Traditional SEO vs. Generative Engine Optimisation

Traditional SEO is primarily focused on optimising websites for keyword-based search engines by improving on-page elements, backlink profiles, technical structure, and content relevance. The major goal is to achieve a high ranking in the search engine results page (SERP) by targeting specific search queries and aligning with known algorithms.

GEO, on the other hand, is designed for AI-powered search experiences such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, which retrieve, chunk, and generate answers directly from the web sources, without showing traditional links.

GEO optimisation requires a completely different mindset that emphasizes structured, semantically-rich content that can be easily parsed and cited by large language models. 

Instead of optimising for clicks, GEO is much more concerned about content retrievability, authority & trust signals, and prompt-level relevance to help ensure that your content is included in AI-generated responses. As AI search continues to grow in marketing value, it is more important to maintain visibility in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. 

Key GEO Strategies

Recent research and industry practice emphasize several tactics that significantly enhance content visibility in generative engine responses. Some of them include:

• Cite Credible Sources: Linking claims to reputable references helps to increase both credibility and the chances of being surfaced by AI 
• Add Statistics & Data: Quantitative evidence, when added, helps to make content more authoritative and your brand more trustworthy, which is attractive to AI models 
• Include Expert Quotations: The practice of using direct quotes from recognized authorities helps to add depth and increases the likelihood of being featured 
• Use Unique Vocabulary: Developing content with specific topic-relevant terms helps AI models to identify and then select your content for niche queries 
• Optimise for LLM Retrieval: LLM systems like ChatGPT have been observed to favor clear, easy-to-understand content as they are easy to retrieve, vectorise and then synthesize a response. Learn more about content optimisation for GEO in my blog article about  ChatGPT optimisation.

Several empirical studies have shown that these measures, if adopted, can help boost your visibility in AI models’ responses by 30 – 40% when compared to unoptimised content.

Cost of GEO

The cost of implementing GEO strategies varies for different customers, depending on factors like:

• Your current content amount and production process
• Competitiveness of your industry 
• The extent of your GEO objective

Compared to traditional SEO, GEO investments are even more content-driven and are more shifted towards rewriting, restructuring, and semantically-enriching existing material to make it retrievable and citable by AI systems. In addition to the text, AI systems frequently surface YouTube videos and images, therefore making content reuse another possible investment. It may also involve prompt-based content planning and expert-driven authority building. 

GEO demands significant expertise in AI behavior, prompt engineering, and search intent mapping within language models. Several businesses may need to handle certain upfront costs for content strategy shift, one-time technical optimisation for LLM crawling, and AI search prompt testing. However, as the competition for AI-generated visibility continues to grow, early adoption and investment in GEO can help to provide a strong 1st-mover advantage and compounding returns over time, especially as generative search becomes a major discovery avenue.

Why Hire an External GEO Expert Instead of an Internal Team?

Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is a fast-developing field that demands a comprehensive understanding of how LLM systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AIO interpret, chunk, and synthesize web content. 

Most internal teams, including very experienced SEO professionals, are not yet acquainted with the specialized knowledge required for successful GEO optimisation, which is needed to align content with AI retrieval models or optimise for prompt-based queries. Hiring an external GEO expert provides you with quick access to cutting-edge strategies, tools, and insights without the learning curve or the overhead of training an in-house team.

An external GEO expert brings about cross-industry experience, real-world testing results, and a fresh perspective to the table – all of which help to uncover opportunities your internal team might overlook. GEO experts can quickly audit your content through an AI lens, restructure key pages for maximum retrievability, and provide strategic recommendations that are optimised for the AI-driven search landscape. 

When you work together with an expert, you get to fast-track implementation, avoid costly missteps, and ensure that your brand is highly visible in the next era of search without having to relocate your internal resources or reinvent your SEO playbook.