Production Playbooks

These playbooks walk through real production scenarios with full command output examples.

Playbook 1: New Site Onboarding

You are taking over SEO for a WordPress site. You want a full understanding of its current state.

# 1. Install and configure
bash scripts/install.sh
seo-ops config init
seo-ops config set default_path /var/www/html

# 2. Discover the site
seo-ops inventory

Output:

WordPress Site: https://client-site.com
WordPress Version: 6.5.0
Active SEO Plugin: Rank Math SEO (seo-by-rank-math)
Post Count: 234 posts, 18 pages
Plugin Status: meta commands will use rank_math_* keys

# 3. Export existing state as backup
seo-ops meta export --output=seo-backup.csv

Output:

Exporting SEO metadata for 252 posts...
Exported to seo-backup.csv (252 rows)

# 4. Run full audit to baseline
seo-ops audit full --format=md --output=baseline-audit.md

Output:

Audit complete: baseline-audit.md written
Overall Score: 58/100 (NEEDS WORK)

# 5. Check for specific problem areas
seo-ops audit meta-check --format=csv --output=meta-gaps.csv
seo-ops audit images --format=csv --output=image-issues.csv
seo-ops audit broken --format=json --output=broken-links.json

Now you have a baseline audit, a metadata export, and targeted issue lists. Share these with the client or team before starting work.

Playbook 2: Bulk Fix Missing Descriptions

After an audit reveals many posts are missing meta descriptions.

# 1. Find all posts missing descriptions
seo-ops audit meta-check --format=csv --output=missing-descs.csv

Output file missing-descs.csv:

post_id,title,description,status
101,"About Us","MISSING",Missing desc
102,"Services","MISSING",Missing desc
103,"Contact","MISSING",Missing desc

# 2. Create a bulk update CSV

Create fix-descriptions.csv:

post_id,description
101,Learn about our company history and team
102,Browse our full range of professional services
103,Get in touch with our support team

# 3. Preview
seo-ops meta bulk fix-descriptions.csv --dry-run

Output:

DRY RUN: Would update 3 posts
  Post 101: description → "Learn about our company history and team"
  Post 102: description → "Browse our full range of professional services"
  Post 103: description → "Get in touch with our support team"
No database changes were made.

# 4. Apply
seo-ops meta bulk fix-descriptions.csv

Output:

Post 101: description updated
Post 102: description updated
Post 103: description updated
3 of 3 posts updated successfully

# 5. Validate
seo-ops audit meta-check --format=table

Output:

Post ID | Title OK | Desc OK | Keywords OK | Canonical OK | Status
--------|----------|---------|-------------|--------------|-------
101     | OK       | OK      | OK          | OK           | Complete
102     | OK       | OK      | OK          | OK           | Complete
103     | OK       | OK      | OK          | OK           | Complete

Playbook 3: Migrating From One Redirect System To Another

A site used the Redirection plugin and is switching to Rank Math for redirects.

# 1. Export existing redirects
seo-ops redirect export --output=redirects-export.csv

Output:

Exporting redirects from Redirection plugin...
Exported 47 redirect rules to redirects-export.csv

# 2. Inspect the export
cat redirects-export.csv

from,to,type
/old-page,/new-page,301
/expired,/archive,301
/promo,/current-offer,302

# 3. Preview the import on the new setup
seo-ops redirect import redirects-export.csv --dry-run

Output:

DRY RUN: Would import 47 redirect rules
  /old-page → /new-page (301)
  /expired → /archive (301)
  /promo → /current-offer (302)
No database changes were made.

# 4. Apply
seo-ops redirect import redirects-export.csv

Output:

Imported 47 redirect rules
0 errors, 47 successful

# 5. Verify
seo-ops redirect list --format=table

Output:

ID | Source URL   | Target URL     | Type | Status
---|-------------|----------------|------|--------
1  | /old-page   | /new-page      | 301  | active
2  | /expired    | /archive       | 301  | active
3  | /promo      | /current-offer | 302  | active

Playbook 4: Content Pipeline To Published Post

A content writer prepared a pipeline in a spreadsheet. You import it and generate drafts.

# Create pipeline CSV from editorial plan
cat <<CSV > q4-pipeline.csv
keyword,intent,topic,status,words,tone,type
"best accounting software 2025",commercial,"Accounting Software Guide",research,2000,professional,guide
"small business tax tips",informational,"Tax Planning",research,1500,casual,listicle
"cloud accounting benefits",informational,"Cloud Accounting",idea,1200,professional,guide
CSV

# Import and validate
seo-ops content pipeline import q4-pipeline.csv --name="Q4 Content" --validate

Output:

Pipeline "Q4 Content" imported: 3 items
  1. best accounting software 2025 (research)
  2. small business tax tips (research)
  3. cloud accounting benefits (idea)

# Generate a draft for the first keyword
seo-ops content generate "best accounting software 2025" --words=2000 --type=guide --output=draft-best-accounting.md

Output:

Content saved to: draft-best-accounting.md (2,004 words)

Preview the draft:

head -20 draft-best-accounting.md

# Best Accounting Software 2025: A Complete Guide

## Introduction

Choosing the right accounting software is one of the most important
decisions a business can make in 2025. With options like QuickBooks,
Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books competing for your attention, finding
the best fit requires understanding your specific needs...

## What to Look for in Accounting Software

Before diving into specific products, it helps to establish what
matters most for your business...

Playbook 5: Weekly SEO Health Check

Run this every Monday to monitor site health.

#!/bin/bash
# weekly-seo-check.sh
PATH=/var/www/html
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
mkdir -p weekly-reports

seo-ops audit full --path=$PATH --format=md --output="weekly-reports/audit-$DATE.md"
seo-ops audit broken --path=$PATH --format=json --output="weekly-reports/broken-$DATE.json"
seo-ops audit meta-check --path=$PATH --format=csv --output="weekly-reports/meta-$DATE.csv"
seo-ops redirect list --path=$PATH --format=csv --output="weekly-reports/redirects-$DATE.csv"

Run it:

bash weekly-seo-check.sh

Output:

Audit saved: weekly-reports/audit-2024-12-15.md
Broken links saved: weekly-reports/broken-2024-12-15.json
Meta check saved: weekly-reports/meta-2024-12-15.csv
Redirects saved: weekly-reports/redirects-2024-12-15.csv

Compare scores week-over-week by checking the total score in each audit.

Playbook 6: Pre-Launch SEO Checklist

Before launching a new site section, microsite, or redesign.

# 1. Inventory
seo-ops inventory --path=/var/www/html

# 2. Check all redirects
seo-ops redirect list --path=/var/www/html

# 3. Run a full audit
seo-ops audit full --path=/var/www/html --format=md --output=prelaunch-audit.md

# 4. Check for broken links
seo-ops audit broken --path=/var/www/html --format=csv --output=prelaunch-broken.csv

# 5. Export metadata as snapshot
seo-ops meta export --path=/var/www/html --output=prelaunch-meta.csv

# 6. Submit new key URLs for indexing
seo-ops instant-indexing submit https://example.com/new-section --key=YOUR_KEY

Output:

Inventory complete: Rank Math SEO active
Redirect list: 12 rules
Audit score: 81/100 (GOOD)
Broken links: 0 found
Metadata exported: 45 posts
IndexNow submit status: OK (accepted)