An AEO audit is a structured review of a live page against the dimensions that determine whether it is answer-ready. This template covers the core review areas, the gap flags to look for in each, and the documentation format that makes findings actionable — either in an AEO PRO Lab workflow or as a manual review process.
Use this template before making any structural changes to a page. It creates the baseline that makes before/after comparison possible, and it identifies which gaps are worth fixing first.
Section 1 — Page information and baseline data
Record this before reviewing the page structure. It becomes the baseline data for post-intervention comparison.
Section 2 — Answer placement review
Where does the core answer appear on the page? Answer-driven systems extract from early in the page. If the answer is delayed, the extraction opportunity weakens.
- [ ] Core answer (what the page is about, for whom, and what the outcome is) appears in the first content block
- [ ] Answer does not require reading past introductory brand copy or scene-setting paragraphs
- [ ] The H1 matches the primary question or intent the page is targeting
- [ ] The first 100 words would make sense as a standalone extracted answer
Section 3 — Heading structure review
Headings signal topic boundaries to retrieval systems. Vague or generic headings make it harder for systems to identify where one answer ends and another begins.
- [ ] H2s describe specific, distinct ideas rather than generic category labels
- [ ] No two H2s could reasonably describe the same content
- [ ] Headings match the queries the page is actually targeting (check against GSC query data)
- [ ] H3s within sections are specific enough to stand alone as sub-answers
Section 4 — Schema alignment review
Schema that does not match visible page content is worse than no schema in some cases. The alignment check is as important as the presence check.
- [ ] Schema type is appropriate for the page type (Service, Product, LocalBusiness, Article, FAQPage)
- [ ] Schema name/description fields match what is visibly on the page
- [ ] FAQPage schema matches the actual FAQ content on the page (not boilerplate)
- [ ] No schema fields reference information that is not visible to the user
- [ ] Validated using Google Rich Results Test with no errors or warnings
Section 5 — FAQ and content segmentation review
- [ ] FAQ answers are complete and self-contained — they make sense without surrounding context
- [ ] FAQ questions match real queries, not generic brand questions
- [ ] Key ideas are separated into distinct sections, not merged into long flowing paragraphs
- [ ] Supporting evidence (data, credentials, specifics) is visible and proximate to the claims it supports
Using this template with AEO PRO Lab
AEO PRO Lab automates and deepens the review process in this template — submitting a live URL, reviewing findings across all five dimensions, and producing structured output artifacts (answer blocks, validated schema, gap notes, stakeholder reports) that are ready for implementation. This manual template is useful for initial prioritisation, pre-client discussions, or reviews where the full workflow is not yet in place. For the full workflow approach, see the AEO production checklist.
AEO PRO Lab produces the structured outputs this audit is designed to prepare for — automatically, from a live URL, with client-ready artifacts built in.
Request Free Access AEO Reporting Template →Related resources
- AEO production checklistThe five-stage checklist for turning pages into answer-ready assets
- Content structure for AEOHow to fix the structural gaps this audit identifies
- Schema markup for AEOThe schema types and alignment approach for each page type
- AEO reporting templateHow to document and report AEO results after implementation
- Answer-ready service page exampleA worked before-and-after example of the audit in practice