Client Onboarding Document
Your 6-month path to
AI search visibility.
A month-by-month execution plan built on the 8-lever AEO/GEO framework. Every task is sequenced intentionally — foundation first, content engine second, compounding authority third. This document is your operating system for the engagement.
8
tactical levers executed in sequence
5
AI platforms tracked simultaneously
50+
visibility points typical 90-day gain
6 mo
minimum for compounding to kick in
How to use this document
Built for operators, not marketers.
This plan is your single source of truth for the engagement. Every task references the specific lever it addresses. Every month closes with a deliverable list and a KPI checkpoint. Use the checkboxes to track completion. Bring this to your monthly strategy call and we'll review progress together.
On sequencing: The order of this plan is not arbitrary. Levers 1 through 3 (Foundation) must be in place before Levers 4 through 6 (Content Engine) can compound. Starting content work before schema and entity consistency is fixed is one of the most common reasons AEO programs underperform. Trust the sequence.
Month
Primary focus
Score target
Month 1
Audit, kickoff, entity cleanup, schema
+8 to +20 pts
Month 2
Answer-first content + citation building begins
+10 to +25 pts
Month 3
Content engine full speed + authority expansion
50 to 70 total
Month 4
Freshness cadence + monitoring system live
60 to 75 total
Month 5
Authority acceleration + competitor gap closes
68 to 80 total
Month 6
90-day review, retainer renewal, scale plan
75+ total
Month 1
Foundation: audit, kickoff, entity, schema, and crawler access
The first 30 days are entirely about fixing the infrastructure that every other lever depends on. No content. No PR. Just the unsexy, compounding work that makes everything else work.
Month 01 • Days 1–30
Foundation work
Levers 1–3
Week 1 — Kickoff and audit review
Kickoff call: confirm target query list, competitive set, primary ICP, and key service pages
Setup
Review full AI Visibility Audit report together — walk through gap map and competitor citation analysis
Setup
Grant Citebound access: Google Analytics, Google Search Console, website CMS or FTP
Setup
Establish canonical fact sheet: exact brand name, address, phone, founding date, service description, and social profiles
L2
Week 2 — Entity consistency cleanup
Audit all major directory sources against canonical fact sheet: Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, BBB, LinkedIn, Crunchbase
L2
Update all inconsistent listings to match canonical fact sheet exactly
L2
Create or verify Wikidata entry (if business qualifies based on notability)
L2
Audit robots.txt and CDN settings for AI crawler blocking (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot)
L3
Implement llms.txt file on root domain
L3
Weeks 3–4 — Schema implementation
Implement Organization schema (JSON-LD) on homepage with all canonical entity facts
L1
Implement LocalBusiness schema on homepage and contact page (if location-based)
L1
Implement FAQPage schema on top 5 service pages — questions must match actual buyer queries
L1
Implement HowTo schema on any process-oriented pages
L1
Validate all schema using Google Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator
L1
Fix any client-side rendering issues blocking AI crawler indexation
L3
Month 1 deliverables
Entity consistency report
Full list of sources audited, discrepancies found, and corrections made with before/after documentation.
Schema implementation confirmation
Screenshot validation from Rich Results Test for every schema type deployed. Any errors flagged for immediate correction.
Crawler access audit
Confirmation that all 5 major AI platform crawlers have clean access to your site. Any blocks documented and resolved.
Month 1 visibility baseline
Re-run of 50 core queries across all 5 platforms. Establishes post-foundation baseline for measuring subsequent gains.
Starting score
[XX]/100
From your initial audit
→
Month 1 target
+8–20 pts
From schema and entity fixes alone
Month 2
Content engine launch + citation building begins
With the foundation solid, Month 2 starts the two workstreams that compound over time. Content and citation building run in parallel because both take 6 to 12 weeks to materialize — starting them together is essential.
