about

who it is for

Anyone who wants to understand how search works, whatever they already know. Nothing here assumes a job title or a level of experience, so the pages that make sense to start with depend on where you are.

• New to SEO. Start with SEO Basics, which explains what search engines do and what the different types of SEO are for. If you want the topics in the order they build on each other, follow the learning path.
• Know the basics, want to see how it works underneath. Technical SEO covers crawling, indexing and rendering, the parts of a site that decide whether the rest of the work is ever seen.
• Have a site and need to know what to fix. The SEO audit guide walks through the checks in order, and the pages it links to explain each finding.
• Practising SEO, getting to grips with AI. AI Search covers what changes when the answer is synthesised rather than ranked, and what stays the same.
• Handed a specific problem. The guides are task-shaped: a migration, a page that will not index, a recovery after a drop. Each one pulls the relevant articles together in one place.

how the handbook is organised

page types

• Topics are the headings on the homepage, such as Technical SEO or AI Search. Each topic page introduces the area and lists the pages within it, grouped into sub-sections.
• Articles sit inside a topic and explain one thing in depth: what it is, how it works, and what to do about it. Search intent is a typical one.
• Guides in the resources section are longer and task-shaped: an audit, a migration, a checklist, a learning path. They pull from several topics at once.
• News covers changes to AI search, Google and SEO tools as they happen, with sources and further reading.

useful stuff

• Search the whole handbook:
• Glossary gives a short definition of the terms the site uses, most linking to the page that covers them.
• A quick gander is the summary at the top of every article. It states the page's conclusion and the one or two facts needed to act on it.
• Footnotes on articles and guides link claims to their sources, usually the platform's own documentation. News articles carry a sources list at the bottom instead.
• See also at the end of an article is a hand-picked one to three pages worth reading next, as distinct from the sidebar, which lists everything in the topic.

topic badges

• advanced This topic is technically demanding. You'll likely need developer input, a strong technical SEO background, or both.

  Technically demanding. Expect to need developer input, a strong technical SEO background, or both.

• fast-moving Aspects of this topic move quickly, often due to AI advancements. Specifics may have shifted since it was last updated.

  The specifics move quickly, often because of AI. Check the page's date before relying on a detail.

• experimental Guidance here is based on early signals, emerging patterns and proposed standards rather than established evidence.

  The guidance rests on early signals, emerging patterns, or proposed standards rather than established evidence.

• google specific This topic is specific to Google and guidance applies to Google's systems. Other search engines and AI platforms may behave differently.

  The advice applies to Google's systems. Other search engines and AI platforms may behave differently.

• deprecated topic The feature, tool, or practice this page covers no longer exists or is no longer supported. The page explains what was removed and what replaced it.

  The feature, tool, or practice the whole page covers no longer exists. The page explains what was removed and what replaced it.

• deprecated feature A feature or tool covered on this page has been deprecated. Affected sections are clearly identified throughout.

  Something covered on the page has been deprecated, but the topic still stands. The affected sections are marked.

what it is not

• Not a tool review site. Tools are named where they are the ones in use. There are no comparisons, no rankings, and no affiliate links.
• Not an agency's content marketing. Nothing here leads to a sales page.
• Not a news aggregator. The news section covers what changes practice, and skips what does not.
• Not a substitute for the platforms' own documentation. Where Google, Bing, or an AI platform documents its own behaviour, the page links to it.

where it stands

• AI search is neither all new nor SEO rebranded. The goal has changed, from a ranked position to inclusion in an answer, and the unit has changed, from the page to the passage. The work that earns it has not: accuracy, clear structure, direct answers, credible authorship, cited sources. Why.
• GEO, AEO, LLMO and AI SEO name the same work. The site uses GEO and treats the rest as synonyms. Why there are so many names.
• Google speaks for Google. A Google statement describes Google's systems, not the industry. Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude each retrieve differently, and each is sourced from its own documentation. How AI search works.

how it's made

This site is a one-person project, published for free, with no advertising, no sponsors, and no affiliate relationships. AI is used in the content production, including research, drafting, and editing. More detail on how the process works is on the methodology page.

What has been built so far, and what is coming next, is on the changelog.