# AI search ranking factors: what you can control and what you cannot. - working worksheet

Reviewed alongside the Eli guide: https://hireeli.io/resources/ai-search-ranking-factors

## Decision to make

Learn which controllable factors support AI search visibility

Owner: ____________________
Review date: ____________________
Canonical page or destination: ____________________

## Buyer questions

- [ ] Which AI-search ranking factors can a website control?
- [ ] How is crawling different from indexing and citation?
- [ ] Does publishing more pages improve AI visibility?
- [ ] How should an AI-search experiment be measured?

## Evidence-led work plan

### 1. Retrieval comes first

A public page must be accessible before a search system can use it.

Evidence or artifact: ____________________
Status: [ ] not started  [ ] working  [ ] verified  [ ] blocked

### 2. Useful evidence beats generic volume

Pages are more defensible when they answer a real question, explain limitations, cite primary sources and add first-hand or original information.

Evidence or artifact: ____________________
Status: [ ] not started  [ ] working  [ ] verified  [ ] blocked

### 3. Independent sources shape trust

A company website can explain its own product, but independent reporting, comparisons, reviews, directories and expert commentary provide outside corroboration.

Evidence or artifact: ____________________
Status: [ ] not started  [ ] working  [ ] verified  [ ] blocked

### 4. Keep seven receipts instead of one vanity score

Record publication, discovery, crawl, indexation, citation, visit and commercial outcome as separate events.

Evidence or artifact: ____________________
Status: [ ] not started  [ ] working  [ ] verified  [ ] blocked

### 5. Run a controlled page-level experiment

Choose a small set of non-brand commercial questions and save a baseline across the assistants your buyers use.

Evidence or artifact: ____________________
Status: [ ] not started  [ ] working  [ ] verified  [ ] blocked

## Source ledger

- [ ] Google: optimizing for generative AI features: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide
- [ ] Google: creating helpful, reliable, people-first content: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
- [ ] OpenAI: publishers and developers FAQ: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12627856-publishers-and-developers-faq

## Measurement boundary

Baseline date and exact context: ____________________
7-day observation: ____________________
14-day observation: ____________________
30-day observation: ____________________
Known limitations: ____________________

Keep technical eligibility, citations, recommendations, visits, leads and revenue as separate evidence. This worksheet does not guarantee an external ranking or commercial result.