Optimize for search engine visibility, ranking, and AI citations. Use when asked to improve SEO, optimize for search, fix meta tags, add structured data, or improve AEO and AI visibility.
Optimize for search engine visibility, ranking, and AI citations. Use when asked to improve SEO, optimize for search, fix meta tags, add structured data, or improve AEO and AI visibility.
license
MIT
metadata
{"version":"2.0"}
SEO Optimization
Search engine optimization based on Lighthouse SEO audits and Google Search guidelines. Focus on technical SEO, on-page optimization, and structured data.
<!-- ❌ Missing or generic --><title>Page</title><title>Home</title><!-- ✅ Descriptive with primary keyword --><title>Blue Widgets for Sale | Premium Quality | Example Store</title>
Title tag guidelines:
50-60 characters (Google truncates ~60)
Primary keyword near the beginning
Unique for every page
Brand name at end (unless homepage)
Action-oriented when appropriate
Meta descriptions
<!-- ❌ Missing or duplicate --><metaname="description"content=""><!-- ✅ Compelling and unique --><metaname="description"content="Shop premium blue widgets with free shipping. 30-day returns. Rated 4.9/5 by 10,000+ customers. Order today and save 20%.">
<!-- ❌ Poor image SEO --><imgsrc="IMG_12345.jpg"><!-- ✅ Optimized image --><imgsrc="blue-widget-product-photo.webp"alt="Blue widget with chrome finish, side view showing control panel"width="800"height="600"loading="lazy">
Image guidelines:
Descriptive filenames with keywords
Alt text describes the image content
Compressed and properly sized
WebP/AVIF with fallbacks
Lazy load below-fold images
Internal linking
<!-- ❌ Non-descriptive --><ahref="/products">Click here</a><ahref="/widgets">Read more</a><!-- ✅ Descriptive anchor text --><ahref="/products/blue-widgets">Browse our blue widget collection</a><ahref="/guides/widget-maintenance">Learn how to maintain your widgets</a>
<!-- ❌ Not mobile-friendly --><metaname="viewport"content="width=1024"><!-- ✅ Responsive viewport --><metaname="viewport"content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
Tap targets
/* ❌ Too small for mobile */.small-link {
padding: 4px;
font-size: 12px;
}
/* ✅ Adequate tap target */.mobile-friendly-link {
padding: 12px;
font-size: 16px;
min-height: 48px;
min-width: 48px;
}
Font sizes
/* ❌ Too small on mobile */body {
font-size: 10px;
}
/* ✅ Readable without zooming */body {
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 1.5;
}
International SEO
Hreflang tags
<!-- For multi-language sites --><linkrel="alternate"hreflang="en"href="https://example.com/page"><linkrel="alternate"hreflang="es"href="https://example.com/es/page"><linkrel="alternate"hreflang="fr"href="https://example.com/fr/page"><linkrel="alternate"hreflang="x-default"href="https://example.com/page">
Language declaration
<htmllang="en"><!-- or --><htmllang="es-MX">
SEO audit checklist
Critical
HTTPS enabled
robots.txt allows crawling
No noindex on important pages
Title tags present and unique
Single <h1> per page
High priority
Meta descriptions present
Sitemap submitted
Canonical URLs set
Mobile-responsive
Core Web Vitals passing
Medium priority
Structured data implemented
Internal linking strategy
Image alt text
Descriptive URLs
Breadcrumb navigation
Ongoing
Fix crawl errors in Search Console
Update sitemap when content changes
Monitor ranking changes
Check for broken links
Review Search Console insights
Audit workflow
Baseline: run Lighthouse and PageSpeed on key templates (home, category, detail, blog).
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) focuses on making content discoverable and citable by AI agents (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews). While SEO targets rankings and clicks, AEO targets citations, mentions, and brand authority within AI-generated responses.
Key differences from SEO
SEO: Rank high → get clicks → drive traffic
AEO: Be cited → own the answer → build authority
SEO metric: Position, CTR, impressions
AEO metric: Citations, mentions, AI visibility score
SEO query: "best project management software"
AEO query: "What's the best project management software for a remote team of 15 with budget under $500/month?"
Market shift:
Gartner predicts 25% drop in traditional search volume by 2026 due to AI chatbots
400M+ people use OpenAI products weekly
58% of searches are now "zero-click" (answered directly in AI interface)
Content structure for AEO
Answer-first formatting:
<!-- ❌ SEO-style (context first) -->
## What is AEO?
In recent years, the rise of AI-powered search has transformed
how users discover information. This shift has created new
opportunities for brands. Answer Engine Optimization is...
<!-- ✅ AEO-style (answer first) -->
## What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring
content so AI systems can directly extract and cite answers.
It focuses on citations in AI responses rather than search rankings.
Unlike traditional SEO, AEO optimizes for conversational queries
and zero-click results where users get answers without visiting
your site.
Guidelines:
Lead with 40-60 word direct answer
Self-contained responses (AI extracts without surrounding context)
Conversational, natural language
Specific data > vague claims
Include quantified claims, dates, authoritative citations
Entity-based optimization:
<!-- ❌ Keyword-focused -->
"Our software helps teams collaborate better with features
for project management and communication."
<!-- ✅ Entity-focused -->
"Acme PM is a project management platform for remote teams.
Founded in 2020, serves 50,000+ companies. Key features:
Kanban boards, time tracking, Slack integration. Pricing:
$12/user/month."
Define who you are, what you do, and why AI should trust you.
Schema for AEO
Expand beyond SEO schema to optimize for AI extraction.
Critical schema types for AEO:
FAQPage (highest AI citation rate)
Template: references/json-ld-templates.md
FAQ answer guidelines for AEO:
40-60 words ideal (under 30 = lacks substance, over 80 = hard to extract)
Match visible H2/H3 headings to schema "name" property exactly
Why it matters: AI engines prioritize content from identifiable, authoritative sources. Use sameAs links to disambiguate your brand.
Product (for e-commerce AEO)
Template: references/json-ld-templates.md
Allows AI shopping modules to show accurate pricing, availability, reviews.
Platform-specific optimization
Different AI engines have different preferences. Balance all three for maximum citation probability.
ChatGPT:
Neutral, encyclopedia-style tone
Authoritative external citations
Specific data and quantified claims
Formal structure
Example: "According to a 2025 Gartner study, 78% of enterprises
adopted AI-powered search tools. The primary drivers were cost
reduction (cited by 62% of respondents) and improved accuracy
(58%). Source: Gartner AI Search Report 2025."
Perplexity:
Conversational, experience-driven
Practical examples and case studies
Community insights and real-world context
Less formal tone
Example: "Most teams start with the free tier and upgrade after
2-3 months once they've proven ROI. Based on feedback from 500+
customers, common triggers for upgrading include hitting user
limits or needing advanced reporting."
Example: "Updated February 2026: Current pricing starts at
$12/user/month (annual billing). Month-to-month adds 20%.
Education and nonprofit discounts available. No free tier
as of Q1 2026."
AEO measurement & tools
Metrics:
Citation frequency (how often AI mentions your brand)
