We’re getting asked about this a lot right now; so many of our clients have heard about, and are asking us, what is GEO?
Basically, GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation. Straight away, you’ll have noticed that it’s a similar acronym to SEO which is Search Engine Optimisation. But what is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is an emerging technique which aims to improve the visibility and relevance of digital content in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered search engines and generative AI systems.
Unlike the field of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), where we focus on ranking in conventional search engine results pages (SERPs), GEO concentrates on AI-driven platforms that generate on-the-fly responses to user queries.
This new approach enables website owners and content publishers to adapt to, and for their sites and work to be seen in, a rapidly evolving world of search that is seeing an increasing use of large language models (LLMs) and AI technology. Implementing GEO strategies, website owners and content producers can potentially increase their content’s visibility in generative engine responses.
And Where Do We See GEO in Action?
That’s another great question from business owners and brand managers.
If you’ve used Google search recently, you should have seen the SERPs change for some types of queries. In the Google App on phones, for instance, there’s a switch at the top of the screen which allows you to conduct a traditional search or use AI – Google Gemini. In browser-based desktop search, there are new AI Overviews. There are other standalone AI search tools like ChatGPT, the new ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Claude, and CoPilot.
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Wherever you go to search these days, it’s either AI assisted or there’s an AI option or aspect to your search and results.
A Google AI Overview Example
As an example, Google Search is still the dominant search engine, so how does it display AI-generated results?
Here we’ve asked the question “What are the latest LLMs?” An LLM is a Large Language Model. These are the programs that recognize and generate text. They are “trained” on huge sets of data to effectively “understand” and then respond to more natural queries.
So, what are the latest LLMs?
We’re told here that they are GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, Grok-1, etc. But it’s the source and layout of the result that is interesting. It’s clearly labelled as an “AI Overview” and each item listed in this result has a link icon to sources and further results.
At the foot of the result, when you expand it, there’s a reassuring footnote from Google reminding us that “Generative AI is experimental”.
And Where Does GEO Come into Play?
GEO is where the work is conducted to get you into these generative results. Much like the featured snippets, the short text excerpts that were previously more prevalent in the SERPs, the AI Overviews are showing up for some search results.
As you can see in our example above, quite a lot of screen real estate is taken up by the initial unexpanded AI Overview; The sponsored and organic search results have been appearing lower down the page.
And very much like featured snippets, there are pros and cons – Being the featured snippet, or mentioned in an AI Overview shows the quality and relevance of your content for this result. However, there also exists the possibility that you’ve answered a question in the snippet and the user goes no further – your content has appeared in search (an impression) but there has been no follow-through – the click. These are zero click impressions.
Of course, even if your website didn’t receive traffic, the fact that you had an impression and appeared in search can be beneficial for brand awareness. This alone can lead to increased brand searches in the future.
What Else Do We Need to Know About GEO?
When conducting GEO, we need to consider several factors such as the authority of your content, the inclusion of relevant statistics, citations, and quotations, as well as overall content structure and the clarity of your work. In a word, we need to make your content as comprehensive as possible. Put it this way – if you write what an AI engine considers to be the most relevant answer to its users’ questions, you get a seat at the top table.
Last year we wrote an article for one of our clients, a local IT vendor, and when people ask the question “When did MS Word turn 40?” in Google Search, our client’s web page is referenced in Google’s AI Overview. The result is a curated, AI-generated result of all the relevant information, but the result cites our client’s brand amongst some big names such as The Register and Wikipedia.
Our client may not always get a click but they’re in good company and their brand is clearly visible.
The Future of GEO
GEO is still a work in progress. As we mentioned, Google appends the helpful reminder to AI Overviews that generative AI is experimental. Therefore, the art and science of GEO is also developmental too.
As such there are plenty of studies being conducted right now as to the efficacy of Generative Engine Optimisation with all manner of data and results being shared. However, as a busy business owner or marketing manager, you want results. So, let’s keep creating helpful content that’s both comprehensive and relevant to your audience, and by following these best practices we’ll get the best results anyway, right?
Whether your customers and readers are on mobile or desktop, using traditional search or new AI platforms, strong brands, excellent products & services, and great content is always in demand and appreciated by your audience. Let Clever Marketing get you in front of them wherever they are.
Clever Marketing has a long history of success in SEO and now GEO is becoming ever more important. To stay ahead of the curve and in front of your audience and your competitors, speak with our SEO/GEO team on 01276 402 381 and secure their expertise now.