Definitions, quickly
SEO (search engine optimization) makes a page rank in a list of results. The unit of success is a ranked link and a click.
GEO (generative engine optimization) makes a page usable as a source inside a generated answer. The unit of success is an extracted statement and a citation. You will also see it called AI SEO, LLM SEO or AEO (answer engine optimization) — the same discipline under different labels.
Where they diverge
- Target: ranking position vs being quoted.
- Unit: the page vs the individual sentence or paragraph.
- Keywords: query variants vs full natural-language questions.
- Authority: backlinks vs verifiable evidence and entity consistency.
- Delivery: indexable HTML vs extractable, self-contained statements.
- Access: Googlebot vs GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, Google-Extended.
- Measurement: impressions and clicks vs citations, mentions and assistant referrals.
What still overlaps (most of it)
Answer engines mostly retrieve from a conventional index. If your site is slow, blocked, thin or badly structured, it fails both games at once. Technical SEO — crawlability, clean URLs, semantic HTML, internal linking, speed, mobile — remains the floor. GEO is what you build on top of that floor, not a replacement for it.
The practical playbook
- Answer first. Each section opens with the answer in one sentence.
- Be checkable. Numbers, dates, named sources; avoid unverifiable claims.
- Declare identity. Organization, Author, FAQPage and Breadcrumb schema.
- Cover questions. Write the phrasings people actually type into assistants.
- Render server-side. If the answer only exists after hydration, it may not exist at all.
- Open the gates. Allow AI crawlers explicitly in robots.txt.
- Publish llms.txt. A short, factual site summary for models.
- Stay comparative. Comparison and "vs" content is disproportionately cited.
How to measure progress
Run both scores together. The free SEO checker covers the classic half, the AI search visibility checker covers the generative half, and the fight scoreboard shows both against a competitor at the same time — which is the only comparison that tells you whether you are actually winning.
SEO vs GEO FAQ
What does GEO mean in marketing?
GEO stands for generative engine optimization: optimising a website so generative answer engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot retrieve, quote and cite it. It is sometimes called AI SEO, LLM SEO or AEO.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. GEO is built on top of SEO. Crawlability, speed, structure and authority still decide whether your content is available at all; GEO decides whether a model can safely quote it once it is found.
What are the main differences between SEO and GEO?
SEO optimises for ranked links, keyword relevance and click-through. GEO optimises for extraction and citation: self-contained answers, verifiable evidence, entity clarity, question coverage and access for AI crawlers.
How do I measure GEO performance?
Track citations and mentions inside AI answers, referral traffic from AI assistants, and a structural GEO score like the one SeoFightr generates from extractability, evidence, identity, question coverage and citability.
Is llms.txt worth adding?
It is cheap and helpful. An llms.txt file gives models a plain-language summary of what your site is and which pages matter, which improves how accurately you are described in answers.