The Most Tested SEO Info Online
Most SEOs are guessing.
We test.
Every factor below was measured on live Google result pages and live Google AI answers, then checked against how often the same pages were quoted, clicked and ranked. Join USEOU to see the full list and get your SEO back on track!
277 factors tested
Live Google AI answers
Tested on live Google results
AIO/M aka Google AI Answer Engine Ranking Factors
measured 2026-08-16
Where You Need to Rank to Get Any Traffic from AIO/M
| Position | Cited | Clicked | Share of all citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 6.8% | 10.9% | 13% |
| #2-3 | 9.0% | 44.6% | 8% |
| #4-10 | 6.1% | 33.3% | 62% |
| #11-20 | 2.0% | 21.8% | 15% |
| #20+ | 0.1% | 4.9% | 1% |
How often Google even shows an AI answer
| Query type | AI answer shown |
|---|---|
| No place name | 51.7% |
| Contains a place name | 36.2% |
| "near me" | 11.4% |
FULL Google AI Answer Engine Ranking Factors - Positive Factors and Negative
277 factors
Figures and explanations are for Underground SEO University students. Sign in with the Google account that can open the Underground SEO University Drive folder.Student sign-in
| Factor | Section | Direction | USEOU Score | AIO/M Clicks | AIO/M Citations | AIO/M Impressions | Pos 1-3 | Pos 1-5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18+ numbers with units | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page authority above 0 | Off-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Has a numbered list | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Any backlinks to the page | Off-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Review / rating schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| URL path under 30 characters | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No H3 or smaller subheadings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query at the very start of the title | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 75%+ query words in title | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No date on page | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FAQ schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query repeated 3+ times in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Reading-ease score 26 or higher | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title under 51 characters | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Has microdata | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Answer inside the first 13,000 characters | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4.5+ bold tags per 1,000 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query in the meta description | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3+ referring domains to the page | Off-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Backlink spam score 20+ | Off-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| URL depth 2+ | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5,000+ words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Product schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10+ images | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Zero images | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Article schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Person schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Over 74% of sentences written as standalone quotables | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 4 bold tags | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page owns a quote block anywhere on it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page owns a code block anywhere on it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sales CTAs (2+) | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| URL path 53+ characters | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Service page | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Named author / "reviewed by" | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A visible date on the page | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Numbered steps written as prose ("Step 1...") | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 80%+ of title words in URL | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Zero list items | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Blog post | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 0.6 bold tags per 1,000 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 96+ quotable sentences | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Reading ease under 12 (very dense) | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2,500-3,500 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 130+ sentences | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hedged writing ("however", "downside", "on the other hand") | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page owns a embedded video anywhere on it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Breadcrumb schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title 72+ characters | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21+ total headings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 20 internal links | On-site | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Organization / LocalBusiness schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page owns a data table anywhere on it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fewer than 3 numbers with units | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9.8+ headings per 1,000 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Edge-case detail ("except", "unless") | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title 11+ words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7+ H2 subheadings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 13+ H3-and-below subheadings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Two or more H1 tags | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PDF file | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clean backlink profile | Off-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10+ outbound links to real sources | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No outbound links to real sources | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 80%+ self-contained sentences | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Has a canonical tag | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Has a meta description | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 27 outbound links | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 185 internal links | On-site | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from navigation to the page | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main-copy internal link in addition to template internal links | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Internal link from a page with fewer other main-copy destinations | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| At least one internal link from another page's main copy | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More different anchor phrases to the page | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More repeated-template internal links to the page | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from main copy (counting only links not repeated across the whole site) | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from main copy plus related-article / related-service blocks | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links to the page | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More incoming anchors using part of the query | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More one-way internal links from main copy | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from footers | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from pages about the same topic | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from sitewide placements | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from sidebars | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More incoming anchors using most of the query | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from pages ranking 1-3 | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from related-content sections | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More two-way main-copy internal links to and from the page | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from AIO/M-cited pages | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from cited pages with SC clicks | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from breadcrumbs | On-site | —Internal links received | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More one-way main-copy internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More generic-anchor internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More main-copy internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More different anchor phrases from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More outgoing anchors using most of the destination query | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from page copy or related sections | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More main-copy internal links out than in | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More total internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More footer internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More sitewide internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More navigation internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More nofollow internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More outgoing anchors using part of the destination query | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More image-only internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More breadcrumb internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from the page to same-topic pages | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More repeated-template internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More internal links from the page's related-content sections | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More sidebar internal links from the page | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More total internal links out than in | On-site | —Internal links given | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keyword appears twice in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keyword appears three or more times in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keyword appears once only in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keyword does not appear in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Same word appears in the URL domain and path | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Two different words are doubled in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| One word is doubled in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No word is doubled in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Exact same word appears twice in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Word doubled only as a near match in the URL (roof / roofing) | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| City name appears once in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6+ total keyword hits in the URL | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| URL path contains 5+ words | On-page | —URL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Location word in the URL | On-page | —Local pages | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Local service page (place + service in URL) | On-page | —Local pages | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Location word in the query | On-page | —Local pages | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Service query with NO location | On-page | —Local pages | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Non-local page | On-page | —Local pages | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Exact-query anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Complete-entity anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Partial-query anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bare-domain anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Visible-URL anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Generic anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other anchor wording to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No readable anchor to measured page | Off-page | —External anchor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Direct external