> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.linkstonic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Started with Linkstonic

> Learn how to create your Linkstonic account, add your brand and keywords, and run your first AI visibility check and SEO audit in under 5 minutes.

This quickstart walks you through everything you need to hit the ground running with Linkstonic: creating your account, adding your brand and keywords, running your first AI visibility check, and launching both a TrueTrace AI audit and a technical SEO audit. By the end, you'll have live tracking data and your first audit results ready to review.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create your account">
    Go to [linkstonic.com/pricing](https://linkstonic.com/pricing) and choose a plan:

    * **Starter** — free, no credit card required
    * **Pro** — start a free trial to unlock all four AI platforms and TrueTrace audits

    Once you've selected a plan, sign in with Google or create an account with your email address.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your first brand">
    After signing in, navigate to the **Brands** section in your dashboard and click **Add brand**.

    Fill in the following:

    * **Brand name** — the name of your company or product
    * **Website domain** — your primary domain (e.g., `example.com`)
    * **Short description** — a one- or two-sentence summary of what your brand does

    <Tip>
      Optionally add competitor brands at this stage. Linkstonic will track them alongside your brand so you can compare AI mention rates and citability scores side by side.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add keywords to track">
    Go to the **Keywords** section and add the queries your brand should appear in AI answers for. Focus on informational and comparison phrases where AI answer engines are likely to cite sources.

    Examples:

    * `best project management tool`
    * `top CRM software for small teams`

    <Tip>
      On Pro and Agency plans, you can import keywords directly from a Google Sheet. Click **Import from Google Sheets** and follow the connection prompts.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run your first AI visibility check">
    With your brand and keywords saved, click **Track** to run an AI visibility check across your configured platforms. Linkstonic queries ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity for each keyword and records whether your brand appears in the response.

    Once the run completes, open the **AI Visibility Dashboard** to review:

    * **Mention counts** — how often your brand appears per platform
    * **Position bands** — where in the response your brand is cited
    * **Full response text** — the complete AI-generated answer for each query
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a TrueTrace AI audit (Pro and Agency)">
    TrueTrace gives you a deeper citability analysis beyond simple mention tracking.

    1. Go to **TrueTrace** in the sidebar.
    2. Choose a mode:
       * **URL mode** — audit a specific page for LLM citability
       * **Brand mode** — audit your brand's overall AI presence
       * **Competitor mode** — benchmark your citability against a competitor
    3. Choose an analysis type:
       * **Quick** — fast scan, results in seconds
       * **Hybrid** — deeper analysis combining automated checks with LLM reasoning
    4. Click **Run audit** and review your **LLM Citability Score** along with the prioritized recommendations.

    <Note>
      TrueTrace is available on Pro and Agency plans. If you're on Starter, start a free Pro trial from **Settings → Plan** to access this feature.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a technical SEO audit">
    Go to the **SEO Audit** tool and enter your domain URL in the input field, then click **Run audit**.

    The audit completes in approximately 60 seconds and runs 14+ checks across performance, security, schema markup, and more. When it finishes, review:

    * **Technical Score** — overall health of your site's technical foundation
    * **Performance score** — Core Web Vitals and page speed metrics
    * **Failed checks** — each issue is listed with an AI-generated fix recommendation you can act on immediately

    <Warning>
      Starter plan users have 3 SEO audits per month. Schedule audits after significant site changes or deployments to get the most out of your monthly quota.
    </Warning>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect Google Search Console" icon="magnifying-glass-chart" href="/integrations/google-search-console">
    Pull organic search data into Linkstonic to compare AI visibility with classic search performance.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up alerts" icon="bell" href="/alerts/smart-alerts">
    Get notified on Discord or via webhook whenever your AI mention rate or search position changes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Explore TrueTrace" icon="chart-line" href="/ai-visibility/truetrace">
    Learn how TrueTrace modes and scoring work so you can improve your LLM citability over time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="View your plan" icon="credit-card" href="/plans-and-billing">
    Review usage limits, upgrade your plan, or manage your billing details.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  The Starter plan includes 10 keywords, 2 AI platforms, and 3 SEO audits per month. Upgrade to Pro to unlock all 4 AI platforms, unlimited TrueTrace audits, and Google Sheets keyword import.
</Note>