GEO Roadmap: Your First 90 Days of AI Search Optimization
TL;DR: The 90-day GEO roadmap takes you from zero to a fully optimized AI search presence. Phase 1 (Days 1-30): audit, fix technical issues, and baseline measurement. Phase 2 (Days 31-60): restructure existing content and create new articles. Phase 3 (Days 61-90): scale, measure results, and establish ongoing processes.
Phase 1: Foundation (Days 1-30)
Week 1: Audit and Discovery
Day 1-2: Technical audit. Check robots.txt, AI crawler access, content rendering, server response times, and schema markup. Fix critical blockers immediately. Our Content Hub Strategy for Search & AI guide covers this in detail.
Day 3-4: Content audit. Inventory all existing content. Score each page on structure (headings, paragraph length, answer positioning), topical relevance, and authority.
Day 5-7: Baseline measurement. Test 30-50 target queries across AI platforms. Document citation rates. Set up AI referral traffic tracking in Analytics.
Week 1 deliverable: Audit report with prioritized action items.
Week 2: Technical Fixes
Fix all technical blockers identified in the audit: remove AI crawler blocks, implement schema markup on top 20 pages, fix JavaScript rendering issues (if applicable), submit sitemap to GSC and Bing, and verify HTTPS and page speed. As we discuss in Comparison Content AI Loves: X vs Y Articles, this is a critical factor.
Week 2 deliverable: Technical foundation verified and fixed.
Week 3-4: Content Strategy and Initial Restructuring
Week 3: Develop content strategy — identify 3-4 topic clusters, plan content calendar for months 2-3, and create content brief templates.
Week 4: Begin restructuring top 10 existing pages — add question headings, front-load answers, break up paragraphs, add FAQ sections. If you want to go deeper, Question-Style Headings That AI Engines Pull breaks this down step by step.
Phase 1 milestone: Technical foundation solid, top 10 pages restructured, strategy defined.
Phase 2: Build (Days 31-60)
Week 5-6: Continue Restructuring + Start New Content
Restructure 10 more existing pages (20 total). Publish 4-6 new citation-optimized articles from your content calendar. Focus on pillar content for your first topic cluster. (We explore this further in GEO for SaaS: How to Get Your Product Recommended by AI.)
Week 7-8: Scale Content Creation
Publish 4-6 more new articles. Start second topic cluster. Build internal links between all new and restructured content. Add comparison tables and original data points where possible.
Phase 2 milestone: 20 pages restructured, 8-12 new articles published, first topic cluster complete, second cluster started. This relates closely to what we cover in AI Citation Benchmarks by Industry (2026).
Phase 3: Measure and Scale (Days 61-90)
Week 9-10: Measure and Optimize
Re-run all 30-50 target queries across AI platforms. Compare to Day 5-7 baseline. Identify which optimizations produced citations and which didn’t. Double down on what works.
Continue publishing 4-6 new articles. Complete second topic cluster.
Week 11-12: Establish Ongoing Processes
Set up recurring processes: Monthly AI citation audit, weekly AI referral traffic check, quarterly content refresh schedule, and ongoing content calendar.
Publish remaining planned articles (4-6 more). Total new articles: 15-25. For more on this, see our guide to GEO for Local Businesses: Getting AI to Recommend You.
Compile 90-day report: Citation rate improvement, AI referral traffic trend, content published, technical improvements, and recommendations for months 4-6.
Phase 3 milestone: 20-30 pages restructured, 15-25 new articles published, measurable citation improvements, ongoing processes established.
Expected Results by Day 90
| Metric | Day 1 Baseline | Day 90 Target |
|---|---|---|
| AI citation rate | 0-2% | 8-15% |
| Perplexity citations | 0-1 | 5-10 |
| ChatGPT citations | 0 | 2-5 |
| AI Overviews (if ranking) | 0-1 | 2-5 |
| AI referral traffic | ~0 | 50-200 visits/month |
| Pages optimized | 0 | 35-55 |
| Schema coverage | Minimal | Comprehensive |
These targets assume moderate existing authority (DA 30-60). Adjust expectations based on your starting position.
What Comes After 90 Days?
Months 4-6: Compound and expand. Continue publishing 8-12 articles/month. Expand to new topic clusters. Citation rates should accelerate as topical authority builds. Our How to Build a GEO Content Strategy from Scratch guide covers this in detail.
Months 7-12: Optimize and scale. Focus on converting AI traffic. Expand competitive coverage. Optimize highest-performing content. Build original research program.
Year 2+: Maintain and defend. Maintain citation leadership through regular content updates, competitive monitoring, and strategic content expansion. The AI visibility moat you’ve built in year 1 becomes increasingly difficult for competitors to breach.
Key Takeaways
- The 90-day roadmap: Phase 1 (foundation), Phase 2 (build), Phase 3 (measure and scale)
- Technical fixes come first — nothing else matters if AI crawlers can’t access your content
- Target 35-55 total optimized pages by day 90 (restructured + new)
- Expect 8-15% citation rate by day 90, compounding in subsequent months
- Establish recurring processes by day 90 for sustained GEO performance
- The 90-day foundation produces compounding returns in months 4-12