An LLMO audit of your own website checks 20 items across five areas: company facts, writing style, structured data, questions and results, and technical setup. Count one point for each item that applies, then start fixing the areas with the lowest scores, and your site will move closer to being featured in AI answers. All you need for the audit is to open your website.
An LLMO audit checks five areas
LLMO refers to measures that help AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini feature your company in their answers. AI tends to choose pages where the facts are complete, the information is organized, and the answer comes first.
The audit covers the following five areas.
- Are your company facts consistent across every page? (5 items)
- Is your writing in a style that AI can read easily? (5 items)
- Is structured data in place? (4 items)
- Are questions and results written concretely? (3 items)
- Can AI and Google read your site? (3 items)
That makes 20 items in total. Give each item 1 point for “yes” and 0 points for “no.” For the audit, open your home page, company profile, service pages, and contact page and check them.
Area 1: Are your company facts complete? (5 items)
AI gathers information from several pages and looks for contradictions. If the wording differs from page to page, it cannot judge which version is correct, and your site is less likely to be cited.
- The company name is written the same way on every page (including the position of “Co., Ltd.” and the use of abbreviations)
- The address and phone number match on every page and on listings outside your website (map services, social media)
- The year of establishment, business description, and representative's name appear in the company profile
- The names of the services you offer do not vary from page to page
- Business hours and regular holidays are up to date
Item 2 is especially easy to overlook. If you change the address on your website but the listing on a map service stays outdated, AI will pick up the old information.
Area 2: Is your writing easy for AI to read? (5 items)
AI looks through a page for the part that answers the question and uses it. Writing that makes the location of the answer obvious is more likely to be cited.
- Each page opens with its conclusion in two or three lines
- Headings state the reader's question or the answer directly (not just headings like “About XX”)
- The first sentence of each section states that section's answer outright
- Technical terms come with a short explanation
- Prices, timeframes, and the scope of service are written concretely, with numbers
Items 6 and 8 can be handled simply by changing how you write. Put the “conclusion” at the top of the page and state the point outright in the first sentence of each section, and your score will rise.
For item 10, avoid vague phrases such as “extensive experience” or “reasonable prices,” and give amounts or counts instead. If you cannot state a figure, you can indicate a lower limit, such as “from X.”
Area 3: Is structured data in place? (4 items)
Structured data is information attached to a page in a fixed, machine-readable format. It helps AI and search engines accurately understand your company information and frequently asked questions.
- Structured data for company information (Organization or LocalBusiness) is in place
- The FAQ page includes FAQPage structured data
- Service pages include structured data for the service details and pricing (such as Service)
- Articles and news posts include the publication date, update date, and author information
You can check whether structured data is in place with Google's free “Rich Results Test.” Enter the page URL and it will show the types of structured data that were detected.
Area 4: Are questions and results written concretely? (3 items)
People who ask AI for answers search in the form of questions. The point is whether your site has headings and answers in the same form as those questions.
- You have an FAQ page with at least 10 organized questions and answers
- Each service page carries three to five questions that match the content of that page
- Results and case studies are written with numbers, photos, and the client's situation
Write the questions in items 15 and 16 in the words customers actually use when they ask you. If you write them in internal jargon, they will not match the words people search with.
For the results in item 17, state the facts. Do not post invented figures or awards that cannot be verified. AI is also sensitive to factual contradictions, and they can undermine trust.
Area 5: Can AI and Google read your site? (3 items)
No matter how well organized your content is, it will not be evaluated if it cannot be read.
- Important pages are not set to be hidden from search (noindex)
- You are not unintentionally blocking AI crawlers (check your robots.txt settings)
- On a smartphone, the text is easy to read and the page is not too slow to display
For item 19, open robots.txt, the site's configuration file, and check it. AI crawlers have set names for each service, such as GPTBot for ChatGPT. If you are blocking them all without meaning to, AI will not read your site no matter how well you prepare the content. That said, if there are pages you do not want AI to read, set things up according to that intention.
What to fix first, by score
Use your total across the 20 items to decide what to tackle first.
| Score | Situation | What to do first |
|---|---|---|
| 0–6 points | The foundation is not in place | Align the company facts in Area 1 |
| 7–12 points | The basics are there, but it is hard to read | Fix the writing style in Area 2 |
| 13–17 points | Well organized, but lacking depth | Add the structured data, questions, and results from Areas 3 and 4 |
| 18–20 points | A high standard | Keep updating, and check regularly how you appear in AI answers |
A low score does not mean you have to fix everything at once. Aligning the facts in Area 1 costs almost nothing and produces results quickly. Start there.
Common oversights in an audit
Old information left on another page
The home page may be up to date while old news posts or past articles still carry a former address or former prices. Use your site's search function, or search Google for “site:yourdomain,” and look through the list for outdated information.
FAQs written in company jargon
An item such as “About our services” cannot work as a question. Rewrite it so that the customer's question itself becomes the heading.
Structured data that does not match the page content
If the prices or address in your structured data differ from the page text, it undermines trust. When you update a page, update the structured data at the same time.
Running the audit but never fixing anything
An audit is a way to find out where you stand. Results change when you fix things one at a time, starting with the lowest-scoring areas.
How to record your audit results
Record your audit results in the following table so you can compare them three months later.
| Area | Score | Items fixed | What to do next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Company facts | 3 / 5 | Made the phone number format consistent | Correct the address on map services |
| 2 Writing | 2 / 5 | Added a conclusion to the home page | Add one at the top of other pages too |
Once you can see which areas improved and which did not move, you will know where to spend your time over the next three months.
Should you audit in-house or hire a professional?
| Situation | The approach that suits you |
|---|---|
| You understand what the items mean and can fix them yourself | Audit in-house and fix things in order |
| You do not know how to write structured data | Audit in-house and leave the structured data to a professional |
| Your score is low and a full overhaul is needed | Consult a professional from the audit through to the improvements |
| You are planning to rebuild your site | Build LLMO-ready structure into the rebuild as standard |
The websites built by Merci Ltd. include structuring that is strong for SEO, GEO, and LLMO as standard. Writing that states the conclusion first and well-organized FAQs are also part of how we prepare the copy. We also take enquiries about auditing and improving sites that are already live.
FAQ
Use updates to your site and once every three months as a guide. Whenever your company information changes, check again at that point.
You do not need to satisfy every item. The items are a guide for making your site easier for AI to read. Fix what you can, starting with the lowest-scoring areas.
Items that require specialist knowledge, such as adding structured data or editing robots.txt, can be outsourced to a web production company.
There is a great deal of overlap. Writing that states the conclusion first and properly prepared structured data also have a positive effect on conventional search.
You can look at their public pages and check them against the same 20 items. It gives you a clue as to how you differ from them.
Let's decide the order of fixes together, based on your audit results
Once the 20-item audit has given you a score, work through the lowest-scoring areas first. If you are unsure where to begin, get in touch and we will advise you based on your audit results.
We take enquiries about AI search optimization diagnosis and improvement for websites that are already live.
