SEO and AI Search scope: what we can do in-house
Executive summary
Bottom line: This project is a package of SEO and Google AI-search work for one client: 24 tasks in 5 groups. We can do 16 of the 24 ourselves with free tools, mainly writing, analysis and reporting. The other 8 need one extra thing each, and none needs a paid tool to get started.
- Client Google access (rows 1.1, 1.2, 3.2, 5.2): Search Console and Tag Manager setup, indexing checks and the monthly traffic data all depend on the client giving us access. We hold no logins.
- AI Overview monitoring (rows 2.1, 4.3, 5.3): there is no free automatic feed from Google. Options are a person checking 50 prompts by hand each month, trying an open-source tracker (needs a server and Arthur or Tristin's approval, and its quality is not confirmed), or a paid tool.
- Human review (row 4.6): a native Traditional Chinese editor should read the 10 articles before they go to the client.
- Other limits: our workspace cannot open the client's website, so someone runs the free crawl tool and sends the results. Keyword volumes will be rough, because Google Keyword Planner needs an Ads account. Google ended FAQ rich results in May 2026, so FAQ work helps readers and AI tools but no longer earns special Google boxes.
Next steps: (1) get the client website address and page list; (2) ask the client for Search Console and Tag Manager access; (3) run the free crawl tool and send the export; (4) choose how to monitor AI Overviews (by hand or trial tracker).
16 items we can do in-house, 8 partly, 0 not at all. "Partly" means one step needs client access, a person, or a paid tool. Double-check on 15 Oct 2026 changed 6 rows (marked CHANGED in the last column).
| Ref | Scope | Can we do in-house? | Open-source / free tools | What we can do now | Double-check result | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tools Setup and Integration | ||||||
| 1.1 | Google Search Console setup | Partly Needs the client's Google account owner to give us access. We have no logins. | Google Search Console (free); verification by DNS record or HTML tag | Write the step-by-step setup checklist and the access-request email. Setup itself waits for client access. | Logic check only: setup needs the owner's access. No change. | Google Search Console |
| 1.2 | Google Tag Manager setup | Partly Needs access to the client's Tag Manager and website. | Google Tag Manager, GA4, Tag Assistant (all free) | Draft the tracking plan (which clicks and forms to track, naming). Setup waits for client access. | Logic check only: setup needs client access. No change. | Google Tag Manager |
| AI Research & Monitoring | ||||||
| 2.1 | Monthly monitoring of AI Overview prompts (up to 50) | Partly Open-source trackers exist (OneGlanse, Elmo, GEO/AEO Tracker, GetCito) but must be hosted on a server and need AI accounts or keys, which I cannot set up. Their quality is not confirmed. | Open source: OneGlanse, Elmo, GEO/AEO Tracker, GetCito (GitHub). Manual: private browser search + Google Sheets log. Paid: Semrush, SerpApi | Build the 50-prompt list and the monthly logging sheet. A person does the first month by hand. Trying an open-source tracker needs Arthur or Tristin to approve a place to run it. | CHANGED. Found open-source trackers on GitHub. Not confirmed: how well they work or whether they are still maintained. | OneGlanse Elmo GEO/AEO Tracker GetCito Google Sheets Semrush (paid) SerpApi (paid) |
| 2.2 | Define and review keyword list | Yes Google Keyword Planner needs a Google Ads account, so exact Google volumes are not available. Free substitutes give rough or Bing-only numbers. | Search Console queries export, Google Trends, autocomplete, 'People also ask'. Volume substitutes: Bing Webmaster Tools keyword research (Bing numbers only), Locke Lee free HK keyword tool (3 free keywords) | Build and tidy the list from a Search Console export and competitor pages you send. Treat Bing or Locke Lee numbers as a rough guide. | CHANGED. Found free volume substitutes. Bing and Locke Lee details come from one source each, so test a few known keywords first. | Google Search Console Google Trends Bing Webmaster Tools Locke Lee HK keyword tool |
| 2.3 | Prompt-to-content mapping and recommendation | Yes Pure analysis and writing. | Google Sheets (free) | Match each prompt to an existing page or a new page idea, with a recommended action. | No change. | Google Sheets |
| 2.4 | Structured data review and GEO schema recommendation | Yes We review code you paste; I cannot open the live site. | Schema.org vocabulary, Schema.org Validator, Google Rich Results Test (free) | Review pasted page code and write the recommended JSON-LD (Organization, FAQ, Article, Breadcrumb). | No change. | Schema.org Schema.org Validator Rich Results Test |
| Website Technical Audit | ||||||
| 3.1 | Sitemap.xml and robots.txt generation and checkup | Yes Needs the page list. Putting the files on the site is done by the client or developer. | Screaming Frog free (500 pages), advertools (open-source Python tool that reads sitemaps and robots.txt) | Generate sitemap.xml from your URL list and check or rewrite robots.txt. | Confirmed: advertools is an active open-source tool (version 0.18.0 listed on PyPI). | Screaming Frog advertools advertools on PyPI |
