What You'll Learn
This comprehensive audit checklist covers every technical aspect of AI search readiness. Use it to systematically evaluate your site's GEO readiness, identify and prioritize technical issues, and create an action plan for improvements.
Section 1: Crawler Access Audit
1.1 Robots.txt Configuration
Check these items:
- OAI-SearchBot allowed access
- Claude-SearchBot allowed access
- PerplexityBot allowed access
- Googlebot and Bingbot allowed access
- No overly restrictive wildcards
- Sitemap reference included (
Sitemap:line) - No noindex or nosnippet on pages you want cited
- Main content present in the HTML without JavaScript
1.2 llms.txt Implementation (optional)
llms.txt does not affect AI citations as far as any test has shown. If you publish one, verify:
- llms.txt file exists at domain root
- File is accessible (no 404)
- Contains accurate company information
- Includes product/service details
- Has FAQ section
Section 2: Content Structure Audit
2.1 Heading Hierarchy
Check for each key page:
- Single H1 tag with primary topic
- Logical H2/H3 hierarchy
- No skipped heading levels
- Headings describe content accurately
2.2 Answer Placement and Citable Passages
Verify:
- A direct answer to the page's main question within the first 30% of the main text
- Paragraphs name their subject instead of opening with "This" or "It"
- Each key passage states a concrete fact: a number, price, date or named entity
- Sections under their own subheading that answer it without the rest of the page, not one-line stubs
- Tables used only where the page compares options
Section 3: Authority Signals Audit
3.1 Author Attribution
Check for each content piece:
- Author name displayed
- Author bio with credentials
- Link to author profile/page
- Author schema markup present
3.2 Temporal Signals
Verify:
- Publication date visible
- Last updated date visible
- Dates in schema markup
- Content freshness maintained
Section 4: Schema Markup Audit
4.1 Global Schema
Check:
- Organization schema on homepage
- WebSite schema implemented
- Logo properly referenced
- Social profiles linked (sameAs)
4.2 Content Schema by Page Type
Blog/Articles: Article or BlogPosting schema, Author schema nested, datePublished and dateModified present
Product Pages: Product or SoftwareApplication schema, Offers/pricing included, Reviews/ratings if applicable
FAQ Sections: FAQPage schema with all Q&A pairs marked up
How-To Content: HowTo schema with steps properly defined
Section 5: Page Performance Audit
5.1 Core Web Vitals
Target metrics:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) < 2.5s
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint) < 200ms
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) < 0.1
5.2 Page Load Speed
Check:
- Time to First Byte < 800ms
- Total page load < 3s
- Images optimized
- CSS/JS minified
- Compression enabled
Audit Scoring Template
Rate each section 1-5 and create an action plan:
| Section | Score | Priority | Action Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawler Access | _ | _ | _ |
| Content Structure | _ | _ | _ |
| Authority Signals | _ | _ | _ |
| Schema Markup | _ | _ | _ |
| Page Performance | _ | _ | _ |
Implementation Order
- Week 1: Crawler access and robots.txt
- Week 2: Core schema implementation
- Week 3: Content structure improvements
- Week 4: Authority signals and dates
- Ongoing: Performance and quality
Repeat full audit quarterly.