14 AI SEO prompts that actually work (with free tools)

AI SEO prompts are everywhere, and most of them hand you a confident guess. ChatGPT will happily give you 30 keywords, but it has no idea which ones people actually search for, or how hard they are to rank for. Below are 14 prompts we use ourselves, grouped by the job they do, and next to each one the free RankNexus tool that runs the same job on real search data instead of a hunch.

What are the best AI SEO prompts?

The best AI SEO prompts cover four jobs: keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, and content writing. A good prompt gets you from a blank page to a draft in seconds. What it cannot give you is real search volume, live competitor data, or a difficulty score, so treat every prompt's output as a hypothesis you still have to check against real numbers before you publish.

Keyword research prompts

1. Find 30 related topics in your niche

Use this to map the territory around a subject before you commit to any single keyword.

Act as an SEO strategist. For the topic [TOPIC], list 30 closely
related subtopics a buyer might search for. Group them by search
intent (informational, commercial, transactional) and mark the
five a beginner is most likely to win.

Do it with real data: the content ideas generator turns a seed topic into a ranked idea list, and the in-app Keyword Engine attaches real Google Ads Planner volumes, so you chase actual demand instead of the model's best guess.

2. Pick your top 5 priority keywords

Narrow a long list down to the handful worth starting with this quarter.

From this list of keywords: [PASTE LIST], choose the 5 I should
target first. For each one, explain the intent, the likely
difficulty, and why it earns a place in the top five.

Do it with real data: RankNexus scores every keyword with a free difficulty estimate built from the live SERP plus an opportunity score, so "priority" comes from data, not an opinion. See it on the Keyword Engine.

3. Generate 15 long-tail variations

Long-tail phrases are easier to rank for and map cleanly to H2s and FAQs.

Give me 15 long-tail variations of [KEYWORD] that match question
and comparison intent. Keep each one natural enough to be a real
search or a section heading.

Do it with real data: the question explorer pulls the questions people actually ask around your keyword, straight from live autocomplete and People Also Ask.

4. Run a competitive content gap analysis

Find what the pages that already rank cover, and where your page falls short.

Compare my page [URL] against these three ranking competitors:
[URLS]. List the subtopics, questions, and sections they cover
that I am missing, ranked by how important each gap looks.

Do it with real data: RankNexus Competitor Analysis crawls the pages that genuinely rank for your term and shows the gaps against your own content. Start from a free audit.

5. Rank the gaps by demand and intent

Turn a pile of ideas into an ordered plan, strongest opportunity first.

Take this list of content gaps: [PASTE], and rank them by likely
search demand and commercial intent, highest first, so I know
what to write next.

Do it with real data: the Keyword Engine sorts opportunities by real volume and an intent read, so your calendar opens with the pages most likely to pay off. Explore it inside the platform.

On-page SEO prompts

6. Design clean, SEO-friendly URLs

Short, readable slugs help both users and crawlers understand a page.

Suggest SEO-friendly URL slugs for these pages: [LIST]. Keep them
short, lowercase, and hyphenated, with no stop words or dates.
Explain each choice in one line.

Do it with real data: the technical SEO checker flags messy URLs, redirect chains, and duplicate paths on your live site, not a hypothetical one.

7. Build a header hierarchy for a guide

A clear H2 and H3 structure is what wins featured snippets and keeps readers moving.

Outline an H2 and H3 structure for a complete guide on [TOPIC].
Cover the reader's questions in order, and mark which sections
deserve a table, a list, or a short snippet-ready answer.

Do it with real data: the content outline generator builds a snippet-ready heading structure from the topic and the intent behind it.

8. Write title tags that fit and convert

Your title tag is the single biggest on-page lever for clicks.

Write 5 title tag options for a page about [TOPIC]. Each under 60
characters, each leading with the primary keyword [KEYWORD], and
each written for a click, not just a crawler.

Do it with real data: the SEO title generator keeps you inside the character limit and checks the keyword sits where it counts.

9. Draft meta descriptions that earn the click

Meta descriptions do not rank you, but they decide who clicks.

Write 3 meta descriptions for [PAGE], 150 to 160 characters each:
one benefit-led, one curiosity-led, one direct. Include the
keyword [KEYWORD] naturally.

Do it with real data: the meta description generator writes to the exact length Google shows and flags anything that will get truncated.

Technical SEO prompts

10. Plan an XML sitemap for a store

A messy sitemap buries your important pages. Structure it to match how the site is built.

I run a store with these categories and product groups:
[STRUCTURE]. Draft an XML sitemap plan that reflects the
hierarchy, sets sensible priorities, and separates products
from content.

Do it with real data: the technical SEO checker reads your real sitemap and crawl, and the product schema checker confirms each product page is marked up correctly.

11. Write a safe robots.txt

One wrong line in robots.txt can hide your whole site from search.

Write a robots.txt for a site with a public blog, a private
account area, and a staging path. Allow the blog, block the
account and staging paths, add the sitemap line, and explain
each rule.

Do it with real data: RankNexus checks your live robots and crawl rules for the blocks that quietly cost you traffic, and the llms.txt generator adds the file that tells AI crawlers what to read.

Content writing prompts

12. Write two intros worth reading

Give yourself options instead of settling for the first opening the model produces.

Write two opening paragraphs for an article on [TOPIC]: one that
leads with the reader's problem, one that leads with a surprising
number. Second person, plain words, no throat-clearing.

Do it with real data: the website copy generator drafts intros in your brand voice, and the Content Engine writes the full piece grounded in your own audience and keywords.

13. Turn an intro into a clear thesis

A one-line thesis keeps the whole article pointed at a single promise.

From this introduction: [PASTE], write one clear thesis sentence
that states what the article proves and who it is for.

Do it with real data: the content outline generator turns that thesis into a full, intent-mapped structure in one step.

14. Write a semantically optimized article

Give the model enough structure that the draft is close to publishable, not just words on a page.

Write a 1,200 word article on [TOPIC] for [AUDIENCE]. Put the
primary keyword [KEYWORD] in the first paragraph and one early
H2, keep it to a natural density, add a short snippet answer near
the top, and close with a 5 question FAQ.

Do it with real data: the RankNexus Content Engine writes the article, adds the answer block, builds the FAQ, and runs it through a humanization pass so it does not read like AI. Pair it with the FAQ schema generator so the FAQ can win rich results, and learn the full workflow free in the Academy.

The pattern: prompt for speed, real data to decide

Every prompt on this list is worth keeping. Each one gets you from a blank page to a draft in seconds. The mistake is treating that draft as the answer. A prompt cannot see search volume, it cannot read the live SERP, and it cannot crawl your site, so it guesses, and it guesses with total confidence. The job that actually moves rankings is the second one: checking the guess against real data before you spend a week writing. That is the line RankNexus draws. The prompt writes the first draft. The data decides what ships.

Want to see where your site stands today? Run a free audit and check your GEO score to see how ready your pages are for AI search.