SEO Optimization

Search engine optimization based on Lighthouse SEO audits and Google Search guidelines. Focus on technical SEO, on-page optimization, and structured data.

Technical SEO

Crawlability

robots.txt:

text

# /robots.txt
User-agent: *
Allow: /

# Block admin/private areas
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /private/

# Don't block resources needed for rendering
# ❌ Disallow: /static/

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Meta robots:

html

<!-- Default: indexable, followable -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">

<!-- Noindex specific pages -->
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">

<!-- Indexable but don't follow links -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, nofollow">

<!-- Control snippets -->
<meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:150, max-image-preview:large">

Canonical URLs:

html

<!-- Prevent duplicate content issues -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page">

<!-- Self-referencing canonical (recommended) -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/current-page">

<!-- For paginated content -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/products">
<!-- Or use rel="prev" / rel="next" for explicit pagination -->

XML sitemap

xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
    <priority>1.0</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/products</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-14</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>

Sitemap best practices:

Maximum 50,000 URLs or 50MB per sitemap
Use sitemap index for larger sites
Include only canonical, indexable URLs
Update
```
lastmod
```
when content changes
Submit to Google Search Console

URL structure

✅ Good URLs:
https://example.com/products/blue-widget
https://example.com/blog/how-to-use-widgets

❌ Poor URLs:
https://example.com/p?id=12345
https://example.com/products/item/category/subcategory/blue-widget-2024-sale-discount

URL guidelines:

Use hyphens, not underscores
Lowercase only
Keep short (< 75 characters)
Include target keywords naturally
Avoid parameters when possible
Use HTTPS always

HTTPS & security

html

<!-- Ensure all resources use HTTPS -->
<img src="https://example.com/image.jpg">

<!-- Not: -->
<img src="http://example.com/image.jpg">

Security headers for SEO trust signals:

Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-Frame-Options: DENY

On-page SEO

Title tags

html

<!-- ❌ 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

html

<!-- ❌ Missing or duplicate -->
<meta name="description" content="">

<!-- ✅ Compelling and unique -->
<meta name="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%.">

Meta description guidelines:

150-160 characters
Include primary keyword naturally
Compelling call-to-action
Unique for every page
Matches page content

Heading structure

html

<!-- ❌ Poor structure -->
<h2>Welcome to Our Store</h2>
<h4>Products</h4>
<h1>Contact Us</h1>

<!-- ✅ Proper hierarchy -->
<h1>Blue Widgets - Premium Quality</h1>
  <h2>Product Features</h2>
    <h3>Durability</h3>
    <h3>Design</h3>
  <h2>Customer Reviews</h2>
  <h2>Pricing</h2>

Heading guidelines:

Single
```
<h1>
```
per page (the main topic)
Logical hierarchy (don't skip levels)
Include keywords naturally
Descriptive, not generic

Image SEO

html

<!-- ❌ Poor image SEO -->
<img src="IMG_12345.jpg">

<!-- ✅ Optimized image -->
<img src="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

html

<!-- ❌ Non-descriptive -->
<a href="/products">Click here</a>
<a href="/widgets">Read more</a>

<!-- ✅ Descriptive anchor text -->
<a href="/products/blue-widgets">Browse our blue widget collection</a>
<a href="/guides/widget-maintenance">Learn how to maintain your widgets</a>

Linking guidelines:

Descriptive anchor text with keywords
Link to relevant internal pages
Reasonable number of links per page
Fix broken links promptly
Use breadcrumbs for hierarchy

Structured data (JSON-LD)

Organization

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Company",
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "logo": "https://example.com/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/example",
    "https://linkedin.com/company/example"
  ],
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+1-555-123-4567",
    "contactType": "customer service"
  }
}
</script>

Article

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "How to Choose the Right Widget",
  "description": "Complete guide to selecting widgets for your needs.",
  "image": "https://example.com/article-image.jpg",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "url": "https://example.com/authors/jane-smith"
  },
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Example Blog",
    "logo": {
      "@type": "ImageObject",
      "url": "https://example.com/logo.png"
    }
  },
  "datePublished": "2024-01-15",
  "dateModified": "2024-01-20"
}
</script>

Product

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Blue Widget Pro",
  "image": "https://example.com/blue-widget.jpg",
  "description": "Premium blue widget with advanced features.",
  "brand": {
    "@type": "Brand",
    "name": "WidgetCo"
  },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "49.99",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
    "url": "https://example.com/products/blue-widget"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.8",
    "reviewCount": "1250"
  }
}
</script>

FAQ

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What colors are available?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Our widgets come in blue, red, and green."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is the warranty?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "All widgets include a 2-year warranty."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Breadcrumbs

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 1,
      "name": "Home",
      "item": "https://example.com"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 2,
      "name": "Products",
      "item": "https://example.com/products"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 3,
      "name": "Blue Widgets",
      "item": "https://example.com/products/blue-widgets"
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Validation

Test structured data at:

Mobile SEO

Responsive design

html

<!-- ❌ Not mobile-friendly -->
<meta name="viewport" content="width=1024">

<!-- ✅ Responsive viewport -->
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

Tap targets

css

/* ❌ 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

css

/* ❌ Too small on mobile */
body {
  font-size: 10px;
}

/* ✅ Readable without zooming */
body {
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.5;
}

International SEO

Hreflang tags

html

<!-- For multi-language sites -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/page">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://example.com/es/page">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/page">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page">

Language declaration

html

<html lang="en">
<!-- or -->
<html lang="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).
Crawl: verify indexability, canonicals, and duplicate content (use Search Console + crawler).
Fix blockers:
```
noindex
```
,
```
robots.txt
```
, canonical mismatches, redirect chains.
On-page: titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal linking, image alt.
Structured data: add JSON-LD and validate rich results.
Re-verify: re-run Lighthouse/PageSpeed and check Search Console coverage.

