Claude answer process: question, web search, reading source pages, and cited answer.
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AI platform guide · Claude

Be found when Claude searches the web

Claude is widely used by professionals for research, writing and analysis, and it can search the web and cite sources. We make sure it can reach your pages and has good reason to cite them.

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  • Three crawlers configured
  • Evidence-led content
  • Tested with real prompts
How it answers
From training, with a web search when the question needs current sources.
Where it gets pages
Anthropic’s crawlers, which are published and can be controlled separately.
How sources are shown
Citations for answers that used web search.
What you control
Three robots.txt user agents: search, user fetches and training.
Overview

What is Claude SEO?

Claude is the AI assistant made by Anthropic. It can search the web and cite the pages it uses. Claude SEO is the work of making sure it can reach your pages and has good reason to cite them.

Claude is widely used at work, particularly by professionals, analysts and developers who ask it to research options and summarise evidence. When it searches the web it cites what it used. Businesses that sell to this audience benefit from being a source Claude can reach, read and rely on.

Claude SEO at a glance

Claude SEO is the work of making a website easy for Claude to reach and cite. Anthropic publishes three crawler names: Claude-SearchBot for search, Claude-User for pages a user asks it to open, and ClaudeBot for training. Each can be allowed or blocked separately. Beyond access, Claude tends to cite pages that are precise, well supported and clearly written.

  • In practice

    There are two parts. The first is access: Anthropic publishes three crawler names, each of which you can allow or block separately. The second is content: Claude tends to cite pages that state things precisely and show their evidence.

  • Who it is for

    B2B, technical, professional and advisory businesses, whose buyers use Claude for research and analysis at work.

  • What it is not

    It is not a way to influence what Claude learned in training, and blocking its training crawler does not remove you from its web search.

Example

What changes for the buyer

Follow one question from start to finish. The numbers match the markers on the conversation.

  1. Step 1

    The buyer asks a full question

    Not a couple of keywords. A sentence that describes what they need, often with a place, a budget or a size.

  2. Step 2

    Claude writes one answer

    It names a few businesses and gives a reason for each. There is no second page to scroll to.

  3. Step 3

    It shows where it looked

    The sources beside the answer are the places your business needs to be present and described well.

Traditional SEOPosition 4in a list of links

Reaches a broad audience through a list of results.

Claude SEONamedinside the answer

Reaches a smaller group of professional users who check and cite their sources.

How it works

How Claude finds and cites sources

Claude answers many questions from its training alone. When it does search, the process has four steps.

  1. 1

    It decides whether to search

    Claude searches when a question needs current information, or when the user asks it to look something up.

  2. 2

    It runs searches

    It issues one or more queries and receives a list of results, often refining the query as it goes.

  3. 3

    It opens and reads pages

    Pages are fetched and read. Content that only appears after scripts run may not be seen.

  4. 4

    It answers with citations

    Each claim is tied to the source that supports it, so the reader can check it.

Crawler access

Crawlers and access rules for Claude

Access comes first. If Claude cannot reach or read a page, nothing else on this page matters. These are the controls involved.

  • Claude-SearchBot

    Indexes pages to improve Claude’s search results.

    Allow
  • Claude-User

    Fetches a page when a user asks Claude to open or check it.

    Allow
  • ClaudeBot

    Collects public content for model training. It can be blocked on its own.

    Your choice
robots.txtExample
# Allow Claude search and user requestsUser-agent: Claude-SearchBotAllow: / User-agent: Claude-UserAllow: / # Optional: opt out of model training onlyUser-agent: ClaudeBotDisallow: /

Anthropic documents these three user agents and states that they follow robots.txt. Decide on training access separately from search access.

Why it matters

Claude's users are doing serious work

It is used heavily for research and analysis, where sources are checked and cited.

  1. 1

    Access is often blocked by accident

    Blanket rules against AI bots frequently block Claude's search crawler along with its training crawler.

  2. 2

    It favours careful sources

    Pages that state claims precisely and show their evidence fit the way Claude builds an answer.

  3. 3

    Professional buyers use it

    For B2B, technical and advisory services, being cited in a researcher's working session has real value.

