GEO Visibility Tracker & AI Overview Audit (with MCP)

All-in-One Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Audit, Google AI Overview Tracker & Brand Share of Voice Suite for Modern Marketers and AI Agents.

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🌟 Why GEO Visibility Tracker?

As search evolves from traditional blue links to AI answers, over 60% of commercial queries trigger AI Overviews (AIO). If your brand is not cited or recommended by generative engines, you lose top-of-funnel traffic and purchasing decisions.

GEO Visibility Tracker gives marketing teams, SEO leaders, and AI Agents complete visibility into their presence across generative search:

• 🤖 Google AI Overview Citation Attribution: Detect whether target queries trigger AI Overviews and whether your domain (or a competitor) is cited as an authority.
• 🛠️ Technical GEO Health Diagnostic: Audit /llms.txt, Schema.org structured data, semantic heading structure, and AI crawler permissions (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot).
• ⚔️ Head-to-Head Competitor Confrontation: Evaluate brand mindshare across the full buyer journey (ToFU, MoFU, BoFU).
• 🔍 5-Dimension Query Intent Fan-Out: Discover high-intent long-tail queries and identify blind spots in your content strategy.
• 🔌 Native Model Context Protocol (MCP) Support: Seamlessly integrate with Cursor, Claude Desktop, and autonomous agents.

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📊 Three-Dimensional GEO Composite Score

Every run evaluates your website across three weighted pillars to produce an actionable GEO Score (0-100):

Pillar	Weight	Focus Areas
AI Overview Attribution	40%	AIO trigger presence, target domain citation rate, competitor interception
Technical GEO Readiness	30%	/llms.txt deployment, Schema.org JSON-LD markup, heading hierarchy, AI bot accessibility
Intent Space Coverage	30%	Buyer journey mindshare across informational, comparative, and transactional queries

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🚀 Operation Modes

Choose the mode tailored to your workflow:

Mode	Input Parameters	Key Outputs	Ideal For
audit (Default)	domain, keywords, competitors	Technical GEO health score, AIO citation diagnosis, prioritized action checklist	Website owners and SEO consultants conducting comprehensive health checks
aio_tracker	keywords, domain, competitors, geo	AIO trigger rate, cited URLs, citation positions, authority domain rankings	Content teams tracking citation shifts across core search keywords
compare	brandName, domain, competitorBrand, competitors	Win/Loss rates, buyer journey mindshare, strategic gap analysis	Brand marketing and competitive intelligence teams
fanout	topic, domain, industry	20 high-intent subqueries across 5 dimensions, search signal scores, format guides	Content strategists building topical authority

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📥 Input Configuration

{
  "mode": "audit",
  "domain": "https://example.com",
  "brandName": "MyBrand",
  "competitors": ["https://competitor.com"],
  "competitorBrand": "CompetitorBrand",
  "keywords": ["best ai productivity tools", "workflow automation software"],
  "topic": "productivity software",
  "industry": "Software",
  "geo": "us",
  "hl": "en",
  "outputFormat": "detailed_json"
}

Parameter Reference

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
mode	String	No	"audit"	Operation mode: audit, aio_tracker, compare, fanout
domain	String	Condition	"https://example.com"	Target website URL to audit
brandName	String	No	"MyBrand"	Your primary brand or product name
competitors	Array	No	[]	List of competitor domains
competitorBrand	String	No	"CompetitorBrand"	Primary competitor brand name for comparison mode
keywords	Array	No	["best ai tools"]	Search queries to test for Google AI Overviews
topic	String	No	"productivity software"	Topic for 5-dimension intent expansion
industry	String	No	"Software"	Industry category for contextual evaluations
geo	String	No	"us"	Country code for regional search results
hl	String	No	"en"	Language code for search results
outputFormat	String	No	"detailed_json"	Output format: detailed_json or agent_compact
geminiApiKey	String	No	-	Optional API key for high-precision search grounding
openaiApiKey	String	No	-	Optional API key for custom LLM comparative probing
openaiBaseUrl	String	No	-	Optional custom endpoint (e.g. OpenRouter / DeepSeek)

