GEO courseModule 6 of 10: Content an AI Can UseLesson 6.3
Structure: Headings, Lists, Tables and Clean HTML
Writing in clear sections with headings that say what each section answers, short paragraphs that make sense on their own, lists for steps, tables for comparisons, and the right building blocks in the page code: real headings, real buttons, labelled form fields.
Why it matters
A 600-word block headed "Our Services", with fees hidden in a tab, gives AI nothing clean to lift out.
The evidence
Evidence: Official guidance
Official guidance from Google and Microsoft. No controlled test shows structure causes citations, but it reliably helps readers and screen-reader users.
Do this first
Copy just the headings of your landlord page. Would a stranger know what each section answers?
01What it is
A cupboard with labelled boxes: socks, hats, gloves. You find the gloves in a second. One big pile with no labels has the same stuff, and it’s far harder to use.
Think of it like
A building with proper signs and door labels. People and robots can both find the lift without asking.
See it happen
Same words, same page. One of these a reader, or an AI, can actually pull an answer from.
Wall of text
Nothing to latch onto. Most people skim, then leave.
Broken up
Subheadings to scan, short paragraphs to actually read.
02Why it matters
To the people searching
People skim on phones. They want to find the one thing they came for. A heading that asks their question, and a table that compares the options, gets them there.
buyers
Skim on phones for the one fact they came for.
tenants
Need forms they can complete on a phone, with clear labels.
sellers
Compare services in tables and checklists.
landlords
Want fee levels side by side, not buried in a paragraph.
To Google, Bing and AI
Evidence: Official guidanceMicrosoft says its AI judges content section by section and recommends descriptive headings (not "Learn more"), short single-topic sections, lists and comparison tables, and warns against hiding key answers in tabs. Google says clear headings and paragraphs are enough, that semantic HTML is "generally a good idea", and that "there's no requirement to break your content into tiny pieces". The two agree on clear structure and differ in emphasis on very short fragments, so avoid both extremes: write for a person who's skimming.
An agent example
A branch rebuilds its landlord page. Every heading is now a question landlords ask, and the first sentence under each answers it. Fees move from a paragraph into a table. The enquiry form gets visible labels instead of grey placeholder text. When an AI is asked about management fees in the town, the page offers a clean, quotable passage.
03Your turn
Check yours, then fix it
- 1Copy just the headings of a key page into a document.
- 2Do they tell the story? Would a stranger know what each section answers?
- 3One clear main heading (H1), then sensible sub-headings (H2, H3). The free WAVE tool shows the outline.
- 1Pick three paragraphs at random and read each on its own.
- 2Does it name its subject, or say "this" and "it" with no context?
- 1Look for key answers inside tabs, accordions and "read more" buttons.
- 2View page source and search for a key phrase from inside one. If it's missing from the source, it isn't in the page code (lesson 3.3).
- 1Use only Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and Space to fill in your enquiry form. Can you see where you are and submit?
- 2Does every field have a visible label that stays while you type?
- 3Run Lighthouse (F12, Lighthouse, Accessibility) for a quick score.
Here is a page from an estate agency. Show me only a proposed heading outline using questions customers ask, and flag any paragraph that wouldn't make sense read on its own. Don't rewrite the page. [paste page]
- 1"What does fully managed letting cost in Oakfield?" works. "Our approach" doesn't.
- 2Keep the page title, main heading and description saying the same thing.
- 1Break long blocks into short paragraphs, one idea each.
- 2Use numbered lists for steps and tables for fee levels and comparisons, as real text, never images.
- 3Don't chop everything into one-liners either: short, flowing paragraphs under each heading.
- 1Take fees, process and areas out of tabs and accordions, or ask your web provider to make hidden sections visible in the page code.
- 2Keep accordions for detail, not for the main answers.
- 1Real headings for headings, real buttons for buttons, real links for links.
- 2A visible label for every form field.
- 3Add ARIA (accessibility code) only where native elements can't do the job. Wrong ARIA makes things worse for screen-reader users.
- 4Be wary of accessibility overlay plugins, which often don't fix the underlying code.
Then: Ask your web provider for a structured template for fees and service pages, so every new page starts in the right shape.
04Keep it up
Apply as you write. Run the keyboard and heading checks after any redesign or form change.
That's lesson 6.3
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← Back to 6.2 Covering the Whole Question: Fan-Out, FAQs, Process and Comparison Pages