Local SEO Unlocked

From SEO to GEO: Making Your Content AI-Friendly in the Age of Generative Search

• Don Phelps • Season 1 • Episode 19

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Remember when finding information online meant scrolling through pages of blue links? Those days are rapidly fading as AI systems deliver instant, comprehensive answers to our questions. This seismic shift demands a new approach to visibility: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

GEO represents a fundamental reevaluation of how expertise gets discovered and shared online. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking high in search results to earn website clicks, GEO aims to position your content as the trusted source that AI systems reference when generating responses. Success isn't measured by traffic anymore but by how frequently your expertise is cited within AI-generated answers.

We dive deep into how different AI platforms evaluate and reference content. ChatGPT favors conversational yet authoritative content with strong backlink profiles. Perplexity leans toward timely, specialized content with citations from industry authorities. Claude appreciates detailed, logically structured information from reliable sources. Each requires slight adjustments in approach, though quality, authority, and relevance remain constant requirements.

Building an effective GEO strategy starts with understanding how people naturally phrase questions in your field. Content excellence becomes paramount – clear structure using headings, bullet points, and schema markup helps both humans and AI systems digest your information efficiently. The technical foundations of SEO remain critical: fast-loading pages, mobile optimization, and clean site architecture all contribute to making your content more accessible to AI crawlers.

As Don Phelps, the SEO Guru, emphasizes, authenticity remains essential even while optimizing for AI systems. The best strategies enhance rather than replace genuine expertise and value creation. Start implementing these approaches now, while this landscape is still developing, to ensure your knowledge isn't just seen but genuinely impactful in this new age of AI-mediated information. The future of digital visibility has arrived – are you ready to become the source AI trusts?

Thanks for tuning in to Local SEO Unlocked! If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who want to master Local SEO. Stay connected with us weekly for more insights on SEO! Until next time, keep optimizing and stay ahead in local search!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the deep dive, where we cut through the noise to get you informed on the most pivotal shifts happening right now and look for anyone who wants their ideas, their brand or their expertise to be found online. What we're diving into today is well, it's truly game-changing. You've probably noticed it yourself, right, the way we get information online. It's fundamentally shifting. Remember scrolling through pages. You know those blue links trying to piece together an answer. Well, increasingly, when you ask a question online, you're not getting just a list of links, you're getting instant, pretty comprehensive answers direct from an AI. Okay, let's unpack this, because the big question then becomes how do you make sure your content, your expertise, is the trusted source those AI systems reference when they generate those answers? That's precisely our topic for today generative engine optimization, or GEO. Our mission here is basically to give you a shortcut, get you well informed on this really crucial shift. We want to make sure your knowledge isn't just seen, but it's genuinely impactful in this new age of AI.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and what's fascinating here is that this isn't just some minor tweak to traditional SEO. You know search engine optimization. It's a fundamental reevaluation, really, of how we approach content, visibility and authority in the digital space. As Don Phelps, who many called the SEO guru, he emphasizes this point. We're now at this intersection where AI meets SEO, and his take is that pretty much everyone needs to become a generative engine optimization guru. It really is a new frontier for how your content gets out there.

Speaker 1:

A new frontier I like that.

Speaker 3:

So let's get right into it then. What exactly is generative engine optimization, this GEO thing? For you, listening, maybe, think of GEO, as I don't know the art of making your content utterly irresistible to these AI assistants. So while traditional SEO is all about pleasing, say, Google's algorithms to rank high on a search result page, GEO has a different target entirely. It's about getting your expertise featured, getting your content cited right when tools like ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity generate those instant answers people are looking for. The ultimate goal, I suppose, is becoming that definitive go-to source that these powerful AI systems trust and actually reference.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, and if we connect this to the bigger picture, geo is essentially the process of optimizing your web content specifically so it gets displayed properly within these new AI-driven search engines. At its core, it aims to improve your content's visibility yeah, but also enhance brand awareness, maybe increase organic traffic though that looks different now and significantly improve the user experience across all these emerging AI platforms. The difference is quite stark when you think about it. Traditional search engines they give you a ranked list of pages. You have to click through them, do the work. Ai models, though they provide these detailed, synthesized responses, often in real time. They pull context and sources from multiple places and just present it to the user that's such a profound shift in user behavior, isn't it?

