SEO

The Ultimate AEO, SEO & GEO Optimization Checklist

 |  By  |  30 Min Read

Search visibility in 2026 requires more than traditional SEO. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) determines whether your content appears in featured snippets and voice search results. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) determines whether AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews cite your content. This checklist covers all three disciplines — over 300 actionable items — organized by priority and workflow.

Use the interactive checklist below to track your progress. Your completions are saved automatically to your browser.

How to use this checklist: Work through each section in order — SEO is the foundation everything else builds on. Check off each item as you complete it. Your progress is saved in your browser and can be reset at any time.
0
Completed
Overall Progress: 0%
0
Remaining
Part 1

🔍 SEO — Search Engine Optimization

The foundation layer. Technical excellence, great content, links, and authority.

🔧 Technical SEO

Crawlability & Indexing
Site Speed & Core Web Vitals
Mobile Optimisation
Security & Infrastructure
Site Architecture

📝 On-Page SEO

Title Tags & Meta Descriptions
Heading Structure
Content Optimisation
Image Optimisation
Internal Linking
URL Optimisation

🏗️ Structured Data / Schema Markup

🔗 Off-Page SEO / Link Building

Backlink Acquisition
Link Profile Health
Brand Signals & Mentions

📍 Local SEO (If Applicable)

📊 Analytics, Monitoring & Continuous Improvement

Part 2

🎯 AEO — Answer Engine Optimisation

Optimise for Featured Snippets, Voice Search, Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Knowledge Panels.

📋 Content Formatting for Direct Answers

⭐ Featured Snippet Optimisation

🗣️ Voice Search Optimisation

🧠 Knowledge Panel / Knowledge Graph Optimisation

🏛️ Entity & Topic Authority for AEO

Part 3

🤖 GEO — Generative Engine Optimisation

Optimise for AI-powered engines: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Claude, and Bing Copilot.

📖 Content That AI Models Prefer to Cite

🏗️ Content Structure for AI Readability

🏆 Building Authority for AI Citation

✅ E-E-A-T Optimisation (Critical for AEO & GEO)

🎯 Optimising for Specific AI Platforms

Google AI Overviews (SGE)
ChatGPT / OpenAI
Perplexity AI
Bing Copilot

🕷️ AI Crawler Management

📄 Content Types That Get Cited by AI

🔄 Content Freshness & Maintenance

Part 4

🆕 Tips for New Websites

Foundation building, launch checklist, and strategies for building authority from scratch.

🏗️ Foundation (Before Launch)

🚀 Launch Checklist

📝 Content Strategy for New Sites

👑 Building Authority from Scratch

Part 5

🔄 Tips for Old/Existing Websites

Content audits, technical debt cleanup, leveraging existing authority, and migration tips.

🔍 Content Audit & Cleanup

🔧 Technical Debt Cleanup

💪 Leveraging Existing Authority

🔀 Migration & Redesign Considerations

Part 6

⚡ Combined Strategy & Synergies

How SEO, AEO, and GEO work together — unified framework, workflow, tools, and quick wins.

🔄 The Unified Optimisation Framework

🤖 GENERATIVE LAYER (GEO)

Original data, expert citations, AI-friendly structure, brand authority, cross-platform presence, citability, factual precision

🎯 ANSWER LAYER (AEO)

Q&A formatting, direct answers, FAQ schema, voice search, featured snippets, concise answer delivery

🔍 FOUNDATION (SEO)

Technical excellence, great content, links, authority, E-E-A-T, structured data

📊 Priority Actions That Benefit All Three

ActionSEOAEOGEO
Comprehensive, high-quality content✅✅✅
Structured data / Schema markup✅✅✅
Clear heading hierarchy with questions✅✅✅
Original research and data✅✅✅
E-E-A-T signals (author bios, credentials)✅✅✅
FAQ sections with schema✅✅✅
Fast, technically sound site✅✅✅
Authoritative backlinks✅✅✅
Cross-platform brand presence✅✅✅
Regular content updates✅✅✅
Tables and structured comparisons✅✅✅
Expert quotes with attribution✅✅✅

📋 Master Workflow (Recommended Order)

Phase 1 — Weeks 1–4

Foundation

  1. Technical SEO audit and fixes
  2. Site architecture planning/cleanup
  3. Keyword research and content mapping
  4. Schema markup implementation
  5. Google Search Console & Analytics setup
  6. Core Web Vitals optimisation
Phase 2 — Weeks 5–12

Content Excellence

  1. Create/optimise pillar content
  2. Build topic clusters with supporting content
  3. Format content for AEO (Q&A structure, direct answers)
  4. Add original data, expert quotes, and citations (GEO)
  5. Implement FAQ sections with schema on key pages
  6. Optimise all on-page SEO elements
Phase 3 — Weeks 13–24

Authority Building

  1. Launch link building campaigns
  2. Digital PR and media outreach
  3. Build cross-platform presence (GEO)
  4. Guest posting and expert contribution
  5. Community engagement (Reddit, Quora, forums)
  6. Build author authority and E-E-A-T signals
Phase 4 — Ongoing

Optimisation & Scaling

  1. Monitor rankings, traffic, and AI citations
  2. A/B test titles and meta descriptions for CTR
  3. Update and refresh existing content quarterly
  4. Expand topic clusters into adjacent areas
  5. Monitor AI Overview and featured snippet appearances
  6. Scale what works, cut what doesn't

🛠️ Recommended Tools by Category

All-in-One SEO

Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz Pro

Technical Audits

Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Lumar

Keyword Research

Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest

Question Research (AEO)

AlsoAsked, AnswerThePublic, People Also Ask

Schema / Structured Data

Schema.org, Google Rich Results Test, Schema Markup Generator

Page Speed

Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, WebPageTest

Content Optimisation

Clearscope, SurferSEO, MarketMuse, Frase

Rank Tracking

Ahrefs, SEMrush, AccuRanker, SERPWatcher

Analytics

GA4, Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools

AI Monitoring (GEO)

Otterly.ai, Profound, SEMrush AI toolkit

Link Building

Ahrefs, BuzzStream, Pitchbox, HARO/Connectively

Local SEO

BrightLocal, Whitespark, Moz Local

⚡ Quick-Win Checklist — Do These First for Fastest Impact

Remember: SEO is the foundation. AEO builds on SEO by formatting for direct answers. GEO builds on both by ensuring AI systems find, trust, and cite your content. You cannot skip layers — a technically broken site with poor authority won't win in any of the three, regardless of formatting.