rel="service-doc" Explained
The service-doc relation can expose machine-readable documentation through HTTP headers.
rel="service-doc" is a Link relation that can point clients to documentation or guidance resources for a service or website.
Using rel="service-doc" in Link headers can help crawlers discover llms.txt, documentation, or AI guidance resources earlier in the fetch process.
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HTTP Link headers are sent before the HTML body is parsed. That makes them useful for discovery infrastructure.
For AI-focused websites, service-doc can point to llms.txt or related documentation.
Practical Steps
- Choose a public documentation URL.
- Add a Link header with rel="service-doc".
- Include the correct content type.
- Test with curl -I.
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Is service-doc required?
No. It is an optional discovery signal.
Can it point to llms.txt?
Yes, if that is your service documentation resource.
How do I test it?
Run curl -I https://example.com and inspect Link headers.
Editorial methodology
TruboRankAI publishes practical guidance from observable website signals, reproducible checks, and cited primary or first-party references when platform behavior or measured claims can change. Crawler access, indexing, search visibility, mentions, citations, referral visits, and conversions are treated as separate signals. Readers should verify time-sensitive settings and policies against the linked official documentation.