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Short, practical answers for search and AI visibility. Every guide starts with the answer, then the steps.
40 guides
What is AI visibility?
AI visibility is how often AI engines such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity mention, cite, or recommend your business when people ask questions about your category. You measure it by running a fixed set of prompts on a schedule and recording whether you appear, where, and with which sources.How Google AI Overviews and AI Mode work
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode build answers from Google's own search index and link to supporting pages. A page is eligible as a linked source when it is indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. Google lists no other technical requirements and no special markup.How to research the prompts worth tracking
Start from real customer questions, not guesses. Collect them from sales calls, support emails, reviews, and Search Console queries, rewrite each as a natural prompt, add the city or customer type, and group by buying stage. Aim for 20 to 30 prompts you will keep unchanged for months.How to track AI prompts across engines
Fix a list of 20 to 30 prompts, choose the engines and locations your customers use, run the same list on a set schedule, and record mentions, citations, and competitors for every run. Judge change over several weeks, because AI answers vary from run to run.How to read share of voice in AI answers
Share of voice in AI answers is your brand mentions divided by all brand mentions across your tracked prompts. If answers name brands 200 times and 50 of those are yours, your share is 25%. Read it per engine and per prompt group, against a competitor list that stays fixed.How to write pages AI engines cite
Give each page one question to answer, state the answer in the first 2 sentences, then back it with specific facts only your business can supply. Organize the page under clear headings, keep it indexed and crawlable, and confirm the result in your AI visibility tracking.How to manage AI crawlers in robots.txt
To appear in AI search answers, allow the search bots in robots.txt and in your firewall: OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, and Googlebot. Training bots such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and Google-Extended are separate choices. Each vendor documents its own user agents, so set rules bot by bot.llms.txt: what it is and whether you need one
llms.txt is a proposed markdown file at /llms.txt that gives AI agents a short, curated map of your site. Google says Google Search ignores it, so it neither helps nor harms your Google visibility. It is optional, cheap to publish, and most useful for documentation that agents read on demand.Answer engine optimization checklist
Answer engine optimization is strong SEO plus clear answers: indexed and crawlable pages, a direct answer to one question per page, facts only your business can state, consistent business data, and honest mentions elsewhere. Google says optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO. Measure with fixed prompts.How to fix wrong facts in AI answers
To correct a wrong fact in an AI answer, find the source the engine used, fix the fact there, state the correct version plainly on your own site, and align your listings and profiles. You cannot edit an answer directly, so work on the evidence and re-check on a schedule.How to build the brand citations AI engines use
Check which sites engines cite when they answer your prompts, then earn accurate listings and honest mentions on those sites: directories, review platforms, associations, local press, and partner pages. Do not buy mentions or reviews. Re-check the cited sources every quarter to see what changed.How to report AI visibility to owners and clients
Report AI visibility monthly on 4 or 5 numbers per engine: mention rate, share of voice, citation rate, sentiment, and top cited sources. Show the trend over at least 4 weeks, mark the changes you made, and state the limits plainly: answers vary and no result can be promised.How to write title tags that earn the click
A good title tag describes the page in plain words, puts the main topic first, and is short enough to read in full on a phone. Google sets no length limit but truncates long titles to fit the device, and it may rewrite titles it finds unhelpful. Write 1 unique title per page.How to write meta descriptions that get used
A meta description is a short summary of a page that Google sometimes uses as the snippet under your title. Write a unique one per page that says what the page offers and for whom, with a concrete fact or 2. Google sets no length limit, and it may use text from the page instead.How to build internal links that help people and search
Link every page you care about from at least 1 related page, using descriptive anchor text inside a real sentence. Make links standard HTML anchors with an href so crawlers can follow them. Google says there is no ideal number of links per page, and that too many probably means too many.How to match a page to search intent
Search intent is the job someone wants done when they type a query: learn, compare, find a specific site, or take an action like buying or booking. Read what already ranks for your target query, match your page type to that intent, and write the page so it finishes the job.How to do keyword research for a small business
Keyword research finds the phrases your customers use and sorts them by intent and business value. Start with your services and real customer questions, add queries from Search Console, check volume and difficulty estimates in a tool, and assign each keyword group to 1 page. Treat volume numbers as estimates.How to write a content brief
A content brief gives a writer everything needed to write a useful page: the reader and their question, the primary query and intent, the direct answer, the facts to include, the outline, the internal links, and the next step. Keep it to 1 page and finish it before drafting starts.How to use canonical tags correctly
A canonical tag tells Google which URL is the preferred version when the same or very similar content lives at more than 1 address. Put a self-referencing rel=canonical with an absolute URL on each page and point true duplicates at the main version. Google treats it as a strong signal, not a command.How to run a content audit
A content audit lists every page, adds search, conversion, and link data, and gives each page 1 decision: keep, update, merge, redirect, or remove. Judge pages against Google's helpful-content questions, fix the highest-value pages first, and never change dates to fake freshness.How to fix keyword cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization is when 2 or more of your pages target the same query and intent, so they compete and neither ranks as well as 1 strong page would. Find the overlapping queries in Search Console, pick the winner, then merge, differentiate, or redirect the others and keep a keyword map.How to audit a competitor for search and AI visibility
