Free SEO + AI-Readiness Checklist (10 Minutes)

You do not need a full-day audit to catch the issues that most often block search engines and AI crawlers. Use this numbered checklist on one important URL (homepage or a money page). Tick items in order; fix blockers before polishing copy.

When you want the same ground covered automatically—SEO checks, AI-crawler / robots readiness, optional comparison against up to three competitors (as listed on the live site), and a prioritized fix list—run a free, no-signup report at SiteScope. Some reports may include an experimental AI-knowledge check on Cloudflare Workers AI (Llama 3.1 8B): it estimates whether a model already knows your brand for buyer-style questions from learned knowledge only—it is not guaranteed on every report, does not verify brand relevance, and does not show what ChatGPT or Perplexity actually answer.

Before you start (1 minute)

1. Open the page in a private window and note the final URL after redirects.
2. Open https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt and your HTML source (View Source or curl).
3. Have Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools / IndexNow bookmarks ready.

The 10-minute checklist

1. Title tag and meta description

• One clear <title> that matches the primary query intent (not keyword stuffing).
• A unique meta description that accurately summarizes the page (search engines may rewrite snippets; still write a good default). (Google snippets guidance)

2. Canonical URL

• A single preferred URL (https, correct host, trailing-slash policy).
• rel="canonical" points to that URL on the page (or the CMS equivalent).
• www vs non-www and http→https resolve with one hop when possible.

3. XML sitemap

• A sitemap exists and lists the URLs you want indexed.
• Sitemap is referenced from robots.txt (Sitemap: https://…) and/or submitted in Search Console / Bing. (Build and submit a sitemap)

4. robots.txt is intentional

• File lives at the host root (not a random subdirectory). (Google robots.txt spec)
• You are not accidentally Disallow-ing CSS/JS needed for rendering, or entire sections you still want discovered.
• User-agent groups match your policy—not a copy-paste blocklist you no longer mean. (Intro to robots.txt)

5. AI bots you care about are allowed (or consciously blocked)

Check separate rules—not one “AI” switch:

• Quick curl -I -A "<bot UA>" to the page returns 200 (not 403/challenge) if you intend to allow that bot.
• If you use Cloudflare, review AI Crawler and Agent access policies so a dashboard “block” is not overriding an open robots.txt. (Cloudflare docs)

Remember: ChatGPT-User and Perplexity-User are user-triggered fetchers; vendors state robots.txt may not apply / is generally ignored—plan WAF rules if you need hard blocks. (OpenAI, Perplexity)

6. Indexing directives are not fighting you

• No accidental <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> on pages you want indexed.
• No X-Robots-Tag: noindex on those responses. (Robots meta tags)

7. Structured data where it fits

• Valid JSON-LD for the page type (Organization, WebSite, Article, Product, FAQPage, etc.) using types from schema.org.
• Markup matches visible content; follow Google’s structured-data intro and policies. (Intro, Policies)
• Structured data does not guarantee AI citations or Google FAQ rich results (eligibility is restricted).

8. Open Graph image (and basic social preview)

• og:image (and ideally og:title / og:description) present so shares and some previews are not blank. Spec: ogp.me.

9. Speed and mobile

• Run PageSpeed Insights on the URL (lab + field when available). Note LCP/INP/CLS issues; fix the worst offender first.
• Page is usable on a phone viewport; Google indexes with a smartphone Googlebot. (Mobile-first indexing)

10. Tell Google and Bing you exist

• Property verified in Google Search Console; submit sitemap; use URL Inspection on the key URL. (Search Console / URL Inspection)
• Bing Webmaster Tools property set up; consider IndexNow so Bing (and other IndexNow participants) learn about URL adds/updates/deletes faster than waiting for organic crawl. (IndexNow)

11. Clear, answer-style content (AI + classic SEO)

• The page answers a specific question near the top in plain language.
• Headings outline the topic; FAQs use real questions users ask.
• Important facts appear in HTML text—not only in images or late-loading widgets.
• Optional: an /llms.txt file per the llms.txt proposal for agent-friendly navigation—useful as an experiment, but no major engine has confirmed using it for ranking or inclusion.

Suggested 10-minute timing

FAQ

Is this enough for “AI SEO”?
It covers the access and clarity basics AI systems need: crawl permission, indexability, structured meaning, and answer-shaped content. It does not replace topical authority or ongoing content work.

Should I allow every AI bot?
No. Decide per vendor: search visibility vs training. OpenAI and Google document separate controls for those goals. (OpenAI crawlers, Google-Extended)

Do I need llms.txt?
Only as an optional aid for agents. It is a proposed convention (llmstxt.org), not a confirmed ranking factor at major engines.

Soft next step

Work the checklist once, deploy the highest-impact fixes, then re-check. For a free, no-signup pass that leads with SEO checks, AI-crawler / robots readiness, and a prioritized fix list—with optional comparison against up to three competitors—open https://sitescope.pages.dev. An experimental AI-knowledge check may appear on some reports; treat it as optional and unverified against live ChatGPT or Perplexity answers.

Sources

• Google Search Central — robots.txt, robots intro, robots meta, sitemaps, snippets, structured data intro, SD policies, mobile-first, PageSpeed Insights about, URL Inspection / Search Console (all HTTP 200 when fetched)
• Google — common crawlers / Google-Extended (HTTP 200)
• OpenAI — Crawlers (HTTP 200)
• Perplexity — Crawlers (HTTP 200)
• Anthropic — Crawl / ClaudeBot help article (HTTP 200)
• Cloudflare — AI Crawler and Agent access policies (HTTP 200)
• IndexNow (HTTP 200); Open Graph protocol (HTTP 200); schema.org (HTTP 200); llmstxt.org (HTTP 200)
• SiteScope — sitescope.pages.dev (HTTP 200; 18+ SEO checks and up to 3 competitors verified on live marketing copy)