With the rise of AI powered platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok and others, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is gradually becoming an alternative for brands to recover lost traffic and visibility after the recent changes in search algorithms between 2024 and 2025.
Although GEO is relatively new and certainly not a walk in the park, seeing a number of brands with lower page rank, domain authority and content quality ranking ahead of top brands, it is easy to note that generative engine optimization holds a lot of promise for smaller brands, in the face of stiff competitions.
With millions using AI tools like ChatGPT to make search queries, GEO provides an opportunity for brands to optimize their content to get visibility on top AI chat platforms. But so many content creators do not have a clue what generative engine optimization is all about. That’s exactly what you’ll learn in this guide.
What is Generative Engine Optimization?
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Generative engine optimization is a digital marketing strategy that is focused on optimizing your content, website or brand to show up on AI generated answers across different AI powered search platforms. It is also called GEO for short.
Like generative AI, GEO is novel and most brands do not have a clue what it’s all about but this search optimization tactics is becoming quite a popular option for search visibility in the AI chatbots and quite a number of brads are already cashing out on it.
In this guide, I’ll break down generative engine optimization and why it matters in your quest for higher visibility and website traffic in 2025 and beyond.
Why Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Matters
It might seem like Generative Engine Optimization is not really important but when you start seeing very small brands getting increasing visibility on search queries across AI platforms, you’ll realize it has a lot of potentials. Here are some reasons why Generative Engine Optimization matters:
- Increasing AI generated queries: A study by Digital Silk has indicated that Millions of people are now asking questions directly using generative AI tools like Perplexity, Grok, ChatGPT and these tools are providing answers with links to website URLs, right on their search bar.
- AI Algorithms are Different: AI powered algorithms uses different parameters compared to search engine platforms, meaning that it is imperative to optimize your content to attract citations on generative AI platforms if you want to show on AI generated answers.
- Improved Visibility: Optimizing for GEO means that your content gets seen beyond the search engines platforms like Google therefore enhancing your visibility and attracting improved traffic to your website.
- Increased Brand Recognition: Even where links to your websites are not cited in answers generated by AI search platforms, brand mentions across search responses can increase recognition and credibility for your brand.
- Alternative Traffic Sources: While traffic from Ai search platforms are not comparable to search generated traffic in most cases, studies show that these platform are increasingly driving traffic to websites and early adopters can leverage this to drive growth and brand recognition.
There are more reasons why brands are considering to optimize their content for inclusion in AI generated answers but these are some of the leading reasons why GEO matters.
GEO Vs SEO: How They Stand
Generative engine optimization (GEO) and Search engine optimization (SEO) are digital marketing strategies that can be used to increase online visibility through different approaches.
While SEO uses traditional search optimization strategies like Keyword research and placement, On Page Optimization, Technical SEO etc. to optimize a website’s visibility on search engine platforms like Google, Bing etc., GEO focuses on content optimization for easy indexing by AI generative tools.
The goal of SEO is to ensure that a piece of content is visible for users on the search engine while GEO is more concerned with structuring your content in a way that it can be easily cited by generative AI tools.
Strategies to Optimize for GEO
Generative engine optimization presents quite an opportunity for smaller brands to get the visibility they deserve. These are some steps you can use to get cited in answers generated by AI platforms:
- Create clear, and fact based answers: AI models are built to prefer structured, unambiguous and concise content that hits the nail on its head without the use of unnecessary jargons and fluffy words. Consider using this as a part of your content structure.
- Use Conversational Language: Generative AI models are trained to mirror humans in how they provide answers, meaning that you’ll have to sound very natural, human and conversational with your content even while optimizing for visibility on these platforms.
- Build Credibility and Trustworthiness: Like search engine platforms, generative AI platforms prioritize contents from brands that showcase high Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust (EEAT). Building up on your EEAT and showcasing this through your content can position your brand for easy inclusion in AI generated answers
- Optimize Content for Easy Citations: Considering that content structure is very important in AI citations, use headings, short headings, bullet points, including FAQ sections and clear paragraphs to make your content digestible, easy to scan and feature on AI overviews and across AI platforms
- Share your Content Across Platforms: Large language model platforms are not just trained on content across blog posts, they also include in their answers, content across platforms like Reddit, Quora, Medium, LinkedIn etc in their answers so you want to get your content shared on these platforms.
Beyond positioning for generative engine optimization, make sure you do not abandon traditional search engine optimization strategies like keyword and semantics, technical search engine optimization, link building etc. as this will also enhance your visibility even across generative AI platforms.
How to Show up in AI Answers using GEO
It might seem like it is hard to show up on answers generated by AI models across platforms but with strategic generative engine optimization using the options below among others, you can increase your chances of inclusion in answers generated by these platforms
- Prioritize User Generated Content: User generated content like reviews, comments etc. sometimes feature on AI generated answers and you can prioritize using this as a part of your strategy to boost your visibility across platforms.
- Leverage Social Media: Some social media platforms including YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn have been included as a source in AI overview and answers from large language model trained platforms. Leveraging these platforms to share your content could strategically position your content to be included across answers generated for AI queries.
- Monitor your Competition: Some brands are already showing up on AI overviews and answers across platforms for specific search queries. As much as possible, you want to monitor what they are doing right and find ways to use your findings to better optimize your own for generative AI on your posts
In addition to optimizing for generative AI platforms, it is important that you keep traditional SEO up to date so you can continue to experience visibility across search engines, understudy your outcomes to find what’s working and what is not so that you can iterate your GEO to meet with trends.
Can Small Brands Gain traffic with Generative Engine Optimization?
Small brands in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, India, Africa generally and across many growing markets can gain improved traffic using generative engine optimization because of the following reasons:
- GEO Can Increase Brand Visibility: With generative engine optimization, smaller brands gets more exposure and citations across AI generated tools, leading to improved recognition and overall brand visibility
- Drive improved traffic: While traffic from AI platforms is still at its formative stages, studies indicate that citations in ai generated answers can lead to website visits from users
- Complement SEO: With increasing volatility on search engine algorithms, with generative engine optimizations, smaller brands can now find alternative sources for web traffic across AI search platforms.
While generative engine optimization is still a novel marketing strategy, smaller brands in growing markets can adopt this as an alternate strategy to drive visibility, website traffic and sales.
Final Words
Generative engine optimization holds a lot of promise for brands both big and small and using these strategies can get you started on your journey to get visible on ai platforms, drive more traffic and potentially make more sale.
Regardless, it is important to bear in mind that generative AI is still very novel, dynamic and fast changing, meaning that you’ll have to be ready to iterate and pivot your strategies, if you’re going to drive sustained outcomes.
There’s so much more to learn in this new area of marketing. And as a leading platform on digital marketing, you can learn more about generative engine optimization either via our post or by reaching out here.
Now it’s over to you. What’s your biggest challenges when it comes to GEO? Drop your answers below.
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