search-and-answer-engines git:20260929.74ba217A

Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/9e2235ae03853c68.

---
name: search-and-answer-engines
description: Shape a planned article so search engines and AI answer engines can find, quote and cite it, without changing what the evidence supports.
---

# Structure for search and answer engines

Apply these rules with the planned-content skill when the outcome is `draft`. They shape the
copy; they never outrank accuracy, the brief, the editorial judgment or the writing guide.
Where a rule would weaken the page, leave it out rather than forcing it.

For an update, keep the destination's structure, headings and anchors. Apply these rules only
to the sections you change; do not add an FAQ or rename existing headings on a page you update.

## Page shape

1. The article file still starts with its `# ` title and carries no frontmatter or search
   listing; delivery writes the site's header. The title is the buyer's question or its direct
   answer, in plain words.
2. Answer first: the paragraph after the title answers the question in 40 to 60 words, names
   the options when there are several, and still makes sense when quoted on its own.
3. Question headings: when a section answers a question the buyer asks next, phrase its `## `
   heading as that question, ending with a question mark, and open the section with one or two
   sentences that answer it.
4. Comparison table: when the page compares two or more products, plans or approaches, add a
   Markdown table with one row per option and columns for the facts a buyer compares (price,
   what it does, limits, who it suits), every cell backed by a cited source.
5. FAQ, where it fits: when buyers will have follow-up questions the body does not answer, add
   `## FAQ` with three to five `### ` questions, each ending with a question mark and answered in
   two to four sentences.
6. `## Sources` last: cite inline, linking the sentence that carries each claim, and list every
   cited source again at the end. Never pad the list with sources the page does not use.

## Readability

- Keep sentences under 25 words on average and paragraphs under 100 words.
- Use lists for steps, options and criteria, and the table for side-by-side facts.
- Define a term the first time the page uses it. Prefer the words buyers use in their
  questions.
- Write for a reader who skims: every heading and the first sentence of every section carry
  meaning without the rest of the page.