Is it for you

Signs you need Claude SEO

Tick the ones that sound familiar. Two or more and this service is likely to pay back. If none do, tell us and we will say so.

0of 5
Tick what appliesYour result updates as you go.Request a free audit
Who uses it

Who Claude SEO is for

The work is the same in principle for every sector. What changes is which questions matter and which sources count.

SDMSector specialists, not generalists

  • Enterprise software

    Evaluation teams ask Claude to compare vendors and summarise documentation.

  • Professional and financial services

    Analysts use it to research providers, so precise, sourced pages are valued.

  • Developer tools

    Clear documentation and pricing pages are read and cited directly.

  • Agencies and consultancies

    Published methods, case evidence and named experts make a firm easier to recommend.

  • Legal and compliance

    Teams ask Claude to summarise requirements and compare providers against them.

  • Healthcare and life sciences

    Precise, well-sourced material is what gets used in research summaries.

  • Education and research

    Long-form analysis draws on clearly written, citable pages.

  • Manufacturing and engineering

    Specifications, standards and capability pages are read when suppliers are compared.

What is included

What our Claude SEO service includes

Access, clarity and testing.

  1. 01

    Crawler configuration

    Rules for Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User and ClaudeBot set deliberately, one by one.

  2. 02

    Rendering check

    Confirmation that key content is readable without relying on scripts.

  3. 03

    Evidence-led rewrites

    Pages reworked to state claims precisely with sources and dates.

  1. 04

    Expert detail

    First-hand explanation and worked examples that a careful reader would want.

  2. 05

    Entity clarity

    Consistent facts about your business across your site and profiles.

  3. 06

    Prompt testing

    Research-style prompts tested in Claude each month.

Comparison

Claude’s three crawlers

The differences that matter when you decide where to put time and budget. Hover a line to see its counterpart.

What it does

  • Claude-SearchBotBuilds the index used for search answers
  • Claude-UserFetches a page when a user asks Claude to open it
  • ClaudeBotCollects public content for model training
  • Our usual setupAllow search and user fetches

What blocking it means

  • Claude-SearchBotYour pages are less likely to appear in Claude’s search results
  • Claude-UserClaude cannot read your page for that user
  • ClaudeBotYour content is excluded from future training
  • Our usual setupDecide on training according to your content policy
Process

Our Claude SEO process

Six stages. Access and rendering are settled in the first two weeks. Content and testing then continue monthly.

  1. 1

    Research prompts and baseline

    Week 1Baseline report

    We collect the research-style questions your buyers ask and run them in Claude with web search on. The answers and the cited sources are logged.

    You receiveA baseline report of Claude's answers and sources.

  2. 2

    Crawler policy

    Weeks 1 to 2Written crawler policy

    Your robots.txt and firewall rules are checked for Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User and ClaudeBot. Each one is decided separately with you. Whether to allow the training crawler is your choice, and we explain what each option means.

    You receiveA written crawler policy and updated rules.

  3. 3

    Rendering check

    Weeks 1 to 2List of script-dependent pages

    We confirm that your key content can be read without relying on scripts. Where it cannot, we fix it or brief your developer.

    You receiveA list of script-dependent pages and the fix for each.

  4. 4

    Evidence-led rewrites

    Month 2 onwardRewritten priority pages

    Priority pages are reworked to state claims precisely, with sources and dates, and with worked examples from your own specialists. You approve each page.

    You receiveRewritten priority pages.

  5. 5

    Entity consistency

    Month 2 onwardEntity consistency check

    The facts about your business are made to match across your site and your public profiles, so Claude can identify you with confidence.

    You receiveAn entity consistency check with the corrections made.

  6. 6

    Re-test

    Every monthMonthly test report

    The same prompts are run in Claude again and compared with the baseline.

    You receiveA monthly test report.

Hover or tap a stage for the detail. Timings are typical for a single website; your proposal sets out the exact schedule.

Working with us

How we work with you

Sachkhand Digital Marketing has worked with businesses in 30 countries since 2017. The team is remote-first and keeps to your time zone, and the specialists who audit your site are the ones who do the work. This is how the work is shared on a Claude SEO engagement.

