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The All-in-One AEO & GEO Audit Checklist

250 specific, checkable items across 16 categories, everything a modern SEO team verifies to rank in AI-generated search results and on Google.

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Technical Crawlability & Indexing

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Technical Crawlability & Indexing

AI models and search engines can only cite pages they can reliably crawl and index.

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1. Technical Crawlability & Indexing (0/16)

AI models and search engines can only cite pages they can reliably crawl and index.

☐ Verify robots.txt does not block critical directories or CSS/JS resources needed for rendering.
☐ Confirm an XML sitemap exists, is under 50,000 URLs, and is submitted in Search Console.
☐ Ensure canonical tags point to a single preferred URL per content cluster.
☐ Check that server returns 200 for live pages and clean 301s for redirects.
☐ Eliminate redirect chains longer than two hops across the site.
☐ Confirm no critical content is hidden behind JavaScript that fails server-side rendering.
☐ Validate hreflang tags resolve correctly for all language and regional variants.
☐ Check crawl budget usage in server logs and prune low-value crawled URLs.
☐ Ensure faceted navigation and parameters do not create infinite crawl traps.
☐ Verify pagination uses self-referencing canonicals or consolidated view pages.
☐ Confirm soft 404s return proper 404/410 status codes.
☐ Test that mobile and desktop crawlers receive identical primary content.
☐ Ensure sitemap lastmod dates accurately reflect real content updates.
☐ Check that noindex tags are absent from pages intended to rank or be cited.
☐ Confirm HTTPS is enforced sitewide with no mixed-content warnings.
☐ Submit an up-to-date XML sitemap in Search Console and confirm 0 crawl errors.

2. On-Page Content Quality (0/16)

AI systems favor original, comprehensive content that directly satisfies user intent.

☐ Ensure each page targets one primary intent with a clear, unambiguous topic focus.
☐ Verify content includes original data, examples, or analysis not found elsewhere.
☐ Confirm the opening 100 words directly answer the page's core question.
☐ Check that headings form a logical H1-H2-H3 outline matching subtopics.
☐ Ensure every claim is specific, factual, and free of filler or fluff.
☐ Verify content depth matches or exceeds top-ranking competitors for the query.
☐ Confirm no thin pages under 300 words exist without a deliberate purpose.
☐ Check that jargon is defined and content is readable at target audience level.
☐ Ensure content avoids AI-detectable boilerplate and repetitive phrasing.
☐ Verify each page has a unique, descriptive, keyword-aligned title tag.
☐ Confirm meta descriptions summarize the page in under 155 characters.
☐ Check that tables, lists, and steps are used where they aid comprehension.
☐ Ensure numeric facts include units, dates, and sources for verifiability.
☐ Verify content answers related follow-up questions users commonly ask.
☐ Confirm every page states who it is for and what outcome it delivers.
☐ Ensure every page answers one clear search intent in its first 100 words.

3. Structured Data & Schema (0/16)

Schema markup helps engines and LLMs extract and trust factual page data.

☐ Ensure every product page has Product schema with price, availability, and aggregateRating.
☐ Add Article schema with author, datePublished, and dateModified to all articles.
☐ Implement FAQPage schema for genuine question-and-answer content only.
☐ Add Organization schema with logo, sameAs, and contact details on the homepage.
☐ Validate all schema with Google's Rich Results Test and Schema.org validator.
☐ Ensure BreadcrumbList schema reflects the actual navigational hierarchy.
☐ Add HowTo schema for step-by-step instructional content.
☐ Implement Review schema with reviewer and rating for testimonial pages.
☐ Confirm no schema markup describes content invisible to users.
☐ Add VideoObject schema with thumbnail, duration, and uploadDate for videos.
☐ Ensure LocalBusiness schema includes address, geo, and openingHours.
☐ Add Person schema for author profiles with credentials and sameAs links.
☐ Confirm schema uses JSON-LD format rather than microdata or RDFa.
☐ Nest schema entities correctly using @id references to link related types.
☐ Validate that Event schema includes startDate, location, and offers where relevant.
☐ Monitor Search Console for structured data errors and fix them promptly.

