SEO & AEO Strategy

Traditional SEO gets pages ranked. AI search optimization (AEO/GEO) gets content cited. This skill covers both.

SEO  → Rank in traditional search results (blue links)
AEO  → Appear in featured snippets, AI Overviews, voice answers
GEO  → Get cited in generative AI responses (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity)

2025 reality: AI Overviews appear in ~47% of Google searches. 58% of queries end without a click. Optimize for citation, not just ranking.

Initial Assessment

Check for .claude/product-marketing-context.md or .agents/product-marketing-context.md first. Use existing context; only ask for what's missing.

Before auditing, understand:

Site context — Type (SaaS, e-commerce, blog), primary SEO goal, priority keywords/topics
Current state — Known issues, organic traffic level, recent changes or migrations
AI visibility — Does the brand appear in AI-generated answers today? Checked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews?
Scope — Full site vs. specific pages? Technical + on-page + AI, or one focus area?

Technical SEO

Crawlability

| Check | What to Verify | |-------|---------------| | robots.txt | No unintentional blocks, sitemap referenced, AI crawlers allowed | | XML Sitemap | Exists, submitted to Search Console, canonical URLs only, < 50K URLs | | Site architecture | Important pages within 3 clicks, logical hierarchy, no orphan pages | | Crawl budget | Parameterized URLs controlled, faceted nav handled, no session IDs in URLs |

Indexation

site:domain.com check vs. Search Console coverage report
Verify no noindex on important pages
Check canonical tags (self-referencing on unique pages, HTTP→HTTPS, www consistency)
Identify redirect chains/loops, soft 404s, duplicate content

Core Web Vitals & Speed

| Metric | Target | Tool | |--------|--------|------| | LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | < 2.5s | PageSpeed Insights | | INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | < 200ms | Chrome DevTools | | CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | < 0.1 | WebPageTest | | TTFB (Time to First Byte) | < 800ms | Search Console |

Mobile & Security

Responsive design (not separate m. site), viewport configured, adequate tap targets (48px min)
HTTPS across entire site, valid SSL, no mixed content, HSTS header

URL Structure

Lowercase, hyphen-separated, < 75 characters
Include target keywords naturally, avoid unnecessary parameters

On-Page SEO

Title Tags

50–60 characters, primary keyword near beginning
Unique per page, brand name at end (unless homepage)
Compelling and click-worthy

Meta Descriptions

150–160 characters, include primary keyword
Clear value proposition with call-to-action, unique per page

Heading Structure

Single <h1> per page containing primary keyword
Logical hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3), no skipped levels
Descriptive headings (not generic), include keywords naturally

Image SEO

Descriptive filenames with keywords, alt text on all images
Compressed, modern formats (WebP/AVIF), lazy load below-fold
Responsive images with width/height attributes

Internal Linking

Descriptive anchor text with keywords (not "click here")
Important pages well-linked, no broken internal links
Breadcrumb navigation for hierarchy

Content Quality (E-E-A-T)

| Signal | Implementation | |--------|---------------| | Experience | First-hand accounts, case studies, original data | | Expertise | Author credentials visible, accurate detailed information | | Authoritativeness | Cited by others, industry credentials, recognized in space | | Trustworthiness | Transparent sourcing, contact info, privacy policy, HTTPS |

AI Search Optimization (AEO/GEO)

How AI Search Platforms Select Sources

| Platform | Source Selection | Key Factor | |----------|-----------------|------------| | Google AI Overviews | Strong correlation with traditional rankings | Top 5 organic positions favored | | ChatGPT | Wider range, not just top-ranked | Branded domain authority, recency | | Perplexity | Always cites with links | Authoritative, recent, well-structured | | Gemini | Google index + Knowledge Graph | E-E-A-T signals, structured data | | Copilot | Bing index | Microsoft ecosystem (LinkedIn, GitHub) | | Claude | Brave Search | Factual density, structural clarity |

For detailed platform-specific ranking factors, see references/platform-ranking-factors.md and references/platform-algorithms.md.

