Run your own SEO from your own data. Claude SEO for do-it-yourself owners.

Claude SEO means handing real SEO jobs to Claude Code, an AI agent that reads files, edits them and runs commands in a project folder. It handles keyword research, writing, schema, audits and Search Console reads, but you bring the data and know what good looks like. I run much of my agency's SEO work inside Claude Code; see my guide to AI tools for small business for the wider set. To learn Claude Code from zero, start with my course hub.

How do you use Claude Code for SEO?

You give Claude Code a folder, your own data and one clear job, then you review what it changes. Anthropic calls it an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and works with your tools. Start with a job you already understand, like your title tags.

It runs in a terminal, an editor such as VS Code, a desktop app or the browser. Paid plans such as Pro and Max include it, and the free plan doesn't, per Claude's pricing page. Most surfaces need a subscription or an Anthropic Console account.

Reddit users describe a plain habit. A Reddit user on r/WebsiteSEO wrote, "I feed it CSV exports and ask for anomaly detection."

What separates Claude chat from Claude Code and a skill

Claude chat

You type a question in a window and get an answer back. It works with what you paste or upload, and it doesn't edit your project files, so you usually copy each change across by hand.

Claude Code

It works inside a folder you choose, where it reads files, edits them and runs commands. A Reddit user on r/WebsiteSEO called Claude good for "bulk edits on schema, meta names, titles."

A skill or plugin

A skill is a SKILL.md file of instructions Claude loads when relevant. A plugin bundles skills and other parts, and plugins run code with your user privileges.

How I run Claude SEO inside my agency

I run much of my agency's SEO work inside Claude Code. My short video on the local SEO tools I use shows where Claude fits. Every page follows the same path.

1. Project skills run keyword and SERP research, then voice-of-customer research on what real buyers say.
2. A writer skill drafts the page from that research. Each page type has its own skill.
3. Two separate checks review the draft. One is a validator that tests every page against my writing rules: banned filler words, no em dashes, heading rules.
4. A person reads the page and approves it. Nothing goes live before that.
5. Other skills handle schema, site audits and publishing, with the same approval step in front of them.

Keyword research and SERP checks in Claude Code

Claude Code can search the web and read pages with its built-in WebSearch and WebFetch tools. Both need your permission unless your permission mode approves them. Here's how the job splits:

• You bring a seed list of services, the towns you serve and any keyword export you already have. Search volume comes from your keyword tool, not from Claude.

• Claude groups your keywords by search intent, reads the pages that rank and lists the content gaps between them and you.

• You check the top search results yourself and confirm the intent matches the page you plan to write.

• For the competitor side, my post on why competitors outrank you covers what to compare.

Writing pages with Claude Code and your own facts

Claude Code drafts a content brief, an outline, the page itself, title tags and meta descriptions. Give it your list of pages and it adds internal links too.

The draft is only as good as the facts you feed it. A Reddit user on r/ClaudeAI put the risk bluntly. "If you're generating raw AI content without adding facts from your own hands-on expertise, your website will die sooner or later."

So give it your real services, service area, process and the questions customers ask you. Your first-hand experience is the part of E-E-A-T only you can supply. Then run the live page through my free website grader.

Schema markup Claude Code can write for you

Schema is a good first job, because JSON-LD structured data is code with public rules. Give Claude Code your business name, address, hours and services, and ask for LocalBusiness or Article markup.

Mark up only what the page actually shows. Then test the page in Google's Rich Results Test before you publish it. My free schema generator gives you a block to compare against.

A Claude Code site audit covers the basics

Point Claude Code at your site's files or a crawl export, and ask for an audit against a written checklist. A Reddit user on r/SaaS named its limit. "Crawlable and crawled are two different problems and only the second one moves the impressions number." It's still good at catching these:

• Missing or duplicate title tags and meta descriptions.

• Broken internal links, and pages that nothing links to.

• A sitemap that lists the wrong pages, or a robots.txt line that blocks one.

• Canonical tags that point somewhere odd.

• Headings out of order, and images with no alt text.

Search Console analysis with Claude Code

1. Export the Performance report from Search Console. A Reddit user on r/WebsiteSEO said to "feed it the csv exports".
2. Save the file in your project folder. Ask Claude Code which queries get many impressions but few clicks.
3. Have it draft new title tags or page sections for those queries, then review each one.
4. Write down the date each change goes live. A Reddit user on r/SaaS advised comparing "pages, queries, average positions and clicks before and after."
5. Measure three things: clicks on the pages you changed, queries you gained, and calls or form fills.
6. Search Console can't show which clicks became customers. Ask every new caller how they found you.

Publishing to WordPress with Claude Code under your approval

A Reddit user on r/Wordpress put the fear plainly. "AI is wrong a lot. I would never give AI access to a live website to do as it pleases."

1. Back up the site, or work on a staging copy, before Claude Code touches anything.
2. Start in plan mode. Anthropic's permission modes page says Claude reads files and writes a plan, then waits for your approval to edit.
3. Approve one change at a time, and read each edit before you accept it.
4. Publish drafts, not live pages. I found no Anthropic guide for WordPress, so treat any connector or plugin as third-party code.
5. Put hard limits in a hook. Anthropic's memory docs say Claude treats CLAUDE.md as context, not enforced configuration.
6. For a full site build, read my guide to building a website with Claude Code.

The mistakes Claude Code makes with SEO

These are the failure points I plan around, and the Reddit threads repeat them:

• It sounds sure when it's wrong. Claude can make up a statistic or a feature, so check every number against a source.

• It writes generic pages when you give it no facts of your own.

• It can break what it edits. A Reddit user on r/Wordpress wrote, "yeah the AI seems to break stuff all the time, especially if its complex".

• It doesn't earn backlinks or reviews. Links, reviews and your Google Business Profile still take real customers and outreach.

• More impressions aren't more customers. A Reddit user on r/smallbusinesssupport who used Claude Code for SEO posted, "Online orders in the last 30 days: 1".

• Third-party skills run with your permissions. Anthropic's plugin docs say to review a plugin before you install it.

Claude SEO skills you can write yourself

A skill is a SKILL.md file of your own instructions. Claude uses it when relevant, or when you type its name after a slash. Project skills live in your repository, so the same rules apply every time.

Start with one skill for your writing rules, your service list and how you want title tags written. Anthropic runs plugin marketplaces too, and a plugin can bundle skills, subagents, hooks and MCP servers. Read any third-party skill before you install it.

I go deeper in my guide to Claude Code skills for SEO.

Who should do Claude SEO and who should hire help

Do it yourself

You're comfortable in a terminal or willing to learn. You can change your site's files, and you'll review every edit before it goes live.

Hire help

You can't judge whether a change is right, or you can't back up your site. Links and local reputation work also sit outside a code folder.

Know my bias

Spearleaf sells SEO and AI search optimization, so weigh my view with that in mind. I also teach owners to run this themselves.

Run your own Claude Code SEO with my training

I teach this setup in my Claude Code training. You get the training plus ready-made skills, so you can run your own SEO with Claude Code and still approve every change.

Get my Claude Code training

• Next step: build a website with Claude Code.
• Read how: Claude Code skills for SEO.
• Start here: SEO vs GEO vs AEO.