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First Impression Tool

Tier: Pro | Type: User-Facing UI

!!! tip "Key Insight" This feature blends automated capture, AI scoring, and verification into a tight improvement loop: run a report, execute action items, re-run to prove what changed, and watch the projected score climb. The GEO mode also creates a bridge from traditional UX into structured-data and entity clarity improvements that support AI-driven discovery.

Overview

Analysis Modes

  • UX Analysis (ux_only): Visual homepage audit — eye journey, layout clutter, color harmony, CTA clarity, trust signals, mobile readiness, Core Web Vitals performance.
  • GEO/AI Search Optimizer (llm_visibility): Evaluates readiness for AI-driven search engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) — entity clarity, structured data, citation-worthiness, AI crawler access, llms.txt protocol. See dedicated docs: GEO/AI Search Optimizer.

Pipeline (9 phases)

  1. Init: Validate URL, load site config, determine fetch mode (AUTO/HTTP/BROWSER).
  2. Screenshot capture: Playwright headless browser or HTTP fallback. Generates desktop (1920x1080) and mobile (375x812) screenshots. Captures raw HTML and basic speed metrics (TTFB, page size).
  3. PageSpeed audit: Runs Google PageSpeed Insights v5 against the URL. Captures Lighthouse performance + SEO scores (0-100), Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, TBT, FCP) with both lab and real-user CrUX field data, LCP-specific fix opportunities ranked by estimated savings, and Lighthouse SEO pass/fail checks. Performance data is injected into the AI prompt as ground truth so GPT-4o can reference specific CWV numbers in its UX recommendations.
  4. GEO analysis: Schema extraction, content structure scoring, E-E-A-T signals, AI crawler robots.txt audit (14 bots), llms.txt protocol check. Results cached 24 hours by content hash.
  5. PAA extraction (GEO mode only): Fetches real People Also Ask questions from Google via DataForSEO to ground FAQ suggestions in actual search data.
  6. Verification: On re-runs, compares old vs new screenshots via GPT-4o to verify whether prior action items were implemented (FIXED / PARTIALLY_FIXED / NOT_FIXED).
  7. AI analysis: GPT-4o Vision receives screenshot + ground-truth data (head metadata, PageSpeed/CWV metrics, GEO analysis when applicable) and scores 7-9 categories. 60s timeout; up to 3 retries (2 with image, 1 text-only fallback on moderation).
  8. Action items: Prioritized checklist (high/medium/low) with preserved completion state across reports.
  9. Storage & error handling: Saves reports + action items to two tables; graceful fallbacks with user-friendly messages and structured error metadata.

UX Mode Scoring Categories

7 categories scored 0-100 by GPT-4o:

  1. Above the Fold — viewport usage, value proposition visibility, key missing elements
  2. Hero Section — headline quality, value proposition, CTA presence and text
  3. Visual Design — color scheme, typography, whitespace, brand consistency
  4. Navigation — menu clarity, accessibility, structure
  5. Trust Signals — testimonials, certifications, contact info, social proof
  6. Mobile Readiness — anticipated mobile issues from desktop view
  7. Conversion Potential — CTA effectiveness, friction points, suggested CTA text

Overall score is GPT-4o's composite assessment (0-100).

PageSpeed & Core Web Vitals (new)

Added to every analysis (UX and GEO modes):

  • Performance score (0-100) from Lighthouse
  • Core Web Vitals: LCP, CLS, TBT, FCP with pass/fail status badges
  • Real-user CrUX data when available (URL-level or origin-level, embedded in PSI response for free)
  • LCP fix opportunities ranked by estimated ms savings
  • Lighthouse SEO checks that are failing (tap targets, font sizes, viewport, etc.)
  • Performance data injected into GPT-4o prompt — AI can now say "LCP is 3.2s, optimize the hero image (save ~1.2s)" instead of generic speed advice
  • Displayed in dedicated "Page Speed & Core Web Vitals" card in results

Action Items Checklist

  • Grouped by category (Top Priority, Hero Section, Visual Design, Navigation, Trust Signals, Mobile, Conversion).
  • Badges: Impact, Effort, Score impact (+5/+3/+1), and Verification status on reruns.
  • Instant-save checkbox with toast feedback; failed saves revert automatically.
  • Export as CSV and completion progress; projected score updates in real time.

Progress & Rate Limits

  • Frontend polls with exponential backoff (2s → 10s max) and stops after ~5 minutes with retry option.
  • Rate limiting: max 3 concurrent reports per site (MAX_CONCURRENT_FI_REPORTS) with queue messaging.

Why It Matters

Provides a fast, repeatable homepage audit that turns "first impression" UX and AI-search readiness into a prioritized, trackable checklist, so teams can improve clarity, trust, and conversion without guessing. The PageSpeed integration ensures performance recommendations are grounded in real Lighthouse data rather than AI speculation.

Requirements

  • Required: OpenAI API (GPT-4o Vision)
  • Optional: DataForSEO (PAA extraction for GEO mode, ~$0.003/analysis)
  • Depends On: Site Profile (URL), Playwright or HTTP for page capture

Cost Per Analysis

Component Cost
GPT-4o Vision analysis ~$0.03-0.08
PageSpeed Insights Free
Page capture (Playwright/HTTP) Free
PAA extraction (GEO mode, DataForSEO) ~$0.003 (optional)

Backend Modules

Module Purpose
jobs/first_impression_processor.py Main processing pipeline (9 phases)
jobs/visual_capture.py Page capture (Playwright + HTTP fallback)
analysis/ai_visual_analysis.py AI prompt construction + GPT-4o call
analysis/first_impression.py Heuristic fallback analyzer
analysis/schema_parser.py JSON-LD / microdata extraction
analysis/content_structure.py Content structure + authority analysis
utils/seo_technical.py PageSpeed audit, AI bots audit, llms.txt check
utils/seo_serp_intel.py PAA extraction (GEO mode)

Database Tables

Table Purpose
first_impression_reports Report records with status, scores, screenshots, raw metrics
first_impression_action_items Checkable recommendations with verification tracking