The Three Pillars

1. Structure — Make content extractable

AI systems extract passages, not pages. Every key claim should work standalone.

Lead every section with a direct answer (don't bury it)
Keep key answer passages to 40–60 words (optimal for snippet extraction)
Use H2/H3 headings that match how people phrase queries
Tables beat prose for comparisons; numbered lists beat paragraphs for processes

Inverted pyramid pattern:

┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│  DIRECT ANSWER (1-2 sentences)   │ ← AI extracts this first
├──────────────────────────────────┤
│  KEY FACTS & CONTEXT             │ ← Supporting bullets/data
├──────────────────────────────────┤
│  DETAILED EXPLANATION            │ ← Background, examples
└──────────────────────────────────┘

2. Authority — Make content citable

The Princeton GEO research (KDD 2024) ranked 9 optimization methods:

| Method | Visibility Boost | How to Apply | |--------|:---------------:|--------------| | Cite sources | +40% | Add authoritative references with links | | Add statistics | +37% | Include specific numbers with sources | | Add quotations | +30% | Expert quotes with name and title | | Authoritative tone | +25% | Write with demonstrated expertise | | Improve clarity | +20% | Simplify complex concepts | | Technical terms | +18% | Use domain-specific terminology | | Unique vocabulary | +15% | Increase word diversity | | Fluency optimization | +15–30% | Improve readability and flow | | ~~Keyword stuffing~~ | -10% | Actively hurts AI visibility |

Best combination: Fluency + Statistics = maximum boost. Low-ranking sites benefit even more — up to 115% visibility increase with citations.

For detailed GEO research, see references/geo-research.md.

3. Presence — Be where AI looks

AI systems cite where you appear, not just your site:

Wikipedia mentions (7.8% of all ChatGPT citations)
Reddit discussions, YouTube content, Quora answers
Review sites (G2, Capterra, TrustRadius for B2B SaaS)
Industry publications and guest posts

Semantic Triples (Key AEO Technique)

Compact, unambiguous facts AI can't misread. Pattern: [Subject] [specific verb] [concrete object].

✅ "HubSpot CRM syncs contact and company data."
✅ "Lead Scoring assigns priority based on engagement."
❌ "The system helps with various tasks."
❌ "It can do many things for users."

AI Crawler Configuration

Ensure robots.txt allows AI crawlers:

User-agent: GPTBot          # OpenAI
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User    # ChatGPT browsing
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot   # Perplexity
Allow: /
User-agent: ClaudeBot        # Anthropic
Allow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended  # Gemini/AI Overviews
Allow: /

See references/ai-crawlers.md for full configuration.

Structured Data for Search & AI

Schema markup improves AI visibility by 30–40%. Priority types:

| Content Type | Schema | Citation Impact | |-------------|--------|:---------------:| | FAQs | FAQPage | 2.5x inclusion | | Articles/Blog | Article + Author | 2.2x citations | | Organization | Organization | 2.8x citations | | How-to content | HowTo | Step extraction | | Products | Product | Pricing/features | | Reviews | AggregateRating | Trust signals | | Breadcrumbs | BreadcrumbList | Navigation context |

For full JSON-LD templates, see references/schema-templates.md and references/schema-for-ai.md.

Validate at Google Rich Results Test and Schema.org Validator.

Content Types That Get Cited Most

| Content Type | AI Citation Share | Why AI Cites It | |-------------|:----------------:|----------------| | Comparison articles | ~33% | Structured, balanced, high-intent | | Definitive guides | ~15% | Comprehensive, authoritative | | Original research/data | ~12% | Unique, citable statistics | | Best-of/listicles | ~10% | Clear structure, entity-rich | | Product pages | ~10% | Specific extractable details | | How-to guides | ~8% | Step-by-step structure |

Underperformers: Generic blog posts without structure, thin product pages, gated content, undated content, PDF-only content.

For content templates and patterns, see references/content-patterns.md and references/content-templates.md.

AEO Measurement

Track these four metrics monthly:

1. AI Visibility

Test priority queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews. Target: Appear in 60%+ of priority queries.

