As vibe coding becomes commonplace, even without using web builders, there's a growing trend of non-developers without coding knowledge creating websites with AI. Individuals are building personal homepages, such as portfolio sites, while companies are using AI tools to create corporate websites to reduce costs. A variety of related tools are available. Lovable, Claude Code, Cursor, and Google AI Studio are among the prominent vibe coding tools.
However, while it might be acceptable for a personal website, creating a corporate website with AI should not end with its generation and publication. It is crucial to ensure the website functions correctly through a Quality Assurance (QA) process. Failing to dedicate sufficient time to refine the website could result in a negative user experience for visitors and potentially prevent it from being indexed by Google and AI search engines.
Today, we will outline a website optimization checklist that Elephant Company actively utilizes for self-diagnosis to optimize AI-generated websites for SEO/GEO post-creation.
What are the potential drawbacks of AI website development?
When considering AI website creation due to limited development resources or the burden of outsourcing costs, doubts often arise regarding the practical applicability of corporate websites built with vibe coding for actual business operations. The primary drawbacks of using AI tools for corporate website development can be summarized into two main points.
First, achieving design differentiation can be challenging, potentially compromising brand identity.
Firstly, websites generated rapidly using AI tools often struggle with design differentiation. Just as content written by ChatGPT is often perceived as 'AI-generated' due to its distinctive style, corporate websites created with vibe coding similarly find it challenging to avoid the perception of being 'AI-made.' Considering that a website serves as the face of our organization, reflecting its brand identity, a corporate website exclusively developed through vibe coding may diminish credibility.
Second, complex SEO configurations can hinder organic customer acquisition.
Websites developed with AI present challenges for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is either because vibe coding platforms do not support SEO-related configurations, or because website optimization must be meticulously performed through a Quality Assurance (QA) process.
Indeed, among Elephant Company's clients who underwent website optimization, there were instances where SEO performance declined after developing corporate websites using AI tools. For example, they encountered the following issues:
😢 SEO Issues Encountered After AI Website Creation
- Meta tags applied identically across all pages
- URL structure does not support nested paths, leading to slugs being inserted as parameters
- Image alt tags and heading structure not optimized
- Difficulty in optimizing performance and speed due to direct use of high-resolution AI-generated images
If a company website is not managed with SEO optimization in mind, it will not be exposed to Google and AI search, preventing organic customer acquisition. However, for non-SEO professionals, it is not easy to determine 'what needs to be fixed.' To empower non-SEO experts to transform their company websites into business hubs that drive customer traffic and conversions, we have compiled an essential website optimization checklist.
17 Essential Checklist Items for Website Optimization
Crawling and Indexing
The first stage is crawling and indexing. Crawling refers to the process where search engine bots visit a website, read its pages, and collect information. Successful crawling leads to the storage and classification of page information within the search engine's database. This subsequent process is known as indexing.
Only after indexing is complete can our company's website be discovered by users searching for relevant keywords. What steps are necessary to ensure successful crawling and indexing?
1. Has a sitemap been generated and submitted?
A Sitemap is a file that organizes all core pages of a website in XML format. Simply put, it can be described as a map that helps search engines efficiently find website pages. Utilize various tools (e.g., XML sitemaps) to generate your sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console.
2. Is robots.txt correctly configured?
robots.txt refers to a text file placed at the root of a website. It serves to inform crawlers (search engine bots) which URLs they are permitted or forbidden to crawl. By defining the scope of crawling allowance and disallowance, it also guides crawlers to the sitemap's location and prevents server overload by deterring them from excessively scraping irrelevant pages.
Create a file named robots.txt, then connect to an FTP program like FileZilla and upload it to your website's root directory.
3. Is llm.txt correctly configured?
While robots.txt targets search engine crawlers, llm.txt provides a summarized guide to help AI models and agents quickly understand a site. It typically includes content such as site and brand introductions, core category structures, representative URLs, and content policies.
llm.txt is a recent development. As there is no guarantee that all AI will read llm.txt, it is currently closer to an industry practice or experiment rather than an official standard.
4. Are there any pages with incorrectly configured noindex tags?
The noindex tag is a meta tag added to the head section of a website's HTML page. It is a tag that instructs search engines not to display this page in search results.
If there are pages, such as admin pages or those displayed after login, that you do not wish to be indexed by search engines, you must add a noindex tag and exclude them from your sitemap. Including a noindex page in your sitemap may result in errors or warnings within Google Search Console.
The noindex tag can be added to the HTML head section in the following format.
<!-- noindex 태그 예시 --><head> <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> <title>검색엔진에 표시되면 안 되는 페이지</title></head>5. Is the canonical tag correctly configured?
A canonical tag is an HTML tag that informs search engines of the original page when similar or duplicate content exists across multiple URLs. If several URLs lead to the same page, search engines may become confused about which URL to display in search results, potentially lowering search rankings. Therefore, setting up canonical tags is essential.
The canonical tag can be added to the HTML head section in the following format.
<!-- canonical 태그 예시 --><head> <link rel="canonical" href="<https://yourwebsite.com/원하는-url>"> <title>원본 페이지 제목</title></head>6. Has the page been indexed?