backlink to measured page | Off-page | —Backlinks | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Followed direct backlink to measured page | Off-page | —Backlinks | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Only nofollow backlinks to measured page | Off-page | —Backlinks | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lots of homepage backlinks using part of the search phrase | Off-page | —Homepage backlink wording | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lots of homepage backlinks using bare domain | Off-page | —Homepage backlink wording | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lots of homepage backlinks using visible web address | Off-page | —Homepage backlink wording | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lots of homepage backlinks using "click here" | Off-page | —Homepage backlink wording | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lots of homepage backlinks using words matching nothing | Off-page | —Homepage backlink wording | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lots of homepage backlinks using no words at all | Off-page | —Homepage backlink wording | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Verifiable facts + numbers score >= 9/10 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Verifiable facts + numbers score < 3/10 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page uses concrete wording you can picture | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page uses abstract wording | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Authority/evidence score >= 8/10 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Authority/evidence score < 4/10 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Decision-fit score >= 9/10 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Decision-fit score < 8/10 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page reads as personal firsthand experience | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page states facts plainly instead of as personal experience | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MCS answer match 85.9+/100 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MCS answer match under 81.7/100 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 0.6 numbers per 100 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 132 list items | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 13 words per sentence | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 5.9% query words in URL | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 9 numbers in text | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 56% quotable sentences | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 29% title words in URL | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 3.1% query 2-word phrases in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 33% query words in title | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Not a programmatic city page | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Under 90% query words in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Body under 2,000 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 or more bold/strong tags | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Exact query NOT in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Exact query NOT in URL | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No microdata | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Not a service page | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No named author | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query NOT in title | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Not a blog post | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query NOT in meta description | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No Article schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No FAQ schema | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query NOT in H1 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query NOT at start of title | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No numbered steps | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HTML page rather than PDF | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Zero backlinks to the page | Off-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Programmatic city page | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 or more question headings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 67%+ query words in URL | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title 11 words or more | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1.2 or more numbers per 100 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 60%+ query words in H1 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Exact query anywhere in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 67%+ query words in meta description | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 or more JSON-LD blocks | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 67%+ query 2-word phrases in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page uses first-hand observation wording | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 or more words per sentence | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4+ page slots with 50%+ query words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 or more numbers in text | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 or more query 2-word phrases in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 or more decision-fit phrases | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 or more decision-fit phrases | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 152 or more list items | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 199 or more internal links | On-site | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 100% query words in body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fewer than 5 H2 headings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Higher exact-query three-word coverage | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More exact-query repeats in the body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Body length in the site's top 25% | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Less bold text than the site median | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title contains under 40% of query words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Body length in the site's bottom 25% | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| URL is the root or one folder deep | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| No exact-query repeats in the body | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Options separated with numbers | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title contains 80%+ of query words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| One exact-query impression or fewer | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main text contains 13,000+ characters | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More bold text than the site median | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Higher exact-query two-word coverage | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10+ H2 headings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Advertorial or sales language | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| More H2 headings than the site median | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| At least one question heading | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HTML address markup | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Feature tied to a use case | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page offers itself as the proof | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bottom 25% for normal Google impressions | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pre-emptive clarification wording | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3+ page slots contain 50%+ of query words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20+ links to outside sources | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5+ page slots contain 50%+ of query words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Comparison words present | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity repeated in 38%+ of H2-H6 headings | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Awards or certifications named | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Budget or cheapest framing | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Online booking or ordering offered | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Free consultation or quote offered | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Years in business or family-run | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Quotes Reddit or forum wording | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Facts written out like a spec sheet | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Anticipates the next question | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Has a definition list | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Has a <dt> term tag | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Answer sits in a plain <p> | On-page | —Vertex lab | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Answer sits directly off <body>, no wrappers | On-page | —Vertex lab | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Query in the real <title> tag, not a meta title | On-page | —Vertex lab | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Answer past 13,000 characters | On-page | —Vertex lab | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Image alt text | On-page | —Vertex lab | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page owns a numbered list anywhere on it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page owns a figure block anywhere on it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Page ranks in Google's top 3 on a website whose other pages also rank well | On-site | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Answer sits shallower in the page code than the competing page's answer | On-page | —Vertex lab | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Answer text left bare inside a <div> or <span> with no <p> or heading around it | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph: one sentence, under 45 words, main entity, two named things | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph is a single sentence | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph carries the wording of the answer Google already gives | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph is 25 to 45 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph is under 25 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph opens with a plain definition | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph addresses the reader as you | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph is 45 to 70 words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph carries none of the EMQ words | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| First paragraph carries almost none of the answer wording | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| h1 says it in different words from the title tag | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| h1 is a near copy of the title tag | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Title tag carries the main entity and the h1 says it differently | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity in the first paragraph, complete EMQ not needed | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity in the title tag, complete EMQ not needed | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity in the URL, complete EMQ not needed | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity missing from the first paragraph | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity missing from the title tag | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity missing from the h1 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity missing from the URL | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity missing from every H2-H6 heading | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Main entity in URL + EMQ first in title + main entity in H1 + complete EMQ in H2-H6 | On-page | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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7,122 page tests
| Place | URL | Title | H1 | H2-H6 | AIO/M CIT | AIO/M IMP / Retrieval | Pos 1-5 | Tested7,122 page tests |
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