Technical SEO for the AI Era: Key Strategies

As search engines continue to evolve, the use of AI to understand and rank content grows more sophisticated. AI algorithms like Google’s BERT and RankBrain now process data with the ability to understand context, user intent, and site structure.

This means that ranking well in 2026 requires more than just traditional SEO tactics, like keyword optimization. It's also about making sure your site and its content are both structured in ways that both AI algorithms and human users can navigate seamlessly.

Technical SEO is the backbone of your site’s success. Strategies such as schema markup and ensuring your content is easily crawlable have always been important, but are now essential to enable search engines to understand your content more clearly. Websites that ignore the technical aspects of SEO risk falling behind as AI algorithms increasingly prioritize well-structured content that’s user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Optimizing Crawlability for AI-powered Search Engines

A crucial element of SEO that is even more important in the AI era is crawlability. For search engines leveraging AI, like Google, to properly index and rank your website, it must be accessible for crawlers. If your site structure is unclear or there are barriers to web crawlers, this may mean AI-driven algorithms will struggle to interpret your content correctly.

• Site architecture and URL structure: Keep your URLs clean, concise, logical, and user-friendly. A clear hierarchical site structure aids users' navigation and helps AI understand the relationships between your pages.
• XML sitemaps and robots.txt: Keep your XML sitemaps up to date and submit them to search engines to improve indexing efficiency. Your robots.txt file should also be correctly configured to ensure crawlers can access the most important parts of your site.
• LLMs.txt file considerations: As search engines continue to evolve, there's growing discussion in the industry about the potential benefits of an LLMs.txt file. This file could be used to guide AI algorithms in understanding the context of content more precisely, much like robots.txt guides search crawlers. However, the best practices for this file are still being debated, as the use of AI in search engine indexing is still developing. As of now, it's important to stay updated on the latest recommendations from SEO and AI development communities regarding its implementation.
• Reducing crawl errors: Regular audits using tools like Google Search Console or Screaming Frog can help identify and fix crawl errors like broken links and missing pages. This ensures that bots can navigate your site without obstacles.

Improving crawlability increases the chances of better indexing and ranking, as AI algorithms will be able to process your content more efficiently and improve your visibility in search results.

Using Schema Markup

Schema markup is one of the most effective ways to ensure your content is legible to AI tools and algorithms. It adds a layer of structured data to your pages, which provides search engines with detailed information about your content and helps them interpret it more easily.

Schema markup enhances various content types, including articles, reviews, products, or events. By adding structured data, you boost your chances of appearing in rich snippets and enhanced search results, improving visibility and click-through rates. For instance, implementing Article schema on a blog post helps search engines identify key details like the headline, author, and publication date, increasing the likelihood of appearing in featured snippets or knowledge panels.

Focus on implementing schema markup for crucial content like products, blog posts, and FAQs. Depending on your industry, other valuable schema types include LocalBusiness, Review, and Recipe.

By implementing schema markup, you help search engines (and AI algorithms) gain a clearer understanding of your content. It ultimately improves your rankings and visibility in search results.

To ensure that your schema markup is correctly implemented, you can test it with a schema validation tool like the Schema Markup Validator to identify issues before they affect your site's performance and visibility in search results. Regular testing ensures that your schema is optimised for both search engines and systems utilizing AI.

Key AI SEO Strategies to Improve AI Search Visibility

As AI reshapes the way people search, a range of new terms have emerged in response — including AI SEO, GEO, and AEO. While the labels vary, the core concept remains the same: structuring content in a way that helps systems leveraging AI to better understand, extract, and present answers from your site. Whether it’s a chatbot, a smart assistant, or Google’s AI-generated overviews, these systems rely on clarity, structure, and markup to determine what gets featured.

Businesses should approach these as overlapping strategies that all contribute to improving visibility in AI-driven search experiences. To maximize the chances of your website appearing in chatbot answers and overviews, you need to focus on structural elements that enhance AI extractability. In addition to schema markup, consider the following.

• Sequential heading structure: Ensure that your content follows a logical heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3). Keep paragraphs short. This allows AI algorithms to easily identify key sections, making it easier for your content to be extracted and cited.
• Lists and bullet points: Content that includes well-organised lists and bullet points makes it easier for AI systems to extract concise, actionable answers. Our analysis has shown that AI-driven engines favour pages that contain these features, as they help improve clarity and organization.To further optimise for AI, consider incorporating clear, concise and actionable summaries and takeaways at the end of key sections. This reinforces the core message and aids in ensuring that your content is easily digestible and ready for AI systems to feature in responses or overviews.

Mobile-First Indexing & Why it’s Crucial

Mobile-first indexing is now the standard, meaning Google and other search engines prioritise the mobile version of your website when determining rankings. As the majority of users access websites from mobile devices, it is essential to ensure your site is optimised for mobile-first indexing.

Here’s what you can do to optimise for mobile-first indexing:

• Responsive design: Ensure your website adapts to different screen sizes, offering a seamless experience across all devices.
• Mobile page speed: Speed is crucial for mobile users. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify ways to improve mobile device load times.
• Mobile-friendly content: Make sure your content is easy to read and navigate on small screens. This includes optimising font sizes, button placements, and layout.
• Testing for mobile usability: Google recommends using Chrome's Lighthouse tool to assess mobile usability. It offers detailed insight into mobile performance, including viewport configuration, font sizes, touch target sizes, and overall mobile-friendliness.

Google’s mobile-first indexing means that businesses with optimized mobile sites will have a competitive edge. As AI-driven search engines prioritise mobile-friendly content, mobile optimization is a key factor in maintaining high rankings.

AI-Powered Tools for Site Audits

Using AI-powered SEO tools can greatly enhance your technical SEO auditing process. AI is now used by tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush, and Ahrefs to automatically detect SEO problems like broken links, duplicate content, and slow websites. By suggesting enhancements based on AI-driven insights, these tools also assist you in optimising your website.

• AI tools for site audits: Use AI-powered platforms to run regular audits, ensuring that your website remains optimised for both humans and AI algorithms. These tools can provide reports on crawlability, indexing issues, and technical SEO problems.
• AI for keyword analysis: AI tools can also help you identify the best keywords for your content, based on search intent and competition. This helps you target the right audience and ensure your content ranks for the most relevant terms.

The Future of SEO: Preparing for an AI-Driven World

AI's role in SEO is set to grow even further as search engines continue to evolve. To stay competitive, businesses must adjust their strategies to align with these ongoing advancements in AI technology. It’s clear that focusing on user experience will be crucial as AI algorithms prioritise content that aligns with user intent. It's vital to ensure your website offers a seamless and valuable experience that meets the needs of your audience.

Leveraging AI-powered tools will also be essential for your marketing. Continuing to use these tools for regular audits, content optimization, and keyword analysis will help you stay ahead of the curve, making data-driven decisions more efficient and effective.

Staying agile is critical, too. Regularly updating your strategy to keep pace with emerging SEO trends can help ensure your website remains optimised and visible. By embracing AI-driven SEO techniques now, you can position your website for long-term success, well-prepared for future challenges in the SEO landscape.

About the Author

David Pagotto at SIXGUN

David Pagotto is the Founder and Managing Director of SIXGUN, an SEO and digital marketing agency based in Melbourne. He has been involved in digital marketing for over 10 years, helping organizations get more customers, more reach, and more impact.

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