AI + Google Ready Website - Master Checklist (2026)

1. Core Tech Stack

• HTTP/2 + HTTP/3 (QUIC)
• TLS 1.3 + OCSP stapling
• TTFB < 200 ms
• Full page cache
• Object cache
• Edge cache (Cloudflare / Bunny / Fastly)
• Zero downtime deploys
• Stable uptime (99.9%+)

2. Frontend (AI-Readable)

• Semantic HTML5 (header, main, article, section, nav)
• Clean DOM (low depth)
• Minimal JS (no render blocking)
• CSS architecture (BEM / utility / variables)
• Predictable layout (definitions top, FAQ bottom)
• No UI noise (popups, autoplay, walls)

3. Backend

• PHP 8.3+ / Node / Go (stable)
• Stateless architecture
• Clean URLs
• Strict security headers
• JSON-first mindset
• Versioned endpoints

4. Technical SEO

• robots.txt (custom, not default)
• XML sitemaps: pages, images, videos, news (if relevant)
• Canonical tags (no duplicates)
• No orphan pages
• Correct hreflang
• Core Web Vitals: LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1

5. Entity Engineering (Not Classic SEO)

• Clear entity definition
• Organization / Person schema
• sameAs (socials, GitHub, Discord)
• Entity verification page (/about/entity)
• Stable naming everywhere
• One brand = one meaning

6. Structured Data (JSON-LD)

• WebSite
• Organization / Person
• Article / BlogPosting
• BreadcrumbList
• FAQPage
• HowTo
• Product / SoftwareApplication
• Game / VideoGame / Server
• inLanguage
• audience
• version / dateModified

7. Content AI Can Cite

• Author entity (bio + socials)
• Fact-first paragraphs
• Explicit definitions
• Sources and references
• Versioning and changelog
• Last reviewed date
• No clickbait
• No PR tone
• No affiliate noise

8. E-E-A-T (Real)

• Experience (real usage, screenshots)
• Expertise (technical accuracy)
• Authority (mentions over links)
• Trust (HTTPS, contact, legal, transparency)

9. AI-Friendly Content Layer

• "In short" sections
• Answer blocks
• TL;DR
• Tables and lists
• Citable paragraphs
• One intent per page
• Explicit boundaries (what this is / is not)

10. Machine-Readable Layer

• Public JSON endpoints: /ai/summary.json, /ai/facts.json, /ai/faq.json
• Structured facts
• No metaphors
• Stable keys

11. AI Metadata (Experimental)

• ai:intent
• ai:confidence
• ai:update-cycle
• usageInfo
• audience

12. AI Crawler Control

• Smart robots.txt (allow /ai/, /docs/)
• X-Robots-Tag for AI
• No blanket blocking
• Clear crawl rules

13. Multi-Language Consistency

• No auto-translate
• Same structure across languages
• Same entities
• Language-specific facts
• Correct hreflang and schema

14. Temporal Trust Signals

• Stable URLs
• Long-lived pages
• Regular updates
• Historical changelogs
• Content longevity

15. Entity Graph Density

• Strong internal linking
• Hierarchical topics
• Glossary
• Reference pages
• Documentation sections

16. Failure and Transparency

• Known issues
• Limitations
• Deprecated features
• Explained 404s
• Honest error pages

17. Silent Authority Signals

• Consistent terminology
• No oversimplification
• Assumed reader competence
• Neutral tone
• No hype language

18. Non-Performative Content

• Pages that explain, define, and document
• No selling
• No CTAs
• Pure facts

19. AI Feedback Loop

• Track AI referrals
• Track cited pages
• Optimize for real questions
• Expand answers AI already uses

20. Experimental / Edge

• llms.txt
• Knowledge isolation (/docs, /reference)
• Entity aliases mapping
• Stable anchor terms
• Intent purity enforcement

21. Extra AI Signals People Forget

• URL stability over years
• Identical facts across formats (HTML / JSON / Schema)
• Absence of contradictions
• Consistent writing style (linguistic fingerprint)
• No content cannibalization
• No mixed intent pages
• Predictable information placement
• Low ad density or none
• Clear ownership and accountability