AEO & GEO
AI search visibility audit
Is your website ready to be cited by AI tools? This 15-point audit scores your site across five categories and shows exactly where to start.
TL;DR
- This audit covers 15 checkpoints across 5 categories: crawlability, content structure, schema markup, authority signals, and measurement.
- Score each point 0 (not in place), 1 (partially done), or 2 (fully implemented). A score of 20 or above means your site is ready for AI search. Below 10 means you need foundational work first.
- Most German SME websites score between 8 and 14 out of 30. The most common gaps: missing schema markup, no answer-first content structure, and no AI search measurement.
- Run this audit quarterly. AI search patterns shift fast, and your competitors are working on this too.
Why audit
You cannot fix what you have not measured.
Most companies jump straight to "add schema" or "rewrite headings" without knowing where their biggest gap is. A structured audit prevents wasted effort and shows the highest-impact fixes first.
The five categories in this audit are based on how AI tools evaluate sources: can they find your content (crawlability), can they understand it (content structure), can they verify it (schema), do they trust it (authority), and can you track it (measurement).
In Germany, the median score for B2B websites on this audit is 11 out of 30. Companies that score above 20 are significantly more likely to appear in AI-generated answers for their target topics.
Use this audit as a baseline, then re-run it every quarter. AI search visibility requires ongoing attention as tools update their selection criteria. When crawl or index gaps dominate the score, start with an organic search programme before stacking AEO tactics.
Most German SME websites score between 8 and 14 out of 30. The most common gaps: missing schema, no answer-first structure, and no measurement.
Audit categories
Five areas that determine AI search visibility.
01
Crawlability
Can AI tools find and read your pages? Check robots.txt, sitemap coverage, page speed, and mobile friendliness. Bing-based tools (ChatGPT, Copilot) need IndexNow for freshness.
02
Content structure
Does each page answer a buyer question directly? Check for answer-first paragraphs, question-based H2 headings, and clear heading hierarchy. AI tools extract the first one or two sentences that answer the query.
03
Schema markup
Is your content labelled with structured data? Check for Article, Organization, BreadcrumbList, and FAQPage schemas. Validate each with Google Rich Results Test.
04
Authority signals
Can AI tools verify who published the content? Check for consistent company name across directories, press mentions, and partner pages. Organization schema with sameAs links matters.
05
Measurement
Can you track AI search visibility? Check for Bing Webmaster Tools setup, AI referral tracking in analytics, and regular manual checks of AI tools for your target questions.
Audit benchmarks
- 30
- Maximum score across 15 checkpoints (0-2 per point). Most German SMEs score between 8 and 14.
- 20+
- Score needed to be considered AI-search-ready. Above this, you can focus on advanced tactics.
- 63%
- Of B2B websites have no structured data beyond what their SEO plugin auto-generates.
The 15-point audit
Score each point: 0 (no), 1 (partial), 2 (yes).
✓
Crawlability 1: Is your robots.txt allowing all major search engines and AI bots to crawl your key pages?
✓
Crawlability 2: Does your XML sitemap cover all important pages and is it submitted to Google and Bing?
✓
Crawlability 3: Does your site load in under 2.5 seconds on mobile (Core Web Vitals LCP)?
✓
Crawlability 4: Is IndexNow configured to notify Bing of content updates promptly?
✓
Content structure 1: Do your top 10 commercial pages each answer a buyer question in the first paragraph?
✓
Content structure 2: Are your H2 headings phrased as questions your buyers actually ask?
✓
Content structure 3: Is your heading hierarchy clean (H1 > H2 > H3, no skipped levels)?
✓
Content structure 4: Do your key pages have visible FAQ sections where real follow-up questions exist?
✓
Schema 1: Is Article schema output on all guides, posts, and case studies with author and date fields?
✓
Schema 2: Is Organization schema on every page with name, logo, URL, and sameAs links?
✓
Schema 3: Is BreadcrumbList schema active and matching your visible navigation?
✓
Schema 4: Has every schema been validated with Google Rich Results Test in the last 90 days?
✓
Authority 1: Is your company listed in at least 3 relevant German or EU business directories?
✓
Authority 2: Does your Organization schema sameAs list include your Google Business Profile and LinkedIn?
✓
Measurement 1: Do you have Bing Webmaster Tools set up and check it monthly?
Common questions
What businesses ask about AI search audits.
How often should I run this audit?
Quarterly is the right cadence for most companies. AI search selection criteria change frequently, and your competitors are also improving. Run the audit at the start of each quarter, fix the top 3 gaps, and re-score before the next quarter.
What score means I am "ready" for AI search?
A score of 20 out of 30 or above means your fundamentals are in place. You can focus on advanced tactics like topical clusters and external authority building. Below 10 means foundational SEO work is needed first. Between 10 and 20, prioritise the category with the lowest score.
Can I do this audit myself or do I need an agency?
You can do most of it yourself with free tools. Google Search Console, Google Rich Results Test, Bing Webmaster Tools, and a manual check of your top pages in ChatGPT and Perplexity cover most checkpoints. An agency can help interpret results and prioritise fixes.
Start here
Ready to talk.Send us the brief.
or book a 15-minute call →or email us directly →
Not sure where to start? Send the page, workflow, or backlog causing the problem. We will tell you whether it needs a scope call, a short diagnostic, or a different first step.