You

What we need from you

Your input, mostly at the start
  • The research questions clients ask before they buy
  • Access to robots.txt and firewall settings, or the person who manages them
  • Time with a subject expert for worked examples
  • Your decision on the training crawler
SDM

What our team handles

Everything else, start to finish
  • Prompt testing in Claude
  • Crawler rules and rendering fixes
  • Rewriting pages for precision and evidence
  • Entity checks across your site and profiles
  1. Free audit before any quote

    We look at your site first. After a 30-minute call you get a written proposal within 48 hours, with the scope, the timeline and the cost.

  2. One account manager

    A single point of contact who knows your account, on WhatsApp and email, with a reply within one business day.

  3. Plain-English reporting

    Reports match your own analytics and are followed by a review call. A weak month comes with the reason and the plan.

  4. No lock-in contract

    Ongoing work is billed monthly and can be stopped with 30 days' notice.

Deliverables

What you receive

Everything is handed over as files you keep. Nothing lives only in our heads or our tools.

Your folder5 items in your folder
  • PDF

    A baseline report of Claude's answers and sources.

  • PDF

    A crawler policy for the three Claude user agents.

  • WEB

    Rewritten priority pages.

  • PDF

    An entity consistency check.

  • PDF

    A monthly test report.

What we will not promise

  • Claude chooses its own sources, and web search is not used for every question.
  • Its consumer audience is smaller than ChatGPT's. It matters most for professional and B2B markets.
  • Blocking ClaudeBot does not remove information already learned by an existing model.

What you can count on

  • A dated baseline before work starts, so progress is measured and not guessed.
  • The agreed scope of work, delivered every month.
  • A plain answer at each review if something is not working, with what we will change.

We tell you this before you start, not after.

Business impact

How Claude SEO helps your business grow

Claude's audience is smaller than ChatGPT's but weighted towards professionals. That shapes where the value is.

Targets we plan against, for engagements of six months or more

  • +178%AI search visibilityTarget by month 6
  • 94%AI Overview citation ratePriority question set
  • 3×Brand mention growthAcross AI tools
  • +62%Branded searchTarget by month 6
AI search visibilityTarget path, indexed to your baseline (100)
  • Target
  • Baseline

Target path for a six-month engagement. It is a planning target, not a client result.

  1. 1

    You appear at the research stage of a B2B purchase

    Professionals use Claude to shortlist suppliers and build an internal case. A cited source is seen by the person writing the recommendation.

    Measured byTracked prompts where your pages are cited.

  2. 2

    Citations carry your expertise

    Claude tends to quote precise, evidenced passages. The reader sees your reasoning, not only your name.

    Measured byWhich of your passages are cited, logged monthly.

  3. 3

    Accidental blocking stops costing you

    Blanket rules against AI bots often shut out Claude's search crawler by mistake. Fixing the rules makes your pages available again.

    Measured byAccess status for the three Claude user agents.

  4. 4

    Precise pages are cited elsewhere too

    The qualities Claude favours are also valued by Perplexity, ChatGPT search and Google.

    Measured byReferral visits from AI tools in Analytics.

Published client resultsSee the case studies →
  • 1.8KAI mentionsHome services franchise client
  • 218Pages cited in AI answersPlumbing and HVAC client
  • ~70×Organic visitsFranchise client, about 1K to 69.8K
  • 98%Client retention600+ clients in 30 countries

What we guarantee

  • A dated baseline before work starts.Every result is measured against a starting point you have seen.
  • The agreed scope, delivered every month.You know what will be done before the month begins.
  • Honest reporting.Reports match your own analytics. A quarterly review tells you plainly if something is not working.
  • White-hat methods only.No bought links, no fake reviews and nothing that risks a penalty.
  • Your approval before anything is published.No page, pitch or listing change goes live without your sign-off.
  • No lock-in.Billed monthly. Stop with 30 days' notice.

We do not guarantee a ranking or a mention in an AI answer. The search engines and assistants decide that, and no agency controls them. We guarantee the work, the measurement and the honesty.

