What is Generative Engine Optimisation & Does Your Business Need It Alongside SEO?

Search is constantly developing, and the way people find and consume information online is changing. SEO has been an essential part of helping businesses improve their online visibility and drive organic traffic, however the rise of AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and other generative search platforms is adapting the way people now search for information.

With organic search transforming, it’s important to remember that GEO isn’t a replacement for SEO, it’s an addition to it. Both play a role in helping businesses remain visible online and understanding how they work together is key.

In this blog, we’ll explore what Generative Engine Optimisation is, how it differs from traditional SEO and where the two overlap. We’ll also look at what makes content useful to generative engines, whether keywords still matter, how to measure GEO performance and if businesses should invest in it.

What is Generative Engine Optimisation?

Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the strategic approach of optimising a site to improve its visibility in AI-generated responses and search engines. It involves structuring content in a certain way and providing clear, reliable information so that AI-powered search tools can easily find and reference businesses.

While traditional search engines provide a ranked list of web pages, generative engines read multiple sources and then create a single answer with references to relevant information from those sources. The success of this is measured not by rankings, but by whether content is selected and used within generated answers.

The goal for GEO is to be indexed as well as be selected, trusted, and cited within the answer itself.

How is GEO Different From SEO?

The difference between GEO and SEO is that they have different priorities when it comes to online visibility. Traditional SEO is focused on helping websites rank in search engine results, whereas GEO is focusing on making content more likely to be discovered and cited in AI-generated responses.

The biggest distinction is how information is presented to users. With traditional SEO, users are shown a list of relevant pages, and they decide which ones they want to click on and visit. With generative search, AI tools draw on information from multiple sources to provide a direct answer, meaning content may be used without the user necessarily visiting the website it originates from.

Where Do They Overlap?

Although both have different priorities, they do share many of the same foundations.  They both rely on high-quality accurate content that answers the questions the audience is asking.

Having well-structured content and a technically accessible website can support both strategies to help search engines rank content and make it easier for AI to interpret. If a page is hard to crawl, has slow loading times and is badly organised, both the SEO and GEO will suffer.

This is why GEO shouldn’t be treated as a completely separate strategy. Many of the improvements businesses make to their SEO can also support their visibility in generative search. The difference is that GEO adds another consideration.

What Makes Content Useful to Generative Engines?

Content is useful to generative engines, like ChatGPT and Google AI overviews, when it’s clear, so it can be easily extracted, summarised and cited.

It’s all about making content easier to find. Some ways to do this include:

• Using short paragraphs and clear sections to make content easier to follow and interpret
• Having descriptive headings and subheadings that clearly explains the section covered
• Addressing the main question early on to lead with answers
• Thinking about what the audience is searching for and framing content around those questions to provide helpful answers
• Demonstrating genuine expertise to showcase your credibility
• Using structured data to help AI crawlers analyse context effortlessly

The aim is to create content that genuinely deserves to be found, understood and referenced in AI. 

Do Keywords No Longer Matter?

No, keywords definitely still matter, hey are just one part of a much broader content strategy. Despite the rise of generative search, keywords are still an important part of both SEO and GEO. It’s the focus that has shifted, from simply targeting individual search terms to understanding the questions and intent behind them.

The way Google uses keywords is to understand what a page is about and will then rank the page that best answers the searcher’s questions. Generative engines look at this but also look beyond exact keyword matches, considering the wider context of content and how well it answers a user’s query.

How Do You Measure GEO Performance?

When measuring GEO performance, looking at rankings, clicks and organic traffic are still important, but it’s also essential to consider how often the brand and content appear in AI-generated responses.

Here are some of the key things to monitor performance:

• AI mentions: How often the business or brand is mentioned in AI-generated answers
• AI citations: Whether generative engines are referencing the website as a source of information
• Referral traffic: How much traffic is coming to the website from AI platforms
• Brand visibility: Whether the business is being recommended or recognised when users ask relevant questions about the industry
• Conversions: Whether visitors arriving from AI platforms are taking meaningful actions, such as making an enquiry or purchasing a product

GEO is still an advancing area, so there isn’t one single metric that states how successful a strategy is. It’s about looking at a combination of AI visibility to give a better understanding of how It is performing.

Should Businesses Invest in GEO?

Yes, businesses should invest in GEO as more and more people are turning to AI-powered tools to search for information and find recommendations.

Investing in GEO can help businesses improve visibility across generative search platforms, reach potential customers in new ways and establish themselves within their industry.

Again, this doesn’t mean businesses should abandon traditional SEO. The two strategies work alongside each other and will continue to progress as search behaviour changes.