The SEO Foundation

Sites that get found

SEO Is Not Optional

Most vibe-coded sites are invisible to search engines. Not because they lack content, but because they are built with client-side rendering frameworks that serve empty HTML to crawlers. This is fixable, and this module shows you how.

Server-Rendered HTML

Google can render JavaScript. But it does so on a delay, through a separate rendering queue, and it does not always get it right. Server-rendered HTML is indexed immediately, completely, and reliably. If you are building a content site, a tutorial, a blog, or a marketing page, use server-side rendering.

This does not mean you cannot use React. It means you should use Next.js with SSR/SSG instead of Create React App. Or use Express + EJS like this site. Or use Astro. The point is: the HTML that arrives in the browser should already contain your content.

The Meta Tag Checklist

• Title tag: Unique per page, under 60 characters, keyword-first
• Meta description: Unique per page, under 155 characters, includes a call to action
• Canonical URL: Always present, always the absolute URL of the current page
• OG tags: og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url, og:type, og:site_name
• Twitter card: twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, twitter:image

Structured Data (Schema.org)

Add JSON-LD structured data to every page. At minimum:

• WebSite schema on the homepage
• Article schema on blog posts and tutorial modules
• BreadcrumbList on every page except the homepage
• FAQPage on any page with a Q&A section
• HowTo on any page with step-by-step instructions
• Person schema for author pages

RIBA: Relevance, Intent, Breadth, Authority

RIBA is Tony Aly's framework for content that ranks. Every piece of content should address:

• Relevance: Is this content directly relevant to the search query?
• Intent: Does it match the searcher's intent (informational, navigational, transactional)?
• Breadth: Does it cover the topic comprehensively, or is it thin?
• Authority: Does the author have credibility in this space?

Technical SEO Essentials

• Sitemap.xml at /sitemap.xml with all public URLs
• Robots.txt at /robots.txt allowing crawlers, blocking /admin
• Clean URL structure: /module-name not /pages/module-name.html
• Proper heading hierarchy: one H1 per page, H2s for sections, H3s for subsections
• Alt text on every image
• Internal linking between related modules

AEO: Answer Engine Optimization

AI-powered search (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) pulls from structured, well-marked-up content. Everything in this module applies directly to AI search visibility. For a deep dive on AI citation tracking and optimization, see 1AISEO.com.