Speaker 3:

yeah people aren't just scanning blue links anymore. They expect comprehensive answers like instantly, and this really changes everything I think about how we approach content strategy. Yeah, so let's maybe break down the differences between geo and and classic SEO, not just like a list, but maybe the shift in mindset.

Speaker 2:

OK, so the core difference. It feels like a move from discovery, finding a link to getting a direct answer. Traditional SEO wanted to click to your website, geo. It seems like it wants your information to be consumed right there within the AI's answer.

Speaker 3:

That's a great way to put it, and it transforms several key areas absolutely.

Speaker 2:

Right. So like objective traditional SEO, improved website ranking, geo, optimized content for inclusion in the AI response.

Speaker 3:

Exactly, and the content display changes fundamentally too.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, from a list of pages. These real-time summarized AI responses.

Speaker 3:

Which means user interaction changes too. Less clicking individual links.

Speaker 2:

More, receiving a direct response, sometimes with sources listed, which, yeah, drastically reduces the need for clicks, and that flows down to content structure. Seo optimized for specific keywords.

Speaker 3:

Right, Whereas GEO seems to demand more authoritative content, really structured to directly answer the user's actual query, not just the keywords, Precisely and critically. The performance metrics shift. Seo was traffic conversions.

Speaker 2:

But GEO. It's actual query, not just the T-words Precisely and critically the performance metrics shift. Seo was traffic conversions.

Speaker 3:

But GEO it's more about like how often is your content actually used or referenced by the AI? That's harder to measure.

Speaker 2:

Definitely harder. And this raises an important question how exactly do these generative AI engines do this? How do they synthesize all that information? The magic well, maybe not magic, but the core technology lies in advanced machine learning. These models, large language models, llms, as you hear them called they're trained on just truly vast data sets. We're talking books, articles, huge chunks of the internet. What's crucial for us thinking about GEO, is understanding their natural language processing, nlp. That's how they don't just see keywords, but they actually grasp context and user intent. They learn patterns. You know in grammar tone how information is structured, and that lets them synthesize data from multiple sources and put together these remarkably human like responses. Plus, they're always learning. Continuous learning means they're constantly adapting, getting better at understanding what you're really asking.

Speaker 3:

It's honestly incredible how quickly these systems learn and evolve. It feels like they change month to month. But you know, with any powerful new frontier like this, there's always well dual nature. There are amazing advantages, but also some tricky pitfalls we need to navigate. So what are some of the compelling upsides for brands and content creators, and maybe what should we be a bit wary of? Okay, on the upside, the benefits seem pretty compelling. First, you get an enhanced user experience. Right, people get immediate, comprehensive answers. It streamlines things for them. This leads to improved content visibility. Obviously, if your content gets featured directly in those generated responses and by adapting to these evolving search trends now you're kind of positioning yourself ahead of the curve, ahead of competitors maybe. Plus, your brand potentially gets exposure across multiple AI platforms at once and you establish yourself as a thought leader potentially.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. Those are big pluses. But with these benefits come some critical challenges, and Don Phelps he often highlights these. One of the biggest drawbacks right now unclear metrics. It's just much harder to quantify the effectiveness, the ROI, of GEO, compared to traditional SEO. Click-through rates, traffic those are pretty straightforward, but how do you measure the value of being cited versus being clicked? It's tricky. There's also a significant dependence on these AI platforms that are constantly evolving. You're kind of at the mercy of their algorithm changes, their updates, which can be frequent and, frankly, unpredictable, and a real risk, as Feltz points out, is creating bland, overly optimized content that might just lose its human appeal, its distinct voice. He strongly advocates for maintaining authenticity, even while you're optimizing for these AI systems. He strongly advocates for maintaining authenticity even while you're optimizing for these AI systems. He stresses that the best GE or strategies should enhance, not replace, genuine expertise and true value creation. It's about adding a skill, not abandoning the fundamentals.

Speaker 3:

That's a key point that fear many creators have losing their unique voice just to please an algorithm.

