1# SEO/GEO Audit Checklist
2 
3Complete checklist for auditing and optimizing websites for both traditional SEO and GEO (AI search visibility).
4 
5## Priority Levels
6 
7| Level | Meaning | Action |
8|-------|---------|--------|
9| **P0** | Critical | Must fix immediately - blocks indexing or causes major issues |
10| **P1** | Important | Should fix soon - significant impact on rankings |
11| **P2** | Recommended | Nice to have - improves visibility and user experience |
12 
13---
14 
15## Technical SEO
16 
17### P0 - Critical
18 
19- [ ] **P0** `robots.txt` allows important pages
20- [ ] **P0** Site is accessible (no 5xx errors)
21- [ ] **P0** HTTPS enabled (valid SSL certificate)
22- [ ] **P0** Mobile-responsive design
23- [ ] **P0** No critical pages blocked by `noindex`
24- [ ] **P0** Site is indexed in Google (check: `site:domain.com`)
25 
26### P1 - Important
27 
28- [ ] **P1** `robots.txt` allows AI bots (GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot)
29- [ ] **P1** XML sitemap exists and is submitted
30- [ ] **P1** Site is indexed in Bing (for Copilot visibility)
31- [ ] **P1** Canonical tags properly implemented
32- [ ] **P1** No duplicate content issues
33- [ ] **P1** Page load time < 3 seconds
34- [ ] **P1** LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) < 2.5s
35 
36### P2 - Recommended
37 
38- [ ] **P2** FID (First Input Delay) < 100ms
39- [ ] **P2** CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) < 0.1
40- [ ] **P2** Images optimized (WebP format, lazy loading)
41- [ ] **P2** CSS/JS minified
42- [ ] **P2** GZIP/Brotli compression enabled
43- [ ] **P2** CDN configured
44- [ ] **P2** Mobile-friendly test passed
45- [ ] **P2** No mixed content warnings
46- [ ] **P2** Secure headers configured
47 
48---
49 
50## On-Page SEO
51 
52### P0 - Critical
53 
54- [ ] **P0** Unique `<title>` tag exists (50-60 characters)
55- [ ] **P0** Title contains primary keyword
56- [ ] **P0** Unique `<meta description>` exists (150-160 characters)
57- [ ] **P0** Single H1 tag per page
58- [ ] **P0** H1 contains primary keyword
59 
60### P1 - Important
61 
62- [ ] **P1** Description is compelling and includes keyword
63- [ ] **P1** `<meta name="robots">` correctly set
64- [ ] **P1** Logical heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3)
65- [ ] **P1** All images have `alt` attributes
66- [ ] **P1** Internal links to related content
67- [ ] **P1** No broken links (404s)
68- [ ] **P1** Anchor text is descriptive
69 
70### P2 - Recommended
71 
72- [ ] **P2** `og:title` set
73- [ ] **P2** `og:description` set
74- [ ] **P2** `og:image` set (1200x630px recommended)
75- [ ] **P2** `og:url` set (canonical URL)
76- [ ] **P2** `og:type` set (website/article)
77- [ ] **P2** `twitter:card` set (summary_large_image)
78- [ ] **P2** `twitter:title` set
79- [ ] **P2** `twitter:description` set
80- [ ] **P2** `twitter:image` set
81- [ ] **P2** Paragraphs are short (2-3 sentences)
82- [ ] **P2** Bullet points used for lists
83- [ ] **P2** Tables used for comparisons
84- [ ] **P2** Alt text includes keywords where natural
85- [ ] **P2** Image file names are descriptive
86- [ ] **P2** External links have `rel="noopener noreferrer"`
87 
88---
89 
90## Schema Markup (Structured Data)
91 
92### P1 - Important
93 
94- [ ] **P1** Organization schema on homepage
95- [ ] **P1** WebPage schema on all pages
96- [ ] **P1** Article schema on blog posts
97- [ ] **P1** Schema passes Google Rich Results Test
98- [ ] **P1** No errors in Search Console "Enhancements"
99 
100### P2 - Recommended - GEO Enhanced
101 
102- [ ] **P2** FAQPage schema on FAQ sections (+40% AI visibility)
103- [ ] **P2** BreadcrumbList schema for navigation
104- [ ] **P2** SpeakableSpecification for voice search
105- [ ] **P2** datePublished and dateModified included
106- [ ] **P2** Author information with credentials
107- [ ] **P2** Publisher information with logo
108- [ ] **P2** Schema passes Schema.org Validator
109 
110---
111 
112## GEO Optimization (AI Search)
113 
114### P1 - Important - Princeton GEO Methods
