Catliff Claude Code SEO Growth System

// When should I use the Catliff Claude Code SEO Growth System?

Use this skill when a user wants to build an SEO-driven website from scratch, rank for targeted keywords, or scale blog and service page content systematically using Claude Code as the primary build tool.

// What inputs and tools do I need to run this system?

• Business niche / industryrequired
  The core topic or service vertical the website will target (e.g. plumbing, accounting, landscaping).
• Geographic marketsrequired
  Cities, regions, or municipalities the business serves — used to construct service page zippers.
• Service listrequired
  The specific services offered — forms one side of the Service Page Zipper.
• Voice / personality referencesrequired
  Existing writing samples: LinkedIn posts, emails, transcripts, or admired online passages. Used to train Claude on tone, humor, and style.
• SEMrush accountrequired
  Access to SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool for finding Needle-in-a-Haystack Keywords.
• Pexels API key
  Free API key from Pexels for royalty-free images inside blog posts.
• Design reference screenshot
  A Dribbble screenshot (or similar) of a design the site should clone, to avoid AI Slop output.

// What are the core principles behind the Catliff Claude Code SEO system?

// How do you apply the Catliff Claude Code SEO system step by step?

1. 1

   Set up the Claude Code workspace

   Download the free desktop application (the creator references an IDE with a Claude Code extension). Create a new project folder. Add the claude.md file — this is the Employee Training Document that tells Claude how to behave, enforces Static Site Generation, and sets all defaults. Source this file from the creator's free community resource.

2. 2

   Build the three-page starter site

   Prompt Claude Code: build a homepage, a Blog Index page, and a Service Index page. Attach a Dribbble screenshot as the design reference to avoid AI Slop visuals. Confirm the output uses Static Site Generation before proceeding.

3. 3

   Find Needle-in-a-Haystack Keywords using SEMrush

   Open SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool. Enter the root keyword. Apply three filters simultaneously: Keyword Difficulty ≤ 30, Volume ≥ 100, Intent = Informational. Manually review results to exclude competitor brand names, irrelevant searches, and non-buyer queries. Also mine the Questions tab for high-intent informational queries. Add Adjacent Keywords (same audience, earlier in the buying funnel) to capture prospects before they are ready to buy.

4. 4

   Find Money Keywords for service pages using SEMrush

   In Keyword Magic Tool, sort by Cost Per Click (CPC) — high CPC signals advertiser demand, meaning these are Money Keywords. Identify the Service + City pattern in results. Also run a competitor domain audit to harvest keywords they already rank for. Export both keyword sets (blog and service) as CSV files and load into the Claude Code project folder.

5. 5

   Train Claude on voice, humor, and personality

   Collect real writing samples: LinkedIn posts, emails, call transcripts, blog passages the owner admires. Create reference files inside the project: voice.md, humor.md, opinions.md, stats.md, stories.md. Instruct Claude to update these files from the provided samples. The humor file must establish that the blog is 'a guy at the pub who has had one beer explaining how the toilet works' — dry, boring, serious writing is explicitly prohibited.

6. 6

   Generate the first blog post with keyword cluster

   Prompt Claude with: target keyword (from keywords.csv), instruction to build a keyword cluster (secondary + tertiary keywords from the CSV or generated), and Pexels API key for royalty-free images. The raw output at this stage will be AI Slop — do not stop here.

7. 7

   Rewrite the blog post using the Steal from the Search Engine method

   Instruct Claude to: (1) Google the primary keyword, (2) analyze the top 3 non-Reddit organic results, (3) extract average word count, H2 count, image count, and topic structure, (4) use that average as the structural blueprint, (5) rewrite the post in the owner's trained voice and humor. The final post must NOT revert to generic AI tone — humor and personality must be preserved throughout.

8. 8

   Apply the 80+ item On-Page SEO checklist

   Paste the full On-Page SEO checklist (sourced from creator's free resources) into Claude with the instruction to update the blog post while maintaining voice and style. Key checklist items include: primary keyword in first 100 words, exactly one H1, 4–8 questions using H2/H3 tags, 2–3 external links, 3–5 internal links to other site pages, optimized meta title (≤60 chars with primary keyword), meta description (≤160 chars), image alt text, and schema markup. Do this for every single page — blog and service.

9. 9

   Build service pages using the Service Page Zipper

   For each Service + City combination from the service keywords CSV, prompt Claude to generate a landing page. The landing page should mirror the homepage design — because this design has already been conversion-tested. Limit total service pages to a tasteful number; avoid hundreds or thousands of near-identical pages, which signals low quality to Google.

10. 10

    Run Google Lighthouse and fix Technical SEO

    In the browser developer tools, run a Lighthouse audit on each page. Target: 100/100 across Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO. Copy the full Lighthouse report and paste it into Claude Code with the instruction to fix all issues. Iterate until scores are achieved. Also generate: sitemap.xml (tells Google what pages exist) and robots.txt (tells Google what to crawl — allow everything except admin/login pages).

11. 11

    Package everything into a Claude Code Skill

    Prompt Claude: 'Create a skill called blog (or service). When triggered, automatically: pull the next unused keyword from keywords.csv, build the keyword cluster, run competitor research via Steal from the Search Engine, write in trained voice/humor, apply the On-Page SEO checklist, use the already-optimized technical SEO page template.' Test by typing the skill name alone into a new chat. Schedule to run at a consistent cadence — never spike volume.

12. 12

    Deploy the site to the live web

    Upload the project to a private GitHub repository (Google Drive for code). Connect GitHub to Vercel. Import the project, set the framework preset to Next.js, and deploy. Add a custom domain if desired. The site is now publicly accessible.

