Methodology · Cross-engine visibility
The HEO Score.
A single 0–100 number that captures how visible your brand actually is across Google + AI engines + answer surfaces. Weighted across six channels so we can't hide weakness in one behind strength in another.
The bands
Four ranges. Plain English.
A score on its own is meaningless. Bands turn the number into a clear narrative — where you are, what the next 6 months should look like, what success looks like at the top.
0 – 24
Invisible
Your site exists, but right-fit buyers searching across Google + AI engines aren't finding you. This is the band most pre-launch and just-launched SMBs sit in.
25 – 49
Emerging
You show up on long-tail terms. Some AI engines occasionally cite you. Search foundations exist but aren't compounding yet. Typical for established SMBs with no dedicated SEO work.
50 – 74
Compounding
You rank on category-relevant terms, get cited by at least two AI engines, capture some featured snippets. This is the band that produces predictable organic pipeline.
75 – 100
Default answer
When buyers in your category ask Google OR ChatGPT OR Gemini, your brand is in the top results / top citations. Few sites hit this; takes 12–18 months of integrated HEO work.
The weighting
Six channels. Weighted by 2026 reality.
Weights reflect where buyer searches actually happen today — not where they happened in 2018. We re-balance the weighting roughly every 6 months as AI engine usage shifts.
| Channel | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search | 30% | Top-10 ranking for your priority service+location queries, plus featured snippet captures. |
| ChatGPT | 20% | Brand cited by name for buyer-intent category questions in default web-search mode. |
| Gemini | 15% | Citation in Google's AI Overviews + Gemini chat answers for category queries. |
| Perplexity | 15% | Cited source on Perplexity answers for buyer-intent queries; bonus weight if cited in Perplexity Pro/Pages. |
| Claude | 10% | Claude's web-search and citation behaviour on category questions when web tools are enabled. |
| Voice + smart speakers | 10% | Voice-search answer eligibility (Speakable schema + snippet capture). |
What we don't include
And why these don't count.
- Social media followers — they don't directly drive HEO. We measure them separately.
- Paid ad performance — that's measured in the Be Bought scorecard, not HEO.
- Vanity SEO metrics — Domain Authority, Trust Flow, etc. Useful inputs, not outcomes.
- Self-reported metrics — anything we can't independently verify across multiple tools or manually.
Curious what you'd score?
Free check at /tools/heo-checker. Paste your URL, get a HEO Score with per-channel breakdown and the top 5 priority fixes. No email gate.