Well, we may not have achieved the technological singularity.
But there’s no question we’re squarely in the middle of the age of AI.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has worked its way into nearly everything, from our smartphones to our project management platforms – and now, even our search engines.
Search engine optimizers are no strangers to adapting to new technologies, but the AI era has certainly been a doozy.
While many of the fundamentals of SEO remain unchanged, there’s an entirely new structure for Google search results – and perhaps even more importantly, we’re witnessing the emergence of entirely AI-based search tools.
In response, many digital marketing professionals, including ourselves, are doing our due diligence to stay ahead of the game and come up with strategies and tactics that can help us and our clients rank in AI-based search engine services.
We call these strategies, collectively, generative engine optimization, or GEO.
So what are these strategies?
And how do you use them effectively?
Table of Contents
The Era of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
The era of GEO is based on the rise of AI in our search experiences.
You may have noticed that for many queries, Google now offers something called AI Overviews. Above the fold of conventional search results, Google will attempt to answer your query directly or provide you with summarizing information designed to improve your user experience. For example, it might summarize a word or phrase for you, or give you some pointers on the topic for which you requested advice. Knowledge Graph answers and rich snippets are nothing new, but AI-generated results add a new twist to the idea.
Note that Bing is offering a very similar service, with AI summaries above the fold of conventional search results.
Another interesting development is that many engineers and innovators are attempting to develop their own, completely novel AI-based search engines, competing with Google and Bing directly by offering an upgraded experience, at least ostensibly.
For example, Perplexity AI has made a splash in the search engine world by attracting more than 500 million queries and 10 million active monthly users – despite being around for only a couple of years. Perplexity functions intuitively, but in ways that diverge from Google, Bing, and other first generation search engines. Additionally, open AI has announced the upcoming deployment of SearchGPT, which promises similarly disruptive innovations in the search world.
This is a rapidly advancing niche, and one we’re paying close attention to. Already, we have strategies to help you get more visibility in AI search results in Google and Bing, and many of those strategies will be similarly valuable in AI-first search engine services. However, there’s still a lot we don’t know – and we expect things to change even more rapidly in the future – so it’s important to understand that nearly all GEO strategies are somewhat tenuous and in flux.
GEO SEO vs. Conventional SEO: What’s the Difference?
How is generative engine optimization different from search engine optimization?
As we’ll see, there’s considerable overlap between the two concepts. GEO, like SEO, has a primary aim of boosting the visibility of your content in search engines, with the end goal of producing more organic traffic. Like conventional SEO, GEO requires your careful attention to SEO fundamentals like technical onsite optimization, content creation, and backlink building.
However, Google and other AI-based search engines sometimes use different criteria for producing results. AI technology is notoriously opaque, so we don’t know all the details, but we do have some helpful clues to point us in the right direction of new tactics that can support visibility in AI-generated results.
Is GEO a Replacement for SEO?
The short answer is no.
Growing organic traffic has always required adherence to SEO fundamentals, and that remains unlikely to change in the near future. Even if you were exclusively focused on building visibility and traffic with AI-generated results, you would still need traditional SEO as the foundation of your strategy.
Also, at least for the time being, AI-based results still only represent a portion of all the visibility and traffic that can be generated from favorable positioning and presentation in search engine results pages (SERPs). In other words, there’s still a lot of value in building conventional organic rankings.
How to Optimize Content for AI-Powered Search Engines
Now for the good stuff.
How do you optimize content for AI-powered search engines?
For starters, you need to follow best practices for traditional SEO. Consider this a functional prerequisite on top of which you will develop your GEO strategies.
There are many tactics that can shift the odds in your favor, but there are three that stand out as particularly valuable.
Cite Your Sources
Research suggests that one of the best methods for reliability improving your visibility in AI-generated search results is citing your sources. A study by Princeton University, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI, and IIT Delhi has verified this.
There are a few elements of effective source citation you’ll need to bear in mind:
- Cite credible sources. Citing a random source on the web isn’t going to cut the mustard. If you want your citation to be valuable, you need to cite credible sources. Look for industry experts, trusted names, and well-established institutions.
- Provide inline citations. Your citations also need to be inline, meaning they need to appear in the line of text where they are relevant. Footnotes and endnotes are acceptable, but they should be considered supplementary, adding context and elaboration to your inline citations.
