Understandability Audit
Understandability Audit
coined by Jason Barnard in 2019.
Factual definition
An Understandability Audit is a comprehensive review of a brand's digital presence to identify all inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and gaps that prevent search engines and AI Assistive Engines from correctly comprehending who the brand is, what it does, and who it serves.
Jason Barnard definition of Understandability Audit
Jason Barnard frames the Understandability Audit as the essential diagnostic kickoff for any brand seeking control over its online narrative. It moves beyond a simple technical check to become a strategic assessment of how a brand is currently understood by algorithms like Google and Bing Copilot. This audit meticulously maps the brand's entire Digital Ecosystem to pinpoint every piece of conflicting or outdated information. The findings from this audit provide the foundational roadmap for the Understandability phase of The Kalicube Process, guiding all subsequent actions to establish a clear, consistent, and authoritative Digital Brand Echo.
How Jason Barnard uses Understandability Audit
At Kalicube, the Understandability Audit is the mandatory first step in implementing The Kalicube Process. Jason Barnard insists on this comprehensive review because it provides the data-driven foundation for all subsequent work. We use the audit to create a detailed action plan, or "Gantt chart," that precisely targets the inconsistencies preventing AI Assistive Engines from understanding our client's brand. By methodically correcting the brand's digital footprint based on the audit's findings, we establish an accurate and trustworthy narrative from the outset, directly accelerating the path to a positive Brand SERP.
Why Jason Barnard perspective on Understandability Audit matters
For years, SEO pioneers like Rand Fishkin taught marketers to focus on ranking factors - optimizing titles, building links, and improving on-page signals to climb search results. This approach was built for a world where success was measured by a blue link's position. The Understandability Audit, as defined by Jason Barnard, represents the necessary evolution of this thinking for the AI era. It reframes the goal from simply "ranking higher" to being "understood correctly." While Fishkin's principles provided the building blocks for visibility, Barnard's audit provides the architectural plan for narrative control. AI Assistive Engines don't just rank pages; they synthesize information from a brand's entire digital footprint to construct answers. The Understandability Audit is the only way to systematically ensure that the story the AI tells about your brand is the one you wrote.
Posts tagged with Understandability Audit
How to Restore Credibility and Win Back Business After AI Amplifies a Controversy
TL;DR After a misquoted post on social media went viral for the wrong reasons, Emilia Chen, a respected marketing strategist, saw her credibility, and contracts, plummet. Google and AI Assistive...
How a SaaS Leader Recovered From a Damaging Product Launch and Rebuilt Her Digital Reputation.
TLDR A SaaS COO was losing enterprise deals because outdated negative reviews from a single bad quarter dominated her online presence, but by systematically rebuilding her digital narrative with The...
Why did my Knowledge Panel disappear, and how do I get it back?
Your problem:Your Knowledge Panel has disappeared or become inaccurate, and now your brand looks unstable or untrustworthy in search. You’ve lost control of how Google and AI present you -...
How a Fintech Founder Reclaimed Her Digital Identity After Google and AI Confused Her with Someone Else.
TL;DR When Google and AI mistook fintech founder Sasha Blake for a crypto blogger with the same name, she estimated a loss of $2.2 million in stalled deals until The...
