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SEO and AI Visibility Operating Model

Online Services operates a recurring SEO and AI Visibility program for naspo.org and naspovaluepoint.org. The program supports organic search discoverability and emerging AI-mediated discovery through recurring measurement, evidence-based prioritization, documented implementation work, and follow-up review.

This page documents the operating model. It does not replace the source systems used for measurement, reporting, work management, or implementation.

Purpose

The program exists to help NASPO understand and improve how its priority website content is discovered, represented, and acted on through:

  • Organic search results
  • On-site engagement after search discovery
  • Technical and content improvements that support search visibility
  • AI-mediated discovery, where users may encounter NASPO information through generated answers, citations, summaries, or related answer surfaces

The program is evidence-based. Measurement inputs inform the review process, but Online Services is responsible for interpreting the evidence, identifying appropriate recommendations, documenting approved work, and coordinating implementation with the correct owners.

Measurement Sources

Online Services uses approved measurement sources as inputs to the program.

Source Program use
Google Search Console Search query, page, impression, click, position, indexing, and search performance evidence
Google Analytics Website traffic, engagement, conversion, content performance, and referral behavior evidence
SEMrush Competitive, keyword, technical SEO, visibility, and monitoring evidence
Approved empirical AI/LLM visibility measurement Controlled measurement of answer presence, citations, accuracy, and related AI-mediated visibility as that capability becomes operational

These systems provide evidence. They do not make organizational decisions. Online Services reviews the evidence in context and determines the recommendations, priorities, limitations, and next steps.

Operating Cycle

The recurring operating cycle is:

collect -> review -> prioritize -> document -> assign -> implement -> verify -> measure again

The operating workflow connects measurement evidence, strategy review, assigned work, implementation records, and follow-up reporting:

GSC / GA4 / SEMrush / approved AI visibility evidence
  -> Evidence observation
  -> Online Services review and strategy decision
  -> Execution brief
  -> Asana task
  -> Implementation
  -> GitHub change / Asana completion
  -> Activity record
  -> Next measurement
  -> Monthly report

Measurement inputs provide deterministic evidence for review. Online Services evaluates that evidence and makes the strategy and prioritization decision. Approved work is converted into an implementation-ready execution brief and managed through Asana.

Technical changes and work completion remain reflected in their authoritative systems, such as GitHub for code changes and Asana for assigned work. The activity record connects decisions and completed work without duplicating those systems. Subsequent reporting closes the measurement loop by comparing later evidence against the period when the work was reviewed, assigned, and completed.

In practice:

  1. Deterministic measurement data is collected on a recurring daily basis where the source systems support it.
  2. Online Services reviews the evidence across reporting periods, sites, and priority content areas.
  3. Online Services determines priorities and recommendations based on organizational value, search opportunity, content quality, implementation effort, risk, and available capacity.
  4. Approved implementation work is documented in Asana.
  5. Work is assigned to the appropriate implementation owner.
  6. The implementation owner completes the approved work or coordinates needed review.
  7. Online Services verifies that the intended change was completed.
  8. Results are reviewed in subsequent reporting cycles.

The cycle is continuous. A completed implementation is not considered the end of the program activity; the next reporting periods are used to evaluate whether visibility, engagement, or related evidence changed after the work.

Roles and Responsibilities

Program Strategy, Prioritization, and Review

Online Services owns the SEO and AI Visibility operating program. This includes:

  • Maintaining the recurring measurement process
  • Reviewing evidence across approved measurement sources
  • Identifying opportunities, risks, and limitations
  • Recommending priorities
  • Translating approved recommendations into implementation-ready work
  • Maintaining durable operational documentation and reporting context
  • Reviewing results in later reporting periods

Implementation Ownership

Implementation owners complete approved work assigned to them. Depending on the task, this may include Online Services, a content owner, a program owner, communications staff, or another stakeholder.

Implementation owners are not expected to independently develop SEO strategy when they receive an approved implementation task. The task should provide enough context and direction for the owner to understand what needs to change, why the work is being performed, and how completion will be evaluated.

Stakeholder, Content, and Program Approval

Stakeholder review is required when a proposed change materially affects:

  • Organizational meaning or positioning
  • Policy language
  • Eligibility or participation requirements
  • Program descriptions, deadlines, or benefits
  • Stakeholder-owned content
  • Legal, governance, or externally sensitive information

SEO and AI Visibility improvements should not change the substance of stakeholder-owned content without appropriate approval. Online Services may recommend structure, clarity, metadata, internal linking, technical improvements, or content-quality changes, but the responsible content or program owner must approve changes that alter meaning.

Asana Workflow

Asana is the human work-management layer for approved SEO and AI Visibility implementation work.

Use the SEO & AI Visibility Asana project for approved implementation tasks, follow-up tracking, and completion visibility.

Implementation tasks should include:

  • The site and page or content area affected
  • The measurement evidence or reporting period that supports the work
  • The reason the work matters
  • The approved change or requested outcome
  • Any stakeholder review requirement
  • The implementation owner
  • Completion criteria
  • Verification notes or follow-up measurement expectations

Do not reproduce current individual SEO recommendations or page-specific task content in OSKB. Asana remains the appropriate location for active assigned work. OSKB should document the durable operating model, not duplicate the current task backlog.

Reporting and Historical Record

Online Services maintains a recurring monthly SEO and AI Visibility review. Reporting should use stable historical periods so changes can be compared consistently over time.

The reporting process should preserve durable evidence of:

  • Measurement period and source attribution
  • Progress and activity during the period
  • Recommendations reviewed
  • Decisions made
  • Approved work assigned
  • Implementation completed
  • Follow-up measurement in later periods

The goal is to preserve the program record without duplicating authoritative source systems. Google Search Console, Google Analytics, SEMrush, approved AI visibility measurement outputs, Asana, and relevant repositories remain the source systems for their respective data and activity.

Use the NASPO SEO dashboard at seo.naspo.org as the current operational dashboard reference when reviewing program evidence and reporting.

AI Visibility

AI-mediated discovery is part of the program because users may encounter NASPO information through generated answers, citations, summaries, or related answer experiences.

Maintain a clear measurement distinction:

  • AI referral traffic is measurable web referral traffic. It can show that users arrived from identifiable AI-related referrers or surfaces.
  • Empirical LLM answer presence, citations, accuracy, and related visibility require separate controlled measurement.

Do not treat AI referral traffic as evidence that NASPO is accurately represented in generated answers. Do not treat controlled answer visibility measurement as a substitute for web analytics. Both may be useful, but they answer different questions.

As approved empirical AI/LLM visibility measurement becomes operational, Online Services should document the measurement period, scope, limitations, and interpretation rules in the monthly review record.

Governance

The program follows these governance standards:

  • Claims should be supported by evidence from an identified source and reporting period.
  • Reports and recommendations should explain important measurement limitations.
  • Recommendations should distinguish between technical SEO, content structure, content substance, analytics interpretation, and stakeholder-owned content changes.
  • Stakeholder review is required when changes materially affect meaning, policy, eligibility, program information, or stakeholder-owned content.
  • Historical reporting should be preserved so future reviews can understand what was measured, what changed, what was assigned, what was completed, and what happened afterward.
  • Credentials, private implementation architecture, provider secrets, sensitive internal methods, and unrelated project information must not be documented in OSKB.

Operational References