brief

Installation

$npx skills add garrettjsmith/localseoskills --skill brief

Summary

This skill enables an agent to create, update, and resume persistent briefs (work state records) for local SEO client engagements. Load it automatically when starting work on a specific business or location, when the user says "resume" or "continue," or before any tool call — the agent can then retrieve prior findings, avoid redundant tool calls, and maintain continuity across sessions.

SKILL.MD

Brief Management

Briefs are persistent work state for local SEO engagements. One brief per location. You create, update, and resume them automatically — the user should never have to manage this manually.

When to Create a Brief

Create a brief on the first tool call for a business in a session, if one doesn't already exist.

Do not create briefs for:

  • General local SEO questions with no specific business
  • Tool or skill explanation requests
  • Single-question answers that don't involve live data

Brief Location

Claude Code (filesystem):

briefs/{brand-slug}/{location-slug}/location.brief.md

Single location, no brand needed:

briefs/{business-slug}/location.brief.md

Claude Project or Browser: Tell the user: "I've created a brief for this business. Add it to your Project knowledge base so it persists across sessions." Then output the brief content so they can save it.

Creating a Brief

  1. Identify the business name, location, and type from context or ask if unclear
  2. Copy from briefs/_templates/location.brief.md
  3. Fill in Identity fields from whatever the user has provided
  4. Note the session start and what was requested in Session Log
  5. Proceed with the work

For multi-location brands, also create or update briefs/{brand}/_brand.brief.md.

Updating a Brief

Update at the end of every session before closing out:

  1. Session Log — add one line: date + what was worked on
  2. Tools Run — add each tool call made: date, tool, endpoint, one-line finding
  3. Findings — add any new issues discovered, categorized by severity
  4. Deliverables — mark completed items, add new pending items
  5. Next Action — overwrite with the single most important next step

Keep findings concise. "Citation audit found 7 NAP inconsistencies across 4 directories" not raw JSON.

Resuming from a Brief

When a user returns to a business:

  1. Read the brief
  2. Summarize in 2-3 sentences: what's been done, key findings, where things stand
  3. State the recorded Next Action
  4. Ask: "Want to pick up from here, or is there something specific you want to work on?"

Do not re-run tools that already have results in the brief unless the user asks or the data is more than 30 days old.

Multi-Location Brands

After completing a location session, update _brand.brief.md:

  • Update that location's row in the Locations table
  • Add any cross-location patterns to Brand-Level Notes (only if pattern appears in 3+ locations)

Lessons Connection

If during a session you observe something that contradicts a skill file or reveals a new pattern not captured anywhere, propose it at session end:

"I noticed [X] during this session — this isn't in the skill files. Want me to add it to meta/lessons.md for review?"

Wait for confirmation before writing.

Slug Format

  • Lowercase, hyphens, no spaces
  • Business name: mikes-plumbing, keystone-insurance
  • Location: buffalo, downtown-chicago, pittsburgh-pa
  • Keep it obvious, not clever