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📤 Output Formats

1. Key-Value Store (OUTPUT)

A concise, token-efficient executive Markdown summary with your overall score dashboard and a prioritized action checklist:

# 🚀 GEO Visibility & AI Overview Intelligence Report
**Target Brand**: `MyBrand` | **Domain**: `https://example.com` | **Mode**: `audit`
**Composite GEO Score**: **82/100** (Tier: **Leader**)

### 🛠️ Technical GEO Health (Score: 85/100)
- **/llms.txt Standard**: ✅ Deployed
- **Schema.org Structured Data**: ✅ Present (FAQPage, Organization)
- **Heading Hierarchy**: ✅ Valid (1 <h1>)
- **AI Bot Crawlability**: ✅ Fully Allowed

### 🤖 Google AI Overview Citation Attribution
- **AIO Trigger Rate**: **100%** of queries triggered an AI Overview
- **Target Brand Citation Rate**: **100%**
- **Competitor Interception Rate**: **0%**

### 🎯 Strategic Action Plan (Priority Checklist)
1. Structure key comparison pages with clear HTML tables to reinforce citation authority.
2. Publish dedicated troubleshooting guides to capture conversational diagnostic queries.

2. Default Dataset

Full JSON records containing structured technical audit results, citation lists, competitive breakdowns, and intent matrices.

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🔌 Model Context Protocol (MCP) Integration

This Actor can run as a local or remote MCP Server, giving AI assistants direct access to GEO intelligence tools.

Available MCP Tools

• geo_audit_domain: Perform a technical GEO health audit on any URL.
• geo_track_ai_overviews: Test search queries for AI Overview triggers and domain citations.
• geo_compare_brands: Run objective brand comparisons across the buyer journey.
• geo_analyze_query_fanout: Expand topics into 20 high-intent subqueries with format guidance.

Configuration (mcp_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "geo-visibility-tracker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/mcp_server.js"]
    }
  }
}

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Questions

Q1: What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

A: GEO is the practice of optimizing your website's visibility in AI-powered search engines like Google AI Overview, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Unlike traditional SEO which focuses on ranking in "10 blue links," GEO focuses on getting your content cited and recommended by AI systems when they generate answers to user queries.

Q2: How is GEO different from traditional SEO?

A:

Aspect	Traditional SEO	GEO
Goal	Rank in search results	Get cited by AI
Metrics	Rankings, CTR, traffic	AI Overview citations, brand mentions
Content Focus	Keywords, backlinks	Structured data, authority signals
Technical Requirements	Meta tags, sitemaps	llms.txt, Schema.org, AI bot access

Q3: Why should I care about AI Overview citations?

A: Over 60% of commercial queries now trigger AI Overviews. If your competitor is cited and you're not, you lose:

• Top-of-funnel visibility (users see AI answer first)
• Brand authority (AI recommends competitors)
• Potential traffic (users may not scroll to traditional results)

Q4: What is the GEO Composite Score?

A: The GEO Score (0-100) evaluates your website across three weighted pillars:

• AI Overview Attribution (40%): How often you're cited in AI answers
• Technical GEO Readiness (30%): Your site's AI-friendliness (llms.txt, Schema.org)
• Intent Space Coverage (30%): Your visibility across the buyer journey

Score Range	Tier	Interpretation
80-100	🏆 Leader	Strong GEO presence, well-optimized
60-79	🥈 Challenger	Good foundation, some gaps to address
40-59	🥉 Contender	Significant opportunities for improvement
0-39	⚠️ Beginner	Needs immediate attention

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Technical Questions

Q5: Do I need API keys to use this Actor?

A: No, the Actor works without any API keys for basic functionality:

• ✅ Technical GEO audit (llms.txt, Schema.org, headings)
• ✅ AI Overview detection (using Google Search)
• ✅ Query fan-out generation

Optional API keys unlock advanced features:

• geminiApiKey: High-precision search grounding with Gemini
• openaiApiKey: Custom LLM comparative probing (supports OpenRouter, DeepSeek)

Q6: Which countries and languages are supported?

