Methodology
How the grade actually works.
Every Fieldstone report card runs the same engine: over 140 signals across 8 weighted categories, scored into one overall grade out of 100 and three lens scores. Here is exactly what we measure, how it adds up, and why the number is independent of anything you buy.
What we measure
Eight categories, weighted by impact
Each category is scored 0 to 100 from public signals on your site, then weighted into the overall grade. The weights reflect how much each area actually moves visibility today.
Crawlability & Indexing
15%Whether search engines and AI can reach and index the site at all: robots.txt rules, sitemap.xml, HTTP status codes, redirect chains, canonical tags, and accidental noindex traps.
AI Access & Crawlability
13%Whether AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, and the rest) are allowed, whether an llms.txt exists, and whether the important content is server-rendered so machines can actually read it.
On-Page SEO & Structure
13%Title tags, meta descriptions, heading hierarchy, internal linking, image alt text, and URL structure: the fundamentals that tell a search engine what each page is about.
Content Quality & Authority
16%Depth, uniqueness, freshness, and E-E-A-T signals. Does the content answer real questions, show expertise, and avoid thin or duplicated pages. This is the heaviest single category.
Answer Engine & Zero-Click
14%How quotable the site is to AI answers: question-based headings, answer-first paragraphs, FAQ and Q&A structure, and definitional phrasing that ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI can lift cleanly.
Structured Data & Entities
12%Schema.org markup (Organization, FAQ, Product, Breadcrumb, and more), entity clarity, and the sameAs signals that let machines connect your brand to a verifiable identity.
Local SEO & Trust
9%Name, address, and phone consistency, local relevance signals, review and trust markers, and how easy it is for a nearby customer, or an AI answering a local question, to trust and contact you.
Page Experience & Conversion
8%Real Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS via Google PageSpeed), mobile behavior, and whether the page makes the next step obvious instead of leaking the visit.
Three lens scores
One site, read three ways
The same categories are re-weighted into three scores, because a site can be strong for Google and invisible to AI, or great for search and useless for a nearby customer. The lenses show you which.
Traditional SEO
How well classic search engines can find, understand, and rank you. Weighted toward crawlability, on-page structure, and content.
AI Search Readiness
Whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI can access, understand, and quote you. Weighted toward AI access, answer-engine structure, and schema.
Local & Conversion
Whether nearby customers find you and whether the page turns a visit into a call or a form fill. Weighted toward local trust and page experience.
The scale
What your number means
Overall and lens scores both run 0 to 100, with a plain-English band so you know whether you are fine, exposed, or in trouble.
| Score | Band | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 80–100 | Strong | Few gaps. The foundation is working across search and AI. |
| 60–79 | Solid, with gaps | Fundamentally sound, with specific fixes that would move the needle. |
| 40–59 | At risk | Real problems are costing you visibility right now. |
| 0–39 | Critical | Core signals are missing or broken; you are largely invisible to AI and search. |
Independence
Why the number is trustworthy
The grade is computed by the engine from public signals, the same way for everyone. It is set before anything else is on the table.
The process
From URL to report card in 48 hours
You enter a URL
Run the free instant check on any site. It grades live, on screen, with no account and no card.
The engine reads everything
It fetches robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and llms.txt, renders the page, runs Google PageSpeed, and scores 140+ signals.
You get the report card
The $49 report card adds a real competitor benchmark and your three fastest wins, delivered as a PDF within 48 hours.
Common questions
About the grade
How many signals does the audit check?
Over 140 individual signals, grouped into 8 weighted categories and rolled up into an overall grade out of 100 plus three lens scores. Every signal maps to a plain-English finding with a specific fix.
How is the grade kept independent?
The grade is computed by the engine from public signals on your site, the same way for everyone. It is set before anything else is on the table, and no purchase, from Fieldstone or anyone else, ever moves a score. Fieldstone Build and Fieldstone Profile are separate products that never influence a grade.
What is the difference between the free check and the paid report card?
The free instant check runs the engine live and shows your overall grade and top weaknesses on screen. The $49 report card adds a real competitor benchmark, your three fastest wins in priority order, and a plain-English PDF you keep, delivered within 48 hours.
Do you re-grade over time?
Yes, with the optional Monitor subscription: weekly tracking and a monthly re-grade, so you catch a slip, or a competitor's move, before it costs you. Monitoring only; it never changes how the grade is calculated.