GEO
SEO vs GEO: Why Optimize for Both
Irene Chan
Jul 15, 2025
With numerous posts claiming SEO is dead, you might be wondering: Do we still need SEO? Should we focus all our efforts on GEO? The truth is, that these two processes complement each other.
To get the best of both worlds, you must optimize for both. That’s exactly our mission in this article. You’ll learn:
What GEO means in SEO.
Why you need to optimize for both SEO and GEO.
Examples of what it looks like to optimize for both.
What is GEO in SEO?
As you already know, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing your site to show up in search results based on a user’s query. The term SEO was first coined in 1997. So, it has been around for almost three decades!
When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, it changed the internet forever. The term GEO was reportedly officially used by researchers from Princeton University in November 2023.
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. Generative is associated with generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT. Basically, any chat-based tool that generates answers based on users’ questions and prompts. It goes beyond a simple query like “top tools for SEO.” It becomes highly conversational with multiple long queries in a single chat.
Generative AI gets its answers from large language models (LLMs). For example, ChatGPT has several models: GPT-4.1, GPT-4o, and GPT-4.1 mini. Often, GEO is also referred to as LLM optimization.
However, at its core, GEO means that you are optimizing your site and blog pages so that your brand is mentioned in the answers. For example, if a user asks, “What’s the best way to track brand visibility fluctuations in ChatGPT over time?” Anvil shows up as one of the recommended tools and is cited as a source.
SEO vs GEO vs AEO
Now, let’s throw in another term: AEO. It’s an important concept to understand in the context of GEO. Often, this term is used interchangeably with GEO.
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. With the advent of LLMs, search engines like Google have added AI answers.
Instead of going to ChatGPT to ask your questions and receive tailored answers, Google delivers a similar experience within the search bar. As a user, you’ll get answers curated by an AI (Google Gemini). Therefore, AEO optimizes a site’s content to show up in these answers with a link to the site.
3 Key Differences Between SEO and GEO
Now that we’ve defined all the different terms. It’s time to take a look at what actually is different between SEO and GEO under the hood. What actually happens behind the scenes before they serve the answers to the users? And how can you use this knowledge as a brand?
Crawling the Content
SEO uses web crawlers that follow links and index pages systematically. Search engines like Google send automated bots to discover, crawl, and index your content. These crawlers:
follow internal and external links.
evaluate page structure.
assess technical elements like site speed and mobile responsiveness.
Ultimately, search engines prioritize relevance and recency when ranking pages.
GEO accesses content through various data sources and APIs. Generative AI tools don't crawl the web in real time, the same way traditional search engines do. Instead, they work with training data and augment its answers with additional sources from the web search.
Synthesizing the Content
SEO presents content largely as-is from the original source. When you click on a search result, you're taken to the original webpage where the content appears in its full context. Search engines may show snippets or featured snippets, but the goal is to direct users to your site.
GEO synthesizes information from multiple sources to create new answers. Generative AI tools take information from various sources, combine it, and present a cohesive response. Your content may be cited alongside competitors, or key points may be extracted and incorporated into a broader response.
Think of it this way: SEO is like a well-organized library with a helpful librarian. When you ask a question, the librarian points you to the right section and shows you exactly which books contain the information you need. You still have to walk over, pull the books off the shelf, and read through them to find your answers. The librarian's job is to get you to the right resources, but the discovery and learning happen when you engage with the original sources.
GEO, on the other hand, is like having a knowledgeable friend who's read everything in that library. When you ask a question, they immediately give you a synthesized answer based on all the books they've absorbed, sometimes mentioning which sources influenced their response. You get instant gratification and comprehensive answers, but you might never visit the library yourself. Your friend becomes the bridge between you and all that knowledge.
Optimizing Content
SEO optimization is like designing a storefront for maximum visibility. You optimize every element—the sign placement, window displays, lighting, and location—so people walking by (search engine crawlers) can easily find and understand what you offer. You optimize content like this:
Keyword placement in titles, headings, and throughout content
Meta descriptions and title tags optimization
Internal linking structure and anchor texts used
Usually, for SEO, you'll need SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Surfer SEO to make sure that you are targeting the right keywords and structure of the article.
On the other hand, GEO optimization is like training a knowledgeable sales associate who can have conversations with customers. This person needs to provide clear, direct answers to any question and guide customers through their decision-making process.
When writing a blog post, you’ll need to write:
Clear, structured content that directly answers specific questions
FAQ sections with question-and-answer pairs
Conversational language that matches how people ask AI tools
Short paragraphs and scannable content format
Question-based headings that mirror natural speech patterns
FAQ schema markup to help AI systems identify and extract key information
GEO needs new tools to help you get accurate data on how you're showing up on LLMs.
Ultimately, SEO builds the infrastructure for getting discovered, while GEO ensures you have the right "sales associate" who answers direct and specific questions in LLMs.
Why Optimize for Both SEO and GEO?
Optimizing for SEO and GEO allows you to diversify your traffic sources, continue to build authority and trust through your content, and stay competitive in an ever-changing market.
Diversify Traffic Sources
Even before the advent of LLMs, it was always smart to diversify traffic sources. Relying on only one source is risky. Pre-ChatGPT, almost 100% of organic traffic came from Google. But nowadays, due to ChatGPT and many LLMs, the sources of traffic have become more diverse.
In 2025, for example, 97% of traffic is coming from traditional organic search while 4% is coming from LLMs. However, according to Semrush’s projections, traffic from LLMs is expected to be around 87%, while traffic from organic search is projected to be around 13% in 2029.
