GEO-audit of Raisych's blog: how we checked our own site for AI-search readiness

In April 2026, we did what we recommend to every client: we ran a GEO audit of our own blog. No discounts, no leniency — using the same SEO/GEO Visibility Loop methodology we use on commercial projects. The result: 9 issues found, 4 of which we managed to fix by the time this article was published. The rest is in the backlog. Below is a full breakdown: what we checked, what we found, what we fixed, and why an honest audit of your own site is painful but useful.

Why audit your own website

A GEO audit is a systematic check of a website’s readiness for generative search (ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini, Yandex Neuro, GigaChat). If classic SEO answers the question “is the site visible in search results”, then GEO answers the question “will the neural network choose this site as a source for answering the user”.

We decided to put Raisych’s blog through the full program because:

1. We wanted to test the methodology on ourselves — if it works on us, it works for clients.
2. The blog is the face of our expertise — if we teach others GEO, our own website should be the benchmark.
3. AI search engines are already indexing us — it’s time to make sure they see the right version.

Fun fact: the auditor was an AI agent built on the same infrastructure as Raisych itself. In other words, the neural network audited the website of its own “company” and wrote a report to itself. Then a human reviewed that report. Result: the AI found 7 of the 9 issues, the human — the other 2. Score — 7:2 in favor of machines, but human heuristics still win when it comes to content nuances.

Methodology: SEO/GEO Visibility Loop

We use our own methodology, SEO/GEO Visibility Loop — a cycle of 6 stages that repeats every 2–4 weeks:

Stage	What we do	Tools
1. Technical audit	Check indexing, HTTPS, speed, data structure	Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Ahrefs
2. Semantic analysis	Collect queries in AI search engines, see which topics we’re cited for	Perplexity API, ChatGPT Search, Google AI Overviews
3. Content audit	Analyze completeness of answers to questions, E-E-A-T signals, article structure	Manual review + LLM assistant
4. Markup and data	Schema.org, Open Graph, llms.txt, sitemap, robots.txt	Validators, Google Rich Results Test
5. AEO optimization	Rewrite/supplement content for Answer Engine Optimization	ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity Pages
6. Monitoring	Track citations, positions in AI answers, traffic from AI search engines	Custom dashboards, Google Analytics 4

At the time of the GEO audit, Raisych’s blog had completed stages 1–4. Stages 5 and 6 are in progress.

What we found: 9 issues

Fixed (4 issues)

Here’s what we already fixed by the time of publication:

#	Issue	Severity	What we did
1	HSTS was missing — the Strict-Transport-Security header wasn’t configured, which reduced AI crawlers’ trust in the site’s security	High	Added the HSTS header to the Nginx configuration
2	No llms.txt file — the standard that tells AI models which pages of a site are most important	Medium	Created /llms.txt with a list of key articles and a short blog description
3	Sitemap.xml didn’t include all articles — 3 of 10 published materials were missing from the sitemap	High	Updated sitemap.xml, added the missing URLs and set correct priorities
4	lastmod missing in sitemap and OG:image missing on pages — AI crawlers couldn’t tell when content was updated, and social networks didn’t show previews	Medium	Added lastmod for each article in the sitemap and <meta property="og:image"> on all pages

In the backlog (5 issues)

These are the issues we found but haven’t fixed yet:

#	Issue	Severity	Plan
5	Not enough E-E-A-T signals — author pages lack proof of expertise (links to profiles, certificates, experience)	High	Add an “About the author” page with a full E-E-A-T profile
6	Weak AEO content — articles answer questions but aren’t optimized for the “direct answer” format (no “Key takeaways” blocks, clear definitions, structured lists)	High	Rework the top 5 articles into AEO format
7	No FAQ Schema.org markup — AI search engines love FAQPage and QAPage, but we haven’t marked them up	Medium	Add JSON-LD FAQPage to all articles with questions
8	No visibility in AI search engines — we don’t track whether the blog is cited in ChatGPT Search and Perplexity	Medium	Set up citation monitoring via API
9	No multilingual versions — hreflang isn’t configured, even though part of the audience is Russian-speaking abroad	Low	Add hreflang tags and an English version

Full GEO audit checklist

If you want to check your own site, here’s the full checklist based on the SEO/GEO Visibility Loop methodology:

🔧 Technical block

• HTTPS + HSTS — mandatory. AI crawlers don’t trust sites without HTTPS.
• Sitemap.xml — all pages, correct lastmod, changefreq.
• Robots.txt — doesn’t block important sections.
• Page speed — Core Web Vitals in the green zone.
• Mobile-first — all pages display correctly on mobile.
• Canonical URLs — no duplicates or conflicts.

