If you know, you know — the llms.txt
file is one of those underground SEO tactics that only a handful of growth hackers and link-building pros have been quietly using to amplify their entity SEO, power up parasite pages, and ensure their brand signals are machine-readable.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn exactly what an llms.txt
(or llms-full.txt
) is, why it works, and how to build one for your own site. Plus, I’ll give you a real example, a Notion SOP you can follow, and a downloadable tracker to manage your entire off-page entity map like a pro. Let’s dig in.
1️⃣ What is llms.txt
?
llms.txt
stands for Local Link Map Schema (or Link Level Mapping Strategy — it’s not an official standard yet). It’s an experimental framework that some SEOs use alongside their robots.txt
and XML sitemap to publish an explicit, human- and machine-readable map of their brand’s off-page ecosystem.
In other words, it’s your private entity map that search engines can crawl. It shows:
✅ Which profiles, properties, and directories belong to you
✅ Where your brand is mentioned
✅ What parasites or satellites you control
✅ What author profiles are linked to your entity
✅ Any schema references you want crawlers to understand
Think of it as a more advanced, extended sameAs
markup — but in a file you can version, test, and expand anytime.
2️⃣ Why Use llms.txt
for SEO?
SEO is evolving — we know Google cares about entities, E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), and clear relationships between your pages, authors, and properties.
By maintaining a llms.txt
:
- You help bots disambiguate your brand from others.
- You make it easier to index parasite pages and tiered links.
- You push trust signals through your social fortress, PR mentions, citations, and PBNs (if you use them).
- You can test which off-page assets drive the most power to your site.
Some SEO pros quietly rotate versions of their llms.txt
to test new link networks, making it an agile tool in advanced link building.
3️⃣ Core Principles Behind Entity-Based Off-Page SEO
The idea behind llms.txt
comes from three big trends:
🔍 1. Search engines now think in entities.
Google’s Knowledge Graph connects the dots between your brand, your authors, your social profiles, your mentions, and your products.
🔗 2. Linking out to verified properties clarifies your brand footprint.
If you’re not explicitly showing Google what’s yours, it might get lost in the noise — or worse, someone else could hijack your name with parasites or spam.
💥 3. It forces you to track and manage your off-page assets.
A huge chunk of SEO is just keeping your signals updated. The llms.txt
is like a “source of truth” for your brand’s digital trust graph.
4️⃣ llms.txt
vs robots.txt
vs XML Sitemap
Let’s clarify these:
File | Purpose | Indexing Role |
---|---|---|
robots.txt | Tells crawlers what to crawl or block. | Controls crawl budget; can block or allow. |
XML Sitemap | Lists pages on your site you want indexed. | Directs search engines to discover URLs. |
llms.txt | Maps off-site & brand-owned properties. | Helps bots discover off-page entity signals. |
They work together:
- Your
robots.txt
can link to both your XML sitemap and yourllms.txt
. - Your
llms.txt
can even list multiple sitemaps or versions.
5️⃣ How to Structure an Effective llms.txt
File
A solid llms.txt
includes sections like:
- Official Brand URLs: Home, About, Blog, Contact, FAQs, Privacy Policy.
- Social Fortress: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora, Medium — anywhere you have verified profiles.
- Citations: Yelp, BBB, Chamber of Commerce, industry directories.
- Press Mentions: Articles, features, PR sites.
- Parasite SEO Pages: Medium posts, Quora answers, Google Sites, Slides, Gumroad pages.
- PBNs / Tier 2: Quality niche blogs or placements you control.
- Author Entity: Author bio pages, LinkedIn, Twitter, Wikidata, schema references.
- Other Signals: Local maps, GMB profiles, Google Drives, etc.
Label each section clearly with comments (# === SECTION ===
). This helps both you and crawlers read it.
6️⃣ What to Include in an llms-full.txt
A llms-full.txt
is like your master link map. It can include:
- Expired domains you own that redirect to your site.
- Niche edits, guest posts, HARO placements.
- Parasite pages and 3rd-tier properties.
- Google Drive stacks (Docs, Slides, Sheets).
- PDFs, PR syndication pages.
- Any test domains you spin up for SEO experiments.
The bigger your entity network, the more comprehensive your llms-full.txt
should be.
7️⃣ How to Host, Ping, and Submit It
✅ Host your file at:https://www.yoursite.com/llms.txt
or /llms-full.txt
✅ Add a note in your robots.txt
:
bashCopyEdit# LLMS Reference
Sitemap: https://www.yoursite.com/llms.txt
✅ Submit the URL for indexing via:
- Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool.
- Any indexers or ping tools you trust.
✅ Share it with your team so they update it when you launch new parasites or get fresh press.
8️⃣ Off-Page Strategies to Boost with LLMS
Your llms.txt
works best when you build it alongside:
- Parasite SEO: Control and rank Medium articles, Quora answers, Google Sites.
- Citations & Local SEO: Make sure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is consistent.
- Press Releases: Include high-authority features, even syndication.
- PBNs: If you’re running a safe, niche-relevant PBN, this can map it without leaving footprints.
- Social Fortress: Interlink your profiles — your
llms.txt
shows crawlers where to find them.
9️⃣ Steal This: Real-World Example
Here’s a sample snippet you can adapt:
plaintextCopyEdit# llms.txt - Local Link Map Schema
# IYKYK ;)
# === OFFICIAL ===
https://www.brandname.com/
https://www.brandname.com/about/
https://www.brandname.com/blog/
# === SOCIAL ===
https://www.facebook.com/brandname
https://www.instagram.com/brandname
Tweets by brandname
...
# === PRESS ===
https://www.forbes.com/sites/authorname/2025/06/20/brandname-feature/
...
# === PARASITES ===
https://brandname.medium.com/how-we-scaled
https://sites.google.com/view/brandname-hacks
# === AUTHOR ===
https://www.brandname.com/author/janedoe
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janedoe
Tweets by janedoe
Keep it clean, versioned, and updated!
🔑 10. Best Practices and Pro Tips
✔️ Host at root domain.
✔️ Version your files (llms-v1.txt
, llms-v2.txt
).
✔️ Cross-check for dead links.
✔️ Keep sameAs references consistent.
✔️ Update after every big press or link-building campaign.
🚀 11. Advanced Tactics
🔗 G-Stacks: Link your Google Drive folders, Docs, Sheets, and Sites for cloud authority.
🐍 Tiered Linking: Push juice from parasites to PBNs to your main site.
🧩 Contextual Link Map: Use anchor text references in your Parasite pages to match your llms.txt
.
📈 Indexing Services: Don’t just build it — ping it!
🚫 12. Common Mistakes
❌ Don’t list spammy, irrelevant links — they can become a footprint.
❌ Don’t forget to update old URLs.
❌ Don’t bloat your map with sites you don’t control or verify.
❓ 13. FAQs
Q: Is llms.txt
officially supported by Google?
A: Nope. This is an advanced tactic — no guarantees, but many SEOs see faster indexing and clearer brand entity signals.
Q: Should I add it to robots.txt?
A: Optional, but some do to make sure crawlers see it.
Q: Can it get me penalized?
A: Not if you use quality, relevant, brand-owned properties. Don’t spam.
🏁 14. Final Thoughts
If you want to play the big league entity SEO game, your off-page map matters. An llms.txt
(and llms-full.txt
for advanced setups) can give you a cutting-edge framework for keeping all your off-page signals consistent and indexable.