SEO
SEO is not the opposite of AEO but the layer beneath it. A search engine has to be able to read and index a page before it becomes a candidate for citation in an answer, so we handle technical, content, entity and indexing work inside the same design as AEO.
In one paragraph
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the work of making a site something a search engine can read, index and show in results. There is one reason an AEO firm does SEO alongside: a document that is not indexed does not even become a candidate for citation by an answer engine. SEO builds the foundation for being found in search; AEO raises the odds of that information being understood and cited in an answer. They are not separate businesses but two layers of the same asset.
So our SEO is foundation work rather than ranking work. We first align the layer search engines and answer engines both use — crawlable HTML, tidy URLs, an accurate sitemap, company information that reads as one entity — and put the citation design on top of it. You can engage us for this area alone, and if it is already running elsewhere we simply check the items AEO needs and hand over the list.
Last verified
IN THIS AREA
Each piece of work has its own page setting out what we do and what you receive.
Building a site structure search engines and AI can read and process
Having exactly one answering document per search intent
Aligning information so the company is recognised as one entity
Getting documents into the candidate pool via sitemaps, robots and console registration
Deciding the order and the split rather than choosing one
WHEN YOU NEED THIS
These are the situations we hear repeatedly in consultations. If any of them apply, start by measuring.
Whether you appear in an AI answer is the question after that. A page a search engine does not yet know about does not even reach the candidate list, so before adding content we check whether something is blocking the crawl.
The two search engines move on separate crawl cycles and separate indexing criteria. Submitting a sitemap once does not land in both at the same rate, so we count indexed pages and exclusion reasons per search engine.
This is the same problem on both sides. A large share of AI crawlers do not execute JavaScript, or execute it only partially, and such pages read as empty documents.
Receiving proposals before it is settled what the problem is produces a different item list from every agency. Fixing the checklist first means the quotes get compared against the same list.
WHAT WE DO
Written as units of work rather than abstract proposals. The scope of an engagement is set from this list.
We check whether the site is in a state a search engine can read and process. It frequently looks fine on screen while the same document is split across several URLs, or the body only appears after a script runs.
We split pages by search intent and bind them with internal links. When several pages target the same intent they share the slot between them, and none becomes the representative document.
We make the search engine recognise the organisation as one entity. When business name, address and contact notation differ per channel, they read as several separate entities. We do the same for ourselves — this site and navirang.co.kr, run by the same legal entity, are connected explicitly with sameAs.
We start by putting a number on how many pages each search engine knows about. Indexing is a premise rather than a result, so if this is empty nothing above it can be confirmed.
Pages currently producing traffic get recorded before anything is touched. When SEO work loses performance it is usually not because of what was newly made but because the URL and title of a page that had already settled were changed along with it.
PROCESS
What you receive at each stage is stated alongside it. Durations are the working time Navirang controls; they are not a promise about when results appear.
We confirm how many pages each search engine knows and which are excluded. This number becomes the starting point for every later judgement.
Index status table
Rendering method, canonical URLs, response codes and robots.txt are checked item by item. What is caught here is not solved by editing text.
Technical checklist
We check page composition by search intent, internal links, and the consistency of company information notation.
Content and entity assessment
Order and ownership are attached to the items found. Items deliberately left unfixed are recorded with the reason so the next check can revisit them.
Improvement design document
We apply in the agreed order, then check the same items by the same method and record the change.
Implementation record · re-check table
DELIVERABLES
We do not do work that ends in conversation. The documents below remain, and become the baseline for the next measurement.
Indexed page counts and exclusion reasons per search engine. It becomes the reference value for later re-checks, so the measurement date is recorded with it.
Rendering, canonical URLs, response codes and crawler policy, each marked pass or fail. Failed items carry the URL we checked.
Which page holds which slot per search intent, and where the duplication is. Where to attach a new article is decided from this map.
How business name, address, contact details and service description are written across channels, with the differences marked.
The order to fix in and what to look at next time. Ownership is assigned per item (internal, developer, Navirang) to stop the same file being edited in two places.
The order of checking starts with indexing, because the indexed page count serves as the reference value — fix the other three without pinning that number down and there is nothing left to compare against later. The order of fixing is different: that is decided with effect against cost and ownership in view.
HOW IT CONNECTS
Our work moves as one piece. SEO builds the foundation for being found by search engines, AEO raises the odds of that information being cited in an answer, structured data helps machines understand the facts, and content supplies the evidence there is to cite.
| Area | Relationship to this work |
|---|---|
| SEO or AEO first | The judgement page for setting the order and the division between the two |
| AEO audit | Measuring actual citation status on top of the foundation SEO built |
| Structured data | The machine-readable layer search engines and answer engines both read |
| AI crawler optimization | Opening access for answer engine crawlers, separately from search bots |
| What is AEO? | The concept behind the layer that goes on top of the foundation |
| AEO by industry | Where search intent and the mix of competing domains differ by industry |
FAQ
A Because a document that is not indexed does not even become a candidate for citation by an answer engine. Google states in its own documentation that "from a Google Search perspective, optimizing for generative AI search means optimizing for the search experience, so it is still search engine optimization". Within Google's scope that is correct. But only some of the answer engines we track run on Google's ranking system — ChatGPT, Perplexity and Naver AI Search collect documents by different routes — so we treat SEO as the foundation while confirming citation per engine.
A Checking starts with indexing. Without knowing how many pages a search engine knows about, fixing the other three leaves you unable to say what changed. The order of fixing is decided after that — if indexing is blocked, technical items come first; if indexing is fine but there is no traffic, content structure comes first. You do not have to engage all four areas, and picking only what the assessment calls for is a legitimate outcome.
A We re-measure three things by the same method and compare: indexed page counts per search engine, the number of checklist items that flipped to pass, and impressions and clicks in the search console. We do not look at ranking alone because it moves with region, personalization and timing, which makes it hard to judge as the result of the work. The measurement conditions and date are recorded with it so the next check compares on the same basis.
A Both, because the collection routes differ. Google AI Overviews selects its evidence documents on top of Google's ranking system, Naver AI Search draws on Naver's index, and ChatGPT gathers documents with its own search crawler. One side's result cannot be inferred from the other, so index status is checked per engine too.
A You can. In that case we check only the foundation items AEO needs and hand over the list, and the actual edits proceed with your existing team. We set the work boundary in writing first so the same file is never edited in two places.
A We do not promise ranking. Ranking is decided by a search engine's algorithm and the criteria are not public. What we do is find the verifiable problems in indexing, technical state and content structure, fix them, and re-check under the same conditions so what moved and when is on record.
A A rise in visibility is not guaranteed. Google states in its documentation that structured data is not a requirement for generative AI search. It does have the effect of pinning facts such as company name, address and services into a machine-readable form, so we treat it as an aid rather than a lever.
Send us a URL and we will check index status and the technical state first — then tell you what needs fixing and what can be left alone.
We reply within one business day.