4. Entity & Knowledge-Graph Optimization (0/15)

Being a recognized entity lets AI models associate your brand with topics confidently.

☐ Create a Wikidata entry for the brand with verified properties and identifiers.
☐ Ensure consistent entity naming across all pages and external profiles.
☐ Link entities using sameAs to Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and Crunchbase profiles.
☐ Build topic-entity pages that clearly define your organization's core concepts.
☐ Confirm the brand appears in Google Knowledge Panel with accurate attributes.
☐ Use consistent NAP (name, address, phone) across every online reference.
☐ Disambiguate the brand from similarly named entities in content and schema.
☐ Map content to a defined entity taxonomy covering your subject domain.
☐ Ensure key people have their own entity presence with authoritative citations.
☐ Add about and mentions schema to associate pages with relevant entities.
☐ Verify entity relationships are reflected in internal linking structure.
☐ Establish topical authority by covering an entity's full subtopic cluster.
☐ Reference authoritative sources to reinforce entity associations for AI models.
☐ Claim and verify all knowledge-graph-connected profiles and directories.
☐ Monitor how AI assistants describe your entity and correct inaccuracies.

5. E-E-A-T & Authority (0/16)

Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust drive whether AI cites you.

☐ Ensure every article has a named author with a linked bio and credentials.
☐ Display first-hand experience signals such as original photos or case results.
☐ Add an editorial policy and fact-checking process page.
☐ Publish clear author expertise indicators tied to the content topic.
☐ Confirm About, Contact, and Team pages are complete and verifiable.
☐ Cite primary sources and link to authoritative external references.
☐ Display publish and last-updated dates transparently on all content.
☐ Show credentials, certifications, or affiliations relevant to the subject.
☐ Include reviewer bylines for YMYL content requiring expert oversight.
☐ Ensure contact information and physical address are easy to find.
☐ Add trust signals like privacy policy, terms, and secure checkout.
☐ Publish original research or surveys that others cite back to you.
☐ Display third-party ratings, awards, or recognitions where authentic.
☐ Ensure author profiles link to external professional presence and publications.
☐ Remove or correct outdated, inaccurate claims that undermine trust.
☐ Show author bios with credentials and link them to verified profiles or an About page.

6. llms.txt & AI-Crawler Access (0/15)

Explicitly permitting and guiding AI crawlers controls how models access your content.

☐ Publish an llms.txt file at the root summarizing key content and links.
☐ Create an llms-full.txt with expanded machine-readable content context.
☐ Confirm robots.txt allows GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, and Google-Extended as desired.
☐ Decide and document policy for OAI-SearchBot and CCBot access explicitly.
☐ Ensure AI-crawler allowances align with business goals for AI visibility.
☐ Verify server does not rate-limit or block legitimate AI crawler user-agents.
☐ Provide clean, markdown-friendly versions of key pages for AI ingestion.
☐ Confirm llms.txt links point to canonical, up-to-date resource URLs.
☐ Monitor server logs to confirm AI crawlers are successfully fetching pages.
☐ Keep llms.txt concise, prioritizing highest-value documentation and pages.
☐ Ensure paywalled content policy for AI crawlers is intentional and documented.
☐ Add descriptive context in llms.txt explaining what the site covers.
☐ Test AI-crawler access using user-agent spoofing to confirm content delivery.
☐ Update llms.txt whenever major content sections are added or restructured.
☐ Confirm CDN or WAF rules do not inadvertently block AI user-agents.

7. Answer & Passage Optimization for AI Extraction (0/16)

AI answers are assembled from extractable passages that cleanly answer questions.

