E-E-A-T drives trust for both readers and AI assistants.

Without a structured audit, you miss critical gaps and waste time on guesswork.

In this guide you will learn a step-by-step E-E-A-T audit built for AI Overviews and answer engines, complete with scoring, templates, and a roadmap.

This matters because AI search now filters for credible sources, and teams need a clear list to fix fast.

Keep this checklist aligned with our E-E-A-T evidence-first pillar at E-E-A-T SEO: Evidence-First Playbook for Trust & AI so every action strengthens your brand.

Audit structure and scoring

  • Categories: Brand, Content, Authors, Technical/UX, Schema, AI visibility.

  • Scoring: 0 (missing), 1 (partial), 2 (complete). Sum per category for a maturity score.

  • Prioritize by impact vs effort and by YMYL risk level.

Brand signals checklist

  • About and Contact pages with address, phone, support hours, and leadership names.

  • Policies: privacy, terms, editorial, complaints, returns (where relevant).

  • Off-site consistency: LinkedIn, GBP, Crunchbase, social profiles with matching NAP and URLs.

  • Reputation: reviews, press mentions, awards; logged with dates and sources.

  • Security and compliance pages for SaaS and finance.

  • Proof of real operations: photos of offices, teams, and events; verified social profiles; consistent company numbers or VAT where applicable.

  • Crisis transparency: visible corrections page and a process to handle mistakes.

Content signals checklist

  • Answer-first intros, clear intent matching, and scannable headings.

  • Evidence density: sources, data, screenshots, and quotes within the first 300 words.

  • Freshness: dateModified reflects real edits; critical pages updated at least every six months or sooner for YMYL.

  • Disclaimers and scope notes for medical, legal, or financial advice.

  • Internal links to pillars, including the E-E-A-T pillar at E-E-A-T SEO: Evidence-First Playbook for Trust & AI, plus related clusters.

  • FAQs and summaries for extractable snippets where safe.

  • Media: captions and transcripts for images and video; on-page context so assistants can quote accurately.

  • Local nuance: localized examples, currencies, and regulations where relevant.

Author signals checklist

  • Bio pages with credentials, headshots, roles, and knowsAbout topics.

  • Reviewer presence on YMYL pages with dates and scope.

  • sameAs links to LinkedIn, Scholar, associations, or licensing bodies.

  • Consistent names and titles across site, schema, and off-site profiles.

  • Prompt tests: “Who is [Author]?” — assistants should cite correct roles and topics.

  • Offboarding: archived bios and redirects when authors leave; schema updated within 48 hours.

  • PR linkage: author bios updated with recent press quotes and talks.

Technical and UX checklist

  • Core Web Vitals: LCP, INP, CLS within green thresholds on key templates.

  • Mobile-first layouts, readable typography, and minimal intrusive interstitials.

  • Accessibility basics: headings, alt text, keyboard navigation, contrast.

  • Fast navigation and breadcrumbs; site search functional and exposed in schema.

  • Secure HTTPS, uptime monitoring, and clear error handling.

  • Lightweight consent banners that do not block content or shift layout.

  • Page speed budgets per template and deployment checks to prevent regressions.

Schema checklist

  • Organization with stable @id, logo, sameAs, contactPoint.

  • Person for authors and reviewers with knowsAbout and credentials.

  • Article/BlogPosting linked to Person and Organization; accurate dates.

  • FAQ/HowTo/Speakable where appropriate and safe.

  • LocalBusiness for location pages with NAP, geo, hours, and reviews.

  • Product/SoftwareApplication/Service where relevant; parity between schema and page.

  • Validation and rendered checks in CI; no duplicate @id values.

  • about and mentions populated to align with clusters; avoid empty graphs.

  • Alerts for parity mismatches (price, availability, credentials, hours).

AI visibility checklist

  • Answer-first intros and structured lists for extractability.

  • AI citation logging across AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot, Gemini; URLs and authors tracked.

  • Prompt tests monthly for key queries; store outputs in a log.

  • about and mentions populated to align with topic clusters and entities.

  • Media with context: VideoObject and ImageObject captions and transcripts.

