GEO Glossary
Plain-language definitions for every term used in a GeoScored audit. Covers all 24 checks across four pillars. No jargon, no fluff. If a marketing manager can't understand it, we rewrote it.
A
Accessibility
How usable your website is for people with disabilities, measured through ARIA labels, form labels, color contrast, and semantic HTML. Accessible pages use the same structured markup that helps AI systems extract content accurately. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
AI Brand Check
When AI models like ChatGPT are asked about your company, what do they say? The AI Brand Check runs those queries and shows you the answers. It is one of the checks in the Entity Strength pillar, and is available in Full Scans.
AI Crawler
A program that reads websites on behalf of an AI company. GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), and Google-Extended (Google) are examples. If your site blocks these crawlers, AI search engines cannot learn about your content. See also Robots.txt.
AI Overviews
Google's feature that puts an AI-generated answer at the top of search results, above the traditional blue links. Previously called "Search Generative Experience" or SGE (Search Generative Experience).
Answer-First Content
Writing that puts the key takeaway at the beginning of each section, before the explanation. AI models prefer this structure because it makes answers easier to extract. GeoScored checks for this in the Structural Extractability pillar.
C
Canonical URL
A tag that tells search engines and AI crawlers which version of a page is the "official" one. When the same content exists at multiple URLs, the canonical tag prevents confusion about which version to cite. Related to the Duplicate Content and Indexability checks.
Check
A single test in a GeoScored audit. Each check examines one specific aspect of your page, produces a score from 0 to 100, a severity rating (pass, warning, or fail), and a recommendation. GeoScored runs 24 checks across four pillars.
Citation
When an AI model references your content in its response to a user's question. Getting cited is the goal of GEO, similar to how ranking on page one is the goal of SEO.
Content Depth
How thoroughly your page covers its topic, measured by word count, subheadings, and supporting detail. Thin pages with only a few sentences rarely earn AI citations. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
Content Freshness
How recently your page was last updated, detected through HTTP headers and meta tags. AI models weight recent content more heavily because it is more likely to be accurate. GeoScored checks this as part of the Technical AI-Readiness pillar.
D
Duplicate Content
Content that appears in identical or near-identical form at multiple URLs. When AI encounters duplicates, it has no reason to cite your version over someone else's. Canonical URLs help resolve this. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
E
Entity Strength
How well AI systems recognize and describe your brand. Measured through knowledge graph presence and what AI models say when asked about you. Entity Strength is one of the three GEO pillars in a GeoScored audit.
F
Fact Density
The number of verifiable facts (statistics, dates, named sources) per 100 words. Content with higher fact density gets cited more often by AI engines. GeoScored checks this in the Structural Extractability pillar.
Full Scan
GeoScored's complete audit tier. A Full Scan runs all 24 checks including the AI Brand Check, which queries multiple AI providers about your brand. Compare with Lite Scan.
G
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
The practice of making your website content more visible to AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Think of it as SEO for the AI era.
GEO Score
A number from 0 to 100 that measures how ready your website is to be found, quoted, and cited by AI search engines. Higher is better. The score is a weighted combination of the three GEO pillars.
H
Heading Hierarchy
The structure of headings (H1, H2, H3) on your page. A clear hierarchy helps AI engines understand what each section is about and where to find specific answers. GeoScored checks this in the Structural Extractability pillar.
I
Image Optimization
How well your images are configured for performance and AI understanding. Includes alt text (which helps AI understand visual content), file compression, and modern image formats. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
Indexability
Whether search engines are allowed to include your page in their index. Checks robots meta tags, canonical URLs, and sitemap presence. A page that is not indexed by Google is invisible to AI search engines that draw on Google's index. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
J
JavaScript Rendering Gap
The difference between what's in your raw HTML and what appears after JavaScript runs. Many AI crawlers read only the raw HTML. If most of your content loads via JavaScript, AI crawlers may never see it. GeoScored checks this as part of the Technical AI-Readiness pillar.
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data)
A way to add structured information to your website that machines can read. It tells search engines and AI models facts about your business: your name, address, what you do, and how to categorize you. See also Schema Markup.
K
Knowledge Graph
A database of facts about people, companies, and things. Google, Wikidata, and AI models all maintain knowledge graphs. If your brand is in these databases, AI is more likely to mention you accurately. GeoScored checks this in the Entity Strength pillar.