But to optimize for LLMs, you must first publish content. The main difference is that you now have to optimize for both. Publish a blog post that fulfills the requirement of traditional SEO, but add optimizations for LLMs.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how it will work:
Start with traditional SEO foundations: Choose a topic that is low competition and high volume, and then write blog posts targeting the right keywords and following the E-E-A-T structure.
Layer in GEO optimizations: Break your content into clear sections with question-based headings, and add FAQ sections at the end.
Implement structured data: Add FAQ schema markup to help AI systems identify your question-answer pairs.
Repurpose content: Strategically repurpose blog posts to other platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, and Medium.
Repurposing is critical in your SEO and GEO strategy, as it can help diversify traffic even further. If you publish a thought-leadership type of blog post about LinkedIn, you can repurpose it as a LinkedIn article. Your content will be discovered natively on LinkedIn.
Additionally, ChatGPT can potentially cite your LinkedIn article if it addresses a specific LinkedIn question that has not been addressed by any other site yet.
For example, I wrote a blog post about creating an AI agent that turns meeting transcripts into LinkedIn content. I first published it on my blog and then rewrote it for LinkedIn. Now, the blog post has traffic coming from Google, LinkedIn, and ChatGPT.
Build Authority and Trust
One thing has remained constant in the world of search and LLMs: you must build authority and trust through your content.
How you can build authority and trust through SEO:
Target top of the funnel (TOFU) topics: Use SEO to target keywords with the goal of getting more traffic from different target audiences.
Demonstrate expertise: Create in-depth, well-researched content that showcases your industry knowledge and experience.
Build quality backlinks: Earn links from reputable sites in your industry to signal authority to search engines.
Maintain consistency: Publish regularly and keep your content updated to show you're an active, reliable source.
Include author credentials: Clearly display author expertise and company credentials.
SEO vs GEO Examples:
Here’s how you can layer in GEO on top of your SEO workflow:
Target bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) topics: Focus on content that addresses specific implementation challenges, comparisons, and decision-making criteria that prospects research before making purchasing decisions.
Provide direct, actionable answers: AI tools favor content that gives clear, specific solutions rather than vague generalizations.
Include real examples and data: Use concrete case studies, statistics, and examples that AI can reference and cite.
Write with conversational authority: Adopt a confident yet approachable tone that sounds like expert advice rather than corporate speak.
Cross-reference your expertise: Link to your other authoritative content to create a web of credibility that AI systems can recognize and value.
For example, for one of our clients, we added publishing a case study every month to our educational blog posts. We did it by using an AI tool to take notes in the interview and put the transcript into Claude. Claude then transforms it into an on-brand, SEO and LLM-optimized case study blog post. Case study blog posts provide unique and original data that can be cited as a source on LLMs when users are looking for statistics specific to an industry or use case.
When you build authority across both channels, you create a reinforcing cycle where your SEO success supports your GEO visibility, and vice versa.
Gain Competitive Advantage
Currently, there are no reported studies of how many Fortunte 500 companies are optimizing their content for LLMs. But the AI adoption is getting better each year. According to a Demand Spring survey, 82% of organizations use AI to create content in 2024.
Companies who are not only incorporating AI tools but also optimizing content for AI will significantly gain a lot of advantage.
Strategic advantages of GEO early adoption:
Market positioning: Companies optimizing now can become the AI-recommended solution in their category.
Authority building: Early presence in AI responses establishes thought leadership before competitors enter the space.
Competitive moats: First-mover brands create citation networks that become increasingly difficult for competitors to copy.
More important, implementing early means you also get first-hand data. That’s why it’s smart to have a tool to make it easy for you to track brand mentions in LLMs over time.
For example, you can use Anvil to:
Track brand performance against key competitors across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other AI platforms.
Monitor mention frequency, response positioning, and sentiment analysis for competitive benchmarking.
Identify content opportunities by finding queries where competitors are cited but your brand is absent.
Analyze visibility trends over time to measure share-of-voice changes in AI responses.
Learn more on how you can use Anvil to help you optimize for GEO.
The window for gaining first-mover advantage remains open, and those who start implementing and getting data will be able to reap the rewards instantly and in the future.
The Future of SEO and GEO
Learning about SEO and GEO might create some kind of FOMO. But the truth is if you’ve been religiously optimizing for SEO these past few years and building links, you’re still doing the right thing.
But to prepare for the future of search, it’s critical to add GEO optimizations to your processes. The good news is that GEO is something you can easily incorporate into your SEO workflows. You might need to research new topics and use new tools like Anvil, but at the end of the day, the ultimate goal stays the same: create quality content that helps users.
FAQs about SEO and GEO
Is GEO replacing SEO?
No, GEO is complementing SEO, not replacing it. Traditional search engines still drive significant traffic. But user’s search behavior has changed significantly since ChatGPT was introduced and searches are split between organic search and LLMs.
How do GEO and SEO work together?
GEO and SEO can reinforce each other. Well-optimized content often performs well in both traditional search and AI responses. The key is creating comprehensive, authoritative content that serves both algorithms and human readers.
Do you need to optimize for GEO when you’re already ranking in SEO?
Yes. GEO optimization is slightly different than SEO. GEO focuses more on clear and structured answers and implementing the right schema structure like FAQ schemas.
How do we start incorporating GEO in our SEO process?
Start by adding comprehensive FAQ sections to your blog posts and creating content that directly answers user questions. Find popular questions that your competitors haven’t covered yet and write a comprehensive blog post to answer these questions.