If you run a business and your website isn’t bringing in customers from Google, you have an SEO problem. The good news: Claude — Anthropic’s AI — can now do in 2 hours what used to take an SEO analyst an entire week. This is the complete guide to running a professional-grade SEO audit using Claude.
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have these tools set up:
- Claude Pro or Max subscription ($20-$200/month) — this gives you access to Claude Cowork and Claude in Chrome
- Claude Desktop app — download from claude.com/download
- Claude in Chrome extension — install from the Chrome Web Store
- Google Search Console (free) — connected to the site you’re auditing
- Ahrefs ($29-$179/month) — for keyword gap and backlink analysis
Step 1: Build Your Context Brief
This is the single most important step. Claude produces generic output without context. With a proper brief, every deliverable is specific to your business, your competitors, and your market.
Open Claude Desktop, switch to Cowork mode, and paste this brief at the start of every session:
BUSINESS CONTEXT:
Business: [Your business name]
URL: [Your website]
Type: [What you do]
Services: [List all services]
Service Area: [Local/regional/national + specific areas]
Target Customer: [Description of ideal customer]
COMPETITORS:
1. [Competitor 1] - [URL]
2. [Competitor 2] - [URL]
3. [Competitor 3] - [URL]
CURRENT STATE:
Google Reviews: [count]
Current Rankings: [any known rankings]
Current Marketing: [what you do now]
GOALS:
Primary: [main goal]
Timeline: [expectations]Step 2: Keyword Gap Analysis
This finds every keyword your competitors rank for that you don’t. It’s the single most valuable deliverable because it shows exactly what you’re missing.
Make sure Ahrefs is open and logged in in Chrome. Enable the Chrome Connector in Claude Desktop (click your initials in the lower left corner). Then give Claude this prompt:
Using the browser, go to Ahrefs Content Gap tool.
Enter [your URL] as the target.
Enter these competitor domains:
1. [competitor1.com]
2. [competitor2.com]
3. [competitor3.com]
Pull all keywords the competitors rank for that we don't.
Organize the results into a spreadsheet with these tabs:
Tab 1 - Full Keyword List: All keywords, sorted by volume
Tab 2 - Local Intent: Keywords with geographic intent
Tab 3 - Easy Wins: Difficulty under 30, Volume over 100
Tab 4 - Money Keywords: High commercial intent
For each keyword include: keyword, volume, difficulty,
current ranking, top competitor, suggested target page.
Save as [ClientName]_Keyword_Gap.xlsxClaude will open Ahrefs in your browser, navigate to the Content Gap tool, enter the domains, pull the data, and organize it into a structured spreadsheet — all automatically. This process takes about 15-20 minutes. Manually, it takes 3-4 hours.
What to review before delivering:
- Remove irrelevant keywords (competitor brand names, unrelated services)
- Verify the Easy Wins tab has actually achievable targets
- Add a “Priority” column with your recommendation: High/Medium/Low
- Spot-check 5-10 keywords by Googling them to verify the data
Step 3: Google Search Console Audit
This analyzes your own Google data — what’s actually showing up in search, what’s getting clicks, and where the biggest opportunities are hiding. This is the most actionable report because it’s based on real performance data.
You need at least 30 days of data in Search Console. 90 days is ideal.
Access Google Search Console for [your URL].
Pull the last 90 days of performance data.
Create a spreadsheet with these tabs:
Tab 1 - Overview: Total clicks, impressions, average CTR,
average position. Month-over-month trend.
Tab 2 - High Impression / Low CTR: Keywords with 100+
impressions but CTR under 2%. These are ranking but not
getting clicks.
Tab 3 - Page 2 Opportunities: Keywords ranking position 8-20.
Close to page 1 and need a push.
Tab 4 - Top Performing: Keywords driving the most clicks.
Tab 5 - Declining: Keywords that lost position in the
last 30 days vs previous 60.
Save as [ClientName]_SearchConsole_Audit.xlsxWhat each tab tells you:
- Tab 2 (High Impression / Low CTR) is the fastest win — rewriting title tags and meta descriptions for these pages often doubles click-through rate overnight
- Tab 3 (Page 2 Opportunities) are your content targets — these become blog posts or page optimizations that push you to page 1
- Tab 5 (Declining) needs immediate investigation — was content removed? Did a competitor outrank you?
Step 4: Backlink Analysis
Backlinks are votes of confidence from other websites. The more credible sites linking to you, the higher Google ranks all your pages. This analysis finds realistic link-building targets.
Using Ahrefs, pull backlink profiles for:
1. [competitor1.com]
2. [competitor2.com]
3. [competitor3.com]
Identify domains linking to at least 2 competitors
but NOT linking to [your URL].
Filter to DR 30-70 (credible enough to matter,
realistic enough to get).
Create a spreadsheet:
- Domain
- DR (Domain Rating)
- Type (blog, directory, news, association)
- Link to the page linking to competitor
- Outreach angle (why would they link to you?)
Top 20 is sufficient. Sort by DR descending.
Save as [ClientName]_Backlink_Opportunities.xlsxThe outreach angles are what make this deliverable valuable. Claude doesn’t just find the sites — it suggests specific reasons each site would want to link to your business. A local business directory, a chamber of commerce, a blogger who reviewed your competitor — each gets a tailored pitch angle.
Step 5: Write the Action Plan
The spreadsheets are the data. The action plan is what the business owner actually reads.
Based on the keyword gap analysis, Search Console audit,
and backlink analysis, write a 2-page SEO action plan.
Structure:
1. Executive Summary (3 sentences: where you are,
biggest opportunity, expected impact)
2. Quick Wins (things to do this week)
3. 30-Day Priorities (content to create, pages to optimize)
4. 90-Day Strategy (backlink targets, content calendar)
5. Recommended Next Steps
Tone: Direct, confident, no jargon.
Write for a business owner, not an SEO person.
Save as [ClientName]_SEO_Action_Plan.docxWhat This Audit Costs You vs. What Agencies Charge
| Item | Traditional Agency | Using Claude |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword gap analysis | $500-$1,500 | 20 minutes of your time |
| Search Console audit | $300-$800 | 15 minutes of your time |
| Backlink analysis | $500-$1,000 | 15 minutes of your time |
| Written action plan | $500-$1,000 | 10 minutes of your time |
| Total | $2,000-$5,000 | ~2 hours + tool subscriptions |
Your effective rate running this for clients: $200-$400/hour.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping the context brief. Without it, Claude gives generic recommendations that could apply to any business. With it, every insight is specific to this market and these competitors.
- Delivering raw spreadsheets. Business owners don’t read spreadsheets. The action plan is what they read. The spreadsheets are backup data.
- Promising specific rankings. Never guarantee “#1 on Google.” Promise the process, the data, and the strategy — not the outcome.
- Ignoring Search Console data. Keyword gap analysis shows opportunities. Search Console shows reality. Start with reality.
What Happens After the Audit
The audit is the door-opener. Once a business owner sees their own data — the keywords they’re missing, the competitors outranking them, the traffic they’re leaving on the table — the conversation shifts from “should I invest in SEO?” to “how fast can you fix this?”
That’s where ongoing SEO retainers come in: monthly keyword tracking, content production, backlink outreach, and regular reporting. The audit proves the value. The retainer delivers the results.