Glossary
Crawlability
Crawlability is a search or AI crawler’s ability to request a page and reach its meaningful content and links. Server errors, blocked robots rules, inaccessible navigation and script-dependent rendering can reduce crawlability even when human visitors can open the page normally.
In plain terms
It means bots can reach and read the page.
Why it matters
Content cannot enter a search index or retrieval pipeline reliably if the relevant crawler cannot access it.
How to apply it
- Test important URLs without a logged-in session.
- Review robots.txt and response status codes.
- Use normal links so crawlers can discover deeper pages.
Example
A public guide loads for visitors but returns an empty shell to a crawler, preventing its main text from being discovered.
Sources
Related reading
Related terms
Back to the full glossary (75 terms).
Ranking is no longer enough
You need to be cited, mentioned, and recommended.
Being cited, mentioned, and recommended are three different outcomes, and most brands only ever achieve the first one. Ranking is no longer enough because AI engines answer buyers directly and name only a short list of vendors as the recommendation — everyone else is cited in passing, if at all. Get a free AI Visibility Report to see exactly where your brand appears today across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot, where competitors are winning the recommendation instead, and what's keeping you from moving up the shortlist.