# Technical Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Checklist This checklist focuses on the technical implementation of a website to maximize its usefulness to AI search engines, AI assistants, and LLM-powered retrieval systems. Unlike traditional SEO, the emphasis is on making information easily discoverable, understandable, and quotable. ## 1. Crawlability ### Allow AI crawlers access - Verify `robots.txt` does not unintentionally block AI crawlers. - Review crawler-specific directives. - Test accessibility from outside your network. ### Verify - robots.txt returns HTTP 200 - No accidental Disallow rules - Important content is crawlable --- ### Publish an llms.txt file An llms.txt file should provide a curated table of contents of the site's most valuable information. Verify: - Exists at `/llms.txt` - Valid Markdown - Contains concise summaries - Links to canonical URLs - Updated regularly - Human curated --- ### (Optional) Publish llms-full.txt If appropriate: - Long-form documentation - API references - Product manuals - Knowledge base articles ## 2. Information Architecture ### Create topic clusters Avoid isolated pages. Instead create: ``` Product ├── Features ├── Documentation ├── FAQ ├── Tutorials ├── Examples └── API ``` Verify: - Every important page links to related pages - Hub pages exist - Deep pages are discoverable --- ### Maintain shallow click depth Important information should ideally be within: - 3 clicks from homepage Verify: - No orphan pages - Breadcrumbs enabled - HTML navigation available ## 3. Structured Content ### Use semantic HTML Prefer ``` ``` Avoid excessive div nesting. --- ### Use descriptive headings Good ``` ## WordPress REST API Authentication ## Pricing Plans ## Installation ``` Poor ``` ## More ## Information ## Details ``` --- ### One topic per page Each page should answer one major question. Avoid: - mixed subjects - multiple unrelated products - scattered documentation ## 4. Markdown Availability LLMs consistently perform well with Markdown. Verify: - Markdown version exists - rel="alternate" links provided - Clean heading hierarchy - Lists preserved - Tables preserved - Code blocks preserved ## 5. Metadata ### Unique page titles Avoid duplicates. --- ### Useful meta descriptions Not for rankings— For summarization. --- ### Canonical URLs Every page should specify: ``` ``` --- ### Open Graph Provide - title - description - image Many AI systems ingest Open Graph metadata. ## 6. Content Quality ### Answer questions directly Start pages with: - definition - explanation - answer Avoid long introductions. --- ### Include definitions Every important concept should have a concise definition. Example: > Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of structuring and curating web content so AI systems can accurately discover, understand, and cite it. --- ### Use factual language Avoid unnecessary marketing language. Prefer - specifications - examples - documentation - facts --- ### Include examples Good pages contain: - examples - screenshots - code - tables - comparisons ## 7. Authority Signals ### Show authorship Include: - author - organization - publication date - update date --- ### Cite sources Whenever possible: - standards - specifications - research - documentation --- ### Maintain current information Review pages regularly. Outdated technical content reduces trust. ## 8. Internal Linking Verify: - Contextual links - Related articles - Documentation references - Product links - FAQ links Avoid orphan pages. ## 9. Performance ### Fast page load Target - Core Web Vitals - HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 - Compression - CDN --- ### Minimize JavaScript dependency Critical content should exist in HTML. Avoid requiring JavaScript to render primary content. ## 10. Machine Readability ### Clean HTML Avoid - malformed markup - duplicate IDs - deeply nested DOM --- ### Consistent URL structure Example ``` /docs/ /docs/install/ /docs/api/ /docs/tutorials/ ``` --- ### Stable URLs Avoid changing URLs unnecessarily. Maintain redirects. ## 11. Images Verify: - Descriptive alt text -Captions - Relevant filenames Example ``` wordpress-llms-plugin-settings.png ``` instead of ``` IMG_23884.png ``` ## 12. Documentation Technical documentation should include: - Introduction - Requirements - Installation - Configuration - Examples - Troubleshooting - FAQ ## 13. APIs If applicable: - Endpoint documentation - Authentication - Examples - Error codes - Rate limits ## 14. Freshness Review: - documentation - pricing - screenshots - examples - API references Outdated examples are frequently surfaced by LLMs. ## 15. AI-Friendly Formatting Prefer: - Short paragraphs - Bullet lists - Numbered steps - Comparison tables - Clear headings - FAQ sections Avoid: - Walls of text - Multiple concepts per paragraph ## 16. Schema Markup Implement structured data where appropriate: - Organization - Article - FAQPage - Product - SoftwareApplication - BreadcrumbList - HowTo - WebPage Validate with schema testing tools. ## 17. Security Verify: - HTTPS everywhere - No mixed content - Valid certificates - Secure redirects ## 18. Monitoring Track: - AI crawler visits - Referral traffic from AI platforms - llms.txt requests - Markdown requests - Crawl errors - 404s - Server logs Monitor user agents from platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI services to understand how they access your content. ## 19. WordPress-Specific GEO For WordPress sites: - Generate a curated `llms.txt` file - Create Markdown versions of important content - Expose Markdown using `rel="alternate"` where available - Keep XML sitemaps current - Use descriptive permalinks - Eliminate thin archive pages where appropriate - Maintain accurate categories and tags - Optimize media metadata (alt text, captions, filenames) - Ensure custom post types intended for AI discovery are publicly accessible ## 20. GEO Audit Scorecard ☐ CategoryStatusAI crawlability ☐ robots.txt configured ☐ llms.txt published ☐ Markdown available ☐ Semantic HTML ☐ Structured headings ☐ Internal linking ☐ Canonical URLs ☐ Schema markup ☐ Performance optimized ☐ Machine-readable content ☐ Documentation complete ☐ Images optimized ☐ Security (HTTPS) ☐ AI crawler monitoring ☐ WordPress GEO configuration ### Goal The goal of technical GEO is not simply to make pages crawlable, but to make them easy for AI systems to parse, understand, retrieve, and accurately cite. A technically optimized site combines strong information architecture, machine-readable formatting, curated discovery resources such as `llms.txt`, and high-quality, well-maintained content to improve its visibility in AI-powered search and answer generation.