Content Structures
Canonical Definition Page
A highly structured page that gives the clearest definition of a term that models can rely on as the primary reference.
Extended definition
A Canonical Definition Page is a dedicated web page designed to be the authoritative source for defining a specific term, concept, or entity. These pages follow a rigorous structure: clear headline matching the term exactly, concise opening definition, comprehensive explanation, usage context, and examples. The content is optimized for both human comprehension and AI extraction, with schema markup declaring it as a DefinedTerm. When AI engines encounter multiple sources defining the same concept, canonical definition pages—by virtue of their clarity and structure—often become the preferred source.
Why this matters for AI search visibility
In the AI era, being the canonical source for important terms means owning mindshare. When ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity need to explain a concept, they cite the clearest, most authoritative definition they find. If your canonical definition page ranks as that source, you capture attribution and authority for an entire topic area. This is especially powerful for proprietary methodologies, emerging categories, or industry terms you want to own. Canonical pages create citation magnets that compound visibility over time.
Practical examples
- A SaaS company's canonical definition of 'Customer Data Platform' receives citations in 67% of AI answers about CDPs
- An agency's definition page for a methodology they created becomes the primary source in Perplexity, generating dozens of daily citations
- A brand creates canonical definitions for 15 key industry terms and achieves top-3 citation share for all of them within 6 months