☐ Structure key answers as self-contained passages that make sense without the surrounding text.
☐ Place a direct answer immediately below each question-based heading.
☐ Use question-phrased H2/H3 headings matching real user queries.
☐ Format definitions as concise, standalone statements AI can quote directly.
☐ Provide summary boxes or TL;DR sections at the top of long content.
☐ Use bulleted and numbered lists for enumerable and sequential answers.
☐ Ensure each passage makes sense without surrounding context.
☐ Include specific numbers, dates, and named entities within answer passages.
☐ Add comparison tables for versus and best-of query types.
☐ Front-load conclusions before supporting detail in each section.
☐ Write factual sentences in subject-predicate-object structure for parsing.
☐ Avoid pronouns that require prior context in quotable statements.
☐ Provide a clear one-sentence answer for every FAQ item.
☐ Break complex topics into modular, independently citable sections.
☐ Use descriptive anchor text and jump links to key answer sections.
☐ Include units, ranges, and qualifiers so extracted facts stay accurate.

8. Internal Linking & Site Architecture (0/16)

Logical architecture and linking distribute authority and reveal topical relationships.

☐ Ensure a flat architecture keeps key pages within three clicks of home.
☐ Build topic clusters linking supporting pages to a central pillar page.
☐ Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text rather than generic 'click here'.
☐ Confirm every indexable page has at least one internal inbound link.
☐ Eliminate orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them.
☐ Link contextually within body content, not only from navigation.
☐ Ensure pillar pages link out to all cluster subpages and back.
☐ Verify breadcrumb navigation reflects the true content hierarchy.
☐ Limit excessive internal links that dilute link equity per page.
☐ Prioritize internal links to high-value conversion and answer pages.
☐ Check for and fix broken internal links returning 404s.
☐ Use a logical, human-readable URL structure reflecting site hierarchy.
☐ Ensure navigation menus expose primary content categories clearly.
☐ Add related-content modules linking semantically relevant pages.
☐ Confirm link equity flows toward pages you want AI to cite most.
☐ Give every important page at least three descriptive internal links from related content.

9. Page Experience & Core Web Vitals (0/15)

Fast, stable pages improve rankings and crawl efficiency for AI and search.

☐ Ensure Largest Contentful Paint is under 2.5 seconds on mobile.
☐ Keep Cumulative Layout Shift below 0.1 across all templates.
☐ Confirm Interaction to Next Paint is under 200 milliseconds.
☐ Compress and serve images in modern formats like WebP or AVIF.
☐ Enable lazy loading for below-the-fold images and iframes.
☐ Minify and defer non-critical CSS and JavaScript.
☐ Confirm the site passes Google's mobile-friendly test.
☐ Ensure text remains readable without zooming on mobile devices.
☐ Eliminate intrusive interstitials that block content access.
☐ Serve static assets through a CDN with appropriate caching headers.
☐ Confirm no render-blocking resources delay first meaningful paint.
☐ Set explicit width and height on images to prevent layout shift.
☐ Preload critical fonts and hero images for faster rendering.
☐ Verify tap targets are adequately sized and spaced on mobile.
☐ Monitor field data in Search Console's Core Web Vitals report.

10. Freshness & Maintenance (0/16)

AI systems favor current content and penalize stale, outdated information.

☐ Update dateModified whenever meaningful content changes occur.
☐ Review high-traffic pages quarterly for outdated facts and statistics.
☐ Refresh year-referencing content ('best X in 2024') on schedule.
☐ Remove or redirect expired products, events, and offers.
☐ Audit and update all external links for freshness and validity.
☐ Refresh statistics and cite the most recent available data sources.
☐ Add changelog or 'last reviewed' notes to important resource pages.
☐ Retire and consolidate outdated content that cannibalizes newer pages.
☐ Monitor for decaying rankings and prioritize those pages for refresh.
☐ Update screenshots and product visuals after interface changes.
☐ Re-verify factual claims against current authoritative sources annually.
☐ Ensure seasonal content is republished ahead of relevant periods.
☐ Track content age and flag pages exceeding a defined staleness threshold.
☐ Update internal links when refreshing or restructuring content.
☐ Confirm refreshed content is resubmitted for crawling via sitemap update.
☐ Add a visible last-updated date to time-sensitive pages and refresh them quarterly.