Month 02 • Days 31–60
Content engine + citation building
Levers 4–6
Content restructuring (Lever 4)
Identify top 8 pages by AI citation potential based on query intent mapping
L4
Rewrite opening sections of each page with 40–60 word direct-answer blocks in neutral, factual language
L4
Restructure all H2 headings to mirror exact buyer query phrasing from audit data
L4
Ensure each page section is a self-contained answer unit that can be cited independently
L4
New content production (Lever 5)
Publish 4 new long-form content pieces targeting highest-intent buyer queries identified in audit
L5
Each piece includes: 3–5 cited statistics with named source and date, 1–2 expert quotes with credentials, and inline source links
L5
Add Article schema to all new long-form content pieces
L1
Add FAQPage schema to any content pieces with explicit question-answer structure
L1
Citation building launch (Lever 6)
Submit business to 8 high-authority structured directories used by AI platforms for your category
L6
Identify 6–8 target publications for guest content placement based on AI training data analysis
L6
Pitch and place first 2 guest content pieces on industry-relevant publications
L6
Initiate PR outreach for earned brand mentions on authoritative category-relevant sites
L6
Month 2 deliverables
4 long-form content pieces published
Targeting highest-gap queries from audit. Each with proper structure, citations, and schema.
8 service pages restructured
Answer-first format with query-matched headings on all priority pages.
2 guest content placements secured
Live on authoritative industry publications with backlink and brand mention.
Month 2 visibility report
Full 50-query re-run with platform-by-platform breakdown and competitor share tracking.
New content pieces
4
published this month
Pages restructured
8
answer-first format
Citations placed
2+
guest placements
Score target
+10–25
points above baseline
Month 3
Content engine at full speed + authority expansion
Month 3 is where early citation gains become visible. The foundation and first content batch are indexed. Authority building accelerates. This is the first month where you should see meaningful movement on the 50-query tracker.
Month 03 • Days 61–90
Authority acceleration
Content batch 2 (Levers 4–5)
Publish 4–6 additional long-form pieces targeting comparison queries and problem-aware buyer queries
L4–5
Refresh Month 2 content pieces with 2 new statistics each and update schema dateModified
L7
Identify top 5 queries where competitors are still outranking you and create direct-answer content targeting each
L4
Authority building acceleration (Lever 6)
Secure 4–6 additional guest placements on publications in the LLM trust network
L6
Place listing or feature on at least 2 structured aggregator sites relevant to category (G2, Capterra, or equivalent)
L6
Pursue Wikipedia eligibility assessment if not already completed — draft entry if qualifying coverage exists
L6
Target Reddit presence in relevant subreddits with genuine expert participation
L6
90-day checkpoint
Full 50-query visibility audit re-run across all 5 platforms — compare to original audit baseline
L8
90-day strategy call: review gains, identify highest-leverage next actions, confirm Month 4–6 priorities
L8
Identify which content pieces are getting cited and double down on that format and topic cluster
L8
Month 3 — 90-day deliverables
Full 90-day performance report
Visibility score movement, citation rate by platform, competitor share delta, AI referral traffic from Google Analytics.
6+ cumulative guest placements
Live on authoritative publications. Citation authority compounding begins to accelerate from here.
8+ total content pieces published
Covering all major intent types: best-of, comparison, educational, problem-aware, and location-specific.
Month 1 score
[XX]/100
Post-foundation baseline
→
90-day target
50–70
Typical 90-day outcome range
Month 4
Freshness system + monitoring infrastructure live
Month 4 activates the Advanced levers. The content and citation work is maturing. Now we install the operating system that keeps it compounding and prevents it from decaying.
Month 04 • Days 91–120
Freshness cadence + monitoring system
Levers 7–8
Freshness maintenance system (Lever 7)
Identify top 20 pages by AI citation potential for quarterly refresh cadence
L7
Refresh all Month 2 original content pieces: new statistics, updated examples, schema dateModified updated
L7
Establish content calendar for ongoing monthly publication: 4–6 pieces per month
L7
Set recurring quarterly reminder for all top-20 page refreshes
L7
Cross-platform monitoring (Lever 8)
Establish fixed query set of 50–100 buyer queries for ongoing weekly monitoring
L8
Run weekly structured query sets across all 5 platforms: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI, Claude, Grok
L8
Set up Google Analytics AI referral traffic tracking and monthly reporting segment
L8
Publish Month 4 dashboard: citation rate trends, competitor share movement, AI referral volume
L8
Continued authority building
4–6 additional guest placements or earned mentions this month
L6
Publish 4–6 new content pieces based on Month 3 citation data — double down on what's working
L4–5
Month 4 deliverables
Weekly monitoring report (first issue)
Structured query results across all 5 platforms, citation rate trend, competitor share chart.