Speaker 2:

Phelps argues for authenticity but practically speaking, where's the line between optimizing for AI and optimizing away your human appeal? It feels fine. And if the ROI is so murky right now, how do we convince, say, stakeholders or bosses to invest in GEO now? Are there any early signs that this investment actually pays off down the line?

Speaker 3:

That's really where the strategy comes in. It's not about writing for the AI in a robotic way. It's more about writing for the human reader, but doing it in a way that the AI can easily understand and value. Think, structure, clarity, authority. The payoff isn't just in direct traffic, which might decrease anyway. It's in building brand authority and this kind of pervasive presence. You become that trusted voice the AI models consistently reference. That builds long-term value, even if it's harder to slap a direct ROI number on it. Today, the advice is generally don't chase every little algorithm tweak. Focus on foundational quality. That tends to win out over time. Okay, foundational quality.

Speaker 3:

So if deep research tells us how people are asking questions, the next logical step is making sure our content is impeccably crafted to answer them, both for humans and AI. That brings us right to building an effective GEO strategy. Let's maybe walk through some actionable steps for people listening. First off, it really starts with deep dive research, doesn't it? You need to understand how people naturally ask questions in your specific field. Think conversational queries, those long tail keywords people type or speak and, crucially, the actual problems your audience is trying to solve. What are their pain points? A really practical starting point might be to just pay attention to how your existing content is already being referenced by AI tools, if at all. That can reveal some valuable patterns you can then amplify. Okay, then next content excellence and organization. This sounds key. Clear structure is critical, right, using things like headings, bullet points, maybe tables, just to make information digestible for both humans and AI crawlers.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and things like schema markup become even more important.

Speaker 3:

Ah right. Schema helps the AI instantly understand the context and the relationship between different pieces of information on your page. It's like giving the AI a clear instruction manual for your content.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. But above all that technical stuff, it's the genuine expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness EEAT, as Google calls it. That's paramount AI systems, especially the newer ones, they don't just count links anymore. They try to infer authority. They look at whether the author has colored other credible work, if the content is cited by reputable places, if the author has real-world credentials all feeding into that trustworthiness score.

Speaker 3:

So you really have to build that broader brand authority, not just optimize a single page.

Speaker 2:

Precisely. And finally, the technical foundations Don't forget the basics. Traditional SEO stuff is still critical. And finally, the technical foundations Don't forget the basics. Traditional SEO stuff is still critical Fast loading pages, mobile optimization, a clean site architecture, strong internal linking all that makes your content more accessible and understandable for AI crawlers too. It's fascinating, actually, how those elements some technical, some about quality how they directly help an AI understand and trust your content, leading to citations. Yes, and holistic research plays into this too. It's not just about keywords anymore, it's really understanding your market, your users, your competitors. It involves regularly checking how your brand is currently showing up or not showing up on AI platforms and doing thorough content research to create rich, nuanced, comprehensive material. Ai models generally seem to prefer that depth. These foundations ensure that when an AI is synthesizing information, your content stands out as reliable, well-organized and authoritative.

Speaker 3:

Now here's where it gets really interesting, I think. While these core GEO principles apply broadly, each LLM, each AI model seems to have its own unique personality, like its preferred diet of information, you could say, so you often need to tailor your approach a bit for different AI platforms. It's not one size fits all right. So, for instance, take ChatGPT. It seems to still heavily value some traditional authority signals. It tends to favor conversational yet authoritative content. Strong backlink profiles still matter there, apparently, brand mentions on high authority sites, positive reviews and keeping content current.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, consistency and freshness seem key for ChatGPT. Interestingly, the age of content can play a role too. Sometimes older, well-documented topics or products get recommended if they've shown consistent authority over time.

Speaker 3:

Okay, but then you have others that lean more heavily into recency and direct citations. Right yeah, Like perplexity.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. Perplexity is a great example. It seems to lean towards timely, maybe more specialized niche content and, crucially, it appears to prioritize citations from authoritative industry sites over just general backlinks. So for perplexity, regular content updates and maybe even a strong PR strategy could be really key, establishing your site as the authority on specific, fast-moving topics.

