Anyone have a solid GEO implementation checklist? Trying to systematize our approach

I’ve built this exact framework for multiple clients. Here’s the comprehensive checklist.

Phase 1: Technical Foundation (Week 1-2)

• Audit robots.txt for AI crawler access (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot)
• Remove any blocks on AI crawlers
• Implement server-side rendering for JS-heavy content
• Optimize TTFB to <200ms
• Ensure all key content accessible without JavaScript
• Validate site-wide HTTPS implementation
• Check canonical tags are consistent
• Review and fix any crawl errors

Phase 2: Structured Data (Week 2-3)

• Implement Organization schema on all pages
• Add Article schema with author details to blog/news
• Add FAQ schema to Q&A content
• Add HowTo schema to instructional content
• Add Product schema to product pages
• Add LocalBusiness schema if applicable
• Validate all schema with testing tools
• Fix any validation errors

Phase 3: Content Optimization (Week 3-6)

• Audit top 20 pages for AI extractability
• Restructure headings as questions users ask
• Add concise, citable answer statements
• Create/update comparison tables
• Add bulleted lists for processes/features
• Ensure first paragraph answers the core question
• Add internal links with descriptive anchors
• Update content for freshness signals

Phase 4: E-E-A-T Enhancement (Week 4-7)

• Add detailed author bios with credentials
• Create/update About page with company authority
• Add trust signals (certifications, awards, media mentions)
• Include expert quotes in key content
• Add original data/research where possible
• Implement review/testimonial schema
• Ensure contact information is prominent
• Create methodology/approach pages

Phase 5: Monitoring Setup (Week 2, ongoing)

• Set up Am I Cited or similar monitoring tool
• Define target prompts to track
• Establish baseline visibility scores
• Configure competitor tracking
• Set up weekly reporting cadence
• Define success metrics and goals

Phase 6: Authority Building (Ongoing)

• Develop PR strategy for brand mentions
• Identify authoritative sites for guest content
• Plan original research for industry coverage
• Build relationships with industry publications
• Monitor brand mentions across web
• Create shareable assets (data, infographics)

Dependencies:

• Phase 2 requires Phase 1 completion
• Phase 3 can run parallel to Phase 2
• Phase 5 should start early to capture baseline
• Phase 6 is ongoing, parallel to everything

Dev perspective on Phase 1 and 2.

Technical checklist expansion:

Robots.txt specifics:

User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

User-agent: anthropic-ai
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

Server-side rendering options:

• Next.js with getServerSideProps
• Nuxt.js with server mode
• Pre-rendering with Prerender.io
• Static site generation where possible

Schema implementation approach:

• Template-based (apply schema per content type)
• Not page-by-page (doesn’t scale)
• Use JSON-LD in head section
• Automate from CMS data where possible

Testing automation:

• Add schema validation to CI/CD
• Automated accessibility checks
• Monitor TTFB in production

The dev estimate:

• Basic fixes (robots, redirects): 1-2 days
• SSR implementation: 1-2 weeks depending on stack
• Schema templating: 3-5 days
• Testing setup: 2-3 days

Total dev time: 2-3 weeks for Phase 1+2

Content team perspective on Phase 3 and 4.

Content optimization workflow:

Page prioritization:

1. Highest traffic pages
2. Highest conversion pages
3. Category/pillar pages
4. Product/service pages
5. Supporting blog content

Per-page checklist:

• Main heading is a question users ask
• First 100 words directly answer the question
• At least 2-3 citable statements (standalone facts)
• One comparison table or structured list
• Author byline with link to bio
• Last updated date visible
• Internal links to related content
• External links to authoritative sources

Batch process: Don’t do page-by-page. Create templates:

• “How to” page template
• “What is” page template
• Comparison page template
• Product page template

Apply templates to batches for efficiency.

Timeline reality:

• 10-15 pages per week with dedicated writer
• 50+ pages = 4-6 week project
• Prioritize ruthlessly

Quality control: Create a checklist in your CMS. Require it completed before publish.

Monitoring setup details for Phase 5.

What to track:

Primary metrics:

• Overall visibility score (aggregate)
• Citation frequency (mentions per prompt set)
• Position distribution (1st, 2nd, 3rd+ mentions)
• Platform coverage (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, etc.)

