SearchlightAudits

Our audit methodology

A Searchlight Audits report is a measurement, not an opinion. We run 15–25 real buying-intent prompts across GPT, Gemini, and live web search, capture the answers verbatim, score your site against a 20-point checklist, and trace every finding to dated evidence. This page documents the full method — the prompts, the data sources, the scoring formula, the quality gate, and the limits of what we claim.

Last updated: 2026-10-01

How an audit is produced, step by step

Six steps, from your order to the PDF in your inbox. Nothing is skipped, nothing is faked.

1

Order triage

Production starts only after we confirm your email and that the correct amount was paid. Orders with a payment mismatch are held for review — we never produce an audit for an unverified order.

2

The prompt battery

We run real buying-intent questions — “Who's the best {service} in {area}?”, “Recommend a reliable {service} near {area}” — across three legs: GPT, Gemini, and live web search. The prompt text is identical on all three legs so the results are comparable. Each prompt runs exactly once: no re-rolls, no cherry-picking. All queries go through official API surfaces — the providers' consumer chat apps are never scraped.

Why this matters: if we mentioned your business in the prompt, the result would be biased. We don't — we ask the way your customers ask.

3

Verbatim capture

Every answer is archived byte-for-byte — unedited, unsummarized — with the model version and UTC timestamp, in a per-order evidence file. For each answer we record whether you were mentioned, named, recommended, which competitors were named instead, and which sources were cited.

4

The 20-check scorecard

Your site is graded against 20 checks: 12 machine checks (AI-crawler access in robots.txt, llms.txt presence, JSON-LD completeness, answer-capsule structure, quotable-definition density, statistic density, FAQ coverage, comparison structures, freshness signals, render check, meta robots directives, sitemap health) and 8 manual checks (third-party mention footprint, citation-worthy assets, review and directory presence, competitor citation gap, author credentials, external citations, live prompt tests, internal hub structure). Each check grades PASS, WARN, or FAIL.

A note on the llms.txt check: it grades machine-readability for coding agents — a sitemap-for-bots nicety — not AI visibility. Current research finds AI assistants essentially never fetch llms.txt files, so a missing one is never framed as costing you mentions or citations.

5

AI synthesis + independent QA gate

An AI pipeline assembles the report from the evidence — scores, competitor tables, and a fix list ranked by expected impact divided by effort, quick wins first. Then a deterministic QA gate runs before anything ships: zero unfilled placeholders, every finding traced to a dated evidence record, and the score math recomputed independently from the evidence (never copied from a spreadsheet cell). A finding without a trace doesn't go in the report.

6

Delivery

A branded PDF lands in your inbox within 48 hours of payment. Every one-time audit includes one revision round for factual errors (wrong hours, wrong service, wrong competitor — we fix it free) and a 30-day money-back guarantee: fewer than three specific, actionable findings means a full refund.

The 9 sections of the Full AI + SEO Audit ($299)

The $299 audit keeps everything in the $99 AI Visibility Audit and adds the complete Google Search side — nine fixed sections, every one cold-auditable with zero logins:

#SectionWhat we measureData source
1AI visibility & citationsMention rate, citation rate, share of voice across GPT, Gemini, live web search — query by query, with verbatim answersModel APIs (GPT- and Gemini-class), 15–25 buying-intent prompts
2Google presence & indexationIs the site indexed? Brand-query ranking, money-keyword visibility (organic, local pack, AI Overviews)Google SERP data (US-targeted), site: counts, 10–15 keyword queries
3Technical SEO crawlBroken links, redirect chains, crawl blocks, missing/duplicate titles and descriptions, canonicals, HTTPS, thin contentSelf-hosted open-source crawler (full site, typically 20–200 pages)
4Core Web VitalsLab scores plus real-user field data (LCP, INP, CLS) for the homepage and key pagesGoogle PageSpeed Insights API (Lighthouse + CrUX field data)
5On-page & content qualityTitles, headings, content depth, location relevance, FAQ content — benchmarked against top-ranking competitorsCrawl output + SERP spot-checks vs. competitors
6Schema & structured dataAll JSON-LD/microdata extracted and validated against Google's documented required and recommended fieldsOffline extraction + local validators (no key needed)
7Local SEO / Google Business ProfileListing claimed? Category, hours, photos, review count/rating/recency, NAP character-match vs. your website, citation consistency across major directoriesPublic GBP data + direct fetches + SERP citation checks
8Backlink snapshot (sampled)Referring domains, authority score, follow/nofollow mix, top-link sample — a labeled snapshot of public dataMoz Link Explorer free + Ahrefs free checker (sampled public data)
9Competitive gap analysisThe same checks, lite pass, on 2 named competitors — exactly where they beat youSame tooling as sections 1–2

