Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) utilizes aspects of both Semantic SEO and Technical SEO to increase the probability that content will be used and cited in Generative AI Engine Search Results provided by Google’s SGE and Bing’s Copilot. Researchers have defined GEO as “A novel paradigm to aid content creators in improving the visibility of their content in Generative Engine responses through a black-box optimization framework for optimizing and defining visibility metrics.”[1]
Before we discuss the differences between GEO and SEO, let’s first understand what these optimization techniques are:
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
- Definition: Content optimization strategies to improve the visibility of content in Generative AI Engine responses.
- Emergence: GEO has surfaced in response to AI-powered search engines, also known as generative engines.
- Generative AI Engines: These engines, such as Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Bing’s Copilot, go beyond mere information retrieval. They synthesize data from multiple sources to generate comprehensive AI responses.
- Optimization: GEO aims to optimize content specifically for these AI-driven search engines.
- Visibility Boost: GEO methods, including citations, relevant quotations, and statistics, significantly enhance a website’s visibility in generative AI search results.
- Metrics: Utilizes a set of impression metrics that measure the visibility of citations and their relevance to the user query.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Definition: SEO focuses on optimizing websites and their content to rank higher in traditional search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Tactics: It involves using targeted keywords, creating high-quality content, building backlinks, and more.
- Audience: SEO primarily caters to search engines like Google and Bing, ensuring effective crawling and indexing of websites.
- Metrics: Commonly used metrics include click-through rate, bounce rate, and time spent on page.
Primary Difference Between GEO and SEO
The main contrast lies in the type of search engines each strategy targets:
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Designed for AI-driven engines that generate comprehensive responses.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Tailored for traditional search engines that list websites based on user queries.
It’s important to highlight that traditional SEO strategies can generally be employed across diverse content types, whereas GEO strategies may necessitate tailoring to specific industry categories. For example, utilizing authoritative language might be most effective for enhancing historical content, optimizing citations could prove beneficial for factual queries, and incorporating statistics may amplify the impact on law and government topics.
GEO vs. SEO
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Optimizing websites and content to rank higher in search engine results pages to gain more organic traffic. | Content optimization strategies to increase the visibility of content in Generative AI Engine responses. |
| Goal | Increase visibility, traffic, and click-through rates (CTR) to a site from traditional search engines. | Ensure that content is discovered, cited, accurately interpreted, and favorably ranked by AI-enhanced search