The checklist. Print it, pin it, work through it.
Every check from the Modern SEO + AI Optimisation Standard on one sheet: the question, its tier and the fix if the answer is no. The wins do the most for the effort, so start there. For a weighted score and a ranked plan, use the interactive scorecard.
Own a canonical source of ground truth
weight 16Make your own site the undisputed, complete source of every verifiable fact about your entity.
If not Systematically gather every verifiable fact about the entity and publish it as canonical, structured content. Treat the site as the official reference, not the brochure.
If not Assign ownership and a review cadence. Update the substance when facts change, not just the date.
If not Consolidate duplicate and conflicting information into single canonical pages and point internal links at them.
If not Publish the commercial facts people need to compare and choose. Keep the page, structured data and feeds in step. If hiding prices is strategic, accept that answer engines will handle those selection prompts without you.
Structure content for AI chunking and retrieval
weight 14Format pages so machines can extract self-contained, citable chunks.
If not Rewrite headings as the questions your audience actually types or speaks.
If not Tighten content into self-contained chunks. Put a direct answer in the first 40 to 60 words of a section.
If not Test each priority page against the main AI crawlers. Fix rendering, canonicals, indexing rules and snippet limits. Treat Google-Extended separately: it controls Gemini training, while Googlebot controls eligibility for Google's AI Overviews.
If not Add FAQ sections, lists, steps and comparison tables, plus FAQ/Article schema.
Add the GEO trust elements: statistics, quotes and citations
weight 11Pack content with the evidence AI models look for before they cite a source.
If not Add attributed statistics through the body at roughly that cadence.
If not Add quotes from credentialed experts and show their credentials.
If not Cite authoritative sources inline so the model can corroborate your claims.
Run regular AI footprint audits
weight 9Know what AI currently says about you, and fix the gaps before customers see them.
If not Run an AI footprint audit: ask the customer questions across the major engines and record the answers.
If not Convert each finding into a page or FAQ that publishes the correct fact.
If not Schedule the audit (for example monthly) and track how answers change.
If not Record appearance, recommendation, link, preference and accuracy as separate fields for every answer. Review patterns across prompts, then assign the fix each weak signal calls for.
AI drafts, humans verify (the cyborg technique)
weight 11Use AI for speed, but ship demonstrable human effort and expertise.
If not Make expert human review non-negotiable. The expert fact-checks, adds first-hand experience and signs off.
If not Invest visible effort: original data, custom visuals, genuine analysis. Use AI to enhance human work, not replace it.
If not Audit for thin or low-effort pages and prune, merge or upgrade them. Site-level quality affects everything.
Pivot to decision-intent keywords
weight 9Shift from informational queries AI now answers for free, to bottom-funnel decision queries that convert.
If not Reprioritise the content plan toward decision-intent queries that convert.
If not Reset KPIs to AI-era metrics: answer presence, conversions, quality of assisted traffic.
If not Segment and measure conversions from AI answer engines.
If not Replace claims that the offer suits everyone with specific fit criteria. Name the buyers it won't serve well and explain the trade-offs against realistic alternatives.
Embed disambiguation factoids in schema
weight 8Tell AI exactly who you are, in machine-readable form, so it stops confusing or guessing.
If not Publish concise disambiguation statements on About and entity pages.
If not Add Organization and Person JSON-LD with sameAs links to your verified profiles.
Earn co-occurrence and brand mentions
weight 9Build entity consensus across trusted third parties, not just links.
If not Audit where competitors are mentioned and pitch to be named on those same authoritative pages.
If not Build co-occurrence: get the brand and its topics mentioned together across trusted external sources.
If not List every material third-party profile. Compare each one with your canonical facts and correct stale or conflicting details. Repeat the check on a set schedule before chasing more mentions.
Define author entities to prove E-E-A-T
weight 8Make your authors real, recognisable entities so Google can transfer their trust to your content.
If not Add named bylines and build rich author pages that state credentials.
If not Connect each author's footprint across professional networks and mark it up with Person schema and sameAs.
If not Surface first-hand experience in author bios and within the content itself.
Go where search now happens (search everywhere)
weight 5Syndicate your expertise to the platforms AI models actually source from.
If not Repurpose key expertise into platform-native YouTube, Reddit and Quora content.
If not Build and maintain presence on the platforms LLMs are known to source from.
The whole model as one shareable poster.
Download the poster (SVG)The unticked boxes are the work.
The checklist finds the gaps. The paid work closes them across the whole site, in priority order, and measures the movement. If you'd rather not do the diagnosis yourself, hand it over.