AEO Audit Checklist: 30 Steps to Optimize for Answer Engines
TL;DR: An AEO audit evaluates how well your content is optimized for featured snippets, PAA boxes, voice search, and AI citations. This 30-step checklist covers content structure, schema markup, technical requirements, and answer formatting. Complete it quarterly to maximize your answer engine visibility.
What Does an AEO Audit Cover?
An AEO audit examines your website through the lens of answer engines — any system that provides direct answers rather than lists of links. This includes Google featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, voice assistants, and AI search engines.
The audit covers five domains. Content structure (is your content formatted for answer extraction?), schema markup (does structured data help engines understand your content?), answer quality (are your answers clear, concise, and authoritative?), technical accessibility (can answer engines access and parse your content?), and performance tracking (are you winning answer positions?).
Unlike a traditional SEO audit that focuses on ranking signals, an AEO audit focuses on answerability. A page might rank well in traditional search but never appear in featured snippets or AI citations because it’s poorly structured for answer extraction.
The 30-step checklist below is organized by domain. Work through it sequentially, documenting findings and prioritizing fixes by impact.
Content Structure Audit (Steps 1-10)
Content structure is the foundation of AEO. If your content isn’t structured for answer extraction, no amount of schema markup or technical optimization will help. Our Content for Position Zero: Win Snippets & AI guide covers this in detail.
Step 1: Audit H2 Headings for Question Format
Review all H2 headings on your top 20 pages. Score each heading: is it phrased as a question that users actually ask? “How Much Does X Cost?”, “What Is Y?”, “Why Does Z Happen?” — these are AEO-ready headings. “Overview”, “Details”, “More Info” — these are not.
Target: 80%+ of H2 headings should be question-style on informational pages.
Step 2: Check Answer Positioning
For each question-style heading, read the first 1-2 sentences immediately below it. Do they directly answer the question? Or do they provide context, background, or preamble before getting to the answer?
Target: Every question heading should have a direct answer within the first 60 words.
Step 3: Measure Paragraph Length
Check the average paragraph length across your key pages. Long paragraphs (100+ words) are difficult for answer engines to extract as clean snippets.
Target: Average paragraph length under 80 words. Ideal: 40-70 words.
Step 4: Evaluate List and Table Usage
Check whether your content uses HTML lists and tables where appropriate. Step-by-step instructions should use ordered lists. Comparisons should use tables. Feature lists should use unordered lists. As we discuss in How AI Search is Changing Consumer Behavior in 2026, this is a critical factor.
Target: Every page with procedural content should have at least one list. Every page with comparison content should have at least one table.
Step 5: Verify FAQ Sections
Check whether your key pages include FAQ sections at the bottom. FAQs provide additional answer extraction opportunities and are excellent targets for PAA boxes and AI citations.
Target: All pillar and long-form content should include 3-5 FAQs with concise answers.
Step 6: Check Content Comprehensiveness
For each target query, evaluate whether your content covers the topic thoroughly. Thin content (under 1,500 words for informational queries) rarely wins answer positions because it lacks the depth that signals authority.
Target: Informational content should be 2,000+ words with 8-12 H2 sections.
Step 7: Review TL;DR and Summary Sections
Check whether your articles include TL;DR summaries or key takeaway sections. These provide additional concise answer extraction points.
Target: Every long-form article should have a TL;DR at the top and key takeaways at the bottom.
Step 8: Evaluate Definition Formatting
For pages that define concepts, check whether definitions follow the “[Term] is/are [definition]” format in the first sentence. Answer engines strongly prefer this clear definitional pattern.
Target: All “What is” content should start with a clean definition sentence.
Step 9: Check for Comparison Content
Identify queries where users compare options (X vs Y). Check whether your content includes direct comparison sections with tables and clear verdicts.
Target: Comparison content should have a comparison table and a clear “Which should you choose?” recommendation.
Step 10: Verify Internal Linking to Answer Content
Check whether your answer-optimized pages are linked from other relevant pages on your site. Internal links help answer engines discover and evaluate your content.
Target: Each key answer page should have 3-5+ internal links from related content.
Schema Markup Audit (Steps 11-16)
Schema markup helps answer engines understand your content structure. It’s not required for answer positions, but it significantly improves your chances.
Step 11: Check FAQ Schema Implementation
Verify that pages with FAQ sections have properly implemented FAQ schema. Use Google’s Rich Results Test to validate.
Target: All pages with FAQ content should have valid FAQPage schema. If you want to go deeper, How to Run a GEO Competitor Analysis breaks this down step by step.
Step 12: Verify HowTo Schema
Check whether procedural/instructional pages have HowTo schema. Each step should be marked up with a name and text description.
Target: All how-to and tutorial content should have valid HowTo schema.
Step 13: Audit Article Schema
Verify that all content pages have Article or BlogPosting schema with proper metadata: headline, datePublished, dateModified, author, and image.
Target: 100% of content pages should have Article/BlogPosting schema.
Step 14: Check Breadcrumb Schema
Verify BreadcrumbList schema is implemented to help engines understand your site structure and display breadcrumbs in search results.
Target: All pages should have valid breadcrumb schema matching the visible breadcrumb navigation.
Step 15: Validate All Schema
Run your top 20 URLs through Google’s Rich Results Test and Schema.org’s validator. Document all errors and warnings.
Target: Zero errors on all pages. Warnings should be reviewed and addressed where practical.
Step 16: Check for Speakable Schema
For voice search optimization, verify that key answer sections are marked with Speakable schema, identifying content suitable for text-to-speech reading. (We explore this further in AI Citations Have Almost No Correlation with Web Traffic.)