Common mistakes

Mistakes we see most often

These come up in almost every first audit. Each one is avoidable, and most are quick to put right once you know to look.

Check my site for these
  1. Mistake 01

    One rule for all AI bots

    Blocking everything removes you from search answers as well as training. The three crawlers can be handled separately.

  2. Mistake 02

    Assuming ChatGPT work covers Claude

    The principles overlap, but crawler names, access rules and the sources each model favours differ.

  3. Mistake 03

    Thin, promotional pages

    Claude tends to prefer precise, well-supported writing. Marketing copy without substance is rarely cited.

  4. Mistake 04

    Not testing

    Without running real prompts in Claude, you cannot know whether it can reach or cite you.

Do it yourself

Five checks you can do this week

You do not need us for the first steps. These take under an hour and show you where you stand.

0 of 5 done

Tick each one off as you go.

Request the free audit
This weekUnder an hour in total
Key terms

Claude SEO: key terms

The words you will hear from us, in plain English, and the phrases people type when they look for this service.

Claude-SearchBot
Anthropic’s crawler that indexes pages for Claude’s search answers.
Claude-User
The agent that fetches a page when a user asks Claude to open it.
ClaudeBot
Anthropic’s crawler that collects public content for model training.
Rendering
How a page’s final content is produced. Content that appears only after scripts run may not be read.
People also search for
  • Claude SEO services
  • Claude SEO agency
  • Claude AI optimization
  • how to rank in Claude
  • ClaudeBot robots.txt
  • Claude-SearchBot
  • Anthropic Claude SEO
  • LLM SEO agency
  • optimize for Claude
  • Claude citations
FAQ

Claude SEO: common questions

Straight answers to the 9 questions we are asked most.

Is yours not here?

Send it to us and you get a reply within one business day.

Ask your own question
01What is Claude SEO?

It is the work of making your website accessible to Claude's crawlers and your content clear and well supported, so Claude can cite it when it searches the web for an answer.

02What are Claude's crawlers?

Anthropic publishes three: Claude-SearchBot, which supports search results; Claude-User, which fetches a page when a user asks; and ClaudeBot, which collects content for model training. Each can be controlled separately in robots.txt.

03Can I block training but stay visible in Claude search?

Yes. You can disallow ClaudeBot and still allow Claude-SearchBot and Claude-User. Our free AI Crawler Rules tool generates the exact lines.

04Is Claude SEO different from ChatGPT SEO?

Most of the work is shared: access, clear entity information and answer-first content. The crawler names differ, and the audience leans more towards professional and research use.

05Do I need this as well as ChatGPT optimisation?

For most businesses the two are planned together, since the same improvements help both. A separate focus on Claude makes sense when your buyers are professionals who use it at work.

06Who uses Claude, and is it relevant to my business?

Claude is used heavily in professional and technical work. It is most relevant if your buyers research suppliers, tools or services as part of their job.

07How do you test visibility in Claude?

We run an agreed set of buyer questions in Claude with web search on, and record the answer, the businesses named and the sources cited. The same set is repeated monthly.

08Can Claude read pages behind a login or paywall?

No. Like other AI search crawlers, it reads publicly accessible pages. Gated content needs a public summary if you want it to be found.

09Is Claude SEO a separate service or part of a wider plan?

It is usually delivered as part of LLM optimisation across the main assistants, with Claude-specific crawler settings and testing.

Free tools

Check the basics yourself, free

Three of our free tools cover the first checks we make. No signup is needed.

  • Free
  • No signup
  • Results in seconds
Free toolAI Crawler Rules

Choose which AI crawlers may read your site.

Open the tool Free toolAI Readiness Scanner

Check in ten seconds whether AI crawlers can read your homepage.

Open the tool Free toolAI Answer Checker

Paste a page and see how easy it is for AI to quote.

Open the tool
Free, with no obligation

See how Claude answers questions in your field

Send us your website and a few research questions your buyers ask. We will test them in Claude and share the answers.

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  • No cost for the audit
  • Written proposal in 48 hours
  • No lock-in contract
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