Common pitfalls

```
noindex
```
or
```
X-Robots-Tag
```
accidentally set on important pages
```
robots.txt
```
blocks CSS/JS or critical render resources
Canonical points to a different URL than the one indexed
Mixed
```
http
```
/
```
https
```
or
```
www
```
/non-
```
www
```
causing duplicate content
Redirect chains/loops (waste crawl budget and slow page load)
Parameterized URLs indexable (filters, sort, UTM) without canonical control
JavaScript-rendered content not visible in initial HTML
Soft 404s (200 status with "not found" content)
Sitemap includes non-canonical or
```
noindex
```
URLs
Hreflang tags missing reciprocal links or using wrong language/region codes

Tools

Tool	Use
Google Search Console	Monitor indexing, fix issues
Google PageSpeed Insights	Performance + Core Web Vitals
Rich Results Test	Validate structured data
Lighthouse	Full SEO audit
Screaming Frog	Crawl analysis

Scripts (optional)

Scripts under

scripts/

for repeatable audits:

```
scripts/lighthouse.sh
```
: run Lighthouse CLI against a URL or URL list and store JSON reports.
```
scripts/pagespeed.sh
```
: call PageSpeed Insights API with
```
curl
```
and capture JSON output.
```
scripts/search-console-export.mjs
```
: export Search Console Search Analytics data (requires OAuth access token).

Example usage:

bash

# Lighthouse (SEO category only)
scripts/lighthouse.sh https://example.com
scripts/lighthouse.sh urls.txt reports/lighthouse

# PageSpeed Insights API (requires PAGESPEED_API_KEY)
PAGESPEED_API_KEY=... scripts/pagespeed.sh https://example.com
PAGESPEED_API_KEY=... scripts/pagespeed.sh urls.txt reports/pagespeed

# Search Console API (requires GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN)
GSC_ACCESS_TOKEN=... scripts/search-console-export.mjs https://example.com 2024-01-01 2024-01-31

AEO / AI Visibility Optimization

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:

markdown

<!-- ❌ 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:

markdown

<!-- ❌ 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
Include specific numbers, dates, and data
Self-contained (makes sense without context)
Natural question phrasing (how users actually ask)

Author + Organization (trust signals)
- Template:
```
references/json-ld-templates.md
```

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

markdown

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

markdown

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."

Google AI Overviews:

E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust)
Fresh content with recent dates
Featured snippet-friendly formatting
Mobile-optimized structure

markdown

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)
Visibility score (presence across AI platforms)
Context quality (positive/neutral/negative sentiment)
Source attribution (which URLs AI cites)

Tracking AI referral traffic:

In Google Analytics 4, filter traffic sources:

```
chat.openai.com
```
(ChatGPT)
```
perplexity.ai
```
```
gemini.google.com
```
```
copilot.microsoft.com
```

Monitor these as separate acquisition sources.

Use your preferred AEO monitoring tool to track citation frequency, context, and source attribution.

AEO audit checklist

Content audit

All key pages have 40-60 word direct answers upfront
FAQ sections with self-contained answers
Conversational language matching natural queries
Specific data (numbers, dates, sources) not vague claims
Author bios and organization info visible
Content updated with recent dates (freshness)

Schema audit

FAQPage schema on FAQ/guide pages
Author schema on all articles/blogs
Organization schema site-wide
Product schema on product pages (if e-commerce)
Article schema with datePublished/dateModified
Schema matches visible content exactly (no hidden markup)
Validate with Google Rich Results Test

Technical audit

JSON-LD format (preferred by AI engines)
Schema.org standards compliance
No conflicting or duplicate schema
Fast page load (AI crawlers prefer fast sites)
Clean HTML structure (semantic headings)
Mobile-optimized (especially for Google AI Overviews)

Entity & authority signals

Clear brand identity (who you are, what you do)
Consistent NAP (name, address, phone) across web
```
sameAs
```
links to LinkedIn, Twitter, official profiles
External citations and backlinks from authoritative sources
Active presence on review platforms
Google Business Profile optimized (local businesses)

AI visibility monitoring

Test top 10-20 commercial queries monthly
Track AI referral traffic in GA4
Monitor brand mentions across AI platforms
Check citation context (positive/neutral/negative)
Verify factual accuracy of AI responses about your brand
Set up alerts for visibility changes (if using paid tools)

References

Google Search Central
Schema.org
Core Web Vitals
Web Quality Audit

seo-aeo-audit

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

SEO Optimization

Technical SEO

Crawlability

XML sitemap

URL structure

HTTPS & security

On-page SEO

Title tags

Meta descriptions

Heading structure

Image SEO

Internal linking

Structured data (JSON-LD)

Organization

Article

Product

FAQ

Breadcrumbs

Validation

Mobile SEO

Responsive design

Tap targets

Font sizes

International SEO

Hreflang tags

Language declaration

SEO audit checklist

Critical

High priority

Medium priority

Ongoing

Audit workflow

Common pitfalls

Tools

Scripts (optional)

AEO / AI Visibility Optimization

Key differences from SEO

Content structure for AEO

Schema for AEO

Platform-specific optimization

AEO measurement & tools

AEO audit checklist

Content audit

Schema audit

Technical audit

Entity & authority signals

AI visibility monitoring

References