Target: Top 10 answer-optimized pages should have Speakable markup on their key answer sections.
Technical Accessibility Audit (Steps 17-22)
Answer engines need to access and parse your content efficiently. Technical issues can block answer visibility entirely.
Step 17: Verify AI Crawler Access
Check robots.txt for blocks on AI crawlers: GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, anthropic-ai, CCBot. Blocked AI crawlers means zero AI citation potential.
Target: All major AI crawlers should be allowed unless there’s a specific business reason to block them.
Step 18: Check Server-Side Rendering
Verify that your main content appears in the raw HTML source (not just in JavaScript-rendered DOM). Right-click > View Page Source and search for your content text.
Target: All main content should be present in server-rendered HTML.
Step 19: Test Page Speed
Run your top 20 pages through PageSpeed Insights. Answer engines prefer fast-loading pages, and slow pages may be deprioritized.
Target: Core Web Vitals passing on all key pages. Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds.
Step 20: Verify Mobile Responsiveness
Test key pages on mobile devices. Most answer engine queries come from mobile. Content that doesn’t render properly on mobile is disadvantaged.
Target: All pages pass Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. This relates closely to what we cover in robots.txt for AI Crawlers — Complete Setup Guide.
Step 21: Check HTTPS Implementation
Verify all pages serve over HTTPS. Answer engines overwhelmingly cite HTTPS pages.
Target: 100% HTTPS. No mixed content warnings.
Step 22: Verify XML Sitemap
Check that your XML sitemap is current, submitted to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and includes all key answer-targeted pages.
Target: Sitemap includes all content pages, is error-free, and updates automatically.
Answer Quality Audit (Steps 23-27)
Even with perfect structure and technical setup, answer quality determines whether you actually win answer positions.
Step 23: Evaluate Answer Accuracy
Fact-check the direct answers on your top 20 pages. Outdated prices, incorrect statistics, and deprecated information damage trust signals. Answer engines increasingly evaluate factual accuracy.
Target: All direct answers should be factually current and accurate.
Step 24: Check for Source Citations
Verify that claims in your content are supported by credible sources. Answer engines consider whether your content references authoritative sources as a quality signal. For more on this, see our guide to Future of Search: What to Expect in 2026-2027.
Target: Key data points and statistics should cite their source.
Step 25: Assess E-E-A-T Signals
Check for author information, credentials, and experience indicators. Pages with clear authorship and expertise signals perform better in answer selection.
Target: All content should have visible author attribution with relevant credentials or experience.
Step 26: Review Content Freshness
Check publication dates and “last updated” dates on your key pages. Content older than 12 months without updates may be deprioritized for answer positions.
Target: Top 20 pages should be updated within the last 6 months. All pages within 12 months.
Step 27: Competitive Answer Comparison
For your target queries, compare your answers to competitors’ answers. Is yours more concise? More accurate? Better structured? More comprehensive?
Target: Your answer should be at least as good as the current featured snippet holder’s answer on every dimension.
Performance Tracking Audit (Steps 28-30)
Without tracking, you can’t evaluate or improve your AEO performance.
Step 28: Track Featured Snippet Positions
Set up featured snippet tracking in your SEO tool (SEMrush, Ahrefs, or similar). Monitor which snippets you hold, which you’ve gained/lost, and which competitors hold.
Target: Monthly featured snippet report with trend analysis. Our Website Migration SEO Checklist (2026) guide covers this in detail.
Step 29: Monitor AI Citation Rates
Run 30-50 target queries through ChatGPT and Perplexity monthly. Document citations. Track citation rate trends over time.
Target: Monthly AI citation audit with comparison to previous months.
Step 30: Analyze Answer Engine Traffic
In Google Analytics, segment traffic from featured snippets (approximate via Search Console) and AI referrals. Track trends monthly.
Target: Monthly answer engine traffic report showing growth trajectory.
How Do You Prioritize Audit Findings?
After completing all 30 steps, you’ll have a list of findings. Prioritize them using this framework:
| Priority | Category | Timeline | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Technical blockers | Fix this week | AI crawlers blocked, JavaScript rendering issues |
| High | Content structure | Fix this month | Missing question headings, buried answers |
| Medium | Schema markup | Fix this quarter | Missing FAQ/HowTo schema, validation errors |
| Low | Optimization | Ongoing | Speakable schema, paragraph length fine-tuning |
Address critical issues first — they have binary impact on your answer engine visibility. Then work through high, medium, and low priorities in order.
How Do You Maintain AEO Health Over Time?
An AEO audit isn’t a one-time event. Build these habits into your workflow.
Every new content piece: Apply AEO formatting from the start — question headings, direct answers, atomic paragraphs, FAQ section, appropriate schema. It’s easier to build content AEO-ready than to retrofit it later.
Monthly: Track featured snippet positions and AI citation rates. Update any content that’s lost freshness. Address any new technical issues.
Quarterly: Run the full 30-step audit. Re-evaluate your target query list. Expand to new answer opportunities. Review competitor strategies.
Annually: Reassess your overall AEO strategy. Review which answer engine platforms matter most for your business. Adjust resource allocation between traditional SEO, AEO, and GEO.
Key Takeaways
- An AEO audit evaluates your readiness for featured snippets, PAA, voice search, and AI citations
- The 30-step checklist covers content structure, schema markup, technical accessibility, answer quality, and tracking
- Content structure is the highest-impact area — question headings and front-loaded answers are the foundation
- Prioritize critical technical blockers first, then content structure, then schema and optimization
- Run full audits quarterly with monthly check-ins on key metrics
- Build AEO formatting into your content creation process from the start