Arrow Access & indexing
Check crawler access, indexing controls, structured data and sitemap reports.
A useful answer cannot be evaluated if the intended reader or search crawler cannot reach it. Work through the delivery, indexing and canonical checks separately. A successful technical check establishes readiness for discovery; selection as a source remains a different observation.
- Open the public page and inspect the returned content.
- Check crawler rules, indexing directives and the preferred URL.
- Verify the relevant engine’s discovery and indexing reports.
Your reading path
How do I check whether a crawler can access my page?
Check the response status, robots rules, index controls, canonical URL, meaningful HTML content and any firewall or login challenge. Allowing a crawler is one access condition, not proof that the page was indexed or cited. OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot for search separately from GPTBot for training.
What does “Success” mean for a sitemap in Search Console?
“Success” means Google fetched and read the submitted sitemap without errors. “Discovered pages” counts the page URLs parsed from that sitemap. Neither status confirms that all listed pages were crawled, indexed or shown in search results. Use the indexing reports and URL Inspection to investigate those later stages.
Does schema markup earn AI citations?
Structured data can describe supported facts on a page, but it must match the visible content. Google states that no special schema is required for its AI search features. Choose relevant markup for the page and validate it; do not treat the presence of FAQ schema as a recommendation score.
Should I add an llms.txt file?
Treat it as an optional file for tools that explicitly support it. Google says it does not use llms.txt for Search. A maintained sitemap, crawlable links, appropriate indexing controls and useful visible content should take priority. The existence of this file is not evidence of AI visibility.
How do you avoid duplicate content in an answer hub?
Give each distinct decision a clear primary page and combine questions that depend on the same answer. Use summaries to help navigation, with links to the complete source. Review existing URLs before generating new ones, and distinguish an editorial consolidation from the technical signals used to identify a preferred URL.