How Do We Measure Authority in Question Space?
Use a repeatable scorecard across each AEO cluster: coverage of the questions, consistency of answers, visibility on SERP/AI surfaces, citations and links, engagement, and freshness.
Authority Metrics & Formulas
| Metric | Formula | Target/Range | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question Coverage | # questions with a live page ÷ total mapped questions | ≥ 0.85 | SEO/Content | Per cluster; one canonical URL per question |
| Canonical Consistency | Pages with unique canonical ÷ pages in cluster | 1.00 (no dupes) | SEO | Check slugs, canonicals, and schema duplicates |
| SERP Share | Non-brand impressions from cluster ÷ total topic impressions | ↑ MoM | SEO | Use GSC page filter regex for cluster |
| AI Answer Citations | # tracked queries citing your pages ÷ tracked queries | Grow monthly | SEO/Analyst | Sample engines: SGE, Bing Copilot, Perplexity |
| Link Quality | Weighted sum of referring domains to pillar & top Q&As | + net new / qtr | Content/PR | Quality > count; prefer topical sites |
| Engagement Quality | Median time on page & CTR vs. prior month | ↑ vs. baseline | Web Analytics | Slice by persona sections if used |
| Freshness | Pages updated in last 120 days ÷ pages in cluster | ≥ 0.40 | Content | Refresh with new FAQs/examples |
Authority Score (Composite)
Turn the metrics into a single index for executive reporting.
| Component | Weight | Scaled input | Contribution | How to improve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage | 20% | Coverage × 100 | 0.2 × Coverage% | Publish missing Q&A pages first |
| SERP Share | 20% | MoM % change (capped ±50) | 0.2 × normalized change | Add internal links, refine intros |
| AI Citations | 20% | Citation rate × 100 | 0.2 × rate% | Lead with clear answers; add schema |
| Link Quality | 15% | Weighted RD index | 0.15 × index | Earn references from topical authorities |
| Engagement | 15% | CTR/time deltas (normalized) | 0.15 × score | Improve snippets, add tables and FAQs |
| Freshness | 10% | Freshness × 100 | 0.10 × rate% | Monthly refresh cadence |
Keep the raw metric view for diagnosis; use the composite for trend and goal-setting.
Data Collection Checklist
Search Console
Saved page filter for cluster, non-brand query filter, weekly export of impressions/clicks/CTR.
AI Answer Tracking
Query list per cluster, monthly snapshots of SGE/Copilot/Perplexity results, log citations.
Analytics
Events for pillar and Q&A templates; persona dimension if used; assisted conversions.
Link Intelligence
Referring domains to pillar and top pages; track topical relevance and anchor distribution.
Architecture patterns and templates: AEO Overview and Complete AEO Guide.