A GEO Score is a 0-100 rating measuring how ready your website is for AI search citations. It evaluates five dimensions: bot access, content quality, structured data, citation readiness, and technical foundation. A higher score means AI engines can more easily discover, understand, and cite your content. This relates closely to what we cover in Zero to 50 AI Citations in 90 Days: A Step-by-Step Playbook.
GEO Score Components
| Component | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Bot Access | 25% | Can AI crawlers reach your content? |
| Content Quality | 25% | Is content structured for AI extraction? |
| Structured Data | 20% | Schema markup for machine understanding |
| Citation Readiness | 20% | External signals that build AI trust |
| Technical Foundation | 10% | Speed, security, rendering, infrastructure |
Bot Access (25%)
The most critical component. If AI crawlers can’t access your site, nothing else matters. For more on this, see our guide to GEO Dashboard: Key Metrics and Setup Guide.
Scoring criteria:
- robots.txt allows GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot ✅ (+10)
- No wildcard blocks against all bots ✅ (+5)
- ai-identity.json present at root ✅ (+5)
- Sitemap.xml accessible ✅ (+5)
Score 0: All AI crawlers blocked Score 25: All AI crawlers allowed with ai-identity.json
Content Quality (25%)
Measures whether your content is formatted for AI extraction. Our How to Win ‘Best X’ and ‘Top 10’ Prompts in AI Search guide covers this in detail.
Scoring criteria:
- Average paragraph length under 80 words ✅ (+5)
- Front-loaded answers in opening sentences ✅ (+5)
- Question-style headings ✅ (+5)
- FAQ sections on key pages ✅ (+5)
- Content comprehensiveness (word count, topic coverage) ✅ (+5)
Score 0: Long, unstructured paragraphs with no FAQ Score 25: Answer-unit formatted content with FAQs throughout
Structured Data (20%)
Measures machine-readable information on your pages. As we discuss in Free GEO Audit Tools for AI Visibility, this is a critical factor.
Scoring criteria:
- Organization schema on homepage ✅ (+4)
- Article schema on blog posts ✅ (+4)
- FAQPage schema on FAQ sections ✅ (+4)
- Product/Service schema on relevant pages ✅ (+4)
- Proper schema validation (no errors) ✅ (+4)
Score 0: No schema markup Score 20: Comprehensive, error-free schema across site
Citation Readiness (20%)
Measures external signals that increase AI trust in your brand. If you want to go deeper, Future of Search: What to Expect in 2026-2027 breaks this down step by step.
Scoring criteria:
- Active review profiles (G2, Capterra, Yelp) ✅ (+5)
- Recent reviews (last 90 days) ✅ (+5)
- External mentions on authoritative sites ✅ (+5)
- Community presence (Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube) ✅ (+5)
Score 0: No external presence Score 20: Strong review profiles with active community presence
Technical Foundation (10%)
Measures the technical infrastructure supporting AI visibility.
Scoring criteria:
- HTTPS enabled ✅ (+2)
- Page load under 3 seconds ✅ (+2)
- Server-side rendering for content pages ✅ (+2)
- Mobile responsive ✅ (+2)
- Clean URL structure ✅ (+2)
Score 0: Slow, insecure, client-rendered site Score 10: Fast, secure, server-rendered with clean URLs
Score Interpretation
| Score | Rating | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | Excellent | Fully optimized for AI citations |
| 70-89 | Good | Strong foundation, minor gaps |
| 50-69 | Fair | Significant opportunities for improvement |
| 30-49 | Poor | Major issues blocking AI visibility |
| 0-29 | Critical | Essentially invisible to AI engines |
How to Improve Your Score
From 0-29 to 50+ (Quick wins)
- Fix robots.txt (allow AI crawlers)
- Add basic schema markup
- Create ai-identity.json
- Ensure HTTPS and reasonable page speed
From 50 to 70+ (Content optimization)
- Restructure content into answer units
- Add FAQ sections to key pages
- Convert headings to question format
- Submit to Bing and review platforms
From 70 to 90+ (Authority building)
- Build active community presence
- Collect recent reviews
- Get mentioned in authoritative publications
- Create comprehensive comparison and guide content
FAQ
Can I check my GEO Score for free?
Several GEO audit tools are emerging. You can also manually score your site using the criteria above — check each component and calculate your weighted score.
What’s a good target GEO Score?
Aim for 70+ to be competitive in AI citations. Scores above 85 put you in the top tier of AI-optimized websites. The average website currently scores 20-35.
How often should I check my GEO Score?
Monthly. Track improvements after each optimization round and compare against competitor scores quarterly.