You can verify in Google Search Console whether your pages are actually indexed and if search engines are effectively reading them. If a page is not indexed, identify the reason and, if necessary, request manual indexing.
Improving Page Speed and Performance
7. Does it meet Core Web Vitals metrics?
Core Web Vitals (CWV) are key UX performance metrics that Google uses to evaluate page quality. They are among the signals that influence search rankings. You can monitor these metrics in Google Search Console under [Experience] – [Core Web Vitals].
Methods to improve page speed while meeting Core Web Vitals metrics include image optimization, browser caching, CSS/JS compression and minification, CDN utilization, and the elimination of unnecessary redirects.
Optimizing for Mobile and Browsers
Since 2024, Google has been ranking search results based on the mobile version of websites. Search engine spiders first crawl a company's mobile content to assess webpage relevance, then proceed to analyze the desktop version.
Therefore, for website optimization, it is crucial to ensure that the mobile experience also provides users with the best possible environment. For detailed guidance, please refer to Google's page on creating mobile-friendly sites.
Implementing Structured Data and Schema
8. Has Schema Markup been implemented?
Schema markup refers to structured data added to a website's HTML to help search engines better understand the page content.
For instance, if a company like Elephant Company has a website, structured data can be used to clearly communicate information such as its industry, services, and FAQs to search engines. More detailed information is readily available in our “Schema Markup” content.
9. Have you implemented Breadcrumb Markup?
Breadcrumb markup is a navigation element within a website that visually indicates the user's current location and aids in exploration. Since it also appears in search results, it can be advantageous from an SEO perspective.
URL Structure & Redirects
10. Is your website's URL structure SEO-friendly?
Creating a logical and systematic website URL structure facilitates easier reading by search engine crawlers. For instance, a structure like the one below can be considered an SEO-friendly URL.
<https://elifunt.kr/service/geo-consulting/>The example URL maintains a hierarchical structure, such as Main (elifunt.kr) → Category (/service) → Detail Page (/geo-consulting). Hyphens (-) are used, and underscores (_) are avoided. It is crucial to remove unnecessary parameter values (e.g., elifunt.kr/service/?category=geo-consulting), use lowercase, and consistently include a trailing slash (/) at the end of the URL.
11. Have you completed the 301 redirect mapping?
On the web, a 301 status code signifies that 'a page's address has permanently changed.' A redirect refers to automatically moving from one URL to another. Therefore, the process of configuring a connection so that browsers and search engines automatically navigate to the new address when a changed URL is clicked is known as 301 redirect mapping.
While redirects are straightforward for one or two instances, when dozens or hundreds of URLs change due to a site overhaul or URL structure modification, they are typically 'mapped' in an Excel or sheet format. Without 301 mapping, clicking a changed URL in search results will lead to a 404 error, degrading SEO performance and potentially causing a drop in rankings as the page is perceived as deleted.
12. Are there any broken links (404 errors)?
A 404 error is an error message displayed when the web server cannot find the page requested by the browser. This can occur in situations such as when a page has been deleted or a URL has been changed without implementing a redirect.
The presence of such broken links can lead search engine crawlers to perceive the site as poorly managed, potentially lowering its SEO ranking. You must identify and address URLs generating 404 errors via the [Pages] menu in Google Search Console.
13. Are there any orphan pages?
An orphaned page, as the name suggests, refers to a page that is isolated due to a lack of internal links. Although it exists in the sitemap, it is a page that stands alone because there are no links directing to it. If you want a page to appear in search results, you must add internal links to it from other important pages.
Content & Metadata
If you have completed the site-wide search engine optimization settings using the previous checklist, the next step is to optimize the content on each individual page. To build a strong foundation for SEO and GEO, please ensure you address the following items.
14. Does every page have a unique Title tag?
A title tag is an HTML tag that defines the title of a webpage, displayed in search results and browser tabs. Including relevant keywords in the title increases the likelihood of appearing higher in search results for those keywords. Furthermore, since the title is the first thing users see, an engaging title is crucial for generating clicks.
15. Is the meta description optimized?
A meta description is a concise summary of a page's content. It is displayed below the title in search results. Because it serves to inform users about the page's content in advance, it directly influences the click-through rate.
16. Are the heading tags (Title tag, h tag) correctly structured?
Heading tags range from H1 to H6, comprising six levels. Heading tags structure content much like a book's table of contents. If heading tags are well-crafted to reveal the content's organization at a glance, search engines are more likely to understand the page structure and rank it higher in relevant searches.
17. Do images have alt text?
Alt text refers to alternative text that describes an image. Since Google cannot precisely interpret images, it relies on alt text to understand their content. Therefore, adding alt text to images is beneficial for their visibility in image search results. It is recommended that alt text attributes be included for all images, and they should naturally incorporate search keywords within 125 characters.
💡We have compiled a website SEO checklist sheet to provide an at-a-glance overview of all these points. Please check it out via the link below.
💞 Have you read through this content but still find website optimization challenging? For B2B website development, consult with Elifunt Company.