📄 Content and data

• llms.txt — a hint file for AI models.
• Open Graph / Twitter Cards — previews for social networks and AI search engines.
• Schema.org markup — Article, BreadcrumbList, (ideally — FAQPage, HowTo).
• E-E-A-T signals — author page, profile links, dates, sources.
• AEO content optimization — “In brief” blocks, definitions, direct answers to questions.

📊 Monitoring

• Citations in AI search — tracking mentions in ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini.
• Traffic from AI search engines — setting up UTM tags and analytics.
• Positions for AI queries — regular checks on which topics the site is cited for.

What’s next: AEO optimization plan

Fixing technical issues is the foundation. The real work begins at the AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) stage — adapting content to the direct answer format.

Here’s what we’ve planned for the next 2 weeks:

1. Rewrite the top 5 articles in AEO format — add “Key takeaways” blocks, structure definitions, highlight key facts for citation.
2. Add FAQ blocks to every article — with FAQPage Schema.org markup.
3. Create an “About the author” page with a full E-E-A-T profile, links to professional communities and certificates.
4. Set up a citation dashboard — daily monitoring across 5 AI search engines.

After that, we’ll repeat the Visibility Loop cycle: audit → fixes → measurement → optimization.

Conclusions

Running a GEO audit on your own blog is like a dentist treating themselves: painful, uncomfortable, but necessary. We found 9 issues, fixed 4, and now we clearly see the roadmap for the coming month.

The main lesson: even if you’re GEO experts, a systematic audit is needed regularly — at least once a quarter. AI search engines change every week, and what worked yesterday may no longer be relevant today.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a GEO audit cost?

The cost of a GEO audit depends on the size of the site and the depth of the check. For a small blog (up to 50 pages), a basic audit starts from 15,000 ₽; for an online store or large portal — from 50,000 ₽. The price includes: technical audit, semantic analysis, content audit, llms.txt and microdata check, as well as a roadmap of fixes.

How does a GEO audit work?

We work using the 6-stage SEO/GEO Visibility Loop methodology: 1) technical audit (indexing, HTTPS, speed), 2) semantic analysis (queries in AI search engines), 3) content audit (completeness of answers, E-E-A-T), 4) markup and data (Schema.org, llms.txt, sitemap), 5) AEO optimization (adapting content for direct answers), 6) citation monitoring. The entire cycle takes 1–2 weeks.

What results will I get?

After a GEO audit, you get: a full report with the issues found (with severity for each), a fixes checklist, a 1–3 month roadmap, recommendations on llms.txt and microdata, and a forecast for citation growth in ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini, and Yandex Neuro. The average increase in citations after implementing the recommendations is 40–70%.

Do I need a GEO audit if my site already ranks well in Google?

Yes, you do. GEO and SEO are different traffic channels. A site can be in Google’s top 3 yet completely absent from AI search engine answers. A GEO audit checks the site specifically against generative search requirements: answer formats, data structure for LLMs, E-E-A-T signals for neural networks. It’s a complement to SEO, not a replacement.

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🚀 Want to check your site’s readiness for AI search? The Raisych team conducts GEO audits using the SEO/GEO Visibility Loop methodology, with a full report, checklist, and roadmap of fixes.

Order a GEO audit — raisovich.ru

What issues did the GEO audit of Raisych’s blog find?

The audit revealed 9 issues: missing HSTS, llms.txt, incomplete sitemap, weak E-E-A-T signals, missing FAQ Schema.org markup and multilingual versions. 4 issues have already been fixed.

How is GEO different from SEO?

SEO answers the question “is the site visible in Google search results”, while GEO answers “will the neural network choose this site as a source for answering the user”. These are different traffic channels, and GEO complements SEO rather than replacing it.