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Search Engine and LLM Optimizations

Your Exposure site comes with powerful built-in features that help your stories get discovered by search engines like Google and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. These features work automatically—no technical setup required.

Written by Luke Beard

What's Included (All Plans)

Every Exposure site includes these optimization features at no extra cost:

Structured Data (JSON-LD Schema)

Your site automatically includes structured data that helps search engines understand your content. This can lead to enhanced search results with:

  • Rich snippets showing your story's publish date, author, and reading time

  • Image previews displaying your cover photos in search results

  • Author information linking your stories to your profile

  • Breadcrumb navigation showing the path to your content

The structured data includes:

  • Your profile information (name, bio, social links)

  • Story details (title, description, publish date, last updated)

  • Reading time estimates based on your story's word count

  • Category organization for your stories

AI-Friendly Content

Your stories are optimized for AI assistants and large language models (LLMs) that power tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity:

llms.txt Index Every Exposure site includes an llms.txt file—a machine-readable index that helps AI systems understand and navigate your content. Access it at yoursite.exposure.co/llms.txt or yourdomain.com/llms.txt.

Markdown Versions AI systems can access clean, text-based versions of your content:

  • yoursite.exposure.co/index.md — Your full site index

  • yoursite.exposure.co/story-slug.md — Individual story content

  • yoursite.exposure.co/categories.md — Your categories listing

  • yoursite.exposure.co/categories/category-name.md — Stories in a category

These markdown versions include your story text, photo captions, alt text, and metadata—making it easy for AI systems to understand and reference your work.

AI Crawler Access Your site explicitly allows access from major AI crawlers including:

  • OpenAI (GPTBot, ChatGPT)

  • Anthropic (Claude)

  • Perplexity

  • Apple Intelligence

  • Google AI

Large Image Previews

Your site is configured to allow large image previews in search results. This is especially important for photographers and visual storytellers—your cover images can appear prominently when someone searches for related content.

Automatic Sitemaps

Every Exposure site includes an automatically-generated sitemap (/sitemap.xml) that helps search engines discover all your published stories. The sitemap updates automatically whenever you publish or update content.

RSS Feeds

Your site includes an RSS feed (/feed.rss) that allows readers to subscribe and helps content aggregators discover your new stories.

Story-Level SEO Settings

Each story has its own SEO settings that you can customize:

Meta Title & Description

Set a custom title and description that appear in search results. Access these in your story's Options menu under SEO Settings.

  • Meta Title: The title that appears in search results (defaults to your story title)

  • Meta Description: The snippet shown below the title in search results (defaults to your story's first text block)

Cover Image as Social Preview

Your story's cover image automatically becomes the preview image when shared on social media or in search results. For best results, use a high-quality image with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Alt Text for Images

Add descriptive alt text to your photos to help search engines understand your images. Good alt text also improves accessibility for visitors using screen readers.

To add alt text:

  1. Click on any photo in your story

  2. Select the Info tab

  3. Enter your alt text in the Alt Text field

Site-Level SEO Settings

Customize how your entire site appears in search results:

Site Title & Description

Set your site's default title and description in Settings → Preferences → SEO Settings.

Social Links

Add your social media profiles in Settings → Account Details. These links appear in your site's structured data, helping search engines connect your Exposure site to your broader online presence.

Supported platforms include:

  • Twitter/X

  • Instagram

  • Facebook

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Pinterest

  • 500px

  • VSCO

  • Flickr

Custom Domain

Using your own domain (e.g., stories.yourname.com) can improve your site's authority in search results. Custom domains are available on Pro Plus and higher plans.

Categories for Better Organization

Organizing your stories into categories helps both visitors and search engines understand your content:

  • Each category has its own page with structured data

  • Category pages are included in your sitemap

  • AI systems can browse your categories via markdown endpoints

To create categories:

  1. Go to Settings → Categories

  2. Click Add Category

  3. Assign stories to categories from the story editor

Performance & Speed

Your Exposure site is optimized for fast loading, which is a key factor in search rankings:

  • Image optimization: Photos are automatically served in optimal sizes

  • CDN delivery: Content is served from servers close to your visitors

  • Caching: Frequently-accessed content is cached for faster delivery

AI crawlers have strict timeout limits (1-5 seconds), so fast performance ensures your content gets indexed properly.

Respecting Your Privacy Settings

All SEO and AI optimization features respect your privacy settings:

  • Private stories: Password-protected stories are excluded from sitemaps, markdown endpoints, and search indexing

  • Hidden stories: Stories marked "hide from site" are not indexed

  • Disable SEO: If you've disabled SEO in your settings, all optimization features are turned off and crawlers are blocked via robots.txt

Tips for Better Search Visibility

  1. Write descriptive titles — Clear, specific titles help both readers and search engines understand your content

  2. Add story descriptions — A compelling description improves click-through rates from search results

  3. Use alt text on photos — Describe what's in each image to help your photos appear in image searches

  4. Organize with categories — Group related stories to help search engines understand your content themes

  5. Publish consistently — Regular updates signal to search engines that your site is active

  6. Fill out your profile — A complete profile with bio and social links builds trust and authority

Checking Your SEO

Want to see how search engines view your site? Try these URLs:

  • Sitemap: yoursite.exposure.co/sitemap.xml

  • LLMs Index: yoursite.exposure.co/llms.txt

  • Robots.txt: yoursite.exposure.co/robots.txt

  • Story Markdown: yoursite.exposure.co/your-story-slug.md

You can also use Google's Rich Results Test to see how your structured data appears.

Questions?

If you have questions about SEO or how your site appears in search results, reach out to us at [email protected].

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