Directory websites bring together information that visitors can browse, compare, and act on: businesses, services, places, events, or other resources. Search engines and compatible AI systems may be able to interpret that information more clearly when public pages describe it in a consistent, machine-readable way.
Listdom includes controls for Structured Data and AI Visibility under Listdom → Settings → SEO & GEO. They help site owners describe eligible public listing pages and, separately, choose whether to provide a public feed for compatible systems. Here is what each option does, how to review it, and where its limits are.
Two kinds of directory pages carry different information
A single listing page describes one record, such as a restaurant, repair service, venue, or professional. It may include a name, description, category, address, opening hours, images, and other details that the site owner has chosen to publish.
A collection page brings several records together. A category or location archive, for example, helps visitors browse multiple listings related to a place or topic. These page types have different purposes, so the information that describes one listing is not the same as the information that describes a collection.
If you are deciding how visitors should move between individual records and category or location pages, see How Taxonomy Archive Pages Work in Listdom.
What structured data adds to a directory page
Structured data is a machine-readable description of information already present on a page. Listdom can output this data as JSON-LD for eligible public single-listing and collection pages. Depending on the page and available information, the output can describe a page, a listing or collection, its relationships, and relevant public details.
This gives compatible systems another way to interpret the page. It does not replace readable page content, make incomplete listing details accurate, or automatically create a special search result. Google says that structured data can make a page eligible for supported search appearances, but showing a rich result is not guaranteed. Its structured data policies also require the markup to match the visible page content.
In Listdom, review the Structured Data option at Listdom → Settings → SEO & GEO. After enabling it, inspect an actual public listing and a collection page while logged out. Confirm that the output matches what visitors can see and that the category’s configured schema type is appropriate. Your theme, SEO plugin, or custom template may also output schema, so check for duplicate or conflicting markup.
What the AI Visibility feed does
Structured data is attached to eligible public pages. The optional public AI feed is a separate resource that can present selected listing information in a consistent format for compatible clients. It is not a database export, and enabling it does not instruct every AI service to use the information.
The feed is disabled by default. When available and enabled, it includes published listings that guests can access and excludes password-protected or otherwise restricted listings. Under Listdom → Settings → SEO & GEO → AI Visibility, the Public Feed Fields controls let you choose which kinds of information to include. Contact Details are off by default; review the field choices before enabling the feed, especially if records contain personal or sensitive information. Addons may supply additional public information, such as booking summaries, verification status, or reviews and ratings, which can also be controlled through the available fields.
The feed is a deliberate public representation of selected listing information. Check it as a logged-out visitor and confirm that restricted records do not appear and that each enabled field is appropriate to publish.
Discovery hints help clients find public resources
AI Visibility can also provide discovery hints, such as an llms.txt file, robots guidance, or links from applicable directory pages. These hints serve a different role from both page structured data and the public feed: they point compatible clients toward resources that the site makes available.
They are not access controls, and they cannot require an outside service to crawl, store, summarize, or cite your content. Google’s current guidance for generative AI search says a page needs normal Search eligibility, indexing, and snippet eligibility, and the site must be included in Search generative AI features through Search Console. It does not require a special AI schema or a Listdom feed. Google Search ignores llms.txt: maintaining it neither helps nor harms Google visibility. Other compatible systems may use the file, so decide about it for those systems rather than as a Google ranking tactic.
Choose which information to expose
The three controls solve related but different problems. Structured Data describes information on public pages. Public AI Feed makes selected listing information available through a separate public endpoint. Discovery options help compatible clients find that feed. Enabling one does not automatically replace or require the others.
| Listdom setting | What it publishes | A useful decision |
|---|---|---|
| Structured Data | JSON-LD for eligible public single-listing and collection pages | Enable it when your page content is accurate and you do not already have a conflicting schema source. |
| Public AI Feed | A public representation of eligible listings, categories, and locations through Listdom endpoints | Enable it only after deciding which listing fields you intend to make reusable outside the page. |
| Add llms.txt Discovery | A dynamic /llms.txt document pointing compatible systems toward the public feed | Turn it on when you want this extra discovery file and do not already have another authoritative /llms.txt. |
| Add robots.txt Discovery Hints | Listdom hints in WordPress’s virtual robots.txt response | Use it if the virtual response is what your site serves; a physical root robots.txt can take precedence. |
| Add HTML Feed Discovery Links | Machine-readable feed links on applicable listing, archive, search, and shortcode pages | Enable it when you want feed references attached to those public page contexts. |
The Public AI Feed starts disabled. When you enable it, review Public Feed Fields rather than assuming every listing value should be shared. Contact Details are off by default. Other available fields can include description, excerpt, address, coordinates, categories, locations, price, images, opening hours, and FAQs. Depending on active add-ons and their settings, the feed can also include booking summaries, verification status, or reviews and ratings. If a field is disabled, it is omitted from the feed even when the listing contains a value.
