This free marketing audit checklist covers your Google rankings and AI search presence — the same framework Summit Marketing Group uses with every new client in Elizabethtown, KY and beyond.
47 Checklist Items
SEO + GEO Coverage
Priority Ratings
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Jacob Thomson
Founder, Summit Marketing Group Marketing Consultant, Elizabethtown KY
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Welcome, friend — work through this free marketing audit checklist to find your biggest opportunities.
“This free marketing audit checklist is the same audit framework we run for every new client at Summit Marketing Group. Work through it honestly and you’ll find the gaps that are costing you customers.” — Jacob Thomson, Founder, Summit Marketing Group
Items marked HIGH priority have the biggest impact on rankings. Start there. Use the checkboxes to track your progress — your state saves automatically. Want help implementing what you find? See our services or get in touch directly.
⚙️
Technical SEO
12 items
The foundation of your free marketing audit checklist. If Google can’t crawl and index your site correctly, nothing else matters.
Crawlability & Indexing
✓
Site is indexed by Google (check via site:yourdomain.com)
If fewer pages appear than you expect, you may have indexing issues
High
✓
XML sitemap exists and is submitted to Google Search Console
Usually found at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
High
✓
Robots.txt is configured correctly — not blocking important pages
Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt
High
✓
No broken internal links (404 errors)
Use Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to identify these
Medium
Speed & Core Web Vitals
✓
Page speed score above 70 on mobile (Google PageSpeed Insights)
Mobile speed is a direct Google ranking factor
High
✓
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) under 2.5 seconds
Core Web Vital — measures loading performance
High
✓
Images are compressed and properly sized
Use WebP format where possible — biggest speed win on most sites
Medium
✓
Site is fully mobile responsive
Google uses mobile-first indexing — mobile experience = your ranking
High
Security & Structure
✓
Site uses HTTPS (SSL certificate active)
Google flags non-HTTPS sites — this is table stakes
High
✓
Canonical tags are set on key pages
Prevents duplicate content issues
Medium
✓
301 redirects in place for any old or changed URLs
Preserves link equity when pages move or are deleted
Medium
✓
Schema markup / structured data implemented
Helps Google and AI platforms understand your business — critical for GEO
High
📄
On-Page SEO
10 items
How well each page signals its relevance to Google for target search terms. A key area this free marketing audit checklist will surface on most local business sites.
Page Optimization
✓
Each key page has a unique, keyword-optimized title tag (under 60 characters)
This is the blue link text in Google results — most important on-page factor
High
✓
Meta descriptions written for each key page (under 155 characters)
Doesn’t directly affect rankings but improves click-through rate from search
Medium
✓
H1 tag on every page — one per page, contains primary keyword
Never use more than one H1 per page
High
✓
URL slugs are short, descriptive, and keyword-relevant
e.g. /seo-services-elizabethtown-ky not /page?id=123
Medium
✓
Primary keyword appears in first 100 words of page content
Signals relevance early to Google’s crawlers
Medium
Content & Media
✓
All images have descriptive alt text with relevant keywords
Also critical for accessibility and image search visibility
Medium
✓
Internal linking between related pages is in place
Helps Google discover pages and distributes link authority across your site
Medium
✓
Key service pages have at least 500 words of unique, helpful content
Thin content is one of the most common issues on local business sites
High
✓
No duplicate content across pages
Copied or near-identical content hurts all pages involved
Medium
✓
Page content answers specific questions customers search for
Think: “What would someone type into Google right before hiring me?”
High
📍
Local SEO
10 items
For businesses serving a local market — Google Maps, Google Business Profile, and local signals. Often the highest-ROI section of this free marketing audit checklist for Elizabethtown and Hardin County businesses.
Google Business Profile
✓
Google Business Profile is claimed and verified
If you haven’t done this yet, stop everything and do it now
High
✓
GBP name, address, and phone number (NAP) exactly matches website
Inconsistency here is one of the most common local SEO mistakes
High
✓
Business categories are set correctly (primary + secondary)
Primary category is the most important ranking signal in local search
High
✓
GBP description written with relevant keywords (750 characters)
Include your primary service + city in the first sentence
Medium
✓
Business has 10+ Google reviews with regular new reviews coming in
Review quantity, recency, and response rate all affect local rankings
High
✓
Owner responds to all reviews (positive and negative)
Review responses show Google the listing is active and managed
Medium
✓
GBP posts published at least twice per month
Regular activity signals an active business to Google
Low
Local Citations & NAP
✓
Business listed in top directories: Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places
Consistent NAP across directories builds local authority
Medium
✓
NAP is consistent across all online directories
Even minor differences (St vs Street) can confuse Google
Medium
✓
Website footer includes full NAP (Name, Address, Phone)
Reinforces local signals on every page of your site
Medium
🤖
GEO — AI Search Visibility
15 items
Generative Engine Optimization — ensuring your business appears in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and other AI-powered search results. This is the section of this free marketing audit checklist that most local businesses haven’t looked at yet — which means it’s your biggest opportunity.
Entity & Authority Signals
✓
Business has a clear, consistent description across all web properties
AI models pull from multiple sources — consistency is how they identify your brand
High
✓
LocalBusiness schema markup implemented on website
Structured data is one of the clearest signals AI models use to understand businesses
High
✓
FAQPage schema on key service pages
FAQ schema helps AI models extract and cite your answers directly
High
✓
Business is mentioned on external, authoritative websites
AI models trust businesses that third parties mention and link to
High
✓
Business appears in industry directories relevant to your niche
These act as third-party validation signals for AI models
Medium
Content for AI Discovery
✓
Website has a clear, concise About page describing what you do and who you serve
AI models frequently pull from About pages to describe businesses
High
✓
Service pages directly answer “What does [your business] do?”
AI models are trained to answer questions — write your content the same way
High
✓
Content includes specific, verifiable facts (awards, credentials, years in business)
Specificity builds trust signals that AI models weight heavily
Medium
✓
Blog or resource content answers common customer questions in your niche
Question-based content is most likely to be cited in AI answers
High
✓
Content uses natural language — complete sentences, not just keyword lists
AI models are trained on natural language and favor content written the same way
Medium
AI Platform Presence
✓
Search your business name in ChatGPT — verify what it says
Know your baseline. If it’s wrong or missing, your GEO work starts here
High
✓
Search “best [your service] in [your city]” in Perplexity — note who appears
This is your competitive baseline for AI local search
High
✓
Check if your business appears in Google AI Overviews for key search terms
SGE / AI Overviews now appear above traditional results for many searches
High
✓
Your website is publicly accessible and not blocked to AI crawlers
Check robots.txt — some security plugins accidentally block AI training crawlers
Medium
✓
You have a system to monitor AI search mentions of your brand monthly
GEO is ongoing — you need to know when and how AI mentions your business
Medium
🏆
Free marketing audit checklist complete.
You’ve worked through all 47 items. If you found gaps — that’s exactly what Summit Marketing Group helps fix. Book a free 30-minute call with Jacob Thomson and we’ll walk through your biggest opportunities together.
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