# How AI Search Optimization Runs: Five Steps

Title: How AI Search Optimization Runs: Five Steps | SearchFocal
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Markdown file: https://searchfocal.com/process/index.md

> Five steps from an AI visibility audit to monthly monitoring: recorded buyer prompts, competitor and source mapping, foundation fixes, answer pages and monthly reporting.

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Process

# From overlooked to easier to recommend.

Five steps from the first email to the monthly brief. We check the foundation before we build on it, and no paid work starts before the scope and the price are agreed in writing.

1

### AI visibility audit

You send your website and the market you want to win. We agree a list of 25 to 40 real buyer questions with you, run every question across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity, and save each answer in full.

#### What you get

- Every answer saved in full, with the date and the question wording.
- The businesses named and the sources shown on each platform.
- Full $450 fee credited if you start a sprint or monthly optimization within 30 days.

#### What we need from you

- Your website address and target market.
- A quick review of the proposed question list. 2

### Competitor and source map

We trace every competitor mention to the exact pages, business profiles and independent directories behind it, then read your own site and listings to produce a prioritized 90 day plan.

#### What you get

- A competitor map and a source map across the four platforms.
- A crawler access, schema and business profile check.
- A gap list ordered by commercial impact and a 90 day plan.

#### What we need from you

- Search Console access, if you have it. 3

### Foundation fixes

Crawler access, business profiles and the details on your site are corrected first. Pages and mentions built on top of facts that disagree do not hold up.

#### What you get

- robots.txt, sitemap and firewall rules checked for the search crawlers.
- Google Business Profile and Bing Places matched to your site.
- Name, services, categories and service area consistent everywhere.

#### What we need from you

- Access to your Google Business Profile and website.
- A person to approve changes to business details. 4

### Answer pages and independent evidence

Service and buyer-question pages that open with a clear answer go up in the order that matters most for enquiries. In parallel, the sources beyond your own site are added to.

#### What you get

- Pages that give a quotable answer: what you do, for whom, where and at roughly what price.
- Structured data that matches what each page says.
- Outreach for accurate listings and mentions on directories, trade bodies and local sites.

#### What we need from you

- Photos and details of finished work.
- The questions your customers ask before they buy. 5

### Monthly monitoring and reporting

The same questions are asked again every month and compared with the last recording. Mentions, search demand and counted enquiries are reported separately, with the next change and the reason for it.

#### What you get

- A one page monthly brief with the recorded answers.
- Who gained ground, who lost it and which pages were cited.
- Enquiries counted separately from mentions.

#### What we need from you

- A look at the brief.
- A reply when something in it looks wrong to you.

Timelines

## What to expect, and when

Each platform refreshes on its own schedule, so these are ranges rather than dates. We report what the monthly recordings show instead of naming a day when an answer will change.

_Realistic ranges for each stage._

| AI visibility audit | Delivered within five business days of the question list being agreed. |
| Crawler and profile fixes | Often visible within weeks, once the platforms have read your site again. |
| Answer pages | Published in the agreed order. Platforms then need time to find and re-check them. |
| Independent mentions | Months. They depend on other sites, so they are the slowest part. |
| Foundation sprint | Six weeks, fixed scope, then your team keeps running it. |
| Monthly recording | Every month. The first real comparison needs two recordings. |

Prefer to build the foundation and run it yourself? The sprint is $3,500 one time. Details are on the [pricing page](https://searchfocal.com/pricing/).

## Find out who AI recommends in your market.

Send your website and the market you want to win. Get a clear view of the competition, your biggest gaps and the next move worth making.

[Order an AI audit](https://searchfocal.com/contact/#contact-form) [Open the AI search checklist](https://searchfocal.com/guides/ai-search-optimization-checklist/)