Technical GEO begins with ordinary web fundamentals. If a crawler cannot reach an important page, a canonical points somewhere else or the useful content exists only after fragile client-side behavior, sophisticated “AI optimization” advice is premature.
1. Verify successful public responses
Important public URLs should return the intended 200 response. Remove redirect chains and fix accidental 404 or server errors. Make sure security systems do not challenge legitimate crawlers with authentication or CAPTCHAs on public content.
2. Review robots.txt
Allow the crawlers appropriate to your publishing goals and block private application areas that should not be crawled.
For Google AI features, normal Googlebot controls apply because Google says there are no separate technical requirements beyond Search eligibility. OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search discovery. Perplexity documents PerplexityBot for search results.
Do not copy a generic robots.txt template without understanding what each rule permits.
3. Check indexability
Review meta robots and HTTP X-Robots-Tag headers. Public pages intended for search should not accidentally carry noindex. Private dashboards, login flows and internal reports generally should not become search landing pages.
Use Search Console URL Inspection for Google-specific indexing diagnostics.
4. Normalize canonical URLs
Choose one canonical hostname and protocol. Redirect HTTP and alternate hostnames consistently. Give indexable pages self-referencing canonicals unless there is a deliberate duplicate relationship.
Canonical mistakes can cause search engines to consolidate a page away from the URL you expected to rank.
5. Keep important content available as text
Google recommends making important content available in textual form for its AI features. Server-rendered or reliably rendered content also reduces dependence on complex browser execution for discovery.
Check what a crawler receives, not only what a fully hydrated browser eventually displays.
6. Maintain clean internal links
Important commercial pages and pillar guides should be reachable through normal HTML links. Supporting articles should point to the relevant pillar and product page. Avoid orphan pages created solely for a sitemap.
A topical cluster should help humans navigate a subject, not merely manufacture graph edges for crawlers.
7. Keep sitemaps clean
Include canonical, indexable public URLs. Exclude redirects, private application routes and accidental noindex pages. Update the sitemap as new scheduled articles become public.
Sitemaps help discovery; they do not guarantee indexing.
8. Use structured data accurately
Add structured data that describes visible content and follows the requirements of the relevant search feature. Do not create fictional reviews, ratings or organization facts for markup.
Google specifically says no special schema.org structured data is required to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.
9. Check page experience
Mobile usability, performance and layout stability matter to users even when the immediate project is called GEO. Fix unusable navigation, intrusive overlays and slow critical content.
A page technically available to a crawler but miserable for people is not a publishing victory.
10. Review crawler infrastructure
CDNs, WAFs and bot protection can block a crawler even when robots.txt allows it. OpenAI's publisher guidance notes that infrastructure must allow its crawler traffic where discovery is desired.
Review server logs and status codes rather than assuming robots.txt is the entire access layer.
11. Keep public facts consistent
Company name, product naming, contact information and important specifications should be consistent across core pages. Correct contradictory or stale public information.
12. Test after deployment
Re-fetch key pages, inspect response headers, validate schema and re-check internal links after changes reach production. Technical SEO and GEO work has a charming habit of failing at the final redirect.
Use AI Readiness for the technical audit product and Generative Engine Optimization Tool for the wider measurement workflow.
For strategy, return to the complete GEO guide.