115 
116- [ ] **P1** Content includes authoritative citations (+40%)
117- [ ] **P1** Statistics and data points included (+37%)
118- [ ] **P1** Expert quotes with attribution (+30%)
119- [ ] **P1** NO keyword stuffing (causes -10%)
120 
121### P2 - Recommended - GEO Enhancement
122 
123- [ ] **P2** Authoritative, confident tone (+25%)
124- [ ] **P2** Content is accessible/easy to understand (+20%)
125- [ ] **P2** Appropriate technical terminology (+18%)
126- [ ] **P2** Diverse vocabulary throughout (+15%)
127- [ ] **P2** High fluency and readability (+15-30%)
128 
129### Content Structure for AI
130 
131- [ ] "Answer-first" format (direct answer at top)
132- [ ] Clear, extractable paragraphs
133- [ ] FAQ format for common questions
134- [ ] Tables for comparison data
135- [ ] Lists for step-by-step processes
136 
137### AI Bot Access
138 
139- [ ] GPTBot allowed in robots.txt
140- [ ] PerplexityBot allowed in robots.txt
141- [ ] ClaudeBot allowed in robots.txt
142- [ ] Anthropic-ai allowed in robots.txt
143- [ ] Bingbot allowed in robots.txt
144 
145---
146 
147## Off-Page SEO
148 
149### Backlinks
150 
151- [ ] Quality backlinks from relevant sites
152- [ ] Diverse referring domains
153- [ ] No toxic/spammy backlinks
154- [ ] Brand mentions (even without links)
155 
156### E-E-A-T Signals
157 
158- [ ] Author bios with credentials
159- [ ] About page with company info
160- [ ] Contact information visible
161- [ ] Privacy policy and terms
162- [ ] Trust badges/certifications if applicable
163- [ ] Customer reviews/testimonials
164 
165### Social Presence
166 
167- [ ] Active social media profiles
168- [ ] Links to social profiles on website
169- [ ] Social sharing buttons on content
170- [ ] Consistent branding across platforms
171 
172---
173 
174## Content Strategy
175 
176### Content Audit
177 
178- [ ] All pages have unique, valuable content
179- [ ] No thin content (< 300 words for main pages)
180- [ ] Content matches search intent
181- [ ] Content is up-to-date (within 30 days for news/tech)
182- [ ] Content provides unique value vs competitors
183 
184### Keyword Strategy
185 
186- [ ] Primary keyword identified for each page
187- [ ] Secondary keywords mapped
188- [ ] Long-tail keywords targeted
189- [ ] No keyword cannibalization
190- [ ] Keywords match user intent
191 
192---
193 
194## Monitoring & Analytics
195 
196### Setup
197 
198- [ ] Google Analytics installed
199- [ ] Google Search Console connected
200- [ ] Bing Webmaster Tools connected
201- [ ] Sitemap submitted to both
202 
203### Regular Checks
204 
205- [ ] Weekly: Check Search Console for errors
206- [ ] Weekly: Review Core Web Vitals
207- [ ] Monthly: Analyze organic traffic trends
208- [ ] Monthly: Review top performing pages
209- [ ] Quarterly: Full SEO audit
210 
211---
212 
213## Quick Audit Commands
214 
215```bash
216# Check meta tags
217curl -sL "https://example.com" | grep -E "<title>|<meta"
218 
219# Check robots.txt
220curl -s "https://example.com/robots.txt"
221 
222# Check sitemap
223curl -s "https://example.com/sitemap.xml" | head -30
224 
225# Check page speed (using PageSpeed Insights API)
226# Requires API key
227curl "https://www.googleapis.com/pagespeedonline/v5/runPagespeed?url=https://example.com&strategy=mobile"
228 
229# Check if indexed in Google
230# Manual check: https://www.google.com/search?q=site:example.com
231 
232# Validate schema
233# Open: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results?url=https://example.com
234```
235 
236---
237 
238## Priority Matrix
239 
240| Priority | Task | Impact |
241|----------|------|--------|
242| **Critical** | Fix crawl errors | Blocks indexing |
243| **Critical** | HTTPS enabled | Trust + ranking |
244| **High** | Core Web Vitals | UX + ranking |
245| **High** | Mobile-friendly | 60%+ traffic |
246| **High** | FAQPage schema | +40% AI visibility |
247| **Medium** | Meta descriptions | CTR improvement |
248| **Medium** | Internal linking | Authority distribution |
249| **Low** | Social meta tags | Share appearance |
250