Use this GEO checklist to prepare a site for AI citation readiness: allow the right crawlers, ship discovery files, publish answer-first pages with schema, keep entity trust consistent, and retest on a schedule.
Crawl & discovery
- □ robots.txt allows AI search/citation bots you care about
- □ No accidental
Disallow: /for those agents - □
/sitemap.xmlexists and is linked from robots.txt - □ Optional but useful:
/llms.txtwith a clear product definition - □ HTML content visible without depending on client JS alone
On-page structure
- □ Unique title + meta description
- □ One clear H1; logical H2s (often as questions)
- □ Canonical URL set
- □ Fast, stable responses (crawlers time out)
Content & citeability
- □ Direct answer in the first 40–80 words of key pages
- □ FAQ section for related prompts
- □ Specific facts, examples, or steps (not vague slogans)
- □ Visible last-updated date on evergreen guides
Schema & entity
- □ Organization JSON-LD (name, url, logo, sameAs)
- □ FAQPage where you answer real questions
- □ Consistent brand naming across About + footer + llms.txt
Distribution & proof
- □ Search Console (+ Bing for ChatGPT-oriented discovery)
- □ A few reputable third-party mentions
- □ Monthly prompt tests in ChatGPT / Gemini / Perplexity
FAQ
How many items matter most? Start with robots + answer-first homepage + Organization/FAQ schema.
Can I automate the checklist? Yes — omiGeo scores many of these controls in a single scan.
Try it with omiGeo
omiGeo’s full report includes a multi-control checklist scorecard plus a week / month / quarter action plan.