Content freshness audit
All Month 2 content refreshed. Quarterly refresh calendar established for top 20 pages.
AI referral traffic dashboard
Google Analytics segment tracking AI platform referrals with conversion rate comparison vs organic.
Month 5
Authority acceleration + closing the competitor gap
Month 5 is where the compounding becomes visible to the client. Citation counts are climbing. Authority placements are maturing. The gap to competitors should be narrowing measurably.
Month 05 • Days 121–150
Authority acceleration
Authority building push
Expand citation building to 8–12 placements this month — escalate pace as relationships mature
L6
Target any remaining high-authority publications where top competitor is cited but you are not
L6
Commission or publish original research data point that can be cited by third parties — this becomes a citation magnet
L5–6
Identify 3 podcast or media appearances to pitch that would generate brand mentions on AI-trusted sources
L6
Content and freshness
Publish 4–6 content pieces with emphasis on queries where competitor gap is still widest
L4–5
Refresh all Month 3 content: new statistics, updated examples, schema dateModified
L7
Identify content format that is producing the most citations and shift production toward it
L8
Monitoring and optimization
Week 19: full monthly audit re-run — 50 queries across all 5 platforms
L8
Platform-specific optimization: identify which platform has most remaining gap and focus content efforts there
L8
Competitor citation share analysis: identify where competitors are gaining vs losing ground
L8
Cumulative placements
20+
authority citations total
Total content pieces
20+
published since kickoff
AI referral traffic
Growing
month over month
Score target
68–80
visibility score
Month 6
Six-month review, category authority, and the path forward
Month 6 closes the initial engagement with a comprehensive review, a renewed strategy, and a decision point: continue building or begin preparing for category leadership. Most clients renew. This month gives you everything you need to make that call confidently.
Month 06 • Days 151–180
Six-month review + path forward
All 8 Levers
Final month execution
4–6 content pieces published: focus on any remaining high-gap query clusters
L4–5
8–12 authority placements: maintain full citation building velocity
L6
Refresh all content from Months 1–2: full quarterly cycle completed
L7
Final weekly monitoring runs and data compilation for 6-month report
L8
Six-month comprehensive review
Full 50-query audit re-run: compare Day 1 vs Day 90 vs Day 180 visibility scores on all 5 platforms
L8
Competitor citation share report: where have we gained ground, where does the gap remain
L8
AI referral traffic and conversion rate report: total sessions, conversion rate vs organic, revenue attribution
L8
Full content audit: citation performance by piece, freshness scores, highest-performing formats
L8
6-month QBR (Quarterly Business Review) call: present full results, review ROI, plan next 6 months
L8
Path forward planning
Category leadership gap analysis: what does it take to become the most-cited business in your category on AI platforms?
Strategy
Original research opportunity assessment: is there a data-driven report or study that could generate 20+ inbound citations?
L6
Retainer renewal discussion: confirm tier, scope adjustments, and 6-month targets for the next engagement period
Strategy
6-month final deliverables
6-month performance report
Full visibility score trajectory, platform-by-platform citation breakdown, AI referral traffic and conversion data, ROI calculation.
Cumulative content library
All content created over 6 months, fully owned by you, optimized for continued AI citation long after the engagement.
Authority citation map
Complete list of all third-party placements secured, live URLs, and citation counts from each source.
Next 6-month strategy document
Based on what worked, what didn't, and where the category gap remains. Includes tier recommendation and priority lever focus.
Day 1 score
[XX]/100
Original audit baseline
→
Month 6 target
75+/100
Category authority range
The 4 metrics that matter: Track these every month — not keyword rankings, not domain authority. (1) Citation rate: percentage of your 50 monitored queries where you appear on each platform. (2) Competitor citation share: their rate vs yours. (3) AI referral traffic: sessions from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI, Claude, and Grok via Google Analytics. (4) AI referral conversion rate: compare to your organic benchmark. This is where the revenue story lives.
Our commitment
Disciplined execution. Transparent reporting. No vanity metrics.
We commit to executing the 8-lever framework with consistency, reporting on the metrics that actually predict revenue impact, and adapting strategy based on what the data shows. We do not commit to specific numerical outcomes — AI platform citation behavior is not deterministic and changes frequently. What we can commit to is doing the right work, in the right order, with full transparency every step of the way.