` tag exists (50-60 characters) - [ ] **P0** Title contains primary keyword - [ ] **P0** Unique `<meta description>` exists (150-160 characters) - [ ] **P0** Single H1 tag per page - [ ] **P0** H1 contains primary keyword ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** Description is compelling and includes keyword - [ ] **P1** `<meta name="robots">` correctly set - [ ] **P1** Logical heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3, no skips) - [ ] **P1** All images have `alt` attributes - [ ] **P1** Internal links to related content - [ ] **P1** No broken links (404s) - [ ] **P1** Anchor text is descriptive ### P2 -- Recommended - [ ] **P2** `og:title` set - [ ] **P2** `og:description` set - [ ] **P2** `og:image` set (1200x630px recommended) - [ ] **P2** `og:url` set (canonical URL) - [ ] **P2** `og:type` set (website/article) - [ ] **P2** `twitter:card` set (summary_large_image) - [ ] **P2** `twitter:title` set - [ ] **P2** `twitter:description` set - [ ] **P2** `twitter:image` set - [ ] **P2** Paragraphs are short (2-3 sentences) - [ ] **P2** Bullet points used for lists - [ ] **P2** Tables used for comparisons - [ ] **P2** External links have `rel="noopener noreferrer"` --- ## Schema Markup (Structured Data) ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** Organization schema on homepage - [ ] **P1** WebPage schema on all pages - [ ] **P1** Article schema on blog posts - [ ] **P1** Schema passes Google Rich Results Test - [ ] **P1** No errors in Search Console "Enhancements" ### P2 -- Recommended (GEO Enhanced) - [ ] **P2** FAQPage schema on FAQ sections (+40% AI visibility) - [ ] **P2** BreadcrumbList schema for navigation - [ ] **P2** SpeakableSpecification for voice/AI search - [ ] **P2** datePublished and dateModified included - [ ] **P2** Author information with credentials - [ ] **P2** Publisher information with logo - [ ] **P2** HowTo schema on tutorial content > **Detection note:** `web_fetch` and `curl` cannot detect JS-injected schema (Yoast, RankMath, AIOSEO). Use browser tools or Google Rich Results Test instead. --- ## GEO / AI Visibility ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** AI crawlers allowed in robots.txt (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended) - [ ] **P1** Content includes authoritative citations with sources (+27-40%) - [ ] **P1** Statistics and data points included with sources (+33-37%) - [ ] **P1** NO keyword stuffing (causes -9 to -10%) - [ ] **P1** Answer capsules (40-60 words) after question-style H2s ### P2 -- Recommended - [ ] **P2** llms.txt file at site root (+35% AI visibility) - [ ] **P2** Expert quotes with attribution (+30-43%) - [ ] **P2** Authoritative, confident tone (+25%) - [ ] **P2** Content is accessible/easy to understand (+20%) - [ ] **P2** Appropriate technical terminology (+18%) - [ ] **P2** Diverse vocabulary throughout (+15%) - [ ] **P2** High fluency and readability (+15-30%) ### AI Bot Access - [ ] GPTBot allowed in robots.txt - [ ] ChatGPT-User allowed in robots.txt - [ ] ClaudeBot allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Claude-Web allowed in robots.txt - [ ] anthropic-ai allowed in robots.txt - [ ] PerplexityBot allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Google-Extended allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Applebot-Extended allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Bingbot allowed in robots.txt ### Content Structure for AI - [ ] "Answer-first" format (direct answer at top) - [ ] Clear, extractable paragraphs - [ ] FAQ format for common questions - [ ] Tables for comparison data - [ ] Lists for step-by-step processes - [ ] Question-style H2 headings ### AI Discovery Files - [ ] llms.txt exists at site root - [ ] llms.txt contains H1, summary blockquote, contact section - [ ] llms.txt is under 50KB - [ ] llms.txt served as `text/plain; charset=utf-8` --- ## E-E-A-T Signals - [ ] Author bios with credentials - [ ] About page with company info - [ ] Contact information visible - [ ] Privacy policy and terms - [ ] Customer