TIER 02 · OPTIMIZE · POST-AUDIT FIX LINE
Optimize — fix the layers · today-verifiable.
Mechanical Citation Stack repair · $1,000 to $2,800 · 5 to 10 days · artifact-delivered.
ANSWER · AEO-EXTRACTABLE
The Optimize tier turns audit findings into mechanical fixes. Each SKU targets specific Citation Stack layers · pricing transparent · scope locked · deliverables artifact-verifiable.
O1 Foundation — $1,000 · 5 days. Fixes L1 Access + L2 Structure. Schema markup rebuild · semantic HTML restructure · canonical URL audit · crawler allowlist · llms.txt manifest · sitemap freshness configuration. For sites where Diagnose surfaced technical blockers — robots.txt issues · schema validation errors · SSR rendering gaps. L1 + L2 are gate-conditions: missing them means L3 + L4 work delivers zero impact.
O2 Trust Shield — $1,800 · 7 days. Fixes L4 Authority + L3 Semantics misrepresentation. For YMYL brands (finance · healthcare · legal · regulated industries) where AI engines actively misrepresent the brand. Authority signal hardening · sameAs network completion · external citation reinforcement · entity-graph cross-engine correction · misrepresentation event documentation + correction request workflow.
O3 Citation Engine — $2,800 · 10 days. Full L1-L4 implementation. Everything in O1 + O2 + complete content sandwich rebuild on 10 priority pages · Answer Capsules added · Princeton GEO content rules applied (Statistics +40% · Quotation +38% · Cite Sources +30%) · cross-engine entity reinforcement loop initialized.
Every Optimize SKU is Proof Ladder P2 — deterministic · today-verifiable. Each change is an artifact: before/after JSON-LD schema validation · before/after Citation Stack health score · before/after content audit log. You can audit our work the day we deliver it.
Post-fix re-measurement (Proof Ladder P3 · 30/60/90 days · probabilistic) happens on the Dominate tier · NOT bundled in Optimize one-off pricing.
Optimize without prior audit is not recommended. If you don't have a credible audit (ours or another vendor's covering Citation Stack L1-L4), start with the $500 D2 Full Snapshot.
Why Optimize is artifact-verifiable.
The second principle of vAEO is from M9 of the methodology: Proof Ladder P2 — mechanical fix proof · deterministic · today. Every Optimize deliverable is a verifiable artifact, not a promise of future outcome.
Optimize is the work-doing tier. After Diagnose surfaced what's broken at each Citation Stack layer · Optimize fixes it. The audit found 12 schema validation errors · Optimize delivers 12 schema corrections + before/after validator screenshots. The audit found Answer Capsule absence on 8 priority pages · Optimize delivers 8 Answer Capsules + before/after content audit log.
Each Optimize SKU targets specific Citation Stack layers. Choosing the right SKU depends on which layers your audit prioritized. O1 covers Access + Structure (the gate). O2 covers Authority + Semantics misrepresentation (YMYL-focused). O3 covers all four (full-stack rebuild).
Optimize is not ongoing measurement. Post-fix · we deliver the artifact + scope-locked engagement ends. Re-measurement on 30/60/90 cycles (Proof Ladder P3) happens on the Dominate retainer tier · separate engagement · separate pricing. We make this distinction explicit · most AEO vendors blur it.
«Optimize delivers artifacts · not promises. You audit our fix the day we deliver it.»
Three SKUs. Pick by audit finding.
All three SKUs deliver Proof Ladder P2 — deterministic mechanical fix · today-verifiable. They differ in Citation Stack layer scope.
FOUNDATION
L1 + L2 fix · schema rebuild · semantic HTML · robots/llms.txt/sitemap · the gate
TRUST SHIELD
L4 + L3 fix · sameAs · external citations · BOX-grading · misrepresentation correction
CITATION ENGINE
O1 + O2 + content sandwich rebuild on 10 priority pages · Princeton GEO applied
What's actually inside each Optimize SKU.
Each Optimize SKU is a scope-locked list of artifact-verifiable deliverables. Below: atomic line items per SKU.
O1 Foundation — atomic deliverables (5 days)
- Day 1-2 · Technical audit kickoff: robots.txt reviewed · 8 AI crawler
bots explicitly allowed (when launched · currently soft-blocked pre-launch). llms.txt
manifest created · placed at root · validated. sitemap.xml audited ·
<lastmod>populated · submitted к GSC. - Day 2-4 · Schema rebuild: JSON-LD schema audit on priority pages. Schema rebuild per DEC-WEB-014 L2 spec per page type (Organization · Person · Article · Service · FAQPage · BreadcrumbList as appropriate). Schema validation via Google Rich Results Test · target 0 errors all pages.