- Add a hyperlink. Part of your citation should include a hyperlink to the original source, if relevant.
- List your citations at the end. Finally, include a list of citations at the end of your content as a redundancy measure and as a way to show off the full scope of your research.
Add Quotes From Authorities
It’s also a good idea to add some quotes from authorities.
Authorities are experts or figureheads with the knowledge, experience, credentials, or public recognition to showcase them as a figure of integrity. In other words, you need to make sure the quote has some power behind it.
When quoting someone, make sure to provide the quote in full and fully accurately, complete with the proper attribution. Also list the speaker’s title or credentials to make sure the individual is properly recognized as an authority.
Including quotes is important, but keep in mind that more isn’t necessarily better. You don’t need to go overboard by stuffing your content full of quotes; a couple of quotes in a typical article should be able to fulfill the requirements of this tactic.
Include More Statistics
Similarly, you can add more statistics to make your work more credible and increase its likelihood of being featured in AI-generated results. So far, search engine AI seems to love numbers and statistics – but there are some best practices you’ll need to follow:
- Make it relevant. Including random statistics isn’t going to help you. Make sure each statistic you feature is highly relevant to the subject matter and valuable to the people reading your work.
- Cite it. Did you know that 97 percent of statistics are simply made up on the spot? It’s a silly joke, but it proves a valuable point: statistics are only valid if they’re properly cited and backed up. Always show where you’re getting your information, and if you’re providing original research, explain how that research was performed.
- Explain it. Finally, explain the context of your statistics. Why are you featuring these statistics? What meaning should readers glean from them? What is the relevance to the rest of your work?
Additional Strategies for GEO Value
These additional strategies can help you boost your GEO potential even further:
- Improve your digital PR profile (generally). Digital PR and SEO have so much overlap that some firms treat them as functionally identical, or at least strongly synergistic. Still, you can increase your likelihood of being featured in AI-based results by boosting your digital PR profile. For example, you can build the visibility and reputation of individual leaders within your company and have their content featured in authoritative offsite publications. You can also circulate more press releases (assuming they’re newsworthy) and build up your social media presence.
- Optimize your Google Business Profile. Google Business Profile is a free service that allows business owners to take control of their online business information – and how it’s presented in search engines. If you optimize for local SEO, you’re probably already familiar with Google Business Profile. If you haven’t taken advantage of it yet, now is the perfect time to open your account and optimize your listing. Make sure all the details are accurate and up to date, and periodically revisit your listing to verify its accuracy.
- Build more links and citations. As you likely already know, backlinks and citations are extremely valuable for building your authority in the SEO world. That authority is perhaps even more valuable for GEO, since generative entries are featured above the fold – and because in many cases, there’s only one entry for users to review. Earn more backlinks and citations from external authorities, and highly prioritize the biggest authorities you can find.
- Focus on associations with credible authorities. Similarly, try to associate your brand with credible authorities in the industry as well as any influencers who are relevant to the content you produce. Occasional partnerships and collaborations can go a long way here.
- Prioritize natural, human language. Ironically, AI engines tend to select against AI-generated content. That’s because even AI algorithms know that content produced by humans is generally superior. Accordingly, you need to make sure that all your content is written in a natural, human way. Your words should flow seamlessly and intuitively, and you should speak from personal experience whenever possible. The more readable and the more enjoyable your work is, the better.
- Work with E-E-A-T guidelines. E-E-A-T guidelines demand attention to Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and they have long been mainstay targets for the SEO community. Chances are, if you’ve been in the SEO game for any amount of time, you’re already aware of this and you’ve paid at least some attention to adhering to these guidelines. However, now is the perfect time to audit your performance, revisit your content strategy, and practically guarantee alignment with these guidelines in the future.
SEO was always a challenging game.
AI didn’t exactly make things easier.
But at SEO.co, we pride ourselves on staying up to date with the latest technologies and strategies – as well as all the other curveballs Google likes to throw at us.
If you’re interested in capitalizing on this digital marketing moment, or if you just need some extra strategic support, we can help you. Getting started is free, easy, and dare we say fun – so sign up for free today!
Tim holds expertise in building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams.
When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii.
Over the years he's written for publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications. Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
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