overview
Confidence: HIGH
Label: "Analysis enhanced with SEMrush data"

IF GSC MCP available (tools contain gsc_ or search_console):

Use for: Current rankings, Impressions, Clicks, CTR
Confidence: HIGH
Label: "Analysis enhanced with Search Console data"

IF user pastes data:

Parse CSV/TSV format
Confidence: MEDIUM
Label: "Analysis based on provided data"

IF no MCP and no paste:

Use reasoning based on SEO principles
Confidence: MEDIUM
Label: "Reasoning-based analysis"

Keyword Research

When to Use

"find keywords for [topic]"
"keyword research for [industry]"
"what should I rank for"
"analyze these keywords"

Data Source Gate

BEFORE analyzing keywords:

CHECK for MCP tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, GSC)
CHECK for pasted data from user
DECLARE data source in output header

Analysis Framework

Factor	With MCP/Data	Reasoning-Based
Volume	Exact number from API	"Likely [high/medium/low] based on term type"
Difficulty	KD score from API	"Likely [easy/medium/hard] based on keyword structure"
Intent	Same analysis method	Same analysis method
Position	From GSC if available	"Unknown - connect GSC for current rankings"

Output Format

With MCP Enhancement:

📊 KEYWORD ANALYSIS

**Data Source:** [Ahrefs/SEMrush] MCP + Reasoning
**Confidence:** High

| Priority | Keyword | Volume | KD | Intent | Reasoning |
|----------|---------|--------|----|---------| ----------|
| 🏆 Quick Win | "keyword" | 2,400 | 23 | Commercial | Low difficulty, good volume |

Analysis enhanced with live [tool] data.

Reasoning-Based:

📊 KEYWORD ANALYSIS

**Data Source:** Reasoning-based
**Confidence:** Medium

| Priority | Keyword | Volume | KD | Intent | Reasoning |
|----------|---------|--------|----|---------| ----------|
| 🏆 Quick Win | "keyword" | ~2-5K est. | Likely easy | Commercial | Long-tail, specific modifier |

Based on SEO principles and keyword structure.

Content Planning

When to Use

"plan content for [topic]"
"create content calendar"
"content brief for [keyword]"
"what should I write about"

Prerequisites Gate

BEFORE creating content plans:

✅ Keyword analysis done? (If not: do keyword research first)
✅ Brand context loaded? (If not: /brand switch [name])
✅ Declare data sources in output

Placeholder Prohibition

NEVER output placeholders like:

"[Topic]"
"[First Step]"
"Main Point 1"

Either generate specific content or ask for the information.

Content Brief Format

📝 CONTENT BRIEF

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📌 **Title:** [Actual title]
🎯 **Target Keyword:** [keyword]
📊 **Word Count:** [range] words
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

## Search Intent
[What the searcher wants - be specific]

## Target Audience
[From brand context or ask]

## Outline

### H2: [Actual heading]
- Key point
- Key point

### H2: [Actual heading]
- Key point

## Key Points to Cover
- [ ] [Specific point]
- [ ] [Specific point]

## Call to Action
[Based on intent + brand model]

**Data Sources:** [List what informed this brief]

Competitor Analysis

When to Use

"analyze [competitor]"
"competitor analysis"
"find competitor keywords"
"SEO gap analysis"

Data Source Options

With Ahrefs/SEMrush MCP:

Pull competitor's top keywords
Get backlink profile
Domain authority/rating
Traffic estimates

Without MCP:

Analyze their visible content
Review their site structure
Infer target keywords from page titles/URLs
Use web search to research competitor public content

Red Flags - STOP

If you catch yourself:

Stating specific numbers (5,000 searches) without MCP data or paste
Claiming "difficulty is 45" without KD source
Saying "this is a quick win" without ranking data
Making competitor claims without evidence

STOP. Declare it as reasoning-based or ask for data.

Verification Checklist

BEFORE presenting SEO analysis:

Data source declared in header?
Confidence level stated?
Numbers sourced or marked as estimates?
No unsupported "quick win" claims?

If any unchecked: Fix before presenting.

marketing-seo

SEO Skills

The Iron Law

Data Source Detection