reviews/testimonials - [ ] First-hand experience demonstrated - [ ] Content dated and recently updated --- ## Off-Page SEO ### Backlinks - [ ] Quality backlinks from relevant sites - [ ] Diverse referring domains - [ ] No toxic/spammy backlinks - [ ] Brand mentions (even without links) ### Social Presence - [ ] Active social media profiles - [ ] Links to social profiles on website - [ ] Consistent branding across platforms ### Entity Building - [ ] Consistent brand info across the web - [ ] Wikipedia/Wikidata presence (if applicable) - [ ] Google Knowledge Panel (if applicable) - [ ] Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page --- ## Content Quality - [ ] All pages have unique, valuable content - [ ] No thin content (< 300 words for main pages) - [ ] Content matches search intent - [ ] Content is up-to-date (within 30 days for tech/news) - [ ] Content provides unique value vs competitors - [ ] No AI writing tells (see ai-writing-detection.md) --- ## Monitoring Setup - [ ] Google Search Console connected - [ ] Bing Webmaster Tools connected - [ ] Sitemap submitted to both - [ ] Weekly: Check Search Console for errors - [ ] Monthly: Analyze organic traffic trends

# SEO & GEO Audit Checklist Prioritized checklist for auditing websites for both traditional SEO and AI search visibility. ## Priority Levels | Level | Meaning | Action | |-------|---------|--------| | **P0** | Critical | Must fix immediately -- blocks indexing or causes major issues | | **P1** | Important | Should fix soon -- significant impact on rankings | | **P2** | Recommended | Improves visibility and user experience | --- ## Technical SEO ### P0 -- Critical - [ ] **P0** Site is accessible (no 5xx errors) - [ ] **P0** HTTPS enabled (valid SSL certificate) - [ ] **P0** `robots.txt` allows important pages - [ ] **P0** Mobile-responsive design - [ ] **P0** No critical pages blocked by `noindex` - [ ] **P0** Site is indexed in Google (`site:domain.com`) ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** `robots.txt` allows AI bots (GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended) - [ ] **P1** XML sitemap exists and is submitted - [ ] **P1** Site is indexed in Bing (for Copilot visibility) - [ ] **P1** Canonical tags properly implemented - [ ] **P1** No duplicate content issues - [ ] **P1** Page load time < 3 seconds - [ ] **P1** LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) < 2.5s ### P2 -- Recommended - [ ] **P2** INP (Interaction to Next Paint) < 200ms - [ ] **P2** CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) < 0.1 - [ ] **P2** Images optimized (WebP format, lazy loading) - [ ] **P2** CSS/JS minified - [ ] **P2** GZIP/Brotli compression enabled - [ ] **P2** CDN configured - [ ] **P2** No mixed content warnings - [ ] **P2** Server-side rendering (not JS-only) for AI crawlers --- ## On-Page SEO ### P0 -- Critical - [ ] **P0** Unique `` tag exists (50-60 characters) - [ ] **P0** Title contains primary keyword - [ ] **P0** Unique `<meta description>` exists (150-160 characters) - [ ] **P0** Single H1 tag per page - [ ] **P0** H1 contains primary keyword ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** Description is compelling and includes keyword - [ ] **P1** `<meta name="robots">` correctly set - [ ] **P1** Logical heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3, no skips) - [ ] **P1** All images have `alt` attributes - [ ] **P1** Internal links to related content - [ ] **P1** No broken links (404s) - [ ] **P1** Anchor text is descriptive ### P2 -- Recommended - [ ] **P2** `og:title` set - [ ] **P2** `og:description` set - [ ] **P2** `og:image` set (1200x630px recommended) - [ ] **P2** `og:url` set (canonical URL) - [ ] **P2** `og:type` set (website/article) - [ ] **P2** `twitter:card` set (summary_large_image) - [ ] **P2** `twitter:title` set - [ ] **P2** `twitter:description` set - [ ] **P2** `twitter:image` set - [ ] **P2** Paragraphs are short (2-3 sentences) - [ ] **P2** Bullet points used for lists - [ ] **P2** Tables used for comparisons - [ ] **P2** External links