> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://gitbook.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://gitbook.com/docs/publish/seo.md).

# SEO

### What GitBook does automatically

#### Responsive design

Published content adapts to any screen size — phones, tablets, and desktops.

#### URLs and metadata

* Page URLs are based on the page title by default, but can be customized.
* Canonical URLs prevent duplicate content issues.
* HTML and Open Graph titles pull from the page and site title.
* Meta and Open Graph descriptions pull from the page description.
* Images support alt text, which helps both search engines and accessibility.
* HTML is pre-rendered server-side, so crawlers don't need JavaScript to index your content.

{% hint style="info" %}
GitBook doesn't generate keyword meta tags. Modern search engines don't use them for ranking — [Google confirmed this in 2009](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2009/09/google-does-not-use-keywords-meta-tag).
{% endhint %}

#### Sitemaps

GitBook automatically generates a sitemap for any published site that isn't set to unlisted. To find it, append `/sitemap-pages.xml` to your site's home URL — for example, [gitbook.com/docs/sitemap-pages.xml](https://gitbook.com/docs/sitemap-pages.xml).

#### CDN and caching

All published content is cached and served via a global CDN. Faster load times improve both user experience and search rankings.

### What you can do

#### Set a custom domain

A custom domain like `docs.example.com` can improve search visibility compared to a `yourorganization.gitbook.io` subdomain. Set up a custom domain →

#### Improve indexing speed

GitBook has no control over how quickly search engines index your content, but two things can help:

1. Link to your site from pages that are already indexed. When Google re-crawls those pages, it's more likely to discover your site.
2. Submit your site to Google directly. This requires a custom domain and ownership verification via a TXT DNS record. [Submit your site to Google →](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/ask-google-to-recrawl)

#### Set up redirects

Moving content to GitBook or restructuring your site can break existing links and affect SEO. Set up [redirects](/docs/publish/site-redirects.md) → to forward old URLs to new ones.

When you move or rename a page, GitBook automatically creates an [HTTP 301 redirect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_301) from the old URL to the new one. Learn more about automatic redirects →


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://gitbook.com/docs/publish/seo.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.