- Day 4-5 · Structure + delivery: Semantic HTML5 audit · article · section · nav · main · header · footer correctness · H1-H3 hierarchy. Canonical URL + OG + Twitter Card audit. Before/after artifact compiled · delivered.
Safe Promise (O1): «By day 5, all priority pages pass schema validation (Google Rich Results Test · 0 errors) · llms.txt manifest live at root · robots.txt allows 8 AI crawler bots · before/after JSON-LD validation artifact preserved.»
O2 Trust Shield — atomic deliverables (7 days · YMYL-focused)
- Day 1-2 · Authority audit kickoff: sameAs network audit (Organization · Person · all relevant entities) · gaps identified. External authoritative source link audit on priority pages · BOX-grade assessment per claim. Misrepresentation event documentation (where AI engines actively misrepresent) · cross-engine inventory.
- Day 3-5 · Authority signal hardening: sameAs network completion (LinkedIn · Wikidata where applicable · GitHub · Substack · third-party authoritative directories per industry). External authoritative source link integration · target ≥3 per content-heavy priority page (Cite Sources +30% lift · Princeton GEO). BOX-graded claim audit · upgrade Bronze → Silver minimum on customer-facing claims · Gold target для strategic claims.
- Day 5-7 · Misrepresentation correction + delivery: Misrepresentation correction request workflow к engine vendors (OpenAI/Anthropic/Google feedback channels) where applicable. Cross-engine entity reinforcement. Before/after artifact compiled · delivered.
Safe Promise (O2): «By day 7, your 5 priority pages score ≥ Gold on Evidence Engine · sameAs network includes 4+ authoritative URLs · cross-engine re-probe confirms zero misrepresentation events on probed queries · BOX-graded citation map preserved as audit artifact.»
O3 Citation Engine — atomic deliverables (10 days · full-stack)
- Days 1-3 · O1 Foundation work: All O1 deliverables (schema · robots · llms.txt · semantic HTML · canonical · OG) on accelerated timeline.
- Days 3-6 · O2 Trust Shield work: All O2 deliverables (sameAs · external citations · BOX-grading · misrepresentation correction) on parallel track.
- Days 6-10 · Content sandwich rebuild + Princeton GEO application:
Content sandwich pattern applied на up к 10 priority pages (intro → H2 sections
~300-500w → summary · per DEPT canon · median 377 words per chunk). Answer Capsules
added к pages > 300 words (300-400 word semantic chunk after H1 · per L3 spec).
Princeton GEO content rules applied: ≥3 statistics с source · 1-2 expert quotes where
relevant · ≥3 external authoritative source links · no keyword stuffing.
<dfn>definition discipline on first-mention terms. Quotable closes added per section. Cross-engine entity reinforcement loop initialized. - Day 10 · Delivery: Complete before/after artifact: all schema validations · all sameAs additions · all content sandwich rebuilds · BOX-graded claim map · cross-engine re-probe results.
Safe Promise (O3): «By day 10, full Citation Stack 4-layer implementation: O1 + O2 deliverables complete · up to 10 priority pages have Answer Capsule + content sandwich + Princeton GEO compliance · BOX evidence Silver minimum · Gold target on strategic claims · before/after Citation Stack health score artifact preserved.»
«Each line item is artifact-verifiable. You audit the fix the day it's delivered.»
Which SKU for which audit finding.
Most clients arrive here с a D2 Full Snapshot artifact. Below: how findings map к Optimize SKU.
| Your audit surfaced | SKU | Price | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawler blocking · robots.txt issues · SSR rendering gaps | O1 Foundation | $1,000 | 5 days |
| Schema validation errors (≥5) · entity-graph incoherence | O1 Foundation | $1,000 | 5 days |
| AI engines actively misrepresenting your brand (YMYL) | O2 Trust Shield | $1,800 | 7 days |
| Weak sameAs network · missing external authoritative links | O2 Trust Shield | $1,800 | 7 days |
| Multi-layer gaps · need full Citation Stack rebuild | O3 Citation Engine | $2,800 | 10 days |
| Answer Capsule absence + thin content on priority pages | O3 Citation Engine | $2,800 | 10 days |
| You want monthly continuous work | → Dominate tier | ||
| You're an agency · selling к your clients | → Partnership Track | ||
«The audit tells you which layer is broken. The SKU tells you which fix is scoped to repair it.»
