Found a few things worth fixing?
That’s what SORTED is for. Six steps, done in order, that fix what the Once-Over turned up and keep tightening things over time.
The Once-Over finds the weak spots. Sorted is what we do about them.
What happens after the Once-Over?
If there's a fair bit worth fixing, SORTED is the next step: a paid engagement that works through the six steps in order, starting with whatever's actually holding your site back. If the Once-Over comes back mostly clean, you might not need it at all.
What is SORTED?
The six-step AEO engagement that fixes what the Once-Over found and keeps tightening the site over time: structure, on-page answers, reachability, trust signals, external consistency, then ongoing diagnostics.
What do you actually change?
Real things on the actual site: headings, schema, page structure, the way your services are written up, and what's visible as text rather than locked inside an image. Plus the trust signals and listings that sit outside the site itself.
How long does it take?
The technical work can happen quickly. The results take longer, usually two to four months before you see real movement, because search engines and AI systems need time to crawl the changes, reprocess them and build confidence before they change what they say about you. Anyone promising overnight results is guessing.
Does this replace SEO?
No. SEO and AEO overlap heavily. Structure, content and trust signals matter to both, and SORTED handles that shared foundation properly. It doesn't include paid ads or ongoing content production. If you already run SEO elsewhere, this is the part that makes sure AI tools can actually use what you've built.
Can you guarantee AI will recommend me?
No, and anyone who says yes is selling you something else. SORTED removes the reasons AI tools and search have to skip over your business: unclear structure, missing details, inconsistent listings. That gives you a genuine shot at being in the answer. It's not a guarantee of a result nobody controls.
Done in order, one at a time
Structure
The technical foundation of the site: headings, schema and page structure.
AI tools need clear signals about what the business is, what it offers and where it operates.
Clean up heading structure, add the right structured data, and make important services easier for machines and people to understand.
On-page answers
Whether your content actually answers the questions customers ask, in a format AI tools can lift and quote.
If the answer isn't on the page in plain language, AI tools skip you for a competitor who spelled it out.
Turn buried information into direct questions and answers, right where customers, and AI, expect them.
Reachable
Whether search and AI tools can actually get to your content and read it properly.
The best content in the world doesn't help if it's blocked, slow, or hidden behind something a crawler can't parse.
Check robots.txt and crawlability, fix rendering issues, and get load times to a sensible place.
Trust signals
The evidence that your business is real, current and where it says it is.
Google Business Profile, visible contact details and consistent information are what let a system trust an answer enough to give it.
Get your Google Business Profile working properly, make your NAP visible as real text, and tidy up the trust signals already on the site.
External consistency
Whether your business details match everywhere they appear online, not just on your own site.
A mismatch between your website and a directory listing makes AI and search less confident about which version is correct, so they hedge or skip you.
Audit the directories and listings that matter for your industry and area, and get the mismatches sorted.
Diagnostics, ongoing
Re-running the checks and tracking what's actually changed.
AEO isn't a one-off fix. Search and AI systems keep re-crawling and re-evaluating, so what's sorted needs to stay sorted.
Regular re-checks, a record of what's improved, and adjustments as search and AI behaviour shifts.
This takes time. Think months, not days.
AEO isn’t a switch you flick. The structure and content can be improved quickly, but search engines and AI systems need time to crawl those changes, reprocess them and build enough confidence to change what they say about you.
That’s what Diagnostics, Ongoing is for. Usually 2–4+ months for real movement. Not instant. No guarantees, no overnight promises.
Get the weak spots sorted
Have a word with Thommo if you’re ready to get it sorted, or start with a free Once-Over first if you haven’t run one yet.