With about 10 minutes of access — Search Console, Analytics, or your GBP owner account — we can unlock a deeper Phase 2 (real query/CTR data, index coverage, owner insights). We offer it after delivery; it's never required.

What the $99 audit covers vs. the $299

One sentence each: $99 tells you what AI says about you. $299 tells you everything about your Google presence too.

Included$99 AI Visibility Audit$299 Full AI + SEO Audit
AI prompt battery (GPT, Gemini, live web search)✓ Full battery, verbatim answers✓ Full battery, verbatim answers
20-check AI-visibility scorecard✓✓
Competitor comparison in AI answers✓✓
Prioritized fix list (quick wins first)✓✓
Google indexation & rankings (§2)—✓
Technical SEO crawl (§3)—✓
Core Web Vitals, lab + field (§4)—✓
On-page & content quality (§5)—✓
Schema / structured data (§6)—✓
Local SEO / GBP review (§7)—✓
Backlink snapshot, labeled sampled (§8)—✓
2-competitor gap analysis (§9)—✓
DeliveryBranded PDF, 48 hoursBranded PDF, 48 hours
Guarantee30-day money-back30-day money-back

Full dated price comparison against the market on the pricing page.

How the 0–100 score is calculated

One formula, applied identically to every audit. No black box.

Each engine — GPT, Gemini, live web search — gets its own score out of 100:

  • Prompt visibility: 60 points. Two core buying-intent prompts × 30 points each. Your business named and recommended: 30. Named but not recommended: 20. Mentioned in passing: 10. Absent: 0.
  • 20-check scorecard: 40 points. Each of the 20 checks: PASS = 2, WARN = 1, FAIL = 0.

Your final score is the rounded mean of the three engine scores. The verdict bands:

  • 70+ — Visible: protect the lead. AI already sends customers your way; the fix list is about widening the gap.
  • 40–69 — Patchy: findable, but losing recommendations. Competitors are being named where you aren't.
  • Below 40 — Invisible: AI sends your customers to competitors. The fix list starts with the highest-impact basics.

The scorecard is our internal rubric, published here — not a Google metric, not an AI-vendor metric. The fix-list ranking (expected impact ÷ effort) is driven by the evidence weights from current AI-search research: crawler access, quotable-definition density, statistic density, third-party mention footprint, the competitor citation gap, and the live prompt tests.

Our honesty rules

These are non-negotiable — they're what make a paid audit defensible:

Verbatim or nothing. Every quoted AI answer is byte-for-byte from a real API call, archived with model version and date. Reconstructed findings, inferred model behavior, and paraphrase presented as quotation never ship.
Every finding traces to evidence. Model + exact query + date on file — or the finding doesn't go in the report. No trace, no finding.
Engines named honestly. GPT, Gemini, and live web search, queried through official API surfaces. We do not claim access to the ChatGPT or Perplexity consumer products, and we don't imply our tests are identical to them.
Backlinks labeled sampled. The link section is a snapshot of sampled public data, labeled as such. Third-party authority scores are never presented as Google metrics — because they aren't.
No placement promises. The report says what the models said — findings are observations about a dated snapshot, not promises about future rankings or recommendations.
Samples are badged. Any sample audit on this site is clearly marked as a sample. Sample findings are illustrative; samples are never sold as real audits.

