Directly observable evidence
A bounded public crawl can inspect status, HTTPS, redirects, robots, index and snippet directives, canonicals, sitemap discovery, source-visible headings, internal links, structured-data syntax, and visible action paths.
Phase One insight
A public-site audit can find readiness gaps. It cannot prove every outcome.
A trustworthy report starts by naming its evidence source, sample, and unavailable layers.
Published 2026-07-26 · Reviewed 2026-08-06 by Phase One Devs · Editorial guidance, not observed demand data
Evidence that needs owner access
Actual indexing, Google-selected canonicals, Search impressions and clicks, analytics sessions, Business Profile interactions, and conversions require authorized owner tools. An absent credential is unverified evidence, not a zero.
Evidence that needs a controlled study
Featured answers, AI Overview supporting links, and generative mentions or citations are sampled platform behaviors. Decision-grade work freezes the queries or prompts, product conditions, dates, raw evidence, and rating rules before collection.
Primary guidance used for this guide
Next step