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The AEO checklist for local businesses.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the work of getting AI searches from ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews to cite your business as an answer to a user's question. These are the items that work for local businesses.

Items33, in 4 groups

Checked for you12 website items

TimeAbout 5 minutes

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01What you do

02The town you serve

03Your website address (optional)

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The checklist

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Your website

What AI tools read when they visit your site.

Structured data on your homepage

Structured data is code that lists your business facts (name, address, hours) in a format AI tools read directly.

Structured data says what kind of business you are

For example Plumber, Restaurant or Dentist, instead of a general "Organization".

Your town named on the homepage

AI tools match businesses to towns using the words on the page.

What you do named on the homepage

Use the words customers use, such as "emergency plumber", not only your brand name.

AI crawlers allowed in

Your robots.txt file does not block GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot or Google-Extended.

Phone number on the homepage

The same number as on your Google profile.

Address on the homepage

The same address as on your Google profile.

At least 250 words of readable text on the homepage

Pages that are mostly images or built only with JavaScript give AI tools nothing to quote.

Page title present

The text in the browser tab.

Meta description present

The one-line summary search engines and AI tools show under your name.

One clear main headline

The largest heading on the page says what you do and where.

Site uses HTTPS

The address starts with https:// and shows a lock in the browser.

A questions-and-answers page

Answers to the questions customers ask before they call: prices, area served, how long jobs take.

A separate page for each main service

One page for each service lets an AI tool match you to a specific question.

Prices or price ranges on the site

"How much does it cost" is one of the most common questions customers ask AI tools.

Opening hours on the site match Google

Different hours on different sites make AI tools less certain about your business.

Your Google Business Profile

Google AI Overviews and Gemini read this profile first.

Grade your profile automatically

You have claimed and verified your profile

You can sign in at business.google.com and edit it.

Primary category matches what you do

Add secondary categories for your other main services.

Opening hours and holiday hours are filled in

Include seasonal hours if you close or change hours in the off-season.

Business description is filled in

Name your town, your main services and who you serve.

Services or menu items are listed

Each listed service is another question your profile can match.

At least 10 photos

Outside, inside, staff and work you have done.

A Google post in the last 30 days

Posts show the profile is active.

Reviews

AI tools quote reviews and favor businesses with many recent ones.

25 or more Google reviews

Count only Google reviews here. Other sites are in the next section.

You reply to every review

Replies to bad reviews matter most. Keep them short and polite.

A new review in the last 30 days

A steady flow of reviews matters more than a large total from years ago.

You ask every customer for a review

A link or QR code on the receipt, invoice or follow-up text.

Other listings

AI tools check other sites to confirm your business details.

Bing Places profile claimed

ChatGPT search uses Bing among its sources. Bing Places can import your Google profile.

Name, address and phone are the same everywhere

Same spelling, same suite number, same phone number on every site.

Apple Business Connect profile claimed

Apple Maps and Siri read this profile.

Yelp page claimed and complete

Hours, photos, website link and services.

Listed on the main directory for your trade

For example Angi for home services, Tripadvisor for restaurants, Healthgrades for dentists.

Mentioned by a local news site, chamber or town page

Local mentions tell AI tools that your business is part of the town.

This checklist covers what a business controls. Being named by an AI tool also depends on other factors that can be optimized. AI answers change from one search to the next. No one can guarantee a mention.

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