Competitive metrics:

• Share of voice vs competitors
• Citation contexts where competitors win
• Response sentiment comparison

Prompt categories to monitor:

Brand prompts:

• “[Your brand] review”
• “Is [your brand] good?”
• “[Your brand] vs [competitor]”

Category prompts:

• “Best [your category]”
• “Top [your solution type] tools”
• “[Problem you solve] solutions”

Educational prompts:

• “How does [your solution area] work?”
• “What is [concept you explain]?”

Tool setup:

Am I Cited covers all platforms with automated tracking. Set up:

1. Your brand and variations
2. Key competitor brands
3. Prompt categories above
4. Weekly reporting schedule
5. Alerts for significant changes

Baseline importance: Run initial assessment before making changes. Otherwise you can’t prove impact.

Phase 6 (Authority Building) from PR perspective.

The GEO-aligned PR checklist:

Quick wins:

• Update all press releases with current positioning
• Ensure company boilerplate is AI-friendly
• Add structured quotes to press materials
• Update executive bios on all platforms

Media strategy:

• Identify publications AI systems trust
• Develop pitches for expert commentary
• Create original research for earned media
• Build relationships with industry analysts

Content amplification:

• Guest posts on authoritative industry sites
• Podcast appearances (transcripts get indexed)
• Webinars with industry partners
• Speaking at industry events (coverage)

Brand mention optimization:

• Monitor mentions across web
• Ensure consistent brand name usage
• Request corrections for inaccuracies
• Amplify positive coverage

The AI-aware pitch:

When pitching media, include quotable statements. Journalists quote you, AI systems later cite those quotes.

Think in sound bites that stand alone.

Project management perspective.

Sprint structure:

Sprint 1 (Weeks 1-2): Foundation

• Technical fixes
• Monitoring setup
• Baseline measurement

Sprint 2 (Weeks 3-4): Data Layer

• Structured data implementation
• Schema validation
• Testing

Sprint 3 (Weeks 5-6): Content Batch 1

• Top 10 priority pages
• Template development
• Process refinement

Sprint 4 (Weeks 7-8): Content Batch 2

• Next 15-20 pages
• E-E-A-T enhancement
• Author bios

Sprint 5+ (Ongoing): Scale & Optimize

• Remaining content
• Authority building
• Measurement and iteration

Tracking in Asana/Jira:

• Create epic for GEO Implementation
• Stories per phase
• Tasks per checklist item
• Dependencies marked
• Weekly velocity tracking

Definition of done: Each phase has acceptance criteria. Don’t move on until previous phase validated.

Lean approach for small teams.

If you don’t have dedicated resources for each phase:

Week 1-2: The essentials only

• Fix robots.txt (30 min)
• Add basic Organization schema (2 hours)
• Set up Am I Cited monitoring (1 hour)

Week 3-4: Top 5 pages

• Optimize your 5 most important pages
• Add author bios to blog
• Add FAQ schema to FAQ page

Week 5-6: Iterate

• Review monitoring data
• Prioritize based on gaps
• Optimize 5 more pages

The 80/20: 20% of pages drive 80% of impact. Focus there first.

Perfect is the enemy of done. Ship incrementally, measure, adjust.

This thread has been incredibly actionable.

My implementation plan:

Immediate (This week):

1. Set up Am I Cited for baseline
2. Create Asana project with Anna’s framework
3. Assign Phase 1 to dev team

Next 2 weeks:

• Complete Phase 1 (Technical)
• Start Phase 2 (Structured Data)

Next 4 weeks:

• Complete Phase 2
• Begin Phase 3 (Content) with prioritized pages

Ongoing:

• Phase 4 (E-E-A-T) parallel to Phase 3
• Phase 6 (Authority) continuous effort

Success metrics:

• Baseline visibility score established by Week 2
• 10% improvement by Week 6
• 25% improvement by Week 12

Resource allocation:

• Dev: 20 hours Phase 1-2
• Content: 40 hours over 6 weeks
• Marketing: 10 hours monitoring and coordination

Thanks everyone for the comprehensive frameworks!