have `rel="noopener noreferrer"` --- ## Schema Markup (Structured Data) ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** Organization schema on homepage - [ ] **P1** WebPage schema on all pages - [ ] **P1** Article schema on blog posts - [ ] **P1** Schema passes Google Rich Results Test - [ ] **P1** No errors in Search Console "Enhancements" ### P2 -- Recommended (GEO Enhanced) - [ ] **P2** FAQPage schema on FAQ sections (+40% AI visibility) - [ ] **P2** BreadcrumbList schema for navigation - [ ] **P2** SpeakableSpecification for voice/AI search - [ ] **P2** datePublished and dateModified included - [ ] **P2** Author information with credentials - [ ] **P2** Publisher information with logo - [ ] **P2** HowTo schema on tutorial content > **Detection note:** `web_fetch` and `curl` cannot detect JS-injected schema (Yoast, RankMath, AIOSEO). Use browser tools or Google Rich Results Test instead. --- ## GEO / AI Visibility ### P1 -- Important - [ ] **P1** AI crawlers allowed in robots.txt (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended) - [ ] **P1** Content includes authoritative citations with sources (+27-40%) - [ ] **P1** Statistics and data points included with sources (+33-37%) - [ ] **P1** NO keyword stuffing (causes -9 to -10%) - [ ] **P1** Answer capsules (40-60 words) after question-style H2s ### P2 -- Recommended - [ ] **P2** llms.txt file at site root (+35% AI visibility) - [ ] **P2** Expert quotes with attribution (+30-43%) - [ ] **P2** Authoritative, confident tone (+25%) - [ ] **P2** Content is accessible/easy to understand (+20%) - [ ] **P2** Appropriate technical terminology (+18%) - [ ] **P2** Diverse vocabulary throughout (+15%) - [ ] **P2** High fluency and readability (+15-30%) ### AI Bot Access - [ ] GPTBot allowed in robots.txt - [ ] ChatGPT-User allowed in robots.txt - [ ] ClaudeBot allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Claude-Web allowed in robots.txt - [ ] anthropic-ai allowed in robots.txt - [ ] PerplexityBot allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Google-Extended allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Applebot-Extended allowed in robots.txt - [ ] Bingbot allowed in robots.txt ### Content Structure for AI - [ ] "Answer-first" format (direct answer at top) - [ ] Clear, extractable paragraphs - [ ] FAQ format for common questions - [ ] Tables for comparison data - [ ] Lists for step-by-step processes - [ ] Question-style H2 headings ### AI Discovery Files - [ ] llms.txt exists at site root - [ ] llms.txt contains H1, summary blockquote, contact section - [ ] llms.txt is under 50KB - [ ] llms.txt served as `text/plain; charset=utf-8` --- ## E-E-A-T Signals - [ ] Author bios with credentials - [ ] About page with company info - [ ] Contact information visible - [ ] Privacy policy and terms - [ ] Customer reviews/testimonials - [ ] First-hand experience demonstrated - [ ] Content dated and recently updated --- ## Off-Page SEO ### Backlinks - [ ] Quality backlinks from relevant sites - [ ] Diverse referring domains - [ ] No toxic/spammy backlinks - [ ] Brand mentions (even without links) ### Social Presence - [ ] Active social media profiles - [ ] Links to social profiles on website - [ ] Consistent branding across platforms ### Entity Building - [ ] Consistent brand info across the web - [ ] Wikipedia/Wikidata presence (if applicable) - [ ] Google Knowledge Panel (if applicable) - [ ] Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page --- ## Content Quality - [ ] All pages have unique, valuable content - [ ] No thin content (< 300 words for main pages) - [ ] Content matches search intent - [ ] Content is up-to-date (within 30 days for tech/news) - [ ] Content provides unique value vs competitors - [ ] No AI writing tells (see ai-writing-detection.md) --- ## Monitoring Setup - [ ] Google Search Console connected - [ ] Bing Webmaster Tools connected - [ ] Sitemap submitted to both - [ ] Weekly: Check Search Console for errors - [ ] Monthly: Analyze organic traffic trends - [ ] Quarterly: Full SEO + GEO audit