11. Off-Site Signals & Citations (0/15)

External citations and links validate authority for both search and AI models.

☐ Earn backlinks from topically relevant, high-authority domains.
☐ Secure citations in industry publications AI models frequently reference.
☐ Audit backlink profile and disavow toxic or spammy links.
☐ Ensure the brand is listed in authoritative industry directories.
☐ Pursue mentions in Wikipedia and Wikidata where genuinely notable.
☐ Build presence on high-authority Q&A platforms like Reddit and Quora.
☐ Contribute expert quotes to journalist queries for authoritative citations.
☐ Ensure consistent brand information across all external citations.
☐ Target inclusion in listicles and comparison articles AI often cites.
☐ Monitor referring domains growth versus competitors monthly.
☐ Earn links with diverse, natural, non-manipulated anchor text.
☐ Publish guest content on reputable domains within your niche.
☐ Secure citations from academic or government sources where relevant.
☐ Track which cited sources appear in AI answers for your queries.
☐ Reclaim lost backlinks by fixing broken redirects on referring pages.

12. Brand Mentions & Unlinked Citations (0/15)

AI models weigh brand prominence and sentiment even without hyperlinks.

☐ Monitor unlinked brand mentions across the web and convert to links.
☐ Track brand sentiment in reviews, forums, and social discussions.
☐ Ensure the brand name is used consistently in all mentions.
☐ Increase branded search volume through campaigns to boost entity signals.
☐ Respond to and correct inaccurate brand mentions across platforms.
☐ Encourage user-generated content that names the brand naturally.
☐ Build co-citation with authoritative brands in your category.
☐ Monitor mentions on Reddit, LinkedIn, and industry communities.
☐ Ensure product and feature names are distinctive and searchable.
☐ Track share of voice against competitors in relevant conversations.
☐ Cultivate mentions in podcasts, videos, and transcribed media.
☐ Ensure PR coverage uses consistent, correct brand terminology.
☐ Claim and monitor brand mentions in news aggregators and press.
☐ Measure correlation between brand mention volume and AI citation frequency.
☐ Address negative sentiment clusters that could suppress AI recommendations.

13. Multimodal (Image & Video) Optimization (0/16)

AI search increasingly surfaces and reasons over images and video content.

☐ Add descriptive, keyword-relevant alt text to every meaningful image.
☐ Use descriptive, hyphenated filenames for all image assets.
☐ Provide transcripts for every video and podcast episode.
☐ Add VideoObject schema with thumbnails, duration, and key moments.
☐ Include captions and closed captions on all video content.
☐ Serve responsive images with srcset for varied device resolutions.
☐ Add ImageObject schema with caption, creator, and license metadata.
☐ Create original diagrams and infographics AI can attribute to you.
☐ Provide an image sitemap for large visual content libraries.
☐ Ensure video content is embedded with surrounding contextual text.
☐ Optimize video titles and descriptions with target query phrasing.
☐ Add chapter markers and timestamps to long-form video.
☐ Compress images for fast loading without visible quality loss.
☐ Include descriptive on-image text alternatives for accessibility and parsing.
☐ Host key videos on both your site and YouTube for reach.
☐ Provide descriptive captions and transcripts for videos so AI can extract their content.

14. Measurement & AI-Visibility Tracking (0/16)

You cannot improve AI visibility without tracking citations and share of voice.

