What we changed on our nonprofit career sites after asking what makes an answer worth using.

In October, I asked what an AI assistant would say if someone asked where to give, where to work, or who does a particular kind of nonprofit work in their city. Since then, we’ve put that thinking to work on our own sites. The test I keep coming back to is simple. Could someone use this page to make a decision and point to the evidence behind it? Read my October 22 article.

That was on my mind when I saw LinkedIn for Marketing’s graphic on creating citable content. In his write-up of the Meltwater research for LinkedIn, Chris Hackney reports that individual member profiles accounted for 75% of the LinkedIn citations in the study. The study covered 16 B2B categories across six AI systems. For me, the question that follows is what a practitioner can publish that someone would actually want to quote or use. Read Chris Hackney’s write-up and Meltwater’s methodology.

What we changed

• We built around a hiring decision. A board can ask for an executive director job description and get a polished page that leaves the central question unanswered. What should this person actually be responsible for? In our Nonprofit C-Suite Job Description Builder, the role, organization size, and leadership challenge shape the starting point. A small nonprofit that needs its executive director to personally lead fundraising has a different search from one that needs an executive to manage a development team. That distinction belongs in the job description where a board and a candidate can both see it. Try the Nonprofit C-Suite Job Description Builder.
• We made the difference between two similar choices explicit. In our recent guide to interim and fractional leadership, the question is what authority the organization needs during an executive transition. For example, if a CEO leaves and the board needs someone to run operations and manage staff while a search is underway, that points toward an interim appointment. If an existing leader can run the organization and needs a few days a month of senior help on a defined assignment, that points toward fractional support. Readers can use that distinction in their next board conversation. Read the interim and fractional leadership guide.

Five checks before we publish

• Start with a decision. Write down the question a candidate, board member, or donor actually needs answered. Use their words.
• Give the answer up front. Put it in a sentence that can stand on its own. Name the condition that would change the answer.
• Show how it works. Use a worked example, a side-by-side comparison, or a tool that lets someone apply the answer.
• Make claims easy to check. Name the source, link to it, and explain what it covers. If an example is hypothetical, say so. Use public information or examples you have permission to share.
• Keep the answer current. Revisit the page when the underlying facts change. Give the reader an update date that reflects a real review.

What I’d measure

I’d start with a handful of questions that matter to the people we serve. For each one, I’d record the exact wording, the date, the tool, the source it cited, and whether the citation supports the answer it gave. I’d also check whether someone who lands on our page can use it without sending us a follow-up email. Google says its usual SEO fundamentals still apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, with no additional requirements for inclusion. Read Google Search Central’s guidance.

If you run a nonprofit, try this with one question your staff answers every week. Put the clearest answer you’ve given on the page where people would look for it. Add a real example and a source they can check. See whether your team starts sending that page in replies. That’s the first test I’d run.