Retrieval works on passages, not pages. An assistant pulls a chunk, reads it out of context, and decides whether it answers the question. A page can be excellent and still be unquotable.
Answer the question near the question
Put the question in the heading and answer it immediately underneath, in a self-contained passage. If understanding the answer requires three paragraphs of preamble above it, the chunk that gets lifted will not carry the answer.
Give it something to quote
Models cite specifics. A number with a source and a date is quotable. "Significantly improves results" is not. If nothing on your page can be extracted as a standalone claim, nothing gets credited to you even when you are read.
Keep the passage whole
Avoid splitting an answer across a table, an image caption and a sentence. Each of those lands in a different chunk. The complete answer should survive being cut out of the page.
Table stakes
- Headings phrased as the question a buyer asks.
- A direct answer in the first sentence under each heading.
- At least one specific, attributable claim per section.
- Self-contained passages that make sense alone.
- Dates on anything time-sensitive, shown as text, not only in markup.