GEO vendor evaluation checklist for CMOs and growth teams

1. Strategy quality

• Do they map prompts by ICP, intent, and funnel stage?
• Do they explain why those prompts matter to pipeline, not just visibility?

2. Implementation capability

• Can they ship schema, content structure, and technical updates, or only advise?
• Do they provide a 30-day deliverables list with owners?

3. Measurement rigor

• Do they define baseline + target metrics before work begins?
• Can they show how citation lift relates to qualified demand?

4. Commercial clarity

• Are scope boundaries explicit (pages, prompts, markets, models)?
• Do they explain what is included vs excluded in monthly fees?

Scoring template

Category	Weight	Score (1-5)
Execution depth	35%
Measurement model	25%
Domain understanding	20%
Communication & governance	10%
Commercial clarity	10%