The Standard · Your working assessment
Review your site against the framework.
Framework version 2.0, revised 23rd September 2026. The August agency study uses version 1.1. The checks have changed; scores from these versions are not directly comparable.
Work through the 32 checks using evidence from your site and processes. The score summarises your answers against the framework's weights, and the action list helps you choose what to investigate next.
It does not measure your actual visibility in search or AI answers. You can read the guide first if you'd like more context.
Your saved answers belong to an earlier version and remain stored in this browser. This revised assessment starts separately.
Keep a clear, current source of business information
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does your website provide clear, verifiable information about your business, services, products and people?
Suggested action: Gather the facts customers need and publish them on clearly linked pages.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does someone take responsibility for reviewing and updating your business information?
Suggested action: Assign an owner and review schedule. Update the content when the facts change.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do pages give consistent information and link to the current reference for each subject?
Suggested action: Resolve conflicting information and direct people to the current version.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Can customers find current information about price, scope, availability and terms where appropriate?
Suggested action: Publish the commercial details customers need. Explain how to obtain a quote when a public price would not be meaningful.
Not assessed
Make pages easy to follow and useful passages easy to understand
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do clear headings help readers find the information they need?
Suggested action: Use headings that describe the section or answer a relevant question. Not every heading needs to be a question.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do sections answer their main question clearly, with enough context to understand the answer?
Suggested action: Put the useful answer near the start of its section. Keep connected paragraphs where the explanation needs them.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Can the search and retrieval systems you intend to allow access the useful content on your priority pages?
Suggested action: Check intended crawler access, rendering, canonicals, indexing and snippet controls. Review training permissions separately from search and user-requested retrieval.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do page structure and relevant markup help readers find and understand the information?
Suggested action: Use lists, tables or FAQs where they help. Add appropriate markup that agrees with the page.
Not assessed
Support claims with relevant evidence
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Are relevant numerical claims supported by sources the reader can check?
Suggested action: Attribute relevant figures and check what their sources support. Do not add statistics to meet a word-count target.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does the content draw on relevant expertise in a form suited to its subject?
Suggested action: Use relevant first-hand experience, analysis or expert contributions. Add quotations when they help the reader.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Can readers check substantive claims against relevant sources?
Suggested action: Link claims to reliable sources where the subject calls for supporting evidence.
Not assessed
Review what AI tools say about your business
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you test how AI tools describe your business using relevant questions?
Suggested action: Record the questions, answers, models and dates for a defined set of checks.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you investigate the findings and choose appropriate follow-up actions?
Suggested action: Check each finding before choosing an action. The answer may involve existing content, technical work or another source, rather than a new page.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you repeat the checks and record changes over time?
Suggested action: Choose a suitable review schedule and keep comparable records.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you record mentions, recommendations, links, competitor preference and accuracy separately?
Suggested action: Keep these observations separate so a mention is not mistaken for a recommendation or an accurate answer.
Not assessed
Use AI with editorial responsibility
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does a named person with relevant knowledge review AI-assisted content before publication?
Suggested action: Check the facts, add relevant experience and approve the finished work.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does the content offer useful original work, analysis or experience?
Suggested action: Add the evidence and detail that help the reader understand the subject.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you review content for accuracy, usefulness and relevance?
Suggested action: Improve, combine or remove content where the evidence supports that decision. Short content is not automatically poor content.
Not assessed
Help people compare and choose
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does your content plan address customer needs and business priorities across the buying process?
Suggested action: Choose priorities using customer questions and business evidence. Keep useful introductory content alongside comparison and decision support.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you assess meaningful outcomes alongside traffic and AI answer observations?
Suggested action: Review enquiries, conversions and relevant visits together with the answers recorded in your checks.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you track identifiable referrals and conversions from AI services?
Suggested action: Segment identifiable AI referrals and document gaps in attribution.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do commercial pages explain who the offer suits and its important limitations?
Suggested action: Explain suitable uses, scope and trade-offs so people can compare their options.
Not assessed
Make the business identity clear
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do your business and author pages explain who you are and what you do clearly?
Suggested action: Provide concise identity information and clarify relevant cases of name confusion.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does relevant Organisation and Person markup match the visible facts and correct profiles?
Suggested action: Use suitable structured data with accurate names and verified profile links.
Not assessed
Build relevant recognition beyond your own site
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you seek relevant recognition from publications or communities your audience uses?
Suggested action: Identify useful places to contribute or seek coverage based on audience relevance.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do credible external sources describe your business and its subjects accurately?
Suggested action: Review the context of mentions and build useful relationships around your work.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do important third-party profiles match your current business information?
Suggested action: Review relevant profiles and correct stale or conflicting details.
Not assessed
Explain who is responsible for the content
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do relevant articles identify their authors and link to useful biographies?
Suggested action: Explain who wrote the content and their relevant experience.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Is author identity consistent across the site, relevant profiles and structured data?
Suggested action: Connect accurate author information and the correct professional profiles.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Does the writing show relevant first-hand experience where the subject calls for it?
Suggested action: Include genuine observations and examples that help explain the work.
Not assessed
Choose the places where your audience looks for help
·What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you share useful expertise in formats suited to relevant platforms?
Suggested action: Choose formats and communities that fit the audience and your contribution.
Not assessed
What this check asks for
Evidence to review: Do you choose publishing channels based on where your audience looks for help?
Suggested action: Maintain useful channels because they serve your audience, rather than because a model might use their data.
Not assessed