Free Interactive Checklist
The AI SEO Checklist to Get Found in AI Search Results
Maximize the odds your content is selected, summarized, and cited in AI-powered search — Google AI Overviews, Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity — through website-only optimizations. Work through 66 checks across 12 areas, ordered highest-leverage first: Tier 1 non-negotiables, Tier 2 citability enhancers, Tier 3 advanced. Mark each one To Do, Needs Work, or Done; your progress saves automatically in this browser.
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Clean 200 status on every priority pageNo soft 404s, redirect loops, or fragile edge cases on the pages you want cited.
Priority pages are indexableNo accidental noindex, blocked folders, or conflicting canonicals.
Intentionally permissive robots.txtPublic-facing content open to AI and search crawlers — no blanket blocks that starve them.
Clean XML sitemapOnly canonical, indexable URLs — published and maintained.
Duplicate variants eliminatedhttp/https, www/non-www, trailing slashes, and parameter duplicates resolved with canonicalization.
Critical resources crawlableCSS/JS not blocked in ways that break rendering or layout understanding.
No orphan pagesEvery important page reachable via internal links, not “sitemap-only.”
Primary content in the initial HTMLNo “empty shell” pages that require heavy client-side JS to show the content.
SSR, SSG, or prerendering for JS frameworksEvery index-worthy page rendered reliably server-side.
Meaningful noscript fallbackCritical content modules still readable if rendering fails.
Key copy not buried in tabs/accordionsAnything not rendered server-side or hard to discover risks being missed.
Everything visible without interactionTitles, headings, body copy, and key data readable with zero clicks.
Strong real-world performance targetsFast LCP, minimal CLS, responsive INP — reduces crawler timeouts and truncation risk.
Reduced JavaScript bloatShip less, defer non-critical scripts, remove unused libraries.
Optimized imagesCompressed, properly sized, modern formats, lazy-loaded below the fold.
No intrusive interstitialsNothing blocking access to the main content.
Stable page layoutsSo extracted summaries don’t misread sections or reorder meaning.
Executive summary near the topA 2–5 line summary on each page — clear, specific, non-hype.
Answer first, expand secondThe primary question answered immediately; don’t make models hunt for the point.
One unambiguous H1Matching the page’s core intent.
Descriptive H2/H3 headingsWritten like questions or decision criteria — what AI should pull.
Short, scannable paragraphsEach section led by a topic sentence.
Lists and tables for structured infoCriteria, steps, pros/cons, requirements, definitions, and comparisons.
Key Takeaways block on long-form pagesA tight summary block AI can lift directly.
Explicit definitions for key termsEspecially category jargon — consistent language across the site.
Real author with credentialsA bio that proves domain competence, or an accountable owner.
Clear About and Contact presenceReal company identity — not a faceless content farm vibe.
Editorial review signals“Last reviewed” dates and reviewer name/role where appropriate.
Evidence behind major claimsData, examples, methodology, or references to primary sources.
Concrete numbers and outcomesB2B buyers — and AI summaries — trust specificity.
No vague, generic fluffIt decreases usefulness and gets you ignored in AI selections.
Pillar pages for core themesSupporting content links back to the pillar — topic authority stacking.
Hub pages per ICP segmentIndustry, use case, and role-based pages with clear navigation.
Contextual internal linksDescriptive anchor text reflecting intent — never “click here.”
Breadcrumbs and consistent navigationHierarchy obvious to machines and humans.
A defined next best action on every pageRelated content, comparison link, or case study link.
Article/BlogPosting schemaOn editorial content, with author and publish/modified dates.
FAQPage schemaWhere you genuinely have Q&A sections — no spammy filler FAQs.
HowTo schemaFor genuine step-by-step implementation guides.
BreadcrumbList schemaReinforcing site structure.
Organization schemaLogo, name, and sameAs profiles for entity consistency.
Person schema for authorsReinforcing expertise signals where appropriate.
Structured data validated regularlyFix errors quickly — bad schema is worse than no schema.
“What is X?” pagesTight definitions, use cases, when to use/not use, and examples.
“X vs Y” comparison pagesClear decision criteria, trade-offs, and best-fit scenarios.
“Alternatives to X” pagesStructured evaluation, honest pros/cons, defensible differentiation.
Integration pagesWhat’s supported, how it works, and requirements.
Case studies with quantified resultsContext, constraints, and implementation details.
Original benchmarks and researchA citation magnet for AI summaries when feasible.
Refresh cadence for top pagesQuarterly for fast-moving topics; semi-annual or annual for evergreen.
Updates when realities changePricing models, compliance requirements, integrations, capabilities.
Overlapping pages consolidatedReduce cannibalization; strengthen one canonical resource.
Thin or obsolete pages retiredThey dilute site quality and confuse intent signals.
Consistent, correct canonical tagsSelf-canonical on the preferred URL.
Clean, stable URL structuresReflecting information architecture — avoid frequent URL churn.
Correct hreflangIf you serve multiple languages or regions — avoid cross-market confusion.
Essential content not gatedIf gating is required, provide an ungated summary page.
Tabular data available in HTMLKey specs never only in images or PDFs.
Methodology sections with numbers“How we calculated this” whenever publishing benchmarks or data.
Assumptions and scope labeledPrevents misinterpretation in AI summaries.
Consistent entity naming site-wideProduct names, features, and acronyms defined the same way everywhere.
“Who this is for / isn’t for” sectionsSharpens intent alignment.
AI surfacing trackedMonitor query themes and landing-page patterns to see what gets pulled.
AI visibility gaps identifiedTopics where competitors get surfaced and you don’t — prioritize new pages there.
Controlled on-page experimentsSummary placement, heading phrasing, comparison tables, FAQ structure.
Monthly technical QA sweepIndexing anomalies, schema errors, performance regressions.
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