With AI bots (such as those from Grok, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic) now accounting for a significant portion of web traffic—up to 30% in some estimates—the focus of SEO has shifted. Personally, I think it is higher than 30%, which is why this information is so important.
Read Jono’s article to get inside the head of what AI is looking for.
Traditional ranking factors remain vital, but you must also optimize for AI-driven search engines and generative AI responses (e.g., Google’s AI Overviews or ChatGPT summaries). This means ensuring your site is crawlable by AI bots, structured for easy content extraction, and positioned as an authoritative source to avoid being overshadowed by AI-generated content.
Where do you think AI gets all its info to answer your questions? Websites for one. Basically, you want to make that easier for them when they arrive at your website.
The longer you wait to embrace this new reality, the taller that hill is going to be to climb. So let’s start now, then we don’t have to play catch-up.
No time like the present…
This checklist is tailored for WordPress sites, drawing on best practices as of September 2025. Keep in mind, though, that this arena is constantly evolving rapidly, so best practices today may differ in the near future. And probably will.
Although AI may seem new, it is impacting SEO. We can no longer expect results without understanding the new rules of the road.
I’ve organized this checklist into easy-to-consume categories for clarity. You can utilize these tips in conjunction with commonly used plugins, such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or AIOSEO, to enhance your efforts.
Keeping in mind that you always want to test changes and monitor impacts via Google Analytics or Search Console. Then, proceed accordingly.
Get your site verified by search engines via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Set up Google Analytics to track organic traffic, AI referrals (e.g., from chat.openai.com), and key metrics such as bounce rate.
Install an SEO plugin (e.g., Yoast or AIOSEO) to handle sitemaps, robots.txt files, and basic SEO optimizations. I’ve been using Yoast Premium on this site since its inception.
Enable GZIP compression and use a CDN (e.g., Cloudflare) for faster global delivery.
Minify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to reduce file sizes. I use Hummingbird.
Update your site’s robots.txt file to explicitly allow key AI crawlers: GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, Google-Extended, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, CCBot, Bingbot, and Bytespider.
Implement an experimental llms.txt file in your site’s root directory to guide AI bots to priority content (e.g., list URLs of core articles or guides).
Monitor crawler logs and AI referral traffic. You may need to look into throttling if bots overload your server.
Avoid JavaScript-only content; use server-side rendering (e.g., via plugins like WP Rocket) so AI bots can parse it without issues.
Check for and resolve indexing issues in Google Search Console, ensuring no “noindex” tags are applied to valuable pages.
Utilize caching plugins (e.g., WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache) and image optimization tools (e.g., ShortPixel) to achieve load times under 2 seconds—this is critical because AI bots often have short timeouts.
Compress images and always add alt text; I use Smush. Upload large media to third-party platforms like YouTube for videos to reduce your server’s load. You can then embed the link on your website to use YouTube’s resources to display the video.
Implement lazy loading for images and videos, ensuring it’s not dependent on JavaScript for AI crawlers.
4. On-Page SEO
Conduct keyword research using tools like Semrush or AIOSEO’s suggestions; focus on long-tail, question-based, and conversational keywords that match AI queries your site can answer.
Include target keywords in URLs, H1 tags, first 150 words, and meta titles/descriptions.
Use short, descriptive URLs and front-load keywords in titles.
Add internal links with keyword-rich anchor text to build topical clusters.
Enable breadcrumbs for better navigation and context.
Publish high-quality, original content. Avoid over-reliance on AI-generated text—you need to reflect “you”, not some regurgitated resources accumulated for you on request. Instead, focus on showing your personality with expert insights, case studies, and unique data and perspectives to stand out in an AI-saturated landscape.
Structure content for AI extraction: Think of an inverted pyramid (key info first), short paragraphs (15-20 words), bulleted lists, and self-contained sections under clear headings.
Incorporate descriptive captions and alt text on all multimedia (images, videos, infographics).
Create Topic Clusters: Develop hub pages that link to detailed subtopics for comprehensive coverage. It’s as easy as sketching these out on a pad of paper to get a visual of how things should logically flow.
Update content regularly with “last updated” dates and conduct quarterly audits to keep it current.
Use Q&A formats, FAQs, and How To sections to match direct-answer AI responses.
If you are up to the challenge (I haven’t been for a while), you can enable manual comment approval to help build quality and engagement.
6. Structured Data and Schema Markup
Implement schema (e.g., Article, FAQ, HowTo, Organization) using plugins like Yoast to help AI bots understand content, authorship, and entities.
Add E-E-A-T signals: Detailed author bios, citations to sources, testimonials, and organization schema to build trust for AI citations.
7. Link Building and Authority
Try to build backlinks through guest posting, PR content, and turning mentions into links. This is much harder than it sounds and is both time-consuming and expensive, especially when contracting with a provider for these services. Be on the lookout for opportunities that present themselves, and seize them.
Monitor your backlink profile and fix broken links at least once a month.
Use internal linking to connect related content. Again, this helps create topic clusters and hubs.
Check for keyword cannibalization and set low-value pages to “noindex”. Keyword cannibalization is when multiple pages on a website overuse the same keyword(s) and are basically repetitive. The result is they dilute each other’s search engine rankings.
8. Monitoring, Tools, and AI Integration
Regularly track keyword rankings, traffic changes, and AI visibility. You have to try to become a data nerd. You can’t make your next move if you don’t understand what is currently going on.
Use AI SEO tools: For example, I use Yoast AI Optimize for meta tweaks.
Always human-review AI suggestions for accuracy and quality. Read everything — twice.
By following this checklist, your WordPress site has a chance not only to build rankings in traditional SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) but also to become a preferred source for AI bots. Give the bots what they are looking for, and you can enhance visibility. Start now.
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