middleware.io
Comparing v7 vs v8
Mar 30, 2026 → Mar 31, 2026
77
/ 100
→
-1067
/ 100
#
Criterion
v7
Status
v8
Status
Delta
1
llms.txt File
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
2
Schema.org Structured Data
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
3
Q&A Content Format
6/10
MODERATE
8/10
STRONG
+2
4
Clean, Crawlable HTML
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
5
Entity Authority & NAP Consistency
6/10
MODERATE
6/10
MODERATE
0
6
robots.txt for AI Crawlers
5/10
PARTIAL
5/10
PARTIAL
0
7
Comprehensive FAQ Section
4/10
PARTIAL
4/10
PARTIAL
0
8
Original Data & Expert Analysis
8/10
STRONG
8/10
STRONG
0
9
Internal Linking Structure
8/10
STRONG
8/10
STRONG
0
10
Semantic HTML5 & Accessibility
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
11
Content Freshness Signals
2/10
POOR
2/10
POOR
0
12
Sitemap Completeness
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
13
RSS/Atom Feed
0/10
MISSING
0/10
MISSING
0
14
Table & List Extractability
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
15
Definition Patterns
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
16
Direct Answer Paragraphs
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
17
Content Licensing & AI Permissions
0/10
MISSING
0/10
MISSING
0
18
Author & Expert Schema
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
19
Fact & Data Density
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
20
Canonical URL Strategy
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
21
Content Publishing Velocity
3/10
WEAK
3/10
WEAK
0
22
Schema Coverage & Depth
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
23
Speakable Schema
0/10
MISSING
0/10
MISSING
0
24
Query-Answer Alignment
7/10
GOOD
7/10
GOOD
0
25
Content Cannibalization
9/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
+1
26
Visible Date Signal
5/10
PARTIAL
5/10
PARTIAL
0
27
Topic Coherence
7/10
GOOD
7/10
GOOD
0
28
Content Depth
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
29
Helpful Purpose Alignment
6/10
MODERATE
6/10
MODERATE
0
30
First-Hand Experience Signals
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
31
Creator Transparency
6/10
MODERATE
5/10
PARTIAL
-1
32
Methodology Transparency
8/10
STRONG
8/10
STRONG
0
33
Citation-Ready Writing Quality
8/10
STRONG
8/10
STRONG
0
34
Answer-First Placement
4/10
PARTIAL
4/10
PARTIAL
0
35
Evidence Packaging
8/10
STRONG
8/10
STRONG
0
36
Entity Disambiguation
6/10
MODERATE
6/10
MODERATE
0
37
Extraction Friction Score
6/10
MODERATE
6/10
MODERATE
0
38
Image Context for AI
1/10
NEARLY EMPTY
1/10
NEARLY EMPTY
0
39
Duplicate Content Blocks
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
40
Cross-Page Duplicate Content
9/10
STRONG
9/10
STRONG
0
41
Internationalization Signals
3/10
WEAK
3/10
WEAK
0
42
Page Speed: Server Response
7/10
GOOD
7/10
GOOD
0
43
Page Speed: Load Blockers
6/10
MODERATE
6/10
MODERATE
0
44
Page Speed: Page Size
8/10
STRONG
8/10
STRONG
0
45
Answer Capsule Pattern
4/10
PARTIAL
4/10
PARTIAL
0
46
Entity Density
10/10
STRONG
10/10
STRONG
0
47
Owned Data Density
0/10
MISSING
0/10
MISSING
0
48
Sentence Atomicity
2/10
POOR
2/10
POOR
0
Opportunities
10
v7
10
v8
Added in v8
+ Increase Publishing Frequency
Removed since v7
- Restructure Content as Q&A
Findings Summary
Criterion
v7 Findings
v8 Findings
Delta
llms.txt File
3
3
0
Schema.org Structured Data
6
6
0
Q&A Content Format
4
4
0
Clean, Crawlable HTML
5
5
0
Entity Authority & NAP Consistency
3
3
0
robots.txt for AI Crawlers
2
2
0
Comprehensive FAQ Section
4
4
0
Original Data & Expert Analysis
4
4
0
Internal Linking Structure
5
5
0
Semantic HTML5 & Accessibility
5
5
0
Content Freshness Signals
4
4
0
Sitemap Completeness
4
4
0
RSS/Atom Feed
2
2
0
Table & List Extractability
7
7
0
Definition Patterns
4
4
0
Direct Answer Paragraphs
3
3
0
Content Licensing & AI Permissions
4
4
0
Author & Expert Schema
5
5
0
Fact & Data Density
4
4
0
Canonical URL Strategy
4
4
0
Content Publishing Velocity
3
3
0
Schema Coverage & Depth
5
5
0
Speakable Schema
2
2
0
Query-Answer Alignment
2
2
0
Content Cannibalization
2
2
0
Visible Date Signal
2
2
0
Topic Coherence
4
4
0
Content Depth
3
3
0
Helpful Purpose Alignment
2
2
0
First-Hand Experience Signals
2
2
0
Creator Transparency
2
2
0
Methodology Transparency
2
2
0
Citation-Ready Writing Quality
4
4
0
Answer-First Placement
3
3
0
Evidence Packaging
4
4
0
Entity Disambiguation
3
3
0
Extraction Friction Score
3
3
0
Image Context for AI
3
3
0
Duplicate Content Blocks
2
2
0
Cross-Page Duplicate Content
2
2
0
Internationalization Signals
2
2
0
Page Speed: Server Response
2
2
0
Page Speed: Load Blockers
2
2
0
Page Speed: Page Size
2
2
0
Answer Capsule Pattern
2
2
0
Entity Density
2
2
0
Owned Data Density
2
2
0
Sentence Atomicity
2
2
0