Audit a competitor by comparing what you can see publicly: the queries and pages that earn them visibility, the sources AI engines cite for them, their links, their site quality, and their local profile. Pick 3 to 5 true search competitors, record the gaps, and turn each gap into a task. Do not copy their pages.How to fix Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals measure loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP), and visual stability (CLS). Google's good thresholds are LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP of 200 milliseconds or less, and CLS of 0.1 or less, at the 75th percentile of real visits. Find the failing metric in field data, then fix the template behind it.How to fix indexing issues
To fix indexing issues, open the Page indexing report in Search Console, group not-indexed URLs by reason, and decide which of them should be indexed. Fix blocks such as noindex, robots.txt rules, redirect errors, and server errors first, then improve the pages Google crawled but chose not to index.How to prioritize site audit fixes
Prioritize audit fixes in this order: problems that stop pages being crawled or indexed, problems that break pages for visitors, problems on your highest-value templates, and only then cosmetic warnings. Score each issue by how many important pages it touches and how much effort the fix takes, and work from the top.FAQ schema: what still works
Google stopped showing the FAQ rich result in Search on May 7, 2026, and removed its FAQ documentation. FAQ markup no longer earns that display. Keep a visible questions section on the page, because people and AI engines read it, and treat FAQPage markup as optional and harmless rather than a ranking tactic.Schema markup basics for small sites
Schema markup is code that labels what a page is about, such as an organization, a local business, an article, or a breadcrumb trail. Write it in JSON-LD, describe only what is visible on the page, include the properties Google documents for that type, and validate it with the Rich Results Test before you publish.Redirects and site migrations
Map every old URL to its closest new equivalent, serve permanent server-side redirects such as 301 or 308 from old to new, avoid chains, and keep the redirects for at least a year. Test before launch, submit the new sitemap, and use Change of Address in Search Console only when the domain changes.XML sitemaps: build, submit, and maintain
An XML sitemap lists the canonical URLs you want in search, so crawlers can find them. List only indexable pages, use absolute URLs, keep each file under 50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed, set an accurate lastmod, and submit the file in Search Console or reference it in robots.txt. It is a hint, not a guarantee.Image SEO: formats, alt text, and speed
Use real HTML img elements, write short alt text that describes the image in context, give files descriptive names, serve a supported format at the right size, and keep images near the text they illustrate. Google does not index CSS background images, and lazy-loading should never delay images visible on first load.Local SEO basics for service businesses
Local SEO is making your business easy to find when people search near them. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and prominence. Verify and complete your Business Profile, build a clear page for each service and location, keep your details consistent everywhere, and earn honest reviews.How to set up your Google Business Profile
Search for your business, claim or add the profile, verify it by the method Google offers, then complete every field. Use your real-world business name, choose the fewest accurate categories, set a precise address or service area, add hours and photos, and follow Google's guidelines to avoid suspension.How to read a map pack grid
A map pack grid checks your local ranking for one search from many points around your business, instead of one. Because distance is a local ranking factor, your position changes block by block. Read the grid for strong and weak areas, then compare the same grid month to month.How to manage online reviews
Ask every customer for an honest review with your Google link or QR code, reply to each review publicly in a polite and specific way, and respond to negative reviews with facts and an offer to resolve it privately. Never offer incentives, which Google prohibits, and never write reviews of your own business.Local citations: keep your business details consistent
A local citation is any online mention of your business name, address, and phone number, such as a directory listing. Audit where you appear, correct anything that does not match your real-world details, claim the profiles that matter to your customers, and recheck regularly. Consistency removes conflicts that confuse people and search engines.How to write a monthly SEO report
A monthly SEO report should open with business outcomes, then show search visibility, then list what you changed and what you plan next. Use the same few numbers every month, compare against the previous period, explain each movement in a sentence, and keep it to one or two pages.How to onboard a new SEO client
Onboard an SEO client in the first 30 days by collecting access, writing down goals in business terms, recording a baseline for search and AI visibility, auditing the site, fixing quick wins, and agreeing a 90 day plan and reporting rhythm. Set expectations early, because Google says changes can take hours or months to show.How to pitch AI visibility to clients
Pitch AI visibility with evidence, not hype. Run the prospect's real customer questions through the AI engines, show where they and their competitors appear, explain the work as better pages, accurate listings, and ongoing measurement, and state the limits: answers vary and no one can guarantee a mention.How to price AI visibility services
Price AI visibility services by defining the scope first, estimating the hours for each recurring task, adding tool and data costs, and then choosing a structure such as a setup fee plus monthly tiers. Charge for the work and the reporting, not for outcomes you cannot control.How to choose SEO KPIs that matter
Choose 5 to 8 SEO KPIs in three layers: business outcomes such as leads and revenue from organic search, visibility metrics such as non-brand clicks, impressions, and AI mention rate, and health metrics such as indexed pages and Core Web Vitals. Define each one, its source, and its target before you start tracking.No guides match that search yet.
