Alert Manager

When This Must Trigger

Use this when the conversation involves any of these situations — even if the user does not use SEO terminology:

Use this whenever the task needs time-aware change detection, escalation, or stakeholder-ready visibility.

• Setting up SEO monitoring systems
• Creating ranking drop alerts
• Monitoring technical SEO health
• Tracking competitor movements
• Alerting on content performance changes
• Monitoring GEO/AI visibility changes
• Setting up brand mention alerts

What This Skill Does

1. Alert Configuration: Sets up custom alert thresholds
2. Multi-Metric Monitoring: Tracks rankings, traffic, technical issues
3. Threshold Management: Defines when alerts trigger
4. Priority Classification: Categorizes alerts by severity
5. Notification Setup: Configures how alerts are delivered
6. Alert Response Plans: Creates action plans for each alert type
7. Alert History: Tracks alert patterns over time

Quick Start

Start with one of these prompts. Finish with a short handoff summary using the repository format in Skill Contract.

Set Up Alerts

Set up SEO monitoring alerts for [domain]

Create ranking drop alerts for my top 20 keywords

Configure Specific Alerts

Alert me when [specific condition]

Set up competitor monitoring for [competitor domains]

Review Alert System

Review and optimize my current SEO alerts

Skill Contract

Expected output: a delta summary, alert/report output, and a short handoff summary ready for memory/monitoring/.

• Reads: current metrics, previous baselines, alert thresholds, and reporting context from CLAUDE.md and the shared State Model when available.
• Writes: a user-facing monitoring deliverable plus a reusable summary that can be stored under memory/monitoring/.
• Promotes: significant changes, confirmed anomalies, and follow-up actions to memory/open-loops.md and memory/decisions.md.
• Next handoff: use the Next Best Skill below when a change needs action.

Data Sources

Note: All integrations are optional. This skill works without any API keys — users provide data manually when no tools are connected.

See CONNECTORS.md for tool category placeholders.

With ~~SEO tool + ~~search console + ~~web crawler connected: Automatically monitor real-time metric feeds for ranking changes via ~~SEO tool API, indexing and coverage alerts from ~~search console, and technical health alerts from ~~web crawler. Set up automated threshold-based alerts with notification delivery.

With manual data only: Ask the user to provide:

1. Current baseline metrics for alert thresholds (rankings, traffic, backlinks)
2. Critical keywords or pages to monitor
3. Alert priority levels and notification preferences
4. Historical data to understand normal fluctuation ranges
5. Manual reporting on metric changes when they check their tools

Proceed with the alert configuration using provided parameters. User will need to manually check metrics and report changes for alert triggers.

Instructions

When a user requests alert setup:

1. Define Alert Categories

   ## SEO Alert System Configuration
   
   **Domain**: [domain]
   **Configured Date**: [date]
   
   ### Alert Categories
   
   | Category | Description | Typical Urgency |
   |----------|-------------|-----------------|
   | Ranking Alerts | Keyword position changes | Medium-High |
   | Traffic Alerts | Organic traffic fluctuations | High |
   | Technical Alerts | Site health issues | Critical |
   | Backlink Alerts | Link profile changes | Medium |
   | Competitor Alerts | Competitor movements | Low-Medium |
   | GEO Alerts | AI visibility changes | Medium |
   | Brand Alerts | Brand mentions and reputation | Medium |
   

2. Configure Alert Rules by Category

   For each relevant category (Rankings, Traffic, Technical, Backlinks, Competitors, GEO/AI, Brand), define alert name, trigger condition, threshold, and priority level.

   Reference: See references/alert-configuration-templates.md for complete alert tables, threshold examples, and response plan templates for all 7 categories.

3. Define Alert Response Plans

   Map each priority level (Critical, High, Medium, Low) to a response time and immediate action steps.

4. Set Up Alert Delivery

   Configure notification channels (Email, SMS, Slack), recipient routing by role, suppression rules (duplicate cooldown, maintenance windows), and escalation paths.

5. Create Alert Summary

   # SEO Alert System Summary
   
   **Domain**: [domain]
   **Configured**: [date]
   **Total Active Alerts**: [X]
   
   ## Alert Count by Category
   
   | Category | Critical | High | Medium | Low | Total |
   |----------|----------|------|--------|-----|-------|
   | Rankings | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
   | Traffic | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
   | Technical | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
   | Backlinks | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
   | Competitors | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
   | GEO | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] | [X] |
   | **Total** | **[X]** | **[X]** | **[X]** | **[X]** | **[X]** |
   
   ## Quick Reference
   
   ### If You Get a Critical Alert
   
   1. Don't panic
   2. Check alert details
   3. Follow response plan
   4. Document actions taken
   5. Update stakeholders
   
   ### Weekly Alert Review Checklist
   
   - [ ] Review all alerts triggered
   - [ ] Identify patterns
   - [ ] Adjust thresholds if needed
   - [ ] Update response plans
   - [ ] Clean up false positives
   

Validation Checkpoints

Input Validation

• Alert thresholds are based on realistic baseline data
• Critical keywords and pages clearly identified
• Response plans defined for each alert priority level
• Notification channels configured with appropriate recipients

Output Validation

• Every metric cites its data source and collection date
• Alert thresholds account for normal metric fluctuations
• Response plans are specific and time-bound
• Source of each alert trigger clearly stated (~~SEO tool API alert, ~~search console notification, ~~web crawler alert, or manual user check)

Example

User: "Set up ranking drop alerts for my top keywords"

Output:

## Ranking Alert Configuration

### Critical Keywords (Immediate Alert)

| Keyword | Current | Alert If | Priority |
|---------|---------|----------|----------|
| best project management software | 2 | Drops to 5+ | 🔴 Critical |
| project management tools | 4 | Drops to 8+ | 🔴 Critical |
| team collaboration software | 1 | Any drop | 🔴 Critical |

### Important Keywords (Same-Day Alert)

| Keyword | Current | Alert If | Priority |
|---------|---------|----------|----------|
| agile project management | 7 | Drops out of top 10 | 🔴 High |
| kanban software | 9 | Drops out of top 10 | 🔴 High |

### Alert Response Plan

**If Critical Keyword Drops**:
1. Check if page is still indexed (site:url)
2. Look for algorithm update announcements
3. Analyze what changed in SERP
4. Review competitor ranking changes
5. Check for technical issues on page
6. Create recovery action plan within 24 hours

**Notification**: Email + Slack to SEO team immediately

Tips for Success

1. Start simple - Don't create too many alerts initially
2. Tune thresholds - Adjust based on normal fluctuations
3. Avoid alert fatigue - Too many alerts = ignored alerts
4. Document response plans - Know what to do when alerts fire
5. Review regularly - Alerts need maintenance as your SEO matures
6. Include positive alerts - Track wins, not just problems

Alert Threshold Quick Reference

Reference: See references/alert-threshold-guide.md for baseline establishment, threshold setting methodology, fatigue prevention, escalation paths, and response playbooks.

Save Results

After delivering monitoring data or reports to the user, ask:

"Save these results for future sessions?"

If yes, write a dated summary to memory/monitoring/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md containing:

• One-line headline finding or status change
• Top 3-5 actionable items
• Open loops or anomalies requiring follow-up
• Source data references

If any findings should influence ongoing strategy, recommend promoting key conclusions to memory/hot-cache.md.

Reference Materials

• Alert Threshold Guide — Recommended thresholds by metric, fatigue prevention strategies, and escalation path templates

Next Best Skill

• Primary: rank-tracker — pair alerts with a baseline measurement workflow.

Related Skills in This Suite

Install the full suite: See README for one-command install of all 20 skills.