Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) - The future of SEO?

INTRODUCTION

Hey folks, this blog continues from one of my previous articles where I discussed how Gen AI is en route to revolutionizing the way we surf and retrieve information from the web. We delved deeply into the different types of web searches and, most importantly, how informational search types will be most affected in the near future. In this article, I aim to analyze the aftermath of this transition. I will introduce a new concept called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which I believe represents the future of website optimization. Although this concept is fairly new and research on GEO techniques is still ongoing, I will provide my take on the subject.

WHAT IS GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (GEO)?

After reading the title of this blog, many of you might wonder: What is GEO, and why is it necessary? To clarify, think of GEO as similar to SEO—while SEO optimizes for higher rankings in traditional web searches, GEO aims to achieve higher visibility in AI-driven searches. It's almost analogous, really! As I discussed in a previous blog, there's a growing trend toward using Gen AI tools for searches. These tools not only deliver information faster but also with greater accuracy. This shift in how people search has created the need for GEO.

THE SHIFT TO AI-DRIVEN SEARCH

Let's explore the need for GEO with an example. Imagine a year ago you wanted information on any topic. What would you do? Search the Web right! Look up Wikipedia or something. But in today's generation web search for queries would be out of the picture.

The website creator's perspective

Now let’s take a look at this situation from the website creator's perspective, since no one is searching the web all of your efforts at SEO optimization become useless, there is no point if your website ranks #1 or #100 in google search because there is no one looking for it. Here is where GEO comes into action. Since people are now using AI tools to indirectly search the web, what matters to you as a creator now, is whether AI tools are visiting your website for retrieving information and whether they are recommending your website for a further read on the topic.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES AND TECHNIQUES

To understand this practically lets use some AI driven search tools as examples.

Demonstrating the application of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) through an AI-powered search tool, highlighting key insights from the 2024 Union Budget of India.

Here as an example I have used an AI based Search tool called perplexity.ai . As you can see apart from summarizing an answer there are various websites listed on the top of the response which the AI tool thinks would be useful to the reader. Now the question arises: Why were only these particular websites suggested, there has to be something that these websites have done differently isn’t it? To address this question, we introduce the concept of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). The basis of GEO is fairly simple, it depends on how generative AI models prioritize content and what kind of content do they find useful. This statement might sound quite generic, but understanding this sentence to the core and working towards it lies the secret of GEO. Just like we use SEO to make content useful for end users, GEO is used for AI driven systems. Although GEO techniques will only develop and be discovered over time, there are some basics that all websites creators must know.

Let me now explain some of the GEO techniques I came across. While some of these strategies might be common, they are likely the foundational steps to achieving your website’s GEO success.

Keyword enhancement

Enhancing and stuffing content with keywords that receive the most traffic is probably the most basic and go to optimization for any website. AI driven search tools also compute your query and try to identify probable keywords in it before searching the web. So, be it SEO or GEO Keyword planning using efficient tools (For eg. SemRush) will remain of utmost importance

Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is basically a score that predicts how well a website is likely to rank on search engines like Google. Think of it as a measure of a website's reputation or credibility on the internet. Things like Content Quality, Online Reviews, User engagement, Backlinks and their quality etc. are taken into account while calculating Domain Authorities. This factor is a primary consideration for AI tools when recommending websites. Improving DA is important but time-consuming.

Cookies and Login Policies

Many websites currently have login pages or cookie policies while prevents AI bots to crawl over their websites. In earlier stages removing Login page requirements for accessing your website can be a simple way to promote AI tools to visit your site.

Citations and Authoritative language

Try to incorporate citations that are taken from reputable sources and give statistical evidence supporting your content.

Structured Content

Structured Content: Optimize your website to ensure it's easy for crawl bots to navigate through the content. Use proper HTML tags, and structured data to help search engines better understand and index your pages efficiently.

Fluency and Easy to Read

Based on a study, AI tools prefer content that is simple yet informative. They often avoid overly complicated text. This approach not only aids AI in understanding content but also enhances user engagement by making information accessible to a broader audience.

These methods are a compilation of my own research and insights from a research paper I studied. a while back. The statistics below are taken from a research paper (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2311.09735). It's worth a read for detailed understanding of GEO strategies.

Overview of GEO Strategies and Their Effectiveness in Enhancing Content Visibility

CONCLUSION

Now you might be asking yourselves: How are these methods different from traditional SEO techniques? Well, you're right to think that some of them aren’t quite different at all. What I aim to convey through this article is the importance of finding a sweet spot between SEO and GEO. In my view, GEO is not just a complement to SEO; it represents an evolution or adaptation of SEO and it is going to be the next big thing to look out for in terms of website optimization.

Exploring Advanced Search Tools: A Deep Dive into SearchGPT

I will continue this series of articles by discuss about some new AI driven search tools in particular. We will have a detailed look at OpenAI’s new SearchGPT.