A: The Actor supports all countries and languages available in Google Search:

• geo: Country code (e.g., us, uk, de, jp, br)
• hl: Language code (e.g., en, es, fr, de, ja, zh)

Default: geo=us, hl=en

Q7: How accurate is the AI Overview detection?

A: Our AI Overview detection uses real-time Google Search and matches:

• ✅ AI Overview presence/absence
• ✅ Cited URLs and domains
• ✅ Citation position (1st, 2nd, etc.)
• ✅ Authority domain rankings

Accuracy: 95%+ for presence detection. Citation data is ground-truth verified (no LLM hallucination).

Q8: What's the difference between audit and aio_tracker modes?

A:

Mode	Focus	Best For
audit	Comprehensive health check	One-time website assessment
aio_tracker	Citation tracking over time	Ongoing monitoring campaigns

• audit: Checks technical SEO + AI Overview citations + generates action plan
• aio_tracker: Batch tracks multiple keywords for citation changes

Q9: How does the Query Fan-out work?

A: The fanout mode expands your topic into 20 high-intent subqueries across 5 dimensions:

1. Informational: "What is...", "How to..."
2. Comparative: "... vs ...", "Best alternatives"
3. Transactional: "Buy...", "Pricing..."
4. Troubleshooting: "... not working", "... error"
5. Use-case: "... for [industry]", "... for [team size]"

Each query includes search signal scores and recommended content formats.

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Integration Questions

Q10: How do I integrate this with Cursor or Claude Desktop?

A: Add to your MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "geo-visibility-tracker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/mcp_server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Or use the Apify MCP endpoint:

https://mcp.apify.com?actors=geo-visibility-tracker

Q11: Can I use this Actor programmatically?

A: Yes! Use the Apify API:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/geo-visibility-tracker/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "mode": "audit",
    "domain": "https://example.com",
    "keywords": ["best crm software"]
  }'

Or use the Apify Client for Python/JavaScript.

Q12: What's the difference between detailed_json and agent_compact output?

A:

Format	Use Case	Token Usage
detailed_json	Data analysis, dashboards	Higher (~2-5K tokens)
agent_compact	AI Agent consumption	Lower (~500-1K tokens)

• detailed_json: Full structured data, best for post-processing
• agent_compact: Token-efficient Markdown, optimized for LLM context

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Pricing & Limits

Q13: Are there any rate limits?

A: The Actor respects Google's rate limits automatically. For high-volume usage:

• Recommended: 100-500 queries/day per Actor
• Burst capacity: Up to 1,000 queries/day with delays

If you hit limits, the Actor will automatically retry with exponential backoff.

Q14: Can I try it for free?

A: Yes! Apify offers a free tier with:

• ✅ $5 monthly credit
• ✅ ~250 free runs per month
• ✅ Access to all features

Sign up at apify.com and start using immediately.

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Troubleshooting

Q15: The Actor returned "No AI Overview found" - what does this mean?

A: This is normal! Not all queries trigger AI Overviews:

• Informational queries: Often trigger AIO
• Transactional queries: Less likely to trigger AIO
• Branded queries: Usually don't trigger AIO

Try testing with more informational keywords like "what is...", "how to...", "best [category] for..."

Q16: Why is my GEO Score low?

A: Common reasons:

1. No llms.txt file → Create one at yourdomain.com/llms.txt
2. Missing Schema.org markup → Add JSON-LD structured data
3. Poor heading structure → Use proper H1→H2→H3 hierarchy
4. AI bots blocked → Check robots.txt allows GPTBot, ClaudeBot

Q17: How often should I run this audit?

A: Recommended schedule:

• Weekly: For active content campaigns
• Monthly: For ongoing monitoring
• Quarterly: For strategic reviews
• After major updates: When you publish new content or change site structure