What are the 48 AEO criteria?

The 48 criteria are organized into 5 pillars with fixed target shares: Answer Readiness 40%, Content Structure 25%, Trust & Authority 15%, Technical Foundation 10%, and AI Discovery 10%. Inside those pillars, criteria cover topic coherence, original data, depth, fact density, direct answers, Q&A structure, entity authority, freshness, visible dates, schema, semantic HTML, extraction friction, llms.txt, robots.txt, licensing, canonicals, sitemap coverage, and RSS. Each criterion is scored 0–10, converted into an effective weight after confidence and overlap controls, then rolled into the final score.

Do I need technical skills to improve my AEO Site Rank?

Some improvements — writing FAQ content, adding author bios — require zero technical skills. Others — deploying JSON-LD schema, modifying robots.txt — require basic HTML knowledge or developer access. Our Knowledge Base guides include code examples for each criterion. For hands-on help, we offer professional services.

What is the fastest way to improve my AI visibility?

Start with high-impact, low-effort wins: (1) Create an llms.txt file, (2) Add Organization JSON-LD to your homepage, (3) Update robots.txt to allow AI crawlers, (4) Add FAQPage schema to existing FAQ content. These four changes take under a day and typically produce noticeable improvements within weeks.

Can I implement AEO improvements on WordPress?

Yes. WordPress has excellent AEO support. Use Yoast SEO for schema markup, create llms.txt via FTP or a custom plugin, edit robots.txt through Yoast or directly, and build FAQ pages with Gutenberg blocks. Most WordPress themes already produce clean, crawlable HTML.

What is the minimum viable AEO setup for a new website?

Four things on day one: (1) Organization JSON-LD schema on every page, (2) a well-structured llms.txt at your domain root, (3) robots.txt explicitly allowing GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot, (4) at least one FAQ page with FAQPage schema. This baseline takes a few hours and establishes the foundation everything else builds on.

spinecenteratlanta.com - AEO Audit Report | 50/100

spinecenteratlanta.com

Moderate AI visibility with 24 of 48 criteria passing. Biggest gap: comprehensive faq section.

Healthcare & Patient Advocacy Medical Practice

Scoring Methodology

How Your AEO Site Rank Is Calculated

A weighted average of 48 deterministic criteria. Each scored 0-10, each with a specific weight. No AI judgment calls - every point is traceable.

Weak visibilityOut of 100 possible points

The Formula

Score = sum(criterion_score / 10 * weight * 100) / sum(weights)

Each criterion is scored 0-10 by deterministic checks, multiplied by its weight, and summed to produce a 0-100 overall score.

Your Score Breakdown

Content9 criteria

Q&A Content Format15%2/10+3.0

FAQ Sections10%0/10+0.0

Original Data10%8/10+8.0

Content Freshness7%5/10+3.5

Direct Answer Paragraphs7%4/10+2.8

Fact & Data Density5%10/10+5.0

Definition Patterns4%5/10+2.0

Query-Answer Alignment8%0/10+0.0

Content Cannibalization5%3/10+1.5

Subtotal71%+25.8

Structure5 criteria

Schema.org JSON-LD15%9/10+13.5

Clean, Crawlable HTML10%6/10+6.0

Semantic HTML55%3/10+1.5

Table & List Extractability7%4/10+2.8

Schema Coverage3%9/10+2.7

Subtotal40%+26.5

Discovery5 criteria

llms.txt10%10/10+10.0

robots.txt for AI5%3/10+1.5

Internal Linking10%8/10+8.0

Sitemap Completeness5%7/10+3.5

RSS/Atom Feed3%10/10+3.0

Subtotal33%+26.0

Trust Signals6 criteria

Entity Authority10%8/10+8.0

Content Licensing4%0/10+0.0

Author & Expert Schema4%4/10+1.6

Canonical URL4%10/10+4.0

Content Velocity3%2/10+0.6

Visible Date Signals4%3/10+1.2

Subtotal29%+15.4

Overall Score100%50/100

Score Ranges

86-100AI-first content architecture

71-85Strong AI visibility

56-70Moderate visibility

41-55Weak visibility

26-40Minimal visibility

0-25Not on the radar

Key Points

Topic Coherence carries the highest weight at 14%, followed by Original Data at 10%, across 48 total criteria.

No HTTPS means Clean HTML is capped at 3/10, costing approximately 3-4 overall points.

Every criterion uses deterministic checks. Same site, same audit, same score - every time.

Read full scoring methodology →

↓7 since v5

Citation Avg

Answer Readiness

~40% weight

7/10

Content Structure

~25% weight

4/10

Trust & Authority

~15% weight

5/10

Technical Foundation

~10% weight

4/10

AI Discovery

~10% weight

5/10

Verdict

Below-average AEO readiness at 50/100 - multiple areas need attention. Key strengths include llms.txt File, RSS/Atom Feed, and Fact & Data Density. Priority gaps: Comprehensive FAQ Section, Content Licensing & AI Permissions, and Speakable Schema.

