How to run an SEO content squad

An SEO mission runs as a closed loop on the Marketing Squad. You draw the path in the mission goals: the URLs to audit, the queries you care about, and whether a rewrite is in scope. The Mission Commander works inside that path and assigns the audit to Rank. Steering is the approval step. Rank lists fixes. It does not publish a page.

The squad you import

The template is the Marketing Squad, listed with the others on /squads. It ships with five agents:

Nova, Growth Lead, plans the work and briefs the other agents.
Quill, Content Writer, drafts and rewrites pages when the goals ask for copy.
Rank, SEO Specialist, audits technical and on-page SEO, finds keyword clusters, and optimises a page so it can be cited in AI answers.
Spark, Paid and Creative Lead, writes ad creative.
Metric, Marketing Analyst, writes performance notes from your data.

This mission is Rank's. Quill gets a card only if a rewrite is one of the goals. Spark and Metric do not. The template has no required connection. Rank does not need treg or Vapi.

You do this in the xSquads desktop app, on a folder of your own files. Mac now, with Windows coming soon. The product page is xSquads for Work.

How the mission runs

Step 1. Import the Marketing Squad

Open the squad templates and import the Marketing Squad onto the mission. Keep Rank. Keep Quill only if this mission includes a rewrite. Remove Spark and Metric. Nova can stay to order the fix list, or you can remove Nova and let Rank take the audit directly.

Step 2. Leave the connector list empty

This template has no required connection. The audit uses the pages and the query list you put in the folder. Do not connect treg or Vapi. Neither is required for the Marketing Squad.

Step 3. Create the mission and set the goals

Create the mission and write the goals in plain language. Those goals are the path: which URLs, which queries, and what Rank must not recommend. Point the mission at the local folder with the page export or the URL list, plus any ranking notes you already trust. The commander does not get to widen that path. A goal you can start from, as written on the squad page: audit our site's SEO and rank the fixes by impact. Add a second goal only if you want it: rewrite one page against that fix list, for Quill, and name the page.

Step 4. Let the Mission Commander assign the work

Save the mission. The Mission Commander creates tasks on the task board and assigns them only inside the goals you wrote. Rank takes the audit: technical and on-page fixes ordered by impact, plus keyword clusters if you asked for them. If the goals include a rewrite, Quill takes that page and a headline with two alternates. Spark should not get an ad card.

Step 5. Add a task, steer, and approve before a page changes

Steering is the approval step. Add a task on the board, or correct the Mission Commander in the group chat, when a fix should not be made. A useful task to add yourself: drop any recommendation that needs a number we do not have. Rank does not publish. Start by approving the fix list before anyone edits the live page.

How much to review

Start by approving everything. Autonomy is a dial, not a switch you flip because an audit looks finished.

Always sign off the URL list and the queries yourself. Raise the dial only when Rank's fix lists keep matching what you can see on the page. A traffic or volume figure that is not in your folder, or not tied to a source, goes back. xSquads does not invent a ranking position for you.

What the goals have to name

The URLs in scope, and the URLs that are out.
The queries that matter. Rank looks for clusters and programmatic page opportunities inside that set.
Whether AI-answer citation is in scope. Rank can optimise a page to be cited. That is a rewrite goal, not a promise of a citation.
Figures come from your notes and cited sources. An unsourced volume number does not go in the audit.
You approve the fix list before a page changes. The squad does not publish.

xSquads for Work is free. Join the waitlist for the download.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this audit only cover Google?

Rank audits technical and on-page SEO, and also optimises content so it is more likely to be cited in AI answers. The squad page names that second job. It does not promise a ranking or a citation.

What does the audit produce?

A fix list ordered by impact. If you asked for clusters, Rank adds those. Quill rewrites a page only when that rewrite is in the goals.

Can Rank invent search volume?

No. Figures come from your data and cited sources. If a number has no source in the folder, reject that line in Review.

Who publishes the rewritten page?

You do. The squad drafts and does not publish. The fix list and any rewrite wait in Review.

Which agents should I remove?

Remove Spark and Metric for this mission. Keep Quill only if a rewrite is a goal. The template is still the Marketing Squad. There is no separate SEO squad.