AEO Website Checklist
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) helps your website become easier for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity to understand, summarize, and reference. Use our AI Visibility Analyzer to check how well your site performs, then follow this checklist to close any gaps. The following checklist covers the most important elements every modern website should include.
1. Answer the Main Question Immediately
The first paragraph should directly answer the page's primary question before providing additional details.
Example:
What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of optimizing content so AI systems can understand and deliver your information in generated answers.
2. Use a Proper Heading Structure
- One H1 per page
- Logical H2 sections
- H3 for subsections
- Never skip heading levels
3. Add a Frequently Asked Questions Section
Include questions that users actually search for and provide concise answers.
- What is AEO?
- How does AEO work?
- Is AEO different from SEO?
- Why is AEO important?
4. Implement Structured Data
Use Schema.org markup whenever appropriate.
- Organization
- Article
- FAQPage
- HowTo
- BreadcrumbList
- Product
- SoftwareApplication
5. Use Tables
| Traditional SEO | AEO |
|---|---|
| Focuses on rankings | Focuses on answers |
| Keywords | Questions |
| Backlinks | Understanding and context |
| Clicks | Citations and AI visibility |
6. Use Lists
AI systems frequently summarize content from bullet lists.
- Schema markup
- Entity optimization
- Internal linking
- Question-based headings
- Clear definitions
7. Mention Recognizable Entities
Reference well-known platforms naturally throughout your content.
- ChatGPT
- Google AI Overviews
- Gemini
- Claude
- Perplexity
8. Create Strong Internal Links
Link related content so AI systems can discover your heading structure, structured data, and E-E-A-T signals across pages.
9. Essential Metadata
Add a descriptive title and meta description that clearly communicates your page topic — the AI Visibility Analyzer shows how these tags appear to AI systems.
- Title tag
- Meta description
- Canonical URL
- Open Graph tags
- Twitter Cards
10. Fast Loading
Aim for:
- Fast Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Low Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- Low Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
Avoid unnecessary JavaScript when possible.
11. Clean URLs
Good:
/aeo-guide/schema-generator/faq-schema
Avoid:
?id=18&page=5
13. Images
Every image should have descriptive alt text.
<img
src="faq-schema-example.webp"
alt="Example of FAQPage JSON-LD schema">14. E-E-A-T Signals
Show who created the content and why it's trustworthy.
Include:
- Author
- Last updated
- Sources (when appropriate)
- Contact information
- About page
- Privacy policy
15. Semantic HTML
Prefer elements like:
<header><nav><main><article><section><aside><footer>
Avoid using only generic <div> elements.
16. Consistent Terminology
Use one term consistently.
For example:
✅ Always use "Answer Engine Optimization"
Avoid switching between:
- AI SEO
- LLM SEO
- Generative SEO
- AEO
- GEO
without explaining that they're related.
17. Mobile-Friendly Design
- Responsive layout
- Readable font size
- Large tap targets
- No horizontal scrolling
18. XML Sitemap
Include every important page and keep it updated.
19. Robots.txt
Don't accidentally block important content.
20. Natural Language
Write as people ask questions.
Instead of:
AEO optimization implementation methodology
Write:
How do I optimize my website for AI search?
AEO Website Checklist
| Feature | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Answer-first content | ✔ |
| Proper heading hierarchy | ✔ |
| FAQ section | ✔ |
| FAQ Schema | ✔ |
| Organization Schema | ✔ |
| Breadcrumb Schema | ✔ |
| Internal links | ✔ |
| Entity-rich content | ✔ |
| Tables | ✔ |
| Lists | ✔ |
| Semantic HTML | ✔ |
| Canonical URL | ✔ |
| Meta description | ✔ |
| Image alt text | ✔ |
| XML Sitemap | ✔ |
| robots.txt | ✔ |
| Mobile friendly | ✔ |
| Fast loading | ✔ |
| E-E-A-T signals | ✔ |
| Clean URLs | ✔ |
| Breadcrumb navigation | ✔ |
| Consistent terminology | ✔ |
| Natural language | ✔ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AEO?
Answer Engine Optimization is the process of making content easier for AI systems and search engines to understand, summarize, and cite.
What should every AEO website include?
Every AEO website should include semantic HTML, structured data, answer-first content, FAQs, entity-rich writing, internal links, and E-E-A-T signals.