Top priorities

Comprehensive FAQ SectionStructure+10 pts

Content Licensing & AI PermissionsDiscovery+10 pts

Speakable SchemaTechnical+10 pts

#3895of 13300

#446of 1359 in Healthcare & Patient Advocacy

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How to Improve

Current

50/100

Projected

80/100

39Total Fixes

11Quick Wins

~79hEst. Effort

Quick Wins

Configure robots.txt for AI crawlersAdd content freshness signalsAdd structured tables and listsAdd definition-style contentAdd direct answer paragraphsAdd ai.txt and content licensingEnhance author and expert schemaAdd visible date signalsAdd first-hand experience signalsImprove citation-ready writing qualityReduce extraction friction

Fix

Impact

Effort

Fix HTML structure and meta tags

Ensure clean, well-structured HTML with proper meta tags, HTTPS, and parseable content for AI crawlers.

medium

low

Fix HTML structure and meta tags

medium|low

Configure robots.txt for AI crawlers

Update robots.txt to explicitly allow AI crawlers and include sitemap directive.

critical

low

Configure robots.txt for AI crawlers

critical|low

Reduce render-blocking resources

Minimize blocking scripts and stylesheets in <head> to improve content availability for AI crawlers.

critical

medium

Reduce render-blocking resources

critical|medium

Create complete sitemap.xml

Generate a comprehensive sitemap with lastmod dates for all important pages.

medium

low

Create complete sitemap.xml

medium|low

Add internationalization signals

Implement hreflang tags and lang attributes so AI engines serve the correct language version when answering queries.

critical

medium

Add internationalization signals

critical|medium

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Top Opportunities10

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Fix It With AI43

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Score Breakdown

Criteria

Status

Potential

Score

Comprehensive FAQ Section

critical+10 pts0/10

Content Licensing & AI Permissions

critical+10 pts0/10

Speakable Schema

critical+10 pts0/10

Query-Answer Alignment

critical+10 pts0/10

Entity Disambiguation

critical+10 pts0/10

Owned Data Density

critical+10 pts0/10

Image Context for AI

critical+9 pts1/10

Q&A Content Format

critical+8 pts2/10

Content Publishing Velocity

critical+8 pts2/10

Methodology Transparency

critical+8 pts2/10

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Site Pages

URLCitationSiteIn-linksCategoryIssuesWords

spinecenteratlanta.com/our-termsTerms & Conditions | Spine Center Atlanta

F35

content

1,517

spinecenteratlanta.com/our-termsF35

Terms & Conditions | Spine Center Atlanta

spinecenteratlanta.com/blogOur Blog | Orthopedic Surgeons located in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Forest Park, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

D43

content

1,465

spinecenteratlanta.com/blogD43

Our Blog | Orthopedic Surgeons located in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Forest Park, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

spinecenteratlanta.com/locationsContact Us | Orthopedic Surgeons located in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

F34

content

1,073

spinecenteratlanta.com/locationsF34

Contact Us | Orthopedic Surgeons located in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

spinecenteratlanta.com/facility/aqua-therapyAqua Therapy - Spine Center Atlanta

D40

content

1,104

spinecenteratlanta.com/facility/aqua-therapyD40

Aqua Therapy - Spine Center Atlanta

spinecenteratlanta.com/locationsContact Us | Orthopedic Surgeons located in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

F34

content

1,073

spinecenteratlanta.com/locationsF34

Contact Us | Orthopedic Surgeons located in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

spinecenteratlanta.com/facility/wellness-centerWellness Center | Spine Specialists & Orthopedics in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

F33

content

1,047

spinecenteratlanta.com/facility/wellness-centerF33

Wellness Center | Spine Specialists & Orthopedics in Atlanta, Savannah, Conyers, Augusta, Macon and Decatur, GA | Spine Center Atlanta

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Changes since v5Last audited 6 days ago

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Improve Your Score

Guides for the criteria with the most room for improvement

Criteria0/10

FAQ Sections: 87 Questions Turned Our Score Into 88

Our site runs 87 FAQ items across 9 categories with FAQPage schema on every one. That's not excessive -it's how we hit 88/100. Each Q&A pair is a citation opportunity AI can extract in seconds.

Intermediate·8 min readRead guide →

Criteria0/10

Content Licensing Signals

You want AI engines to cite your content. But have you actually told them they're allowed to? Most sites haven't -and AI systems default to conservative behavior.

Beginner·3 min readRead guide →

supplementary0/10

Speakable Schema Markup

Voice assistants need to pick which paragraph to read aloud from your page. Without Speakable markup, they guess -and they frequently guess wrong, reading your cookie notice.

Beginner·3 min readRead guide →

Criteria0/10

Query-Answer Alignment: Does Your Content Match What People Actually Ask?

You wrote a 3,000-word guide on "customer support automation." But people ask AI "how do I reduce support ticket volume?" If your content doesn't match the actual queries, AI can't connect the dots.

Beginner·8 min readRead guide →

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Verdict

How to Improve

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Top Opportunities10

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Fix It With AI43

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Score Breakdown

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