Define the outcome
Choose the services, questions and markets that matter. Track qualified enquiries and useful customer actions alongside impressions and visits.
Use first-party reporting
Verify the site in the available search tools and record the reporting scope. New sites may have limited data; missing observations do not prove universal absence.
Document sampled checks
If you inspect answers manually, record the date, prompt, system and relevant context. Answers can change, so do not generalize one result into a stable ranking.
Connect changes cautiously
Record content and technical changes, then compare over a useful period. Seasonality, competition and product changes can affect the result; correlation alone does not establish causation.