L
Link Health
The condition of internal and external links on your page. Broken links, redirect chains, and missing anchors signal neglect to both search engines and AI crawlers. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
Lite Scan
GeoScored's introductory audit tier. A Lite Scan includes all 24 checks except the AI Brand Check, covering every Technical, Structural, and SEO Foundation check. Compare with Full Scan.
LLMs.txt
A text file you place on your website (at /llms.txt) that tells AI models which pages are most important and what your site is about. A newer standard, similar to what robots.txt does for search engines. GeoScored checks this in the Technical AI-Readiness pillar.
M
Markdown Fidelity
How much of your page's content survives when converted to plain text. If your site relies heavily on complex layouts, images, or JavaScript, the text that AI models actually read may be much thinner than what humans see. GeoScored checks this in the Structural Extractability pillar.
Meta Tags
The title tag and meta description in your page's HTML head. These tags shape how your page appears in both Google results and AI-generated summaries. GeoScored checks their presence, length, and uniqueness as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
O
Open Graph
A protocol (created by Facebook) that controls how your page appears when shared on social platforms. Open Graph tags specify the title, description, and image that appear in link previews. Part of the Social Tags check.
P
Page Speed
How quickly your page loads, measured through resource sizes, render-blocking scripts, and compression. Faster pages get crawled more frequently by both search engines and AI systems. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
Passage Self-Containment
Whether a paragraph makes sense on its own, without needing the surrounding text. AI models often extract single passages. If your paragraph starts with "As mentioned above..." the AI cannot use it. GeoScored checks this in the Structural Extractability pillar.
Pillar
One of four categories in a GeoScored audit: Technical AI-Readiness, Structural Extractability, Entity Strength, and SEO Foundation. The first three are GEO-specific pillars whose scores combine into your overall GEO Score. The SEO Foundation score is reported separately.
R
Readability
How easy your content is to read, measured by reading level and sentence complexity. Content written clearly is easier for AI to parse, summarize, and cite accurately. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
Robots.txt
A file at your website's root (yoursite.com/robots.txt) that tells crawlers which pages they are allowed or not allowed to visit. AI companies use different crawler names (GPTBot, ClaudeBot) that you can allow or block individually. See also AI Crawler and LLMs.txt.
S
Schema Markup
Structured data (usually JSON-LD) added to your website's code that tells search engines and AI explicitly what your page is about. Common types include Organization, Article, FAQ, and Product. GeoScored checks this in the Technical AI-Readiness pillar.
Security Headers
HTTP response headers that protect your site and its visitors. Includes HTTPS, Content Security Policy (CSP), and Strict Transport Security (HSTS). Secure sites rank higher and build trust signals that AI systems factor into source quality. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The practice of improving your website's visibility in traditional search results (Google's blue links). GEO is the equivalent for AI-powered search. GeoScored includes 12 SEO Foundation checks because strong SEO is the base that GEO builds on.
SEO Foundation
The fourth pillar in a GeoScored audit, containing 12 checks that evaluate traditional search engine optimization fundamentals. Strong SEO is the foundation GEO builds on: AI models are more likely to cite content that already ranks well, loads fast, and follows accessibility best practices. See all 12 SEO Foundation checks.
Social Tags
Meta tags (Open Graph and Twitter Cards) that control how your page appears when shared on social platforms. These tags also help AI systems understand your page's title, description, and key image. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
Structural Extractability
How easily AI can pull useful, quotable information from your content. Good heading structure, clear paragraphs, and answer-first writing all improve extractability. This is one of the three GEO pillars in a GeoScored audit.
T
Technical AI-Readiness
One of three GEO pillars in a GeoScored audit. It measures whether AI crawlers can physically access and read your content: crawler permissions, structured data, content freshness, and JavaScript rendering. See all 5 Technical checks.
Topical Authority
The depth and breadth of your coverage on a specific topic. AI models are more likely to cite content from sources that consistently demonstrate expertise. Writing multiple related articles on a topic builds topical authority over time, increasing your chances of being cited.
U
URL Structure
How your page URLs are organized: length, readability, and hierarchy. Clean, descriptive URLs (like /docs/glossary) help AI models understand page topics before they read the content. GeoScored checks this as part of the SEO Foundation pillar.
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