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