Citation Stack coverage per Optimize SKU.
Each SKU operates on specific Citation Stack layers (per PRODUCT canon).
| L1 Access | L2 Structure | L3 Semantics | L4 Authority | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O1 Foundation | ✓ fix | ✓ fix | — | — |
| O2 Trust Shield | — | — | ✓ fix (misrep) | ✓ fix |
| O3 Citation Engine | ✓ fix | ✓ fix | ✓ fix | ✓ fix |
O1 fixes the gate. L1 + L2 are necessary conditions — if AI engines can't access or interpret your page, L3 + L4 work delivers zero. We fix the gate before the room.
O2 fixes trust. L4 Authority + L3 Semantics misrepresentation. For YMYL — where AI engines saying the wrong thing about your brand is a liability event. O2 hardens what AI engines cite about you.
O3 fixes all four. Full-stack rebuild. Use when audit surfaced multi-layer gaps · or when you want a single engagement covering everything before moving к retainer.
«Fix the gate before the room. Fix the room before the gallery. Fix the gallery before you start hanging art.»
What Optimize doesn't include.
Optimize is scope-locked. To make the price fair · we explicitly name what's NOT in each SKU.
NOT in any Optimize SKU:
- 30/60/90 day re-measurement. That's Proof Ladder P3 · probabilistic · happens on retainer. One-off Optimize delivers the fix · re-measurement happens on Dominate tier.
- Ongoing content production. We rebuild content sandwich on up к 10 priority pages in O3. We don't write you 30 new articles per month — that's Dm2 Grow retainer.
- Continuous misrepresentation monitoring. O2 fixes current misrepresentation events. AI engines reweight · new misrepresentation events recur · ongoing monitoring is retainer work.
- Business outcome attribution. Proof Ladder P4 · downstream business impact · not promised by any honest AEO vendor.
- Endless «discovery» upsell. Scope locked · pricing locked · timeline locked. We deliver what we promised · then engagement ends.
Where Optimize ends · two paths begin:
- Dominate retainer для continuous operations (monitoring · ongoing content · ongoing authority work). Most clients move here after O3.
- Walk away с the fix artifact. Some clients deliver O1 + O2 + O3 then handle ongoing work in-house. That's fine. We don't force retainer attachment.
«We name what we don't include. Anyone bundling 'ongoing optimization' into a one-off price is hiding the retainer.»
Frequently asked.
Can we start Optimize without prior audit?
Strongly discouraged. Optimize without audit = expensive guess work. If you don't have a credible cross-engine audit covering Citation Stack L1-L4 health scores · prioritized findings · we ask you к start с $500 D2 Full Snapshot first. The $500 D2 investment de-risks the $1k-$2.8k Optimize spend. Exceptions: extreme rush · or you have a fresh audit from another vendor covering the right scope · we evaluate case-by-case.
How much work is on our side?
Minimal · Optimize is delivered work. We need: access to your CMS or staging environment для deployment (or we deliver patches your dev team applies · either path works) · GSC read-only access · brief approval cycles on schema additions + content sandwich changes. Typically 2-4 hours of your team review time across the engagement.
Do you handle content writing or just methodology?
Both · с scope-locked boundaries. O3 includes content sandwich rebuild on up к 10 priority pages · we write the Answer Capsules · we add statistics + citations + quotes · we apply Princeton GEO compliance. We don't ghostwrite blog content not in scope. For continuous content production · move к Dm2 Grow retainer.
What happens after the Optimize sprint ends?
Two paths · explicitly: move к Dominate retainer (we continue monitoring · re-measuring · fixing drift on monthly cadence). Or walk away с the fix artifact (your team handles ongoing work · we're available для ad-hoc engagement at standard SKU pricing). Both paths are fine. We don't lock you into retainer.
How does this integrate с our existing SEO or content team?
We work alongside · not replacing. Most engagements have an internal team handling SEO + content · we handle the AEO-specific Citation Stack work that requires cross-engine probing + AI-specific schema work + Princeton GEO content rules. Your team can absorb the methodology over time if they want · we don't gatekeep. We document everything.
Optimize is post-audit · scope-locked · artifact-verifiable. Pick the SKU by audit finding. Engage on a Cal.com kickoff call.
«Audit finds it. Optimize fixes it. Dominate keeps it fixed. Three tiers · one ladder.»