  • Share of voice tracking: percent of citations you own vs competitors by cluster.

  • Knowledge Panel monitoring for brand and authors after content releases.

YMYL lens

  • Extra weight on reviewer credentials, disclaimers, and primary sources.

  • Frequent updates and change logs; strict approval workflows.

  • Localization of licenses, policies, and schema for each market.

  • Crisis process: correction form, response SLAs, and public correction logs.

  • AI-specific safety: restrict Speakable on YMYL unless reviewed and compliant; log prompts used in drafting and review outcomes.

Multilingual and local checks

  • hreflang correct and consistent; localized inLanguage on pages and schema.

  • LocalBusiness data aligned with GBP and local directories; NAP consistency.

  • Local reviews and testimonials in local languages; localized FAQs.

  • Pillar interlinks in each language; avoid broken cross-language links.

  • SameAs localization: local profiles for authors and organizations in each market.

  • Local regulatory notes: VAT numbers, local legal notices, and data policy links.

Tools and templates

  • Audit sheet with categories, scoring, owners, due dates, and evidence links.

  • Prompt bank for monthly AI tests; scripts to capture AI Overview citations.

  • Schema linting in CI; crawling for JSON-LD extraction and parity checks.

  • Dashboards: Search Console by cluster, AI citations, branded queries, CWV, and review velocity.

  • Review response tracker with SLA and sentiment trends.

  • Localization checklist for content, schema, and policies per market.

From audit to roadmap

  • Score each item, then sort by impact and effort. Fix high-impact/high-risk first.

  • Build a 90-day plan: weeks 1–4 fix critical schema and bios; weeks 5–8 refresh YMYL content and add proof; weeks 9–12 expand to localization and PR.

  • Assign owners and deadlines; track status in sprints.

  • Share weekly progress and blockers with stakeholders to keep momentum.

  • Add an “evidence debt” column to flag pages lacking proof or sources; prioritize by traffic and risk.

  • Tie each task to a measurable KPI (AI citations, CTR, conversions, or branded queries).

Sample audit questions by category

  • Brand: Do we show leadership and real contact info? Are policies up to date?

  • Content: Do intros answer the main question? Are sources cited near the top?

  • Authors: Do assistants describe our authors correctly? Are credentials visible?

  • Technical: Are CWV green on mobile? Are pop-ups blocking content?

  • Schema: Do all articles link to the correct Person and Organization IDs?

  • AI: Which domains get cited for our topics? Why not us?

  • Local: Is NAP consistent? Are local reviews recent? Do AI answers list our locations?

  • PR: Are recent mentions linked in sameAs? Do assistants reflect new coverage?

Dashboards that matter

  • E-E-A-T Score by category and cluster with trends over time.

  • AI citation share vs competitors for tracked queries.

  • Branded and author query growth following fixes.

  • Content freshness and reviewer recency for YMYL pages.

  • Schema validation pass rates and error counts by template.

  • Review volume, rating, and response time per market or location.

  • CWV and uptime trends for top landing pages.

Prompts to reuse monthly

  • “Who is the best source for [topic]?” — check if your authors appear.

  • “What does [Brand] say about [topic]?” — verify messaging and freshness.

  • “Is [Brand] trustworthy for [service]?” — see which trust signals assistants cite.

  • “Which clinics/law firms/tools in [city] are credible?” — test local E-E-A-T.

  • Record outputs, URL mentions, and authors cited; feed into the roadmap.

  • “Which products are recommended for [use case]?” — for ecommerce and SaaS to check Product/SoftwareApplication clarity.

  • “Who reviewed this advice?” — ensure reviewer visibility in AI answers for YMYL content.

Executive reporting

  • Monthly one-pager: current E-E-A-T score, top risks, shipped fixes, and AI citation changes.

  • Screenshots or logs of AI Overviews before and after improvements.

  • Expected impact and next sprint priorities; link to the full audit sheet.

  • Revenue view: conversions and pipeline from audited clusters vs baseline.

  • Risk view: YMYL pages with aging reviews or sources; planned remediation.