☐ Track brand citation frequency across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity.
☐ Monitor Google AI Overview appearances for target query sets.
☐ Measure referral traffic from AI assistants in analytics.
☐ Benchmark AI share of voice against key competitors monthly.
☐ Log which specific pages and passages AI tools cite.
☐ Track sentiment and accuracy of AI-generated brand descriptions.
☐ Set up server-log monitoring for AI-crawler fetch frequency.
☐ Monitor rankings for question-based and conversational queries.
☐ Measure featured-snippet capture as a proxy for AI extractability.
☐ Track branded versus non-branded query trends over time.
☐ Audit AI answers for factual errors and file corrections where possible.
☐ Correlate content updates with changes in AI citation rates.
☐ Build a dashboard consolidating traditional and AI-visibility KPIs.
☐ Test target prompts regularly to detect visibility shifts.
☐ Segment AI-visibility performance by topic cluster and funnel stage.
☐ Document a baseline and set measurable AI-visibility improvement targets.

15. Local & Entity Disambiguation (0/15)

Clear local and entity signals prevent AI from confusing you with others.

☐ Claim and fully complete the Google Business Profile with accurate data.
☐ Ensure NAP consistency across all local directories and citations.
☐ Add LocalBusiness schema with precise geo-coordinates and hours.
☐ Disambiguate your brand from similarly named businesses in content.
☐ Verify presence in Apple Maps, Bing Places, and major local directories.
☐ Collect and respond to reviews to strengthen local entity signals.
☐ Create location-specific pages with unique, non-templated content.
☐ Add service-area definitions clearly in schema and page content.
☐ Ensure category selection in local profiles matches core services.
☐ Embed maps and directions on relevant location pages.
☐ Use consistent phone number formatting matching local schema.
☐ Monitor for duplicate or fraudulent business listings and resolve them.
☐ Include local landmarks and context to reinforce geographic entity.
☐ Verify address matches across schema, footer, and third-party sources.
☐ Add multiple location schema entries for multi-branch businesses.

16. Content Strategy for Query Fan-Out (0/16)

AI decomposes queries into subquestions, so cover the full topical fan-out.

☐ Map the full set of subquestions AI generates from each core query.
☐ Create dedicated content answering each identified subquestion.
☐ Build comprehensive topic hubs covering a subject end to end.
☐ Address comparison, alternative, and 'best' query variants explicitly.
☐ Cover the full funnel from awareness to decision-stage queries.
☐ Anticipate follow-up questions and answer them within the same page.
☐ Analyze People Also Ask data to expand subtopic coverage.
☐ Create content for long-tail conversational and voice-style queries.
☐ Identify content gaps versus competitors' topical coverage.
☐ Answer 'why', 'how', 'when', and 'what if' variants of core topics.
☐ Cluster related queries and assign each to a canonical page.
☐ Update content to cover newly emerging subquestions and trends.
☐ Provide definitions, use cases, and examples for each key concept.
☐ Address objections and edge cases AI may surface in answers.
☐ Ensure each subtopic links to related subtopics for full coverage.
☐ Prioritize fan-out coverage for high-intent, revenue-driving query clusters.

The All-in-One AEO & GEO Audit Checklist

AEO & GEO Audit Checklist, Creative Nexus

Technical Crawlability & Indexing

Unlock all 250 items

1. Technical Crawlability & Indexing (0/16)

2. On-Page Content Quality (0/16)

3. Structured Data & Schema (0/16)

4. Entity & Knowledge-Graph Optimization (0/15)

5. E-E-A-T & Authority (0/16)

6. llms.txt & AI-Crawler Access (0/15)

7. Answer & Passage Optimization for AI Extraction (0/16)

8. Internal Linking & Site Architecture (0/16)

9. Page Experience & Core Web Vitals (0/15)

10. Freshness & Maintenance (0/16)

11. Off-Site Signals & Citations (0/15)

12. Brand Mentions & Unlinked Citations (0/15)

13. Multimodal (Image & Video) Optimization (0/16)

14. Measurement & AI-Visibility Tracking (0/16)

15. Local & Entity Disambiguation (0/15)

16. Content Strategy for Query Fan-Out (0/16)