AI VISIBILITY CHECKLIST
Digital Trust Signal Assessment
Check off what’s true. Be honest—this is for you, not for anyone else.
IDENTITY — who the business is
1. Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) Consistency
Your business Name, Address, and Phone Number are IDENTICAL everywhere—your website, Google Business Profile, Bing, Apple Maps, Facebook, Yelp.
And we mean identical in every detail with no variations.
Mismatch examples:
• 123 Main St.
• 123 Main Street
• (713) 555-1234
• 713-555-1234
If anything differs, check NO.
2. Google Business Profile 100% Complete
Every field in your Google Business Profile is filled out completely (because it’s where 80% of customers discover you).
If one field is blank, check NO.
3. Recent Activity
Have you published or updated anything on your website or Google Business Profile in the last 60 days?
Blog post, new client logos, service page update, case study, new photos, FAQs. Anything that shows you’re still operating.
If not, check NO.
DESCRIPTIONS — what the business does
4. Business Description Consistency
Your service or business description is consistent across all platforms—Google, Yelp, LinkedIn, your website, social profiles.
Not “Italian restaurant” on Google and “pizza and pasta” on Yelp. Not “web design” on your site and “digital marketing” on LinkedIn.
If your core offering isn’t described the same way everywhere, check NO.
5. Answer-Worthy Content
Do you have a section on your website or Google Business Profile that answer the 5 most common questions your customers are asking?
Things like:
- “How much does [your service] cost?”
- “What’s the best [your category] for [specific situation]?”
- “How long does [your process] take?”
If you don’t have at least 5 questions answered real questions, check NO.
EVIDENCE — proof the business is credible
6. Reviews
Have you gotten 10+ reviews in the last six months across all platforms (Google, Yelp, Facebook, or industry-specific)?
Not total reviews. Reviews in the last six months.
If not, check NO.
7. Review Responses
Have you consistently responded to reviews—both positive and negative—to show you’re active and engaged with customers?
If not, check NO.
8. Citation and Backlink Presence
Can you name three reputable websites that link to yours?
Not directories. Not your own social media. Actual editorial links from real websites.
Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Industry directories, local business features, guest posts, news mentions—anything that proves you exist outside of the big four.
If you’re only on the basics, check NO.
ARCHITECTURE — how signals are how signals are structured and connected
9. Mobile Friendly
Your website must be readable and functional on mobile devices because 60%+ of searches happen on phones.
Open your website on your phone. Is the text large enough to read? Does the layout resize cleanly? Are buttons easy to tap? Does the menu work? Do pages load smoothly? Can your customers call, email, or message you in 2 clicks or less?
If not, check NO.
10. Mobile Speed
Go to pagespeed.web.dev right now. Enter your homepage URL.
Is your mobile score above 70?
If not, check NO. (And yeah, this matters more than you think.)
11. Schema Markup
Right-click your homepage. Click “View Page Source.”
Hit Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) and search for “schema” or “application/ld+json”
See anything? Check YES.
Don’t see anything? Check NO.
(Don’t worry if you have no idea what this means. That’s kind of the point.)
12. SSL Security
Does your website URL start with “https://” (not “http://”)?
If not, check NO.
Your score
COUNT YOUR YES ANSWERS
0–4 Yes
Your digital presence is working against you.
You’re either invisible in search results or look unreliable when people find you. Without intervention, you’re leaving serious money on the table.
Your next move:
You need a strategic fix, not quick patches. The gaps are structural. Don’t try to DIY this—you need someone who can see the whole system and fix it in the right order.
5–8 YES
You’ve got critical gaps that are hurting you.
Every “NO” is a signal to search engines that you’re less legitimate than your competitors. This is costing you daily.
Your next move:
You’ve got some foundation in place. Some gaps you can close yourself. Others will need expertise. Start by tackling the fixes that are costing you the most.
9–12 YES
You’re in rare company.
Your digital presence is tight, and it shows. Focus on maintaining momentum. Keep reviews coming, content fresh, and infrastructure current.
Your next move:
This is where advanced strategy matters— optimization, content, authority building. The difference between “visible” and “dominating your category.”
Want to tackle these gaps yourself?
We’ll send you the step-by-step free IDEA System Fix It guide.
Over the next few weeks, you’ll get one email per gap showing you exactly how to fix it—with templates, tools, and clear instructions.
After that, every month you’ll get:
- One visibility tactic you can implement immediately
- Real examples of businesses getting cited by AI (or getting skipped, and why)
- Updates on how AI search behavior is changing
Straightforward guidance. No pitches. No sales calls. Just up-to-date information you can use.
Want someone to do this for you?
If the assessment made you think, “I should probably have someone who understands this take a look,” our Digital Trust Signal IDEA Audit examines how clearly AI systems can interpret and recommend your business across the digital ecosystem.
Using the IDEA Model — IDENTITY, DESCRIPTIONS, EVIDENCE and ARCHITECTURE — we analyze the signals AI systems rely on to verify and recommend businesses.
What we evaluate
IDENTITY
Name, address, phone number, and listing consistency across platforms — not just the obvious ones, but the directories that quietly influence search and AI results.
DESCRIPTIONS
How consistently your business is described across websites, listings, profiles, and reviews — and whether AI systems can clearly interpret what you do.
EVIDENCE
Reviews, citations, mentions, and other third-party signals that validate your credibility.
ARCHITECTURE
The technical infrastructure that allows AI systems to interpret your business — including schema markup, site speed, mobile usability, indexing, and platform integrations.
We also evaluate how your ecosystem compares with your top three local competitors in AI-driven discovery.
What you receive
1. IDEA Score Report
A scored evaluation of your digital ecosystem across the four IDEA signal layers.
2. Competitive Gap Analysis
A clear view of where competitors are outperforming your ecosystem signals.
3. Prioritized Action Plan
Exactly what to fix first, second, and third — in the order that will most improve AI confidence.
4. 30-Minute Strategy Call
We’ll walk through the findings, explain the priorities, and answer your questions.
Investment: $300
Timeline: 5–7 business days from booking
This isn’t a sales pitch disguised as an audit. It’s the same diagnostic work we perform for clients — delivered as a standalone report so you can clearly see where your ecosystem breaks and what to fix first.
What you do with the findings afterward is entirely up to you.
Explore the full IDEA series to understand how AI decides which businesses to recommend.
1. The Trust Problem No One Told You About
Why many businesses disappear from search and AI recommendations.
2. Your Website Isn’t the Front Door Anymore: How AI Recommends BusinessesHow discovery has shifted from websites to profiles and platform signals.
3. Why Some Businesses Show Up in AI Answers and Others Don’tThe four signal layers AI systems use to interpret and recommend businesses.
4. You Don’t Have a Marketing Problem. You Have an Alignment Problem
Why spending more on marketing won’t fix broken discovery signals. (Coming soon)
5. The Digital Trust Signal Assessment
A quick way to evaluate how aligned your digital ecosystem really is.