A business website should make it easy to understand what you offer, check whether it is a good fit and take the next step. That remains a useful starting point when planning for both SEO and AI search. Before commissioning another optimisation package, review the pages a prospective customer would actually read.
GEO, or generative engine optimisation, describes work aimed at visibility in AI search experiences. Google’s guidance on AI features keeps established SEO practices at the centre. This article focuses on those website foundations; Google’s documentation should not be treated as a description of every other AI service.
Make each service understandable on its own
Open one service page without looking at the homepage first. Could someone explain the offer after reading it? A useful page names the service, identifies the customer or problem it suits, describes the scope and explains how an enquiry progresses.
For example, “Digital experiences that transform your future” leaves important questions unanswered. A more useful introduction might say: “Custom WordPress websites for service businesses, covering page structure, visual design and development.” The rest of the page can explain content responsibilities, review stages and what needs a separate estimate. Publish only the scope you actually offer.
Keep this information in readable page text. A beautiful image can support the message, but the image should not be the only place that explains the service. Link related offers with descriptive wording so visitors can compare them without guessing what an unfamiliar label means.
Check that important pages can be reached
Google’s technical requirements start with access: its crawler must be able to reach a working page with indexable content. Passing those requirements makes a page eligible; it does not guarantee indexing.
For a small business site, a practical review includes:
- Important pages open successfully without a login or an error.
- Navigation and relevant text links lead to the pages you want people to find.
- Live service pages are not accidentally marked
noindex. - Canonical URLs identify the intended page rather than an old domain or a preview address.
- Private drafts and demonstration websites have an intentional indexing policy.
A local preview can help test these details before launch, but it cannot establish that a public search engine has indexed the finished site. After deployment, repeat the checks on the actual domain, including any hosting rules that may affect access.
Give readers evidence they can examine
A service claim becomes more useful when someone can inspect the reasoning behind it. Instead of adding more adjectives, show a relevant example, explain a decision or identify a limitation.
Consider a website redesign example. A short case note could describe the original navigation problem, show how the page structure changed and explain why the new enquiry route is easier to follow. If no conversion study was conducted, leave out percentage improvements. A clearly labelled concept project can demonstrate design thinking without being presented as a completed client engagement.
Google’s helpful content guidance asks whether a page contributes original information or analysis and gives readers reasons to trust it. For a service business, useful material might include a sample deliverable, an explanation of a platform choice or a comparison based on the work involved. State assumptions and link to the original documentation when describing a platform feature.
At Fovoya, we want our service pages to make the proposed work understandable before a conversation begins. A specific explanation of what a page needs is more useful than a promise that an AI system will recommend it.
Keep metadata and structured data consistent
Write a distinct title and a concise description for each important page. Use headings that help readers follow the subject. Check that the page still makes sense on a phone and that key information remains available when animations are skipped.
Where structured data is appropriate, it should describe the content and business accurately. Google’s structured data guidelines require relevant, representative information; valid markup does not guarantee a rich result.
There is no special AI schema to install for Google’s generative search features. Its AI optimisation guide also says that Google Search does not use llms.txt for visibility or rankings. Other systems may have different documentation, so assess a proposed technical addition against a named system and a clear purpose.
Separate the work from the outcome
You can control the accuracy of your service descriptions, the quality of your examples, your internal links and your website’s technical configuration. You can also record what changed and why, making future reviews more useful.
You cannot choose whether an AI answer appears for a particular question, which sources it includes or the wording it produces. Google’s AI features documentation explains that responses and supporting links can vary. Improving a website is a concrete deliverable; guaranteed citations or recommendations are not.
Prepare a useful review after launch
Once the public site is ready, review its Search Console verification, current AI feature settings and available performance reports against Google’s current guidance. Agree on the customer actions worth observing, such as relevant enquiries, before interpreting traffic totals.
Keep a dated change log. Compare the pages and questions attracting visitors with the services you intend to sell. A single screenshot of an AI answer is an observation at one moment, not evidence of a lasting position. Use repeated observations and customer behaviour to decide what to improve next.
Start with one important service page: clarify its scope, add one useful example, check its links and confirm its indexing settings. Our SEO and AI search services can help organise that work. If you are unsure where your website needs attention, tell us about your site and the customers it should serve.