The first 60-100 words of every page should answer the question a user would ask, in declarative language, with no setup. No 'in today's fast-paced world.' No 'as a marketer, you know.' Just the answer.
If your first paragraph could be deleted and the page would still answer the question, delete it.
Every H2 should be a self-contained sub-answer. Treat each one as a mini-page that an LLM might extract independently. Open with a 2-3 sentence direct answer, then expand.
This is the single biggest structural change from classic blog writing. Stop writing H2s as section labels ('Background,' 'Implementation'). Start writing them as questions or declarative answer-targets.
LLMs disproportionately extract structured content. A 5-bullet list of clear points beats a 200-word paragraph saying the same thing. A comparison table is gold. A TL;DR or Key Takeaways block at the top dramatically increases citation likelihood.
Every guide should have a 4-6 question FAQ at the bottom, marked up with FAQPage schema, mirroring real questions a user might ask. This is one of the highest-converting GEO patterns we deploy. The FAQ is what gets pulled into AI Overviews and ChatGPT answers more often than any other content block.
End with one paragraph that summarizes the recommendation. Avoid CTAs that interrupt the citation extractor (giant button images, multi-paragraph sales pitches). A clean, declarative closing earns the citation. The CTA can live below it.
No — counterintuitively, the answer-first format tends to increase scroll depth because users who get a clear answer up top are more confident the page is worth reading. We have measured this on dozens of pages.
Yes for guides, reference, and FAQ-style content. Slightly modified for thought-leadership and brand storytelling, where the windup has narrative purpose. Use judgment.
60-100 words is the sweet spot. Long enough to answer fully, short enough to fit cleanly inside a citation snippet.
No — each H1 should match a distinct question. Overlap kills passage-level retrieval.