Website Creation with SEO and AEO in Europe | 2026 Guide

Should SEO be included when a website is built?

SEO basics should be included during website development because technical decisions made during the build can affect how search engines discover, understand and present a website. Crawlability, page structure, internal linking, mobile usability, performance, metadata and content architecture are easier to address during development than to retrofit after launch. SEO should therefore be treated as part of the website architecture rather than simply as a marketing activity added later.

What is AEO and how does it relate to SEO?

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) describes work intended to make information easier for answer-driven and conversational search systems to identify, understand and use. This can include direct answers, descriptive headings, clear page structure and useful supporting information. Google states that AEO and GEO are terms commonly used for AI-search optimisation, but from Google Search’s perspective, optimisation for generative AI search remains part of SEO. There are no separate technical requirements for appearing in Google AI Overviews or AI Mode beyond the normal requirements for Google Search eligibility.

What is the E-E-A-T framework and why does it matter?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Answer engines provide answers based on the EEAT framework, so it is important for a site to be structured to align with the framework. Google uses these concepts when discussing the qualities its systems seek to identify in helpful and reliable content. Google states that trust is the most important aspect and also makes clear that E-E-A-T itself is not a specific ranking factor. For a business website, the framework is useful when evaluating whether content demonstrates first-hand experience, relevant expertise, credible sourcing, accurate information and transparency about who created the content.

How can website creation support E-E-A-T?

Website creation services can support E-E-A-T, by including clear authorship, author or business information, accurate service descriptions, credible external sources, contact information and content that demonstrates genuine first-hand knowledge. Google also recommends considering who created content, how it was created and why it was created.

Which technical foundations support SEO and AI discoverability?

Important technical foundations which support SEO and AI discoverability include crawlable content, logical navigation, mobile usability, good page performance, descriptive titles, internal linking and a clear information architecture. Pre-rendering JavaScript-heavy websites with tools such as Puppeteer can also make page content immediately available as HTML to crawlers and systems that do not reliably execute client-side JavaScript. Google’s guidance for generative AI search continues to emphasise established SEO principles because AI features in Google Search retrieve information from the existing Search index.

Does structured data improve SEO and AI visibility?

Structured data can improve SEO and AI visibility, by providing search engines with explicit information about the meaning and type of content on a page and can make pages eligible for supported rich search features. It should be used where it accurately represents visible content. However, Google does not require special AI-specific structured data or markup for a website to appear in its generative AI search features.

What should SEO and AEO-focused website development include?

• Crawlable and indexable page content
• Logical website and URL structure
• Responsive and mobile-friendly design
• Fast website performance
• Descriptive page titles and meta descriptions
• Clear heading structure
• Useful internal linking
• Direct answers to important customer questions
• Original and useful content
• Clear authorship and credible sources
• Structured data where appropriate
• Analytics and performance measurement
• Search Console configuration
• Multilingual SEO when serving several markets