How to Build Your Own Claude SEO Skill (Step by Step)

To build your own Claude SEO skill, write a plain markdown (.md) file that tells Claude exactly how to do one SEO task: what to ask for, the steps to follow, and the output to produce. Save it to your Claude skills folder, run it on a real task, and refine it. No programming required.

We run a whole library of these at StudioHawk, and every one started as a rough first draft someone refined over a few uses. The skill is just your own process, written down so Claude can run it. Here is how to build one properly, with the free Claude SEO skills as your reference set.

What a Skill File Actually Is

A Claude SEO skill is a pre-written instruction set, saved as a .md file, that Claude loads when the task comes up. Instead of re-typing a long prompt every time, you install the skill once and it runs.

That is the only real difference between a skill and a prompt: a prompt is text you paste; a skill is a packaged, reusable version that triggers itself. For the full picture, see what Claude SEO skills are.

The Anatomy of a Good Skill

Every skill we ship follows the same shape. Copy it and you are most of the way there.

Build It, Step by Step

Open a blank .md file and work top to bottom.

1. Pick one task. One. "Optimise a title tag", not "do my SEO". Narrow scope is what makes the output reliable.
2. Write the opener. One or two lines telling Claude who it is and the single job. "You rewrite title tags for higher click-through without losing the keyword."
3. Write the intake. What should Claude ask for before it starts? "Ask for the URL, the target keyword, and the page type." This stops it guessing.
4. Write the process. The steps you would take by hand, numbered. This is your expertise, written down.
5. Write the output structure. Spell out the exact format you want back, so every run looks the same.
6. Add rules, voice and edge cases. The hard limits, the tone, and what to do when the input is missing.
7. Save it. Drop the .md into your Claude skills folder, or paste the body into a Claude Project. For the command-line route, see Claude Code for SEO.

Test It on a Real Task

A skill is only as good as its last run. Point it at a real page or dataset and read the output critically.

Where it gets something wrong, fix the skill file, not the chat. Add a rule, sharpen a step, tighten the output format. Two or three rounds and it will produce what you would ship. Testing against real competitors is exactly what the Information Gain skill does, and a good model to copy.

Publish and Share It

Once a skill earns its place, share it. The simplest way is a free, MIT-licensed repo so anyone can install it, the same way our skills are free and open.

Sharing does two things: it builds your authority as someone who actually ships, and it forces you to make the skill generic enough to work on any site, which makes it better. Keep your client specifics out of the file.

A Worked Example

Here is a complete, tiny skill. Drop this into a .md file and you have a working title-tag optimiser.

# Title Tag Optimiser

You rewrite title tags for higher click-through, without losing the keyword.

## Intake (do this FIRST)
Ask for: the page URL or current title, the target keyword, and the page type.

## Process
1. Check length, aim for 50 to 60 characters.
2. Put the primary keyword near the front.
3. Add one click trigger: a number, a benefit, or the year.
4. Keep the brand at the end if it fits.

## Output
For each title: the rewrite, the character count, and one line on what changed.

## Rules
- Never drop the primary keyword.
- No clickbait the page cannot back up.

That is a real skill. Swap the task and the steps for any job you do often, an internal-link auditor, a content-gap finder, a schema checker, and you have your own library.