SEO and AI search (GEO): a practical checklist

1. Technical basics

• One unique title and description per page, naming the service and location.
• A single h1, with heading levels following the content structure.
• A canonical URL, and hreflang links between language versions.
• Readable on mobile, with sized images and meaningful alt text.
• robots.txt that does not block assets and declares the sitemap.
• Valid HTTPS, no mixed content, and important pages returning 200 directly.

2. Structured data tells machines who you are

Use JSON-LD for Organization (name, phone, URL), WebSite, and Service or Product. Add Article and BreadcrumbList on articles, and FAQPage where a visible question and answer section exists. Marked-up content must match the visible text. Invented ratings or fabricated case studies create risk.

3. Content that answers real questions

• Each service page should state the problem, who it fits, the delivery scope, boundaries and dependencies.
• Articles work best as problem, criteria, approach, common mistakes.
• One page, one topic; do not compress ten keywords into one paragraph.
• Stating limitations builds more trust than promising outcomes, and is safer from a compliance perspective.

4. Extra steps for AI answers (GEO)

Give each section a short extractable answer in its first sentence. Keep definitions stable for questions such as "what is it", "what is the difference" and "how do I start". Publish an llms.txt as a site index with one-line page summaries. Keep the company name, phone number and service scope identical across pages.

Be clear that llms.txt and structured data are aids only. No site controls whether a platform crawls or cites it, and no ranking or recommendation should be promised.

5. What not to do

Do not mass-produce thin pages, repeat the same block across many URLs, hide text, or use deceptive redirects. Do not invent clients, certifications or rankings, and do not publish AI-generated claims that have not been checked. These tactics may bring short-term traffic and long-term loss of trust.

6. How to verify

Submit the sitemap in Google Search Console and Baidu Search Resource Platform, then watch indexation, impressions and clicks. Validate JSON-LD with a structured data testing tool. Check status codes and rendered content with curl or a private browser window, and review internal links periodically.

Questions we often hear