Limitations — read before you buy

An honest methodology includes what it can't do:

  • A snapshot, not a live feed. Model behavior changes as models retrain. Every report is dated, and every finding cites the run date. Last month's answers are not this month's.
  • API surfaces, not consumer apps. We test through official APIs; the ChatGPT or Perplexity apps can answer the same query differently. Our results closely approximate what their users see — they aren't a pixel-perfect replica.
  • AI Overview detection is approximate. Google changes its results UI constantly; any third-party detection of AI Overviews in SERP data is sampled and imperfect, and we label it that way.
  • Backlink data is thin by design. Free sources expose a sample of the link graph. It's enough for a snapshot and a fix list; it is not a forensic link audit.
  • Cold audits see only public data. Without access we can't see your Search Console queries, Analytics conversions, or GBP owner insights. That's a deliberate trade-off: no logins, no friction, no trust required up front.
  • We measure; we don't manipulate. Nothing in our method tries to game an AI into mentioning you — no prompt injection, no fake reviews, no spam. The fix list is earned visibility: content, structure, citations, and mentions.

Frequently asked questions

The questions owners ask about how the sausage is made.

Why do you say “GPT” instead of “ChatGPT”?

Because that's what we actually test. We query GPT and Gemini model families and live web search through official API surfaces — not the ChatGPT or Perplexity consumer products. The results closely approximate what users of those products see for the same buying-intent queries, but they aren't identical, and we'd rather underclaim than overclaim.

Are the AI answers in my report real or estimates?

Real. Every quoted AI answer is captured verbatim — byte-for-byte — from a live API call, archived with the model version and UTC timestamp in an evidence file. We never reconstruct findings, infer model behavior, or present paraphrase as quotation. Each finding in your report cites the exact prompt and date that produced it.

Why is the backlink section labeled “sampled”?

Because free backlink sources only expose a sample of the link graph. We report domain-level authority plus a top-link sample from Moz and Ahrefs free data, and we label it as a snapshot. We never present third-party authority scores as Google metrics. A deep link audit is available as a follow-up once you grant access to your own Search Console data.

Do I need to give you logins or access to anything?

No. Every audit is run from the outside, exactly as a customer or an AI assistant would see your business: public web searches, AI-assistant prompts, and your public website. After delivery we can offer a deeper Phase 2 — with about 10 minutes of access to Search Console, Analytics, or your Google Business Profile owner account — but it's never required.

What if I disagree with a finding?

Every audit includes one revision round for factual errors, free. If we stated something wrong about your business — wrong hours, wrong service, wrong competitor — we fix it. Scope stays fixed to the published sections; new checks beyond them are follow-up work, not revisions.

How is the 0–100 visibility score calculated?

Each engine (GPT, Gemini, live web search) gets its own score out of 100: prompt visibility counts for 60 points (across two core buying-intent prompts: your business named-and-recommended scores 30, named-but-not-recommended 20, mentioned in passing 10, absent 0) and our 20-check site scorecard counts for 40 (each check: PASS 2, WARN 1, FAIL 0). Your final score is the rounded mean of the three engine scores. 70+ means Visible, 40–69 Patchy, below 40 Invisible.

Can you guarantee my business will appear in AI answers?

No — and no honest vendor can promise that. We measure exactly where you stand today (mentioned? cited? facts correct?), where competitors beat you, and which fixes will most improve your odds, ranked by expected impact divided by effort. The report describes what the models said, not what they'll say next month.

How long does an audit take to deliver?

You receive a branded PDF by email within 48 hours of payment. The data collection itself runs 15–30 minutes, mostly unattended; the rest is synthesis and our pre-delivery QA gate, where every finding is checked against the archived evidence before anything ships.

Now you know exactly what you'd be buying

The $99 AI Visibility Audit: 15–25 real buying-intent prompts across GPT, Gemini, and live web search, verbatim answers, the 20-check scorecard, competitor comparison, and a prioritized fix list. Branded PDF in 48 hours. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Get my audit — $99