| 3.2 | Search engine readiness and indexing verification | Partly Indexing status is only visible inside the client's Search Console. | Search Console URL Inspection and Pages report (free, needs access); 'site:' search by hand | Make the readiness checklist and analyse any Search Console export you send. | No change. | Google Search Console |
| 3.3 | Page redirection checkup and recommendation | Yes Needs a crawl export from your side. | Screaming Frog free, advertools crawler, Redirect Path browser extension | Find redirect chains and loops from the export and draft the redirect map. | Confirmed: free Screaming Frog covers redirects and broken links, up to 500 URLs. Added advertools. | Screaming Frog advertools |
| 3.4 | Canonical tag mapping and handling | Yes Needs a crawl export from your side. | Screaming Frog free (Canonicals tab), advertools crawler (reads canonical tags) | Build the canonical table and flag wrong or missing ones. | Added advertools. | Screaming Frog advertools |
| 3.5 | Broken links (404) checkup | Yes Needs a crawl export from your side. | Screaming Frog free, advertools (checks the status of every sitemap URL) | Rank broken links by importance and write the fix list. | Confirmed with 3.3. | Screaming Frog advertools |
| 3.6 | Duplicate and orphan pages checkup | Yes Needs the crawl export plus the sitemap list to compare. Free Screaming Frog cannot connect to Search Console, so the comparison is done in a sheet. | Screaming Frog free, advertools, Google Sheets compare | Compare the lists to find duplicates and orphan pages (pages nothing links to). | CHANGED. Free Screaming Frog cannot connect to Search Console (paid feature). | Screaming Frog advertools Google Sheets |
| 3.7 | Language tags (hreflang) mapping and handling | Yes Needs a crawl export from your side. | advertools crawler (reads hreflang links), free hreflang tag generators. Screaming Frog's hreflang view may need the paid version (not confirmed) | Build the TC/EN page-pair map and write the correct tags. | CHANGED. Free Screaming Frog hreflang support not confirmed; advertools documents hreflang support. | advertools Screaming Frog |
| On-page Optimization | ||||||
| 4.1 | Header optimization (50 pages) | Yes Needs current page text or a crawl export. | Screaming Frog free (export current headings) | Rewrite H1-H3 headings page by page in a table you can hand to the web team. | Confirmed: free Screaming Frog exports page titles and headings. | Screaming Frog |
| 4.2 | Meta content write-up (50 pages) | Yes Needs current page text or a crawl export. | Free SERP preview tools to check length | Write page titles and descriptions in Traditional Chinese (and English if needed). | Confirmed with 4.1. | Screaming Frog |
| 4.3 | AI Overview opportunity identification | Partly Needs manual checks of Google results; no free feed. | Manual search, 'People also ask', Search Console question-style queries | Score and rank opportunities from the query list and manual check notes. | No change. | Google Search Console |
| 4.4 | FAQ content optimization (15 pages) | Yes Needs the current page text. Google stopped showing FAQ rich results for all sites from May 2026, so the benefit is clearer answers for readers and AI tools, not special Google results. | Schema.org FAQPage format, Schema.org Validator (the Rich Results Test no longer shows FAQ results) | Write the FAQ text and matching FAQ code for each page. | CHANGED. Google ended FAQ rich results for everyone in May 2026 (reported by several SEO sites; check Google's own notice). | Schema.org Schema.org Validator |
| 4.5 | Articles (10, TC only): topic and keyword research | Yes Same keyword-volume gap as 2.2; volumes are rough. | Search Console, Google Trends, 'People also ask', Bing Webmaster Tools, Locke Lee HK tool | Propose 10 topics with target keywords. | CHANGED. See 2.2. | Google Search Console Google Trends Bing Webmaster Tools Locke Lee HK keyword tool |
| 4.6 | Articles: blog write-up (2 revision rounds) | Partly I can draft in TC, but a native TC editor and the client should review. | Google Docs (free) | Write drafts and revise twice from your comments. | No change. | - |
| 4.7 | Articles: meta content writing | Yes Pure writing. | Free SERP preview tools | Write the title and description for each article. | No change. | - |
| 4.8 | Articles: Article schema markup | Yes Putting it on the site is done by the web team. | Schema.org Article type, Rich Results Test | Write the Article code for each post, ready to paste. | No change. | Schema.org Rich Results Test |
| Performance & Insights Reporting | ||||||
| 5.1 | One-off website audit report | Yes Depends on the crawl and Search Console exports. | Outputs from section 3 (free tools) | Build the report as a web page or PDF once the exports arrive. | No change. | Screaming Frog advertools |
| 5.2 | Monthly organic search traffic report | Partly Needs a monthly export from the client's Search Console / GA4. | Looker Studio (free, connects to Search Console directly), or CSV export | Build the monthly report page from the CSV you send. | No change. | Looker Studio Google Search Console |
| 5.3 | Monthly AI visibility monitoring dashboard | Partly The dashboard is easy; the data behind it is the manual log from 2.1. | Google Sheets log, static dashboard page | Build the dashboard template and fill it from the monthly log. | No change. Data depends on 2.1. | Google Sheets |