Playbook · Apps, extensions and tools
SEO & AI search playbook for design tools
Design tools sell through visuals, and people search for visuals: “Instagram story template”, “logo mockup”, “pitch deck design”. A template or asset gallery can become a large, useful page family.
The problem is that visual pages often have very little text. A gallery page with a hundred thumbnails and no words gives search engines little to go on, and image search needs its own care.
Updated By the LaunchRanked team3 sources checked
Searches to plan around
Query patterns and the intent behind them. We don’t quote search volumes: check your own Search Console for the ones you already appear for.
“[format] template”, “[format] mockup”
Get a starting pointTemplate pages with previews, sizes and what's editable.
“how to design [thing]”
LearnTutorials that show the process and end result.
“[tool] alternative”, “free [tool] alternative”
SwitchDesigners compare on price, collaboration and file compatibility.
“[format] size”, “[platform] image dimensions”
Quick factSize guides are simple, useful and cited often.
Page families that work
Template gallery
/templates/instagram-story
Each template with a large preview, dimensions, fonts used, what's editable.
Size guides
/sizes/instagram
Dimension tables per platform, dated, since platforms change them.
Tutorials
/learn/design-a-pitch-deck
Step-by-step with images of each stage.
Comparison pages
/compare/you-vs-other-tool
File formats, collaboration, pricing.
Risky page types
Template pages with a thumbnail and nothing else
Thousands of those look identical to a crawler. Add descriptions, dimensions and use notes.
Keyword-stuffed alt text
Alt text should describe the image. Stuffing it is keyword stuffing.
Technical pitfalls
Images loaded by script with no img element
Use real img elements with alt text so images can be indexed.
Huge preview images
Serve modern formats and responsive sizes; galleries get heavy fast.
Gallery pagination hiding templates
Infinite scroll with no paginated URLs can hide most templates from crawlers. Give each page of results a URL.
How AI assistants answer questions in this category
Assistants answer “what size is an Instagram story?” directly, often citing a size guide. For “what's a good tool to make [thing]?”, they build shortlists from listicles and comparison pages. For Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, its AI features guidance says pages only need to be indexed and eligible for a snippet, with no special markup.
What tends to earn a citation
- Dated size tables with the platform named.
- Tutorials with clear steps and images of each stage.
- Template pages with real descriptions.
Check whether the AI crawlers you want can reach your site with our AI crawler checker.
Where links come from
Community files and galleries
Publish templates in design communities that allow a link back to your site.
Size guides
Marketers and designers link to up-to-date size guides.
Design directories
Design directories judge by visuals; use sharp previews.
Directory lists that fit design tools
- Design directories
- Productivity app directories
- Product launch platforms
- Where to submit: Design tools
- Where to submit: Figma plugins
- Where to submit: Templates and UI kits
- All directories
Each directory is checked on its own site: price, link type and review process. We never sell links.
A 90-day plan
Days 1–30
Gallery basics
- Add descriptions and dimensions to the top 50 templates.
- Make sure images use img elements with honest alt text.
- Give gallery pages crawlable pagination.
Days 31–60
Size guides and tutorials
- Publish size guides for the platforms your users design for.
- Write five tutorials with step images.
- Submit to design directories.
Days 61–90
Comparisons and loop
- Write comparison pages against your main alternatives.
- Refresh size guides when platforms change.
- Rewrite titles on template pages at positions 5–20.
What to watch in Search Console
The Performance report gives clicks, impressions, CTR and average position by query, page, country, device and date. Traffic from Google's AI features is counted there too, under the Web search type (Google).
- Image search clicks
- The Performance report's search type filter separates Image search.
- Template pages indexed
- Tells you whether template pages have enough content.
- Queries with “size” or “dimensions”
- Size-guide demand; these pages are easy to keep winning.
Frequently asked questions
How much text does a template page need?
Enough to describe what it is, its dimensions, what's editable and when to use it. A few useful sentences beat a long generic intro.
Does alt text help SEO?
It helps image search and accessibility. Describe the image; don't stuff keywords.
Should we use infinite scroll in the gallery?
Only with paginated URLs underneath so every template is reachable.
Do size guides really work?
They answer a frequent, simple question. Keep them dated and accurate.
Sources
Checked on September 23, 2026. Search patterns and page advice are our own judgement from running this playbook; we don’t quote search volumes or third-party statistics.