How I Made kalsonmedia.com Visible to AI Search:
7 Fixes Any Small Business Can Copy
To get a small business site ready for AI search, let AI crawlers in, add structured data, submit your sitemap, clean out weak and outdated pages, build trustworthy listings, keep your Google Business Profile current, and rewrite key pages in a real, specific voice.
These are the seven things I did on my own site.
Shoemaker’s children, as the saying goes. For a long time, I was so busy fixing other people’s websites that my own got less attention than it deserved.
This year I stopped and treated kalsonmedia.com like a client. I audited it, fixed what was broken and made it ready for both Google and the new wave of AI search tools. Here’s exactly what I did, in the order that made sense.
1. I opened the door to AI crawlers
Every website has a small file called robots.txt that tells automated visitors what they may read. Mine wasn’t helping. I rewrote it to welcome AI crawlers, including the ones used by OpenAI (GPTBot), Anthropic (ClaudeBot) and Google’s AI features (Google-Extended).
If you want AI tools to recommend you, they have to be allowed to read you. This is a business decision, and some publishers choose to block them. For a local business that wants to be found, blocking is usually the wrong call.
2. I turned off a setting that was blocking AI bots
My security service, Cloudflare, had an option that blocks AI bots by default. Many site owners have it on and don’t know. I switched it off. If your site runs behind Cloudflare or a similar service, check your settings or ask whoever manages it.
3. I added schema markup
Schema is code that labels your information for machines: this is the business name, this is the address, this is what we do. I added Local Business, Organization and Breadcrumb markup and tested it with Google’s validation tool. I’ll explain schema fully in my next post.
4. I submitted my sitemaps and fixed old URLs
A sitemap is a list of your pages that you hand to Google through Google Search Console. I submitted mine. I also set up 301 redirects, which tell browsers and search engines that an old page address has permanently moved. My site started life as hand-built HTML pages, so those old addresses needed to point somewhere useful.
5. I deleted and combined weak content
I went through every post on my blog, 148 of them. Some were thin, some overlapped and some no longer reflected how I work. I deleted the weakest, folded similar ones together and cleaned up hundreds of unnecessary tags that created junk pages for Google to crawl. A smaller, stronger site beats a bigger, messier one.
6. I built trustworthy listings
AI tools and Google both look for proof that you’re a real business that others vouch for. I created or cleaned up my profiles on Clutch, GoodFirms, Agency Spotter, the Better Business Bureau and local chamber listings, and kept my Google Business Profile complete.
7. I rewrote key pages in my own voice
This one mattered most. I rewrote my homepage, my About page, my web design service page and separate pages for Charleston and Huntsville. The About page tells the true story: I’ve been in this business about 27 years, and I was a beta tester for Google in the 1990s. Specific, true details are what AI tools can quote, and what real people trust.
Which of these should you do first?
If you only have an afternoon, do these three:
Check your robots.txt and security settings (#1 and #2),
Claim and finish your Google Business Profile (#6)
Rewrite your About page with real details (#7).
If you’d like a hand with any of the technical pieces, contact Kalson Media. We build and maintain websites for Charleston and Huntsville businesses and clients across the region.
FAQ
Is it safe to let AI bots crawl my website?
For most small businesses, yes. Your website is public already. Letting AI crawlers read it is what allows AI tools to mention you.
How do I check my robots.txt?
Type your website address followed by /robots.txt into a browser, for example yourbusiness.com/robots.txt. Anyone can view it.
Do I need to delete old blog posts?
Not always, but thin, duplicate or outdated posts can dilute your site. Review them before you delete. Consider updating or merging instead.
Can I do all of this myself?
Some of it, such as listings and rewriting pages. The technical items are usually easier with help.
Have a Project in Mind?
Whether you’re starting from scratch or fixing something that isn’t working, we’re happy to talk through it. Reach out to Kalson Media Group and we’ll figure out what your business actually needs.
