Activation rate is everything, and nothing kills activation faster than getting de-ranked in LLM responses. If you're chasing Gemini or ChatGPT visibility, don't mess it up with these no-gos on top of the basics like broken redirects or AI slop.
I started implementing new content based on solid advice (authority + quality), but one wrong move and you're invisible. Beyond the obvious (changing URLs without 301s, mass page generation, de-indexing), here's what I've seen burn sites:
- Overlapping pages that cannibalise your own terms. Don't publish content that says the same thing with a different title. Google and LLMs flag that as noise.
- 'Answer engine' fluff with zero proof. If you can't back claims with real product context or data, don't bother. AI hates vague value.
- FAQ blocks just because AI 'likes' them. They're useless if they don't serve real search intent. Google's giving you zero credit for filler.
- Unsupportable claims. If your homepage says one thing and your new content says another, trust drops. LLMs detect inconsistency.
- Ignoring internal links. New content that sits in a silo has no authority path. Connect everything to your money pages.
Oh, and if you're optimising purely for prompt patterns while forgetting actual user search behaviour - you'll get impressions but zero conversions. ROI goes to zero.
Focus on intent, link structure, and proof. That's how you win.