13. 13

    Submit to Google and set up tracking

    Four post-deployment steps: (1) Create a free Google My Business listing — highest-leverage quick win for local businesses. (2) Add the site to Google Search Console via URL Prefix, verify ownership by pasting the HTML meta tag into Claude and deploying, then submit sitemap.xml. Use the Request Indexing feature (limit ~10/day) to get new pages live on Google within one day. (3) Install Google Analytics for visitor behavior tracking. (4) A/B test landing page variants to find the highest-converting design; apply the winning formula to all service pages.

// What are real-world examples of this system in action?

// What mistakes should I avoid when using this system?

• Stopping after the first AI-generated blog post draft — raw Claude output is AI Slop and will not rank or retain readers. The Steal from the Search Engine rewrite step and voice training are mandatory.
• Asking Claude to generate keywords without SEMrush — Claude has no knowledge of actual search volume or Keyword Difficulty and will produce an unfiltered list of unwinnable keywords.
• Building the site with client-side rendering or server-side rendering instead of Static Site Generation — Google's crawler cannot reliably index these, making all SEO effort wasted.
• Creating thousands of service pages — near-duplicate content at high volume is a negative quality signal to Google. Be tasteful and deliberate with service page count.
• Dumping hundreds of blog posts simultaneously on a new site — Google detects unnatural volume spikes and can penalize or blacklist the domain. Use the gradual Cadence Control ramp.
• Pursuing off-page SEO backlinks through cheap providers or PBNs (Private Blog Networks) — Google detects link farms and the resulting penalty can permanently destroy the domain, sometimes with no recovery path.
• Optimizing purely for SEO signals while allowing the content to become dry and boring — dwell time, bounce rate, and scroll depth are ranking signals. If readers leave immediately, rankings drop regardless of technical optimization.
• Skipping the Lighthouse Technical SEO audit — a performance score of 53/100 actively suppresses rankings. This step is non-negotiable.
• Not setting the framework preset to Next.js when deploying on Vercel — the deployment will fail or the site will not function correctly.
• Forgetting to submit sitemap.xml to Google Search Console — without this step, Google may never discover or index the pages, rendering the entire effort invisible.

// What are the key terms and definitions in this system?

The Two Tactics

The only two content strategies that generate SEO revenue: Blog Posts at Scale (builds authority) and Service Pages (captures Money Keywords). Both must be deployed together.

Needle-in-a-Haystack Keywords

Keywords that pass all three filters simultaneously: Keyword Difficulty ≤ 30, monthly search volume ≥ 100, and informational or commercial intent. These are the winnable keywords a new or growing site can realistically rank for.

AI Slop

Generic, boring AI-generated content that opens with phrases like 'In today's fast-paced world...' — content that no real human wants to read, that increases bounce rate, and that Google deprioritizes in rankings.

Keyword Cluster

A set of secondary and tertiary keywords grouped around one root keyword, all targeted on a single page. Maximizes the number of search queries a single page can rank for — often 50–100 keywords per page.

Service Page Zipper

The method of combining a Service List with a City/Municipality List to produce individual service landing pages. Each page targets one Money Keyword (e.g. 'Drain Cleaning Toronto') and is designed to convert visitors into leads.

Money Keywords

Keywords with high Cost Per Click in SEMrush, indicating advertisers are actively bidding on them. These signal commercial buyer intent — people who are ready to purchase a service, not just research.

Steal from the Search Engine

The process of analyzing the top 3 organic (non-Reddit) results for a target keyword, extracting their average word count, H2 structure, image count, and topic coverage, then using that average as the structural blueprint for a new page.

Static Site Generation (SSG)

A website architecture where pages are pre-built as static files. When Google's crawler arrives, it finds the complete page instantly (like a pre-made pizza). Superior to server-side rendering or client-side rendering for SEO crawlability.

Employee Training Document (claude.md)

The claude.md file placed in every Claude Code project folder. It trains Claude on all standard operating procedures — including the requirement for Static Site Generation — before any prompts are sent.

Claude Code Skill

A packaged automation workflow triggered by a single keyword (e.g. typing 'blog'). It executes the entire content pipeline automatically: keyword selection, cluster building, competitor research, voice-matched writing, on-page SEO, and technical SEO template application.

Topical Authority

The signal Blog Posts at Scale send to Google — demonstrating deep expertise in a subject area. Higher topical authority raises overall Domain Authority, which lifts all pages on the site (including service pages) in search rankings.

Raise the Tide

The principle that Blog Posts at Scale raise Domain Authority (the tide), which in turn lifts all Service Page rankings (the boats). The metaphor that explains why both tactics must be deployed together.

Adjacent Keywords

Keywords targeting the same prospective customer but at an earlier, pre-purchase stage of the funnel. These capture audience attention before they actively need the service, building brand familiarity for later conversion.

Cadence Control

The discipline of publishing new pages at a gradual, natural ramp rather than all at once. A sudden spike in page volume triggers Google's spam detection and can result in penalization or blacklisting.

PBNs (Private Blog Networks)

Link farms — networks of fake websites used to generate cheap backlinks. Google detects these immediately; the penalty can permanently blacklist a domain with no recovery path.

Link Juice

The authority, trust, and positive ranking signals that pass from an external website to your site when it links to you (a backlink). High-authority domains pass more link juice.

Google Lighthouse

Google's built-in page quality audit tool, accessible via browser developer tools. Scores a page on Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO out of 100. Target score is 100 across all four indicators.

Blog Index / Service Index

Dedicated listing pages that aggregate all blog posts or all service pages respectively. As new pages are added, they automatically appear in their index — essential for site architecture and internal linking.

// FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS