Still not 100% sure what GEO (generative engine optimisation) is? If you’ve been lackadaisical about generative engine optimisation, it’s probably time to ditch the wait-and-see attitude and embrace what is rapidly evolving into an essential marketing practice.
Are you already using traditional search engine optimisation (SEO) practices like keyword strategy, backlinks, and on-page optimisation? Then, you’re probably already leveraging GEO visibility techniques without even realising it.
But we’ve held out long enough. Let’s talk about GEO, baby.
What's Generative AI?
We assume if you’re reading this, you probably already know what artificial intelligence is. But you might be a little fuzzy on the difference between generative AI (GenAI to its friends) and other AI categories and subcategories. As you can imagine, this is a pretty big topic.
What is GenAI? It’s a form of artificial intelligence that uses Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to generate new content, from text to images to sound.
I should point out that I use the term ‘new’ a little loosely. As of this writing, GenAI is only able to regurgitate information it learned from its training data or from searching the internet. This is what’s called a large language model. It cannot spew out an original thought like humans can (yet), but it has a sophisticated ability to pick up on nuance and answer in a way that’s similar to humans.
What's Generative Engine Optimisation?
What is GEO? It’s the digital marketing practice of optimising your content for generative AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Claude, etc. GEO-optimised content is structured to improve the likelihood of your page being used to generate an answer when someone queries an AI-powered search engine (see pic below).
GEO vs SEO
I once heard someone explain that GEO is ‘like SEO but for ChatGPT’. And while I agree that this is probably the easiest way to conceptualise it, it also runs the risk of assuming that GEO and SEO are parallel forces rather than, say, a mostly overlapping Venn diagram.
To riff on a quote by James Franco, SEO and GEO are ‘same-same but different’. That is to say, they’re not similar enough to assume that your current SEO strategy has got it covered, but they’re also not different enough to freak out and completely uproot your existing SEO focus.
Let’s go ahead and define traditional SEO while we’re at it: traditional search engine optimisation encompasses techniques—such as keywords, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO—to increase your visibility on search engine result pages like Google, Bing, and the little guys like DuckDuckGo.
How Are GEO and SEO Different?
GEO, SEO: what’s the difference? SEO’s objective is search engine visibility, and its target is page one of Google. GEO’s objective is generative AI engine visibility, and its target is…pretty much every answer to every relevant query within an answer engine.
Let’s look at other differences:
Strategy
SEO Strategy
The three main pillars of SEO are keyword research, technical optimisation, and backlinks, but honourable mentions go to competitor benchmarking, on-page optimisation, content, and CRO. Keyword research is probably what most people would consider the first thing SEO strategists look at, as it informs so much of your strategy. As algorithms evolve, SEO strategies are adapted to maximise every page's ranking potential.
GEO Strategy
A generative engine optimisation strategy looks at how to optimise content structure, contextual/semantic relevance, related topics, user intent, and content quality. If SEO is at the mercy of search engine algorithms, GEO relies on AI's evolving functionalities and capabilities, as well as emerging regulatory frameworks designed to keep them in check.
Content
While producing high-quality content is important for both, there are subtle differences.
SEO Content
As SEO specialists, content often feels like all it's there for is to be a pretty delivery system for your keywords (although proponents of E-E-A-T will disagree). You can't write crap and expect to get away with it, but you also can't expect to show up on a search result page for a query you never wrote content for. In other words, content is important because it signals how suitable it is for answering user queries.
- SEO content, and particularly high-quality, keyword-rich content, follows a set of standards or SEO best practices to simplify the crawling process and to make your piece easy to follow, both of which Google likey.
GEO Content
When answering a query, AI uses the best and most relevant bits from multiple sources across the internet. GEO content is easy to read and is written in natural-sounding language. Content is formatted to make it easy for AI to understand, scoop up, and synthesise. Structured data or schema markup facilitates AI's understanding of your content.
- Does content quality matter as much as content formatting? Yes, because AI prioritises content that is well-written and contextually relevant.
Search Intent
User intent matters to both traditional SEO practices and GEO, but how each marketing practice gets that across varies slightly.
Intent in SEO
Is your content informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional? In SEO, it's the keyword that gives you the biggest clue, e.g.:
- 'What is technical SEO?' is informational because it assumes the user wants to learn something.
- 'Amazon Spain' is navigational because the user is typing in the name of the site they want to reach.
- 'Birkenstock Milano size 40' is commercial because the user is eyeing up a product.
- 'Buy flight to Thailand' is transactional because the user has their wallet on standby and is ready to purchase.
Not all keywords have a crystal clear intent. For example, someone searching for 'technical SEO' could be trying to understand what technical SEO is, but they may also be looking for an agency that offers technical SEO services. This is why researching competing pages is important for really understanding intent.
Strategists will look at existing pages that dominate the SERPs to gain a better understanding of where the intent truly lies.
The more closely your pages match user intent, the more traffic you'll get.
Intent in GEO
Does generative engine optimisation match content to search queries? Yes. But you might say that it's a bit more nuanced than that.
In SEO, content matches these exact keywords, but GEO intent looks more at context, subtleties in language, and how the user interacts with generative search, unlike traditional search. It responds to user intent in slightly different ways and is focused on delivering content that can be used during AI-generated interactions.
The intent can also be dynamic, so content for AI engines is optimised for subtlety and personalisation.
Output
The main difference between these two is, to state the obvious, how a user finds what they’re looking for, which can vary based on search behavior. The reason why GEO is becoming a reckoning force is that it streamlines the search process. We tend to fall in love very quickly with convenience, and while probably no one was really asking for an easier way to find an answer on the internet (after all, Google has never stopped doing a bang-up job), GEO does just that.
Normal search engine: You type in a search term in Google and are presented with a list of links in order of relevance, accuracy, popularity, backlinks, age, and a whole algorithmic slew of factors that we can only guess at. You then click on the links until you find the answer you’re looking for, which is more often than not, accomplished within the first few results.
AI-driven search engine: You type in your search into Perplexity or ChatGPT, and the AI tool generates a response to your query right then and there. It not only does the searching for you, but it pulls information from sources across the web to give you the most comprehensive answer in a conversational way. Its citations and links to its pages give you the ability to dive deeper into a topic if you wish.
How Are GEO and SEO the Same?
When you consider the fact that both marketing practices are focused on driving visibility, GEO and SEO aren’t that different. Let’s take a look at how they are the same.
Keyword Strategy
Understanding how your target audience behaves on both Google and AI-driven search engines will improve your brand visibility. It’s not just finding the right keywords; it’s about understanding your customer’s needs and what they look for depending on what stage they’re at in their buyer’s journey.
In SEO, your ranking is dictated by, among other things, how well your page serves that keyword. In GEO, your visibility is related to how well AI tools can extract the relevant information from your page.
In both SEO and GEO, using related phrases (otherwise known as latent semantic indexing, or LSI) and long-tail keywords enriches the text and gives both bots and AI tools a better understanding of what your content is about on a broader level.
So, for example, let’s say the keyword is ‘payday loans help’. When you include phrases like ‘lower payments’, ‘debt consolidation’, and ‘debt management plan’, both traditional and AI search engines will understand that your page isn’t about offering payday loans, but rather advice about how to escape the vicious cycle of debt caused by these predatory loan practices.
Content Quality
If your optimisation strategies don’t factor in content quality, then you will likely struggle for visibility on both types of search engines.
In SEO, content that is helpful, relevant, comprehensive, and true is far more likely to outrank content that is rife with spelling errors, guilty of keyword stuffing, filled with unsubstantiated facts, and peppered with irrelevant information.
GEO best practices dictate that high-quality content that’s relevant and answers the user’s queries in a full and straightforward way is far more likely to be used in an AI-powered search.
I’m sure you recognise the initialism E-E-A-T (not just because we mentioned it earlier), which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
How can you demonstrate EEAT?
Assign a real author to every page
What makes you the authority on a subject? Why should your readers trust you? The most straightforward way to show that is to write a detailed author bio that names all the relevant education, experience, awards, and certifications.
For example, if you’ve got a page discussing the effectiveness of certain government measures on stopping the spread of the emerald ash borer, then the author’s bio should include links to webinars or scientific panel discussions about this issue, as well as titles to similar studies and publications.
Is your page written by AI? You can still showcase your expertise by publishing the bio of the human fact checker and/or editor. Make sure that the fact checker is also credentialed and experienced. Adding a photo (and not an AI-generated one) also helps.
Write well
Internet users have developed a pretty accurate and sensitive bullshit detector, and when they see missteaks all the toim, they startt two sea red flaggs.
But of course, writing well isn’t just about fixing typos. Generally, the content should be original, engaging, demonstrate good flow, and respect the 5 Cs of copyediting: consistency, clarity, conciseness, correctness, and coherence.
Fortunately, authority and good writing often go hand in hand. If the author of the content has a high level of knowledge and expertise on the subject, it’s more likely that they will have developed a skill and style for writing about the topic.
Build off-page authority
In both SEO and GEO, gaining positive attention from other high-authority sources indicates a level of authoritativeness, much like word of mouth does in real life.
And it makes sense, right? Neither Google nor ChatGPT want to be caught promoting information from spammy, harmful, or incorrect sources, so they rely on domain authority to determine whether or not you and your site are legit.
In both SEO and GEO, building authority through credible (i.e., unpaid) relationships is essential. Here are some examples of non-spammy, whitehat reputation-building practices:
- Collaborating with others outside your brand can help you optimize your content and reach a wider audience. Join a panel, participate in a project, give a statement, guest star on a podcast episode—in other words, get your name out there.
- Reaching out to other sites for a mention. This doesn't always work, and it's often about who you know, but it never hurts to ask. Avoid buying mentions and backlinks from farms, as this is counterproductive.
- Asking for testimonials and reviews from your clients and customers. If you want to know more about that, be sure to check out our post about getting your clients to leave a Clutch review.
- Claiming and optimising social media accounts. Padding out your profile pages and getting involved in relevant online discussions is an easy way to use social media to show off your expertise as well.
- Creating a broad spectrum of stellar content that covers the related topic from all angles sets your pages up to be reposted, shared, mentioned, referenced, and liked by others for years to come.
Be a brand others can trust
Sometimes you can tell right off the bat when a website looks less than legit. Trustworthiness is an important visibility factor in both SEO and GEO. Combining all the above practices provides AI and search engines with proof that your site is trustworthy. But what else can you do to show that your brand is reliable?
- Have the necessary security protocol, i.e., the 's' in https
- Showcase relevant trust seals at the bottom of your page
- Make your privacy policies easily available on your site, like your footer
- Include consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) details on your page.
- Claim and fill out your Google Business Profile
Data Insights
Both SEO and GEO rely on analytics and data-powered insights to gain a thorough understanding of user behaviour and trends.
These insights will help your team fine-tune your keyword strategies and content, and improve visibility in both search engines and AI.
Technical optimisation
Technical optimisation is a well-established pillar of SEO, but what about GEO? Well, this is where that Venn diagram almost completely overlaps.
What technical practices should be optimised for both marketing practices?
- Core Web Vitals: since this is how Google quantifies user experience, and since UX is an important factor in both SEO and GEO, ensuring top-notch Core Web Vital scores is pretty important.
- Structured data: Using Schema markup helps both search engines and AI understand your content, which boosts your brand's chances of ranking high in SERPs and appearing in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, etc.
- Crawlability: Both traditional and AI search engines use crawlers to discover and read your content, so improving your site's crawlability is good for both. For this, site speed, sitemaps, and Robots.txt are optimised.
- Meta tags and page structure: Meta titles, title tags, and meta descriptions help search engines and AI understand your content more effectively.
Are AI Engines Taking Over Traditional Search Engines?
Not exactly. Try not to think of it as taking over SEO so much as it becoming its trusty sidekick. Let’s not forget that despite all the AI talk around the water cooler, search engines like Google are still the most popular way people search online. And because of that, it’s important to think of implementing GEO strategies into your SEO practices rather than dropping your SEO altogether.
And considering there’s considerable overlap in both strategies, incorporating GEO into your marketing activities won’t feel like starting from scratch.
