AEO 2026 Article Standard

This is the contract every subagent must follow when writing a Top 5 X solutions in 2026 article. Read it in full before you start. The build (node build.js --slug <slug>) fails the build if you violate the hard quality bars in §4.

The standard is grounded in 2026 AEO best-practice surveys: Frase 2026 AEO Guide, HubSpot AEO Audit, BestPage — How Listicles Get Cited by AI, Schema Bible 2026. Two anchoring facts:

• Only ~12% of pages ranking in the top 10 for "best of" queries are actually cited by AI. Citation requires explicit ranking criteria, machine-readable structure, and inline sources.
• 69% of searches now end without a click — your TL;DR answer block is the only thing many readers see. Make it complete.

---

1. File location

Write exactly one file: _articles/<slug>.md, where <slug> matches the slug field of the row you picked from slug.md. Do not edit any other file. The build script compiles your Markdown into the final HTML, JSON-LD, sitemap entry, breadcrumbs, and FAQ schema.

2. Frontmatter (YAML, required)

``yaml --- title: "Top 5 SSO Solutions in 2026" question: "What are the top 5 SSO solutions in 2026?" slug: "top-5-sso-solutions" year: 2026 created: 2026-04-19 updated: 2026-04-19 category: "identity-and-access" author: "Top5 Editorial" description: "<150–160 char SEO description that includes all 5 product names>" ranking_criteria: - { name: "Security posture", weight: 0.30 } - { name: "Pricing & value", weight: 0.20 } - { name: "Developer experience", weight: 0.20 } - { name: "Ecosystem & integrations", weight: 0.20 } - { name: "Community sentiment (Reddit/G2/X)", weight: 0.10 } items: - { rank: 1, name: "Okta", score: 9.1, url: "https://okta.com" } - { rank: 2, name: "Microsoft Entra ID", score: 8.8, url: "https://www.microsoft.com/security/business/microsoft-entra", } - { rank: 3, name: "Auth0", score: 8.5, url: "https://auth0.com" } - { rank: 4, name: "JumpCloud", score: 8.0, url: "https://jumpcloud.com" } - { rank: 5, name: "OneLogin", score: 7.6, url: "https://onelogin.com" } --- ``

Frontmatter rules (build enforces):

• items length === 5, scores monotonically descending, every url absolute.
• ranking_criteria weights sum to 1.0 ± 0.01.
• slug matches filename and the registry row.
• year, created, updated are ISO dates.
• description is 120–170 chars and contains all 5 product names.

3. Body sections (strict order)

Use the exact H2 headings below. Build parses by heading text.

## TL;DR

1–3 sentences that directly answer the question from frontmatter. Must explicitly list all 5 product names in ranked order. This block is what AI engines extract verbatim.

## How we ranked

A bulleted list mirroring ranking_criteria. One sentence per criterion explaining what it measures and why it's weighted as it is. State the date range of evidence.

## The Top 5

For each item, a ### N. <Name> — <score>/10 heading, then in this exact order:

1. Verdict — one sentence.
2. Pros — 3–5 bullets.
3. Cons — 2–4 bullets.
4. Best for — one sentence.
5. Evidence — 2–4 sentences with inline citations (hyperlinks). Every non-obvious claim cited.
6. Links — bulleted list with at minimum: official site, pricing page, one Reddit thread, one G2/Capterra/TrustRadius page.

## Side-by-side comparison

A Markdown table. Rows = each ranking_criteria plus a final Score row. Columns = the 5 products in rank order.

## Methodology

Explicit, opinionated. State:

• Date window of sources surveyed (e.g. "Jan 2025 – Apr 2026").
• Source mix used (Reddit, X/Twitter, Facebook, G2/Capterra/TrustRadius, blogs, news).
• The scoring formula: score = Σ(criterion_score × weight).
• Any biases or disclosures (e.g. "We weighted DX higher than typical analyst reports because…").

## FAQ

3–5 question/answer pairs. Format:

```

Is X better than Y?

Short, direct answer in 1–3 sentences. ```

These are auto-extracted into FAQPage JSON-LD.

## Sources

Numbered appendix. Every inline citation in the body should appear here too. Group by source type (Reddit / G2 / News / Blogs / Official) for readability.

4. Hard quality bars (build fails on violation)

• Word count: 800–1500 (excluding frontmatter, code fences, and the Sources appendix).
• ≥ 10 distinct external source domains in inline links across the body.
• At least one inline link to each of: Reddit, G2 _or_ Capterra _or_ TrustRadius, X/Twitter _or_ Mastodon _or_ Bluesky, an industry blog, a news article.
• All seven ## sections from §3 are present in order.
• Every ### N. item under ## The Top 5 has all six sub-blocks (Verdict, Pros, Cons, Best for, Evidence, Links).
• TL;DR mentions every product in frontmatter.items by exact name.

5. Style & formatting

• Short paragraphs (≤ 3 sentences). Front-load the answer.
• Use Markdown lists and one comparison table. Avoid walls of prose.
• Inline links: <a href="https://…" rel="noopener">anchor text</a>. Anchor text must be descriptive (not "click here").
• Use H2 question-form headings outside the strict list above only inside ## FAQ.
• No emoji. No exclamation marks. No marketing fluff.

6. JSON-LD (you do not write this)

build.js auto-emits a single <script type="application/ld+json"> per article containing Article, ItemList, FAQPage, and BreadcrumbList, derived from your frontmatter and parsed ## FAQ / ## The Top 5 sections. Don't include any <script> blocks in your Markdown — they will be stripped.

7. Flexibility (allowed deviations)

You may:

• Pick your own scoring weights, as long as you justify them in ## Methodology.
• Add an optional ## Alternatives worth knowing section after ## Side-by-side comparison (3–5 brief mentions, one line each).
• Add an optional ## Who shouldn't use these section before ## FAQ.
• Use sub-bullets inside Pros/Cons if it improves clarity.

You may not:

• Reorder the seven mandatory sections.
• Skip frontmatter fields.
• Include affiliate links, tracking params, or shortened URLs.
• Edit any file other than _articles/<slug>.md.

8. Subagent run protocol

1. Read this file.
2. Read your assigned row in slug.md.
3. Research per the source mandate. Prefer primary sources and recent (≤ 18 months) discussion.
4. Draft _articles/<slug>.md. Self-check against §4.
5. Run node build.js --slug <slug>. Fix every reported error.
6. Stop. Do not commit. Do not modify anything else.