Case snippets

  • Clinic: Added reviewer schema, updated bios, and refreshed sources; AI citations rose 30%, appointments increased 14%.

  • SaaS: Implemented author Person schema and Speakable on guides; AI citations doubled and demo requests grew 9%.

  • Finance: Localized disclaimers, added regulator sameAs, and improved CWV; CTR improved 6% and branded queries climbed.

Worksheets and artifacts

  • Google Sheet template with scoring formulas and conditional formatting for risk.

  • Prompt log tab with dates, prompts, outputs, and actions taken.

  • Schema coverage tab with IDs, owners, and last validation date.

  • Roadmap tab with RICE/ICE scoring, owners, due dates, and status.

YMYL remediation plan

  • Identify top 20 YMYL URLs by traffic and risk; assign subject matter reviewers.

  • Refresh sources with primary research and official guidance; add update notes on-page.

  • Add or update reviewer schema and dates; include disclaimers near the intro and CTA.

  • Improve CWV on these pages to reduce bounce and increase satisfaction signals.

  • Re-run AI prompt tests and record changes in citations and assistant summaries.

Localization and multi-market play

  • For each market, localize bios, credentials, policies, and sameAs profiles; keep @id stable.

  • Translate prompts for AI tests into local languages; store outputs separately.

  • Ensure local reviews and testimonials are present and recent; map to location pages.

  • Align legal notices (cookies, privacy) with local rules and link them in headers and footers.

Scoring formula example

  • Category score = sum of items (0–2) / total items.

  • Overall E-E-A-T score = average of category scores weighted by risk (higher weight for YMYL, Content, and Authors).

  • Track score changes after each sprint to prove progress to leadership.

Operational cadence

  • Weekly: triage audit items, fix quick wins (bios, dates, missing links), and validate schema changes.

  • Monthly: run AI prompt bank, refresh top URLs, and update dashboards.

  • Quarterly: full audit rerun, localization review, and executive presentation.

  • After major releases: spot-check AI citations and schema to catch regressions fast.

Common pitfalls to avoid

  • Treating the audit as one-time; drift returns within weeks without cadence.

  • Using generic disclaimers in regulated markets; customize by jurisdiction.

  • Ignoring off-site reputation; weak PR and reviews limit AI citations even with strong on-site signals.

  • Overlooking parity between schema and page content; mismatches erode trust.

  • Leaving authors unverified; assistants mistrust anonymous or inconsistent bylines.

Roadmap example

  • Sprint 1: Organization/Person schema fixes, About/Contact refresh, prompt logging set up.

  • Sprint 2: YMYL content refresh, reviewer workflow, CWV improvements on top templates.

  • Sprint 3: Localization of policies and bios, PR integration, AI share-of-voice tracking.

  • Sprint 4: Extend to lower-priority clusters, deepen PR and sameAs coverage, automate alerts.

30-60-90 day playbook

  • 30 days: run baseline audit, fix Organization/Person schema, refresh About/Contact, and upgrade top 20 pages with sources and bios.

  • 60 days: roll out reviewer workflow on YMYL, improve CWV on key templates, localize NAP and policies, and launch AI citation logging.

  • 90 days: expand to remaining clusters, push PR and sameAs updates, and integrate dashboards into leadership reporting.

How AISO Hub can help

  • AISO Audit: We run the full E-E-A-T audit, score your site for AI search, and deliver a prioritized plan.

  • AISO Foundation: We build bios, schema, and governance so every release reinforces E-E-A-T.

  • AISO Optimize: We execute fixes, launch prompt tests, and improve AI citation share while protecting rankings.

  • AISO Monitor: We track E-E-A-T scores, schema health, AI citations, and branded demand, alerting you before trust slips.

Conclusion: make the checklist your operating system

An E-E-A-T audit only works when it turns into action.

Score, prioritize, assign owners, and track outcomes tied to AI citations and conversions.

Keep the checklist close to the E-E-A-T pillar at E-E-A-T SEO: Evidence-First Playbook for Trust & AI, refresh it quarterly, and you will stay ahead of AI Overviews and classic search updates while building durable trust.