MCP Setup

SEOLadders runs as a remote MCP server, so any MCP-compatible client can drive the whole platform — topic clusters, research, article writing, publishing, AI-visibility tracking and automation — as tools. Add the server plus the skill and you're connected.

1 · Create an API key

Generate a key on the Developers page in your dashboard. The same key authenticates the MCP server and the REST API — see Authentication for multi-site targeting and rotation.

Keep it secret

Your key is shown once at creation. It carries the same access as your dashboard — treat it like a password, and rotate it if it leaks.

2 · Connect — MCP + skill

Add the MCP server (https://www.seoladders.com/api/mcp — the tools that run the work) and the SEOLadders skill (the guided /seoladders-* commands and SEO playbook on top). Pick your client and drop in the key from step 1:

In the Claude app (web + desktop), both live under Customize:

  1. Skills → + — upload the SEOLadders skill zip. Download the repo ZIP, zip the seoladders folder, and upload it.
  2. Connectors → Add custom connector — name it "SEO Ladders". The app has no header field, so put your key in the URL:
text
https://www.seoladders.com/api/mcp?key=sk_live_...

Leave the OAuth fields blank → Add. The Skill gives Claude the process; the connector gives it execution — you want both.

Skill vs. plain MCP

The /seoladders-* commands run in skill-capable clients like Claude Code and Cursor. In the Claude and ChatGPT apps there's no slash-command layer — you get the same MCP tools and drive them in natural language (“audit my site”, “write an article about X and publish it”) instead.

3 · What you get

Once connected, the tools mirror the platform one-to-one — the same capabilities as the REST API, grouped the way they are in the dashboard:

  • topical-authority — build topic clusters (pillar + supporting keywords), track the AI prompts under each, research candidates, and read live coverage
  • keyword-research, competitor-gap, rankings, search-console, site-audit — research and technical health
  • write-article, optimize, publish, content-calendar, knowledge — create and ship content
  • ai-visibility, prompts, competitors, content-gaps, link-building — your GEO score across engines, what to fix, and the pages to earn links from
  • actions, auto-publish, autoblog-autofill — recommended next steps and automation toggles

Async work

Article generation and audits run for a few minutes. Those tools return a job/article id immediately — poll until the status is ready.

Prefer raw HTTP?

Every tool here is also a plain REST call — if you'd rather script against the API directly, start with the Quickstart (Option B) or the API Reference.