What is GEO

byNewydd105

673 followers

6 months ago

GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. It's the next evolution of SEO, tailored for AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Google’s SGE, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot.

Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on keywords and backlinks for ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs), GEO focuses on how AI tools understand, summarize, and deliver content directly in their answers. It’s all about optimizing for visibility inside the AI’s generated response.

Background

Each week, whether you like it or not, I give you an update on what I've been working on for the past week and how it affects the growth of my business.

Several weeks ago, I noticed Google were deindexing pages and set about trying to understand why and what I could do about it.

This sent me down the rabbit hole of AEO/GEO/LLM SEO, trying to understand why and how I needed to change my writing style.

I shared the results in previous posts

• Why is Google Deindexing Pages

• What is AEO

Today, we're going to look at GEO, Generative Engine Optimisation and how to include this in your content.

While it may seem AEO and GEO have similar writing features, the outcome is different.

1. AEO - Answer Engine Optimisation, is providing answers to questions so AI can take snippets from your content to provide answers to a search

2. GEO - Generative Engine Optimisation, is teaching AI about your topic and showing you are the expert. This enables AI to search your content and formulate an answer based on your expertise, experience, authority and trustworthiness.

It is important to remember, all the knowledge AI has comes from what you teach it.

When your content is written with GEO in mind, you could become AI's preferred teacher. It will then, quote you and your content when formulating it's own answers.

How to Write GEO Content

Answer-Based Formatting

• Start with a clear question (e.g. “What is GEO?”)

• Follow with a concise, direct answer (1–2 sentences)

• Expand with details below for those who want to learn more

This Q&A format mimics how AI engines structure their results—make it easy for them to extract answers.

Include Structured Data

• Use headings (H2, H3) to segment content

• Add bulleted or numbered lists for clarity

• Include FAQs at the bottom to match how AI tools scan for quick answers

Keep it Human, but Machine-Friendly

• Use simple, conversational language

• Avoid long, dense paragraphs

• Break content into short sections

GEO isn’t about writing like a robot. It’s about writing like a helpful, knowledgeable guide—one the AI feels confident quoting

Use Clear Branding & Authority Signals

• Include your name, brand, and credentials on the page

• Mention relevant experience (e.g. “Online business strategist with 20 years of experience”)

• Link internally to other helpful content to build your topic authority

Add Schema Markup

• Set the correct schema type (Blog Post, How-To, etc.)

• Use the FAQ schema if adding FAQs

• Enable the Author schema

This helps AI tools recognize the structure, purpose, and credibility of your page.

Do You Need To Write Different Content For AEO/GEO/LLM?

The good news is - no, you don’t need to write completely different content for each. Instead, think of it as writing with layers of structure and clarity. Start by answering questions clearly and directly for AEO. Then, build on that with well-organized, in-depth explanations for GEO. Finally, format everything in a way that helps LLMs understand your authority, expertise, and relevance—like using headings, schema, internal links and stories. With a little planning, one strong blog post can serve all three purposes and boost your visibility across search engines, AI platforms, and chatbots alike.