AI Search Optimization Checklist (30 GEO + SEO Points)
Technical Readiness (10)
- robots.txt allows major AI bots.
- sitemap.xml exists and is valid.
- Sitemap is declared in robots.txt.
- No restrictive X-Robots-Tag on key pages.
- Canonical tags are set and consistent.
- Important pages return HTTP 200.
- TTFB is stable and generally below 500ms.
- No excessive redirect chains.
- Core content is rendered server-side or pre-rendered.
- Internal links surface strategic pages.
Structured Data + Metadata (8)
- Organization schema on homepage.
- WebSite schema with search action where relevant.
- FAQPage schema for FAQ sections.
- Article schema on editorial pages.
- Unique title for each key page.
- Unique meta description for each key page.
- Open Graph title/description/image in place.
- Language attributes are explicit and accurate.
Content + Citation Signals (12)
- llms.txt is published and up to date.
- llms-full.txt exists for deeper context.
- Pages include Q&A blocks for answer extraction.
- Author attribution exists on key pages.
- Publication and modified dates are present.
- Claims include references or source links.
- Thin pages are expanded with useful detail.
- Pages include concrete numbers where possible.
- Topic clusters have clear parent/child linking.
- Key pages have clear entity consistency.
- High-value pages are easy to discover from nav.
- Reports are rerun weekly to catch regressions.
Use GEOScore to score this checklist and convert gaps into prioritized implementation work.