2. AI Share of Voice

Share of Voice = (Your mentions / Total brand mentions) × 100. Target: Match or exceed traditional search market share.

3. AI Citations

How often YOUR WEBSITE is the source. Target: Cited in 30%+ of relevant queries.

4. Referral Demand

Traffic originating in AI but arriving later (brand search after AI mention). Track via post-purchase survey: "How did you first hear about us?"

Monitoring Tools

| Tool | Coverage | Best For | |------|----------|----------| | Otterly AI | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews | Share of AI voice | | Peec AI | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude | Multi-platform monitoring | | ZipTie | AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity | Brand mention + sentiment | | HubSpot AEO Grader | AI visibility audit | Free audit |

Interpreting Results

| Visibility | Share of Voice | Diagnosis | |------------|----------------|-----------| | ↓ Down | ↓ Down | Platform algorithm change (industry-wide) | | ↓ Down | → Stable | Your content quality declined | | → Stable | ↓ Down | Competitors improved | | ↑ Up | ↑ Up | Your AEO strategy is working |

Audit Checklists

Critical (Fix Immediately)

[ ] HTTPS enabled, valid SSL
[ ] robots.txt allows crawling (including AI bots)
[ ] No noindex on important pages
[ ] Title tags present, unique, with primary keyword
[ ] Single <h1> per page
[ ] AI crawlers not blocked in robots.txt

High Priority

[ ] Meta descriptions present and compelling
[ ] XML sitemap submitted to Search Console
[ ] Canonical URLs set correctly
[ ] Mobile-responsive, Core Web Vitals passing
[ ] FAQPage schema on FAQ/support pages
[ ] Article schema with author on blog/guide pages
[ ] "Last updated" date visible on content

Medium Priority

[ ] Internal linking strategy implemented
[ ] Image alt text on all images
[ ] Descriptive URLs with keywords
[ ] Breadcrumb navigation + schema
[ ] Author bios with credentials
[ ] Statistics cited with sources
[ ] Content answers queries in first paragraph

Ongoing

[ ] Fix crawl errors in Search Console
[ ] Update sitemap when content changes
[ ] Refresh content quarterly (competitive topics)
[ ] Monitor AI visibility monthly (manual or tools)
[ ] Check for broken links
[ ] Track AI share of voice vs. competitors

For complete SEO checklist, see references/seo-checklist.md.

Tools

| Tool | Use | |------|-----| | Google Search Console | Monitor indexing, fix issues, track queries | | Google PageSpeed Insights | Performance + Core Web Vitals | | Rich Results Test | Validate structured data | | Lighthouse | Full SEO audit | | Screaming Frog | Crawl analysis | | Semrush / Ahrefs | AI Overview tracking, backlinks, content gaps |

See references/tools-and-apis.md for API reference.

Scripts available in scripts/: SEO audit, keyword research, SERP analysis, backlink analysis, competitor gap analysis, autocomplete ideas. See script files for usage.

References

references/platform-ranking-factors.md — How each AI platform selects sources
references/platform-algorithms.md — Detailed ranking factors per platform
references/geo-research.md — Princeton GEO research (9 methods)
references/content-patterns.md — AI-optimized content block templates
references/content-templates.md — Page structure templates for AI
references/schema-templates.md — JSON-LD schema templates
references/schema-for-ai.md — Schema markup for AI visibility
references/ai-crawlers.md — AI crawler robots.txt configuration
references/seo-checklist.md — Complete SEO audit checklist
references/aeo-geo-patterns.md — Content patterns for AI citation
references/ai-writing-detection.md — AI writing patterns to avoid
references/query-research.md — Query research methodology
references/tools-and-apis.md — Tools and API reference
references/google-docs-summary.md — Google documentation summary

Related Skills

keyword-research-and-clustering — Keyword research, expansion, and topic clustering
schema-markup — Structured data implementation details
programmatic-seo — Building SEO pages at scale
competitor-alternatives — Building comparison pages that get cited
content-strategy-and-planning — Planning what content to create
data-and-funnel-analytics — Measuring SEO/AEO performance