GEO Optimisation Tips and Best Practices
How can you boost the chances of your content being used to generate AI responses? Here are some tips to get started:
Dive Deep Into the Research
Depending on how geeky you want to get, you might want to expand your research beyond keywords to look at:
- Which search queries related to your business are triggering Google AI Overview responses?
- Which competitors are being featured in AI search results, and how does their content differ from yours?
- What kind of content AI is referencing most often (types, formats, etc.)?
Once you’ve made these content insights, you can start to look at your own content strategies to discover how to better optimise content for generative engines.
Create High-Quality Content
A generative engine optimisation approach demands a commitment to producing superior content that provides value to the reader.
You’ve already got an existing SEO strategy, so how can you tweak it to serve AI algorithms and improve content visibility?
- Get to the core of the user's query. Be as straightforward as possible.
- Be direct, but also thorough. Answering queries in full indicates a deeper understanding of the topic and, therefore, a higher level of content quality.
- Use semantically related words and phrases to help AI understand the relevance of the page and how it aligns with user intent.
- Engagement and experience are essential, so make your content as easy to read as possible.
- Ensure search engines and AI engines know that you're keeping an eye on your content. Regularly update your pages to ensure they remain fresh.
- Make your content entity-rich, which is to say, be descriptive in your language; use precise terminology within the right context, and include the names of people, places, and things that add depth and meaning to your page.
Fine-Tune Your Content Structure
Closely related to content quality is how it is presented. Optimising your content structure can make it easier for AI tools like Google AI Overviews to read.
To structure your content for better GEO, consider the following:
- Place the most important information as close to the start of the page as possible.
- Avoid using too much jargon when you're trying to make your main points.
- Use short, digestible paragraphs, bullet points, infographics, multimedia, and a logical heading structure to enhance readability.
- Headers should be descriptive, not mysterious.
- Add structured data if you're not doing so already.
- Answer the query directly as early as possible on the page.
Expand Your Content Reach
AI looks beyond your website to deliver the best answer. LLMs are often trained on content from places you might be overlooking, like Reddit, Quora, and social media posts, so it’s worth it to start publishing content outside of your site:
- Social media
- User-generated content (reviews, testimonials, etc.)
- Community platforms (forums, paid membership platforms, etc.)
Test and Adapt
As I’ve mentioned, we’re still at the beginning stages of the AI timeline, so a lot of this territory is still worth exploring. You’ll find what works best for your brand, your industry, and your company by trying different content types until you find the sweet spot. Pay attention and be open to adapting. Most of all, keep your eye out for the latest AI trends.
Keep Doing SEO
Keyword research, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical optimisation—these are all still essential for improving your visibility across search engines and generative AI platforms.
If you’re worried that your SEO isn’t as sharp as it used to be, now is the time to work with an agency that can help your marketing team re-strategise and realign your goals.
Why Is GEO Important?
Whilst SEO is still the dominant method of achieving online visibility, GEO is clearly not a trend companies can afford to ignore. In fact, there’s even an indication that LLMs are generating a higher percentage of conversions (HubSpot), though admittedly, the datasets are still small.
Yes, SEO is still #1, but who knows what the landscape of AI and large language models will look like in six months, a year, or five years from now. Rather than stick to your guns, now is the time to align your marketing goals and to consider how to use AI to your advantage.
How Geeky Tech Combines GEO With SEO
Geeky Tech has been quietly incorporating GEO into our SEO strategies to help our clients stay on top of evolving trends. We’ve been watching AI like a hawk, knowing full well that there would come a day when SEO and GEO would intersect.
To ensure our clients are ready for the next chapter in Search, we’ve adapted our keyword research to include both traditional search terms as well as natural/conversational queries. We also maintain our SEO practices of helping our clients demonstrate E-E-A-T, leveraging data insights to support future strategies, and maintaining high technical excellence.
Need Help Future-Proofing Your Marketing Strategy?
GEO is only in its infancy. As generative AI evolves and continues to be shaped by emerging tech and its responding regulations, we’re willing to bet that this is a topic that will need to be revisited over and over again.
Have questions about how GEO can impact your business? Get in touch with one of our strategists for an in-depth look at your current strategy.
