As a developer or indie hacker, you know that building great products is only half the battle. The other half? Making sure people know about it. We're talking marketing, SEO, and ads. That's where seofor.dev comes in: a TUI (Text User Interface) SEO tool designed specifically for developers who want to get their products in front of the right people, as fast as possible.
In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about using seofor.dev effectively, from your first audit to creating content that ranks on Google.
Introduction to seofor.dev
seofor.dev is a Text User Interface (TUI) SEO tool that integrates seamlessly into your development workflow. Unlike traditional SEO tools that require you to deploy first and audit later, seofor.dev lets you catch SEO issues during development, saving you countless hours of debugging and redeployment cycles.
Think of it as your SEO co-pilot: always there when you need it, never getting in the way of your development process. When you launch seofor.dev, it takes over your terminal screen with an intuitive interface that you navigate using keyboard shortcuts. Whether you're working on NextJS, Svelte, Django, Laravel, Rails, or any other framework, seofor.dev analyzes your localhost environment and provides actionable insights before you hit deploy.
Key Features of seofor.dev
Localhost Auditing
The core feature that sets seofor.dev apart is its ability to audit your development server. Instead of waiting until your site is live to discover missing meta tags or broken heading structures, you can identify and fix these issues while you're still coding.
Keyword Research Engine
When you're ready to create content, seofor.dev's keyword research feature helps you discover related terms, search volumes, and difficulty scores. This data comes from professional SEO databases, giving you the same insights that expensive tools provide but at a fraction of the cost.
AI-Ready Content Briefs
Perhaps the most powerful feature is the content brief generator. Input a target keyword, and seofor.dev analyzes top-ranking competitors to create comprehensive content outlines that you can export directly to your favorite AI assistant.
Framework-Agnostic Design
Whether you're building with Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Django, Laravel, or Rails, seofor.dev works with any framework that serves content on localhost. It's truly platform-independent.
Getting Started with seofor.dev
Prerequisites for Using seofor.dev
Before diving in, make sure you have:
- A development environment running on localhost
- Basic understanding of SEO concepts (meta tags, heading structure, etc.)
- A seofor.dev account (free tier available)
- Terminal access and comfort with command-line tools
The beauty of seofor.dev is that it doesn't require extensive SEO knowledge to get started. The tool guides you through best practices and explains why certain issues matter.
Setting Up Your Environment
Getting started is straightforward:
- Sign up at seofor.dev for your free account
- Install the TUI tool following the setup instructions
- Configure your API credentials
- Start your local development server (e.g.,
npm run dev
,python manage.py runserver
) - Launch the TUI to see what seofor.dev can do
The free tier gives you unlimited localhost auditing, so you can experiment without any cost. This is perfect for understanding how the tool works and integrating it into your workflow.
Practical Guide: Using seofor.dev
Auditing Your Site Locally
Here's where seofor.dev really shines. Let's say you're working on a new landing page for your SaaS product. Instead of deploying to staging and running a separate SEO audit, you can:
- Start your development server (e.g.,
npm run dev
for port 3000) - Launch seofor.dev (the TUI will take over your terminal screen)
- Navigate to the audit section using keyboard shortcuts
- Press Enter to start the analysis
Within seconds, you'll get a comprehensive report displayed in the TUI covering:
- Meta tag analysis: Missing descriptions, titles that are too long/short
- Content structure: Heading hierarchy issues, content length problems
- Performance metrics: Page load times, image optimization opportunities
- Technical SEO: Schema markup, canonical URLs, indexability
The real magic happens when you export these results as AI prompts. Navigate through the results using arrow keys, and when you find issues you want to fix, press the designated key (typically 'e') to copy AI-ready prompts. You can then paste these into Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor and get specific, actionable code changes.
Learn more about localhost auditing.
Conducting Keyword Research
When you're ready to create content, seofor.dev's keyword research helps you understand what your audience is actually searching for:
- Launch the TUI and navigate to the keyword research section
- Select the keyword input field and type your seed keyword (e.g., "task management for developers")
- Press Enter to start the analysis
- Browse the results using navigation keys to scroll through related keywords
You'll get related keywords with search volumes and difficulty scores displayed in an organized table format. For example, you might discover that "developer productivity tools" has decent search volume but lower competition than your original target.
This data helps you make informed decisions about content creation and ensures you're targeting keywords that people actually search for.
Learn more about keyword research.
Creating Content Briefs
Content briefs are where seofor.dev becomes incredibly powerful for content strategy:
- Navigate to the content brief section in the TUI
- Enter your target keyword (e.g., "how to build a REST API") in the input field
- Press Enter to start competitor analysis
- Review the generated brief using the TUI's navigation controls
- Export the brief by pressing the appropriate key to copy AI-ready prompts
The tool analyzes top-ranking competitors and generates a comprehensive outline including:
- Optimal content length based on competitors
- Key topics to cover
- User intent analysis
- SEO requirements (title tags, meta descriptions)
- Export-ready prompts for AI content generation
This feature is particularly valuable because it takes the guesswork out of content planning. Instead of wondering what to write about, you get a data-driven blueprint for content that's likely to rank.
Learn more about content briefs.
Common Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: "My local development setup is complex with multiple services" Solution: seofor.dev works with any localhost URL. Whether your app runs on port 3000, 8000, or behind a reverse proxy, just point the tool to the correct URL.
Challenge: "I'm not sure what SEO issues to prioritize" Solution: seofor.dev weights issues by importance. Focus on the high-weight items first, as they'll have the biggest impact on your search rankings.
Challenge: "SEO feels overwhelming as a developer" Solution: Start with localhost auditing only. It's free, unlimited, and helps you build SEO habits without additional complexity. Once you're comfortable, explore keyword research and content briefs.
Challenge: "I don't have time for extensive SEO work" Solution: The AI prompt export feature is perfect for this. Run an audit, export the prompt, and let AI handle the implementation details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do SEO by myself as a developer? Absolutely. SEO isn't magic; it's about following best practices for content structure, performance, and user experience. seofor.dev guides you through these practices with specific, actionable advice.
How is this different from other SEO tools? Most SEO tools require you to deploy first, then audit. seofor.dev integrates into your development workflow, catching issues before they reach production. Plus, it's designed specifically for developers who prefer terminal-based tools.
Do I need SEO experience to use seofor.dev? Not at all. The tool explains why issues matter and provides specific fixes. It's educational, so you'll learn SEO best practices while improving your site.
What about technical SEO for complex sites? seofor.dev handles the fundamentals that matter most: meta tags, content structure, performance, and technical implementation. For most sites, getting these basics right will significantly improve search rankings.
Conclusion
SEO doesn't have to be a separate, complicated process that happens after development. With seofor.dev, you can build SEO optimization directly into your development workflow, catching issues early and shipping sites that are ready to rank from day one.
The key is to start simple. Use the free localhost auditing to build good habits, then explore keyword research and content briefs as your needs grow. Remember, the best SEO strategy is the one you'll actually use consistently.
Whether you're launching your first indie project or optimizing an existing product, seofor.dev gives you the insights and tools you need to compete in search results without leaving your terminal.
Ready to get started? Sign up for free at seofor.dev and run your first audit today. Your future self (and your organic traffic) will thank you.
Want to learn more about SEO for developers? Check out our guides on localhost SEO workflows.