Performance Potential
Performance checks evaluate your content's citation potential and page speed metrics. Fast, well-optimized pages are more likely to be fully crawled and indexed by AI systems.
AI Citation Potential is the key metric here - it's a composite score that predicts how likely AI systems are to cite your content based on technical, structural, and content factors.
Citation Metrics
Composite scores predicting AI citation likelihood
AI Citation Potential
High
What It Checks
Composite score combining Technical (20%), Structural (35%), and Content (45%) dimension scores. This is the primary AEO performance indicator.
Why It's Important
This is the primary metric indicating likelihood of AI systems citing your content in responses. High citation potential means better AI visibility.
Scoring Method
Weighted average: (Technical × 0.2) + (Structural × 0.35) + (Content × 0.45). Penalties applied if any dimension falls below 60.
Excellent: >85%
Good: 70-85%
Pass: 55-70%
Fail: <55%
How To Improve
Focus on content quality first (highest weight), then structured data implementation, then technical fixes. Address any dimension below 60 as priority.
Content Clarity
High
What It Checks
Evaluates how clearly information is presented, derived from content analysis with a slight clarity boost (1.1× multiplier).
Why It's Important
Clear content reduces ambiguity in AI interpretation, leading to more accurate citations and better representation in AI responses.
Scoring Method
Content score × 1.1 (clarity boost), capped at 100.
Excellent: >85%
Good: 75-85%
Pass: 65-75%
Fail: <65%
How To Improve
Use simple language, short sentences, active voice. Define terms clearly. Avoid ambiguous phrases.
Entity Recognition Quality
Medium
What It Checks
Evaluates how well entities (people, places, organizations, concepts) are defined and can be recognized by AI systems.
Why It's Important
Clear entity recognition helps AI understand relationships and context, improving relevance for entity-related queries.
Scoring Method
Structural score × 1.05 (slight boost for well-structured entity references).
Excellent: >75%
Good: 65-75%
Pass: 55-65%
Fail: <55%
How To Improve
Define entities clearly on first mention, use consistent naming, add Person/Organization/Place schema markup.
Semantic Relevance
Medium
What It Checks
Evaluates content alignment with likely search queries. Combines content score (60%) and structural score (40%).
Why It's Important
Higher relevance to common queries increases the chance of your content being selected for AI responses on those topics.
Scoring Method
(Content × 0.6) + (Structural × 0.4). Bonus 1.1× multiplier if both exceed 80.
Excellent: >80%
Good: 70-80%
Pass: 60-70%
Fail: <60%
How To Improve
Research common queries in your topic. Align content with search intent. Use natural language that matches how people ask questions.
Speed Metrics
Page load performance affecting crawler efficiency
Time to First Byte (TTFB)
High
What It Checks
Measures server response time from request initiation to receiving the first byte of data.
Why It's Important
Fast TTFB indicates reliable infrastructure. Slow servers may timeout during AI crawling, leading to incomplete indexing.
Scoring Method
100 for <200ms, 85 for <500ms, 70 for <800ms, 50 for <1500ms, 0 for >1500ms.
Excellent: <200ms
Good: <500ms
Pass: <800ms
Fail: >1500ms
How To Improve
Use a CDN, upgrade hosting, enable server-side caching, reduce database query times, optimize backend code.
First Contentful Paint (FCP)
Medium
What It Checks
Measures time until first content (text, image) is painted on screen. Core Web Vital metric.
Why It's Important
FCP indicates perceived performance. Fast FCP means content is available quickly for crawlers to begin processing.
Scoring Method
100 for <1.8s, 75 for <3s, 50 for <4.5s, 0 for >4.5s.
Good: <1.8s
Needs Improvement: <3s
Poor: >3s
How To Improve
Reduce render-blocking resources, optimize CSS delivery, defer non-critical JavaScript, inline critical CSS.
Total Blocking Time (TBT)
Medium
What It Checks
Measures total time the main thread is blocked by long JavaScript tasks, preventing input response.
Why It's Important
High TBT indicates JavaScript performance issues. Blocking scripts can delay content availability for AI crawlers.
Scoring Method
100 for <200ms, 75 for <600ms, 50 for <1000ms, 0 for >1000ms.
Good: <200ms
Needs Improvement: <600ms
Poor: >600ms
How To Improve
Break up long JavaScript tasks, defer non-essential scripts, reduce third-party code, use web workers for heavy computations.
Speed Index
Medium
What It Checks
Measures how quickly page contents are visually populated. Reflects overall visual loading experience.
Why It's Important
Speed Index reflects visual completeness. Pages that load progressively provide better experience for users and crawlers.
Scoring Method
100 for <3.4s, 75 for <5.8s, 50 for <8s, 0 for >8s.
Good: <3.4s
Needs Improvement: <5.8s
Poor: >5.8s
How To Improve
Prioritize above-fold content, lazy load below-fold, optimize critical rendering path, reduce content jumps.
Resource Metrics
Code and resource optimization affecting load performance
Critical Resource Count
Medium
What It Checks
Counts render-blocking resources (CSS and JS files in <head>) that delay initial page render.
Why It's Important
Fewer critical resources mean faster initial render and better crawler experience. Each blocking resource adds delay.
Scoring Method
100 for 0-2 critical resources, 75 for 3-5, 50 for 6-10, 0 for >10.
Excellent: 0-2
Good: 3-5
Pass: 6-10
Fail: >10
How To Improve
Inline critical CSS, defer non-critical JavaScript with async/defer attributes, combine small CSS files.
JavaScript Execution Time
Medium
What It Checks
Measures total time spent parsing, compiling, and executing JavaScript code on the page.
Why It's Important
Excessive JavaScript execution delays interactivity and can timeout crawlers. Heavy JS frameworks can significantly impact this.
Scoring Method
100 for <2s, 75 for <3.5s, 50 for <5s, 0 for >5s.
Good: <2s
Needs Improvement: <3.5s
Poor: >3.5s
How To Improve
Remove unused code, code-split bundles, minimize polyfills, tree-shake dependencies, use lighter alternatives to heavy libraries.