This is a publication choice. For a directory of public businesses, a phone number or exact address may be expected; for a directory containing private member profiles or sensitive locations, the same detail may be inappropriate to distribute through an additional public channel. Review real records and their visibility before enabling fields, and check the response as a logged-out visitor.
Configure and verify the Listdom settings
Open Listdom → Settings → SEO & GEO in WordPress. Use the Structured Data tab for page-level JSON-LD and the AI Visibility tab for the feed, its fields, and discovery hints. The AI Visibility feed does not require you to connect a generative AI profile; these options publish information and discovery references, while AI profiles power separate Listdom tasks.
For a controlled setup, work through the settings in this order:
- Review a public listing first. Check the details a visitor can see, correct stale or inconsistent values, and confirm that private records are protected as intended.
- Decide about page descriptions. Enable Structured Data if you want Listdom to describe eligible public single listings and collection pages. Check a listing and an archive after saving.
- Choose the feed fields. Enable Public AI Feed only when you have selected which fields should be publicly reusable. Pay particular attention to contact details, coordinates, reviews, and information contributed by add-ons.
- Choose discovery hints separately. Decide whether to provide
llms.txt, virtual robots hints, and HTML feed links. Check for an existing physicalllms.txtorrobots.txtso you do not leave two competing discovery files. - Test as a visitor. Open the page and any displayed public endpoint while logged out. Confirm that only published, guest-accessible, non-password-protected listings appear and that restricted records are absent.
The feed is unavailable when Public AI Feed is off or when WordPress is set to discourage search engines from indexing the site. In WordPress, review Settings → Reading → Search engine visibility if an enabled feed endpoint is still unavailable. After changing settings, clear relevant page or CDN caches before concluding the response is stale or misconfigured.
For the broader strategy of making directory information easier to interpret and use, see how to make a directory website ready for AI agents.
What these options can and cannot do
These controls help your site publish structured descriptions of eligible public pages and, if you choose, a selected public listing feed with discovery hints. Accurate, consistent listing information gives those resources useful content to describe.
They cannot guarantee rankings, rich results, indexing, AI citations, recommendations, or inclusion in any external service. Each search engine or AI provider decides independently what it crawls and how it uses information. Keep listing details current, make public pages useful to visitors, and review the information your site exposes.
FAQ
Does structured data guarantee better rankings?
No. Structured data helps describe page information in a machine-readable format. Search engines decide how to use it, and it does not guarantee rankings or a rich result.
Do I need special markup to appear in Google’s AI features?
There is no special AI-only schema requirement. Normal indexing and snippet eligibility still matter, and Google’s current guidance also documents the site-level inclusion control for Search generative AI features in Search Console. Listdom’s optional feed and discovery files are separate publication choices.
Is the AI Visibility feed enabled automatically?
No. The public feed is disabled by default. A site owner must enable it and should review the selected fields before making the feed available.
Does the feed include private or restricted listings?
It is designed to include published listings accessible to guests. Password-protected or otherwise restricted listings are excluded. Check the public feed while logged out to confirm the behavior on your site.
Are contact details included in the public feed?
Contact Details are off by default. Review the Public Feed Fields controls and enable contact information only if you intend to publish it through the feed.
Is llms.txt the same as structured data?
No. Structured data describes information on eligible pages. The optional feed provides selected listing data through a separate resource. Discovery hints such as llms.txt can help compatible clients find resources, but they do not guarantee that a service will use them.
Review Listdom’s SEO & GEO settings
Start with the information visitors can already see, then decide whether to enable structured descriptions for public pages and whether a selected public feed is right for your directory. The official guides explain each control and its scope: Structured Data and AI Visibility.
