GEO optimization
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the work of getting your brand named, ranked well and described accurately in AI-generated answers. It’s to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers what SEO is to the list of blue links.
GEO and SEO
Section titled “GEO and SEO”| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Google and Bing results pages | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, Meta Muse, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Copilot |
| What you win | A link on a page of links | A place in a short list inside the answer |
| What decides it | Relevance, links, page experience | What the engine finds and trusts: your pages, and what other sites say about you |
| What the user does | Clicks through and compares | Often reads the answer and decides there |
| How you measure it | Rankings, clicks | Visibility, Position, Sentiment, Diversity |
The two overlap more than they differ. The engines search the web before they answer, and Google’s AI answers sit on top of Google’s own results. Good SEO is the floor GEO stands on.
The principles
Section titled “The principles”Be findable
Section titled “Be findable”Engines can only cite pages they can fetch and read. Allow AI search crawlers, serve real HTML, keep a fresh sitemap. AI Readiness checks all of it on your homepage.
Be unambiguous
Section titled “Be unambiguous”Use one name, one description and one category everywhere: your site, your profiles, directories, review sites. Structured data (Organization, Product, WebSite) and links to your official profiles help engines tie it all to one brand.
Be quotable
Section titled “Be quotable”Engines lift sentences. Put a clear, factual answer near the top of each page: what it is, who it’s for, what it costs, how it compares. Use headings that read like the questions people ask. “Northwind is a CRM for small agencies, from $29 a month” is quotable; “Reimagining relationships” isn’t.
Be where the answers come from
Section titled “Be where the answers come from”Most answers lean on a small set of sources: review sites, comparison articles, forums, reference pages. Being named there often matters more than another page on your own site. Sources shows exactly which sites the engines read for your prompts.
Be specific
Section titled “Be specific”Generic questions favor big brands. Specific ones (“CRM for a 10-person agency that bills hourly”) are where a focused brand wins. Find them in Opportunities, answer them on your site, and track them as prompts.
Be consistent over time
Section titled “Be consistent over time”Engines change models and sources. Visibility built on many sources and many pages holds up; visibility resting on one article doesn’t. Watch Diversity: low Diversity means you depend on one or two engines.
Measuring GEO
Section titled “Measuring GEO”Rankry measures the outcome directly: it asks the engines your buyers’ questions on a schedule and reads what they say.
- Metrics explained: what each number means.
- Compete: how you compare with your rivals.
- AI Traffic: the visits that AI answers send you.