DIY AEO Guide

THE AEO
CHECKLIST.

Everything a business needs to get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI. Six areas, fully actionable, no agency required.

Already doing this work? The AI Visibility Monitor shows whether it's showing up in real AI answers — weekly.

Start the checklist What is AEO?
SchemaContentCrawl accessEntity signalsMonitoringOngoing

01 — Schema

Tell AI exactly who you are.

Schema markup is JSON-LD code added to your pages. It tells AI engines your business name, location, services, pricing, and contact details in a structured format they can read directly — no guessing required.

Highest impact

FAQPage schema on every key page

Add a JSON-LD FAQPage block to your homepage, service pages, and any page with questions. Each entry has a 'name' (the question) and 'acceptedAnswer'. This is the single most cited AEO signal — AI engines extract these verbatim. See the spec at schema.org/FAQPage.

↗ schema.org/FAQPage

Organization or LocalBusiness schema sitewide

Add a JSON-LD Organization block to every page containing your business name, URL, logo, address, phone, email, and description. LocalBusiness is better if you serve a specific city or region.

↗ schema.org/LocalBusiness

SameAs entity links

Inside your Organization schema, add a sameAs array with URLs to your LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, Instagram, Twitter/X, and any other official profiles. This confirms your identity to AI engines across platforms.

ContactPoint inside Organization schema

Add a contactPoint object with your email, contactType (customer service), and availableLanguage. AI tools use this when answering 'how do I contact [business]' queries.

HowTo schema on any process page

If you explain a process (how you build a site, how AEO works, how to book), add HowTo schema with numbered steps. AI tools pull these when answering 'how to' queries.

↗ schema.org/HowTo

Speakable schema on FAQ answers

needs dev

Add a SpeakableSpecification inside your WebPage schema pointing to your FAQ content. This signals to voice assistants (Google Assistant, Siri) which text to read aloud.

02 — Content

Write for the question, not the keyword.

AI tools cite content that directly answers questions. Marketing copy gets ignored. Specific, structured answers get quoted. Every page should answer at least one buyer question completely.

High impact

FAQ sections on every service page

Add a visible FAQ section to each service page with 5-8 questions your customers actually ask. Write full answers of 2-4 sentences each. These feed your FAQPage schema and give AI engines direct quote material.

Question-based H2 and H3 headings

Replace generic headings like 'Our Process' with the question your customers ask: 'How long does it take to build a website?' or 'How much does AEO cost in Montreal?' AI tools pattern-match headings against user queries.

Service pages as 800-1,500 word authoritative answers

Each service page should read as the definitive answer to 'what is [service] and why do I need it'. Cover what it is, how it works, what it costs, how long it takes, and who it's for. Thin pages don't get cited.

Direct-answer opening paragraphs

Start each page with a plain-language answer to the main question the page targets. AI engines weight early content heavily. The first 100 words matter more than the rest of the page.

03 — Crawl access

Make sure AI can find your content.

AI crawlers need explicit permission and guidance. Without these files, they may skip your site entirely or only partially index it.

High impact

Create llms.txt at your domain root

Add a plain-text file at yourdomain.com/llms.txt that describes your business, lists your key pages, and includes structured Q&A about what you do. AI crawlers check this file before indexing your content.

Create llms-full.txt for deep content

A companion to llms.txt with your full service descriptions, pricing, FAQ answers, and case studies in plain text. Link to it from llms.txt. AI tools use this for detailed queries.

Verify AI bots are allowed in robots.txt

Add explicit Allow rules for GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Meta-ExternalAgent, Amazonbot, Applebot, Bytespider, and cohere-ai. The default wildcard Allow may not be honored by all bots.

Submit sitemap to Google Search Console

Google AI Overviews draw from indexed content. A submitted sitemap ensures Google crawls your pages regularly, which feeds directly into AI Overview citations.

↗ Google Search Central

04 — Entity signals

Build your presence across the web.

AI tools cross-reference sources before citing a business. The more authoritative places your business appears consistently, the more confident AI engines become when recommending you.

Medium-high impact

Google Business Profile — claim and complete it

A fully completed Google Business Profile is one of the strongest AEO entity signals available. Fill in every field: category, description, hours, services, photos, and Q&A. Get reviews. AI tools treat GBP as a trust anchor.

LinkedIn company page — keep it active

LinkedIn is the most trusted professional entity signal for B2B queries. Make sure your company description, services, and location match your website exactly. Include your website URL.

Consistent NAP across every platform

Name, address, and phone number must be identical on your website, Google Business, LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, and any directory. Inconsistencies confuse AI engines and reduce citation confidence.

Directory listings — Clutch, DesignRush, Yelp

Each directory listing is an inbound link and an entity mention. AI tools cross-reference these. Even a basic free listing on Clutch or DesignRush adds a trust signal that feeds citation confidence.

05 — Monitoring

Know if your work is showing up.

AEO without monitoring is guesswork. You need to know which queries trigger citations, which pages get cited first, and whether anything has changed. Check weekly.

Essential

Run manual citation tests weekly

Open ChatGPT and Perplexity. Ask 'best [service] in [city]', 'top rated [service] near [city]', and 'recommended [service] [city]'. If your business name appears, you're being cited. Screenshot the result.

Test long-tail queries first

Don't only test broad queries. Ask the specific questions your FAQ schema targets: 'how much does AEO cost in Montreal' or 'website agency that builds on ICP blockchain'. Long-tail citations appear before broad ones.

Watch Google Search Console for impression growth

AI Overviews draw from indexed content. Rising impressions in GSC — even without click growth — often signals AI visibility improvement. Check weekly for pages gaining impressions on question-based queries.

Note which pages get cited first

When you do start appearing, record which page got cited, for which query. This tells you what's working. Double down: add more FAQ schema to similar pages, expand those Q&A sections.

06 — Ongoing

AEO compounds — keep building.

The businesses that stay cited are the ones that treat AEO as a continuous practice, not a one-time fix. Each month adds new citation opportunities.

Compounding

Add new FAQ questions monthly

Every question a client asks you is a citation opportunity. Add it to your FAQ schema and service page FAQ sections. Over time, you build coverage across a wide range of buyer queries.

Update schema whenever pricing or services change

Stale schema is worse than no schema. If AI cites your business with wrong pricing or discontinued services, it damages trust. Update FAQPage answers and Offer schema when anything changes.

Build inbound links — authority compounds

needs dev

Press mentions, guest blog posts, podcast appearances, industry directories. Each external mention adds authority that AI engines weight. One good press mention can accelerate citations for months.

Expand content depth on cited pages

When a page starts getting cited, expand it. Add more FAQ questions, longer answers, more specific examples. AI engines favor pages that comprehensively answer a topic over thin pages that just touch it.

Test it yourself

HOW TO KNOW
IT'S WORKING.

01

Open ChatGPT or Perplexity

Use the free version. You don't need a paid account to test citations.

02

Ask the right queries

Try "best [your service] in [your city]", "top [service] near [city]", and the specific questions your FAQ schema targets.

03

Record what comes back

Screenshot the results. Note which businesses get named. If yours appears, AEO is working. If a competitor appears, you now know exactly who to study.

Done all this and still not showing up?

The AI Visibility Monitor runs these checks for you weekly — across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. It shows exactly which queries cite you, who gets named instead, and what AI says about your business.

See AI Visibility Monitor

Common questions

What is the most important AEO signal to implement first?

FAQPage schema. It is the single highest-impact technical change because AI engines extract FAQ content verbatim when assembling answers. Add it to your homepage and every service page before anything else.

How do I know if my AEO changes are working?

Run manual tests weekly. Ask ChatGPT and Perplexity 'best [your service] in [your city]' and the specific questions your FAQ schema targets. First citations typically appear for long-tail queries 9-12 weeks after publishing optimized content with schema in place.

Can I do AEO without a developer?

The content and crawl access steps (FAQ sections, question-based headings, llms.txt, robots.txt) require no development skills. Schema markup requires adding JSON-LD code to your HTML — any developer can do this in an hour, and most CMS platforms have plugins that handle it.

What is llms.txt and why do I need it?

llms.txt is a plain-text file placed at your domain root that tells AI crawlers what your website is about and where to find your key content. It is conceptually similar to robots.txt but designed for language model crawlers. Without it, AI tools may partially miss or misunderstand your site.

How many FAQ questions should I add per page?

Aim for 5-8 per service page. Each question should directly match a query your customers type into AI tools. Prioritize questions about pricing, timelines, what's included, how it works, and why your approach is different.

Want it done for you?

WE HANDLE
ALL OF THIS.

The AEO retainer covers every item on this checklist — schema, content, crawl access, entity signals, monitoring, and monthly expansion. Plus Apex Radar competitive intelligence at no extra cost.

See AEO plans Run a free audit first

What the AEO retainer covers

FAQPage, HowTo, and Organization schema on every page
Citation-ready content written and published monthly
llms.txt and llms-full.txt built and maintained
Entity signals and sameAs links established
Monthly citation proof across ChatGPT and Perplexity
Apex Radar competitive intelligence — included free
$750USD/month · 3-month minimum