Speaker 3:

Interesting. And what about something like Claude, that's known for its focus on safety and alignment?

Speaker 2:

Right Claude from Anthropic. It seems to appreciate detailed, logically structured, often long-form content. Reliability is huge. It favors sources like academic journals or reputable news outlets and with Claude it seems really important to avoid keyword stuffing. It prioritizes context and coherence over just jamming keywords in.

Speaker 3:

Makes sense, and Gemini being Google's model.

Speaker 2:

Well, Gemini aligns pretty closely with Google's traditional ranking factors, given its access to Google's web data and index. But the expectation seems to be even higher content quality, top-notch mobile optimization and extreme relevance, so ensuring your site follows all of Google's best practices. Fast learning, mobile-friendly, structured data is vital, but with that quality bar raised even higher.

Speaker 3:

So it's kind of like tailoring your outfit for different occasions, isn't it? You tailor your content, presentation, maybe even the focus slightly for different AI platforms.

Speaker 2:

That's a good analogy. These platform-specific nuances highlight the understanding needed for effective GEO. Each LLM weights information differently. Some like recency, others depth, some prefer conversational tone. Others still value that strong backlink profile. The consistent thread, though, through all of them it seems to be quality, authority and relevance to what the user is actually asking. It boils down to providing content that genuinely helps people, structured in a way that each specific AI can effectively parse and, ultimately, trust.

Speaker 3:

Right. So let's say you're doing all this, you're putting in the work, optimizing your content for these generative engines. How do you actually track your GEO success? We mentioned the metrics are murky. Traditional analytics often fall short. Here it feels like it requires some creativity. You probably need to start monitoring your brand appearances and AI responses across different platforms, right? Maybe tracking changes in your branded search volume or looking at direct traffic that might indicate increased awareness driven by AI.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and looking for patterns too what types of your content are getting cited most often. That tells you what formats and topics are resonating, and if we connect this back to the bigger picture of digital measurement, don Phelps' general approach is really relevant here. He emphasizes establishing baseline metrics now, even if they're imperfect, and then tracking incremental improvements over time. It's about adaptation, continuous learning. Thankfully, some specialized tools are starting to emerge to help with this. For instance, there's a free tool called the Mangles AI Search Grader. It's specifically designed to evaluate how your brand or website performs in ChatGPT's results.

Speaker 3:

Oh interesting, how does that work?

Speaker 2:

You basically enter your brand name and your niche. It then generates relevant prompts, analyzes multiple AI responses from ChatGPT and gives you a visibility percentage and an average position for your brand within those AI-generated recommendations. So it gives you some concrete data in what's been a pretty murky area. That's alongside, of course, using insights from Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 for broader performance tracking.

Speaker 3:

Okay. That's actually really helpful to know there are tools starting to appear. So, wrapping this up, what's the big takeaway here? The core message seems clear. Generative engine optimization isn't replacing traditional SEO. It's expanding the playing field, adding another layer as AI-generated answers become more and more the norm. Content creators who can master both traditional SEO and this new AI optimization well, they'll have a significant advantage. The key really seems to be starting now, while this landscape is still relatively open and developing, focused on creating genuinely helpful, authoritative, well-structured content that truly serves your audience's needs. The AI citation should hopefully follow naturally when your content genuinely deserves it. Like Don Phelps reminds us, the fundamentals of good marketing haven't really changed Provide real value, build trust, meet your audience where they are. Geo is just the latest evolution in that ongoing mission.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and maybe this raises one final important question for all of us listening to consider what does this fundamental shift mean, not just for marketers and content creators like us, but for the very nature of how we all consume information? If AI becomes the primary gateway to knowledge for many people, how does that change our relationship with truth, with the sources we trust and perhaps even our ability to critically evaluate the information we receive so easily? It's a pretty profound shift in how we interact with the world's knowledge, something we're thinking about.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely A really crucial thought to chew on as we all navigate this exciting and slightly daunting new frontier. We hope this deep dive has given you a solid foundation for understanding generative engine optimization and maybe some ideas on how to make your content shine in this age of AI. Go forth, explore and keep learning.