SEO audit: Optimize titles and update SEO agent instructions

[Copilot]

Audited SEO metadata for the 9 popular posts in src/config.ts. Found 2 title issues and updated SEO agent instructions for clarity.

Changes

Title Optimizations

• 2023-04-20-meetings-are-a-point-of-escalation.mdx — Shorten title from 76 → 56 chars (exceeds 60-char limit)
• 2023-08-30-transparency-collaboration-is-the-andon-of-knowledge-production.md — Shorten title from 73 → 56 chars

# meetings post
- title: "Meetings are a point of escalation, not the starting point of a conversation"
+ title: "Meetings are a point of escalation, not a starting point"

# andon post  
- title: "Transparent collaboration is the andon of your knowledge production system"
+ title: "Transparent collaboration is the andon of knowledge work"

SEO Agent Instructions Updated

Updated .github/agents/seo.md to clarify Markdown handling in descriptions:

• Descriptions MAY contain Markdown formatting (links, bold, etc.) for better UX
• Character count should be calculated AFTER stripping Markdown, not on raw text
• Never remove Markdown from descriptions to meet length requirements
• Added examples showing descriptions with Markdown links
• Updated audit checklist for consistency

The other 7 popular posts were already well-optimized. All 9 popular posts now pass SEO validation.

Original prompt

---

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Audit SEO of popular posts</issue_title>
<issue_description></issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

Custom agent used: seo
Specialized agent for SEO optimization including meta tags, structured data, page titles, descriptions, URL structure, and search engine visibility

• Fixes Audit SEO of popular posts #1619

---

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

[benbalter]

@copilot don’t strip markdown from descriptions. Calculate length after markdown has been stripped and optimize accordingly. Meta title does not contain markdown.

[Copilot]

@copilot don’t strip markdown from descriptions. Calculate length after markdown has been stripped and optimize accordingly. Meta title does not contain markdown.

Reverted the markdown removal in why-open-source.md - the description now keeps its markdown links. Fixed in 6598743.

[benbalter]

@copilot update copilot instructions to make that more clear and re-run analysis.

[Copilot]

@copilot update copilot instructions to make that more clear and re-run analysis.

Updated .github/agents/seo.md with clearer guidance on Markdown handling:

• Descriptions MAY contain Markdown (never strip it)
• Calculate length AFTER stripping Markdown
• Added examples showing both approaches

Re-ran analysis on all 9 popular posts - all pass. Fixed in d1de3ce.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR optimizes SEO metadata for popular posts by shortening two overly long titles to meet the 50-60 character guideline, and clarifies SEO agent instructions for handling Markdown in descriptions.

Changes:

• Shortened two post titles from 76→57 and 73→57 characters to meet SEO best practices
• Updated SEO agent instructions to clarify that Markdown is allowed in descriptions but character counts should be calculated after stripping Markdown formatting

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
src/content/posts/2023-04-20-meetings-are-a-point-of-escalation.mdx	Shortened title from 76 to 57 characters while preserving core meaning
src/content/posts/2023-08-30-transparency-collaboration-is-the-andon-of-knowledge-production.md	Shortened title from 73 to 57 characters, simplifying "your knowledge production system" to "knowledge work"
.github/agents/seo.md	Added clarifications about Markdown handling in descriptions: allowed for UX, but character counts calculated after stripping