The index
160 factors, across 13 categories
What each category measures, in order of how much AI weight it carries — with a real example of the kind of gap viizable surfaces. The full line-item checklist is part of viizable’s engine.
Reputation Signals
13 factors
Looks at how the business’s reputation reads to AI across the web — the volume, freshness, rating, and consistency of reviews, and how the business responds to them, on the platforms AI actually reads.
Example of what we’d flag
The five businesses AI recommends each carry 100+ Google reviews from the last year; this shop has 14, none in the past six months — so AI reads it as inactive and skips it.
AI Corroboration
6 factors
Checks whether independent, third-party sources back up what the business claims about itself. AI trusts a fact far more when sources it didn’t get from you agree on it.
Example of what we’d flag
The homepage says “award-winning” and “#1 rated,” but no outside source — press, an association, an awards body — confirms it, so AI treats the claim as unverified and discounts it.
Business Identity Signals
19 factors
Confirms AI can tell, without guessing, exactly who the business is — its name, what it does, where it operates, who’s behind it — and that those facts agree everywhere they appear.
Example of what we’d flag
The site title says Bob’s BBQ, the footer says Robert’s Barbeque & Grill, the license reads Robert’s Barbeque & Grill, LLC, and Yelp lists it differently again — AI can’t reconcile the mismatch into one trusted identity, so it hesitates to recommend it.
AI Visibility
18 factors
Measures whether the business actually surfaces when AI answers the prompts customers really use — across each major engine — and how prominently.
Example of what we’d flag
For “best auto repair near me,” the business is named by one engine and missing from the other four, while two competitors appear in all five — a visibility gap you watch close as the factors get fixed.
Content Quality & Expertise Signals
16 factors
Evaluates whether the site gives AI enough substance to understand and trust the business — clear, in-depth content that demonstrates real expertise, not a thin brochure.
Example of what we’d flag
The homepage is under 300 words with no service-detail pages and no FAQ, so AI has almost nothing to extract — competitors with deep service pages get quoted instead.
Local SEO & GBP Signals
10 factors
Checks the local foundation AI leans on — the Google Business Profile and the local-relevance signals that tie the business to its place and its category.
Example of what we’d flag
The Business Profile is missing its primary category and service area, and the hours there don’t match the website — small gaps that make AI unsure the listing is current.
Trust & Safety Signals
15 factors
Looks for the trust markers AI and customers expect from a legitimate local business — security, transparency, and proof it’s safe to do business with.
Example of what we’d flag
The site has no HTTPS padlock, no privacy policy, and no visible licensing or guarantee — basic trust signals every recommended competitor displays.
SEO (Technical)
25 factors
Covers the technical foundation that lets AI crawl, parse, and correctly classify the site — structured data, tags, mobile readiness, and speed.
Example of what we’d flag
The homepage is missing LocalBusiness schema and Open Graph tags and loads slowly on mobile, so AI struggles to read what the business is and where it serves.
UX & Conversion Signals
4 factors
Assesses whether a visitor who lands on the site can immediately tell what to do next — the usability and clear next-step signals of a site built to convert.
Example of what we’d flag
There’s no clear call-to-action or booking path near the top of the page, so even when AI sends a customer, the visit stalls.
Service Trust & Eligibility
8 factors
An industry-specific set of signals that only applies to certain service businesses — it carries little or no weight for most, and viizable only counts it where it actually fits the business type.
Example of what we’d flag
For contractors like plumbers, HVAC professionals, and electricians, AI looks for license, insurance, and verification cues before it trusts them — so one that never surfaces them can lose ground to competitors who do. For a restaurant or a retail shop, these signals simply don’t apply.
Social Presence Signals
6 factors
Looks at whether the business has active, consistent, linked social profiles that corroborate it’s a real, current operation.
Example of what we’d flag
The site links to a Facebook page that hasn’t posted in two years and an Instagram handle that doesn’t match the business name — inconsistencies that weaken the picture.
Additional Actions
14 factors
The offsite punch-list of verifiable anchors — the real-world links and consistency steps that prove a business’s claims to AI beyond its own website.
Example of what we’d flag
The license number is printed on the site but not linked to the state board’s record, and the press logos in the footer don’t link to the actual articles — easy fixes that turn claims into verified facts.
