Prompting for SEO
Write better prompts for the Agentic SEO agent and get more actionable results. Learn the patterns that work — specific metrics, date ranges, action requests, and chained questions.
Why Prompts Matter
The Agentic SEO agent is as powerful as the questions you ask it. A vague question gets a generic answer. A specific, well-structured question gets data-backed insights with actionable recommendations.
Because the agent has access to real tools — GSC queries, site crawl data, content generation — your prompts directly determine which tools it calls and how it structures its analysis.
Anatomy of a Good SEO Prompt
The best prompts for Agentic SEO include four elements:
- Specific metric — what data do you want? (clicks, impressions, CTR, position)
- Time range — when? (last 28 days, this month vs last month)
- Filter or threshold — what subset? (position 5-15, 100+ impressions, mobile only)
- Action request — what should the agent do with the data? (suggest, generate, compare, explain)
"How are my keywords doing?"
"Show my keywords by clicks for the last 28 days (only 100+ impressions). Which ones have CTR below 2%? Suggest title improvements for those."
Prompt Patterns That Work
Analysis Prompts
When you want the agent to find insights:
“Compare my top 30 keywords this month vs last month. Highlight any that dropped more than 20% in clicks and explain possible reasons.”
Period comparison with threshold filter and analysis request.
“Break down my organic traffic by device type for the last 3 months. Is mobile growing or declining relative to desktop?”
Dimension-specific analysis with trend question.
Action Prompts
When you want the agent to produce something:
“Find my 3 best striking-distance keywords and generate a content brief for each one”
Combines data query with content generation — the agent chains GSC query → brief_generator.
“Write a 2000-word article targeting 'technical SEO checklist' based on my site's existing content and GSC data”
Direct content generation grounded in your data.
Chaining Prompts
The agent remembers your conversation (up to 20 messages). Use follow-ups to drill deeper:
- “Show me my top declining pages”
- “For the #1 declining page, what keywords is it losing?”
- “Generate a content refresh brief for that page”
- “Write the updated article using my writing style”
Chaining is where Agentic SEO shines. Each follow-up question builds on the previous data, going from raw analysis to published content in a single conversation thread.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Why It's Bad | Better Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Too vague — "Do SEO for me" | Agent can't choose tools or scope | Start with a specific question about one aspect |
| No date range | Agent defaults may not match your intent | Always specify: "last 28 days", "this month vs last" |
| Asking for "everything" | Response gets too broad and shallow | Ask for top 20 with specific sort order |
| Not following up | Missing the deeper insights | Drill into specific items from the first response |
| Ignoring tool results | You miss what data the advice is based on | Read the tool call results — they're shown for a reason |
Prompt Library
Copy and paste these directly into Agentic SEO:
“Give me an SEO health check: top 10 keywords, top 5 declining pages, and your #1 recommendation”
“Find keywords where I rank 4-10 with 500+ impressions. These are my quick wins — prioritize by impact.”
“Compare branded vs non-branded traffic for the last 3 months. Am I too dependent on brand terms?”
“Find pages with high impressions but CTR below 2%. Suggest new titles and meta descriptions for each.”
“Check my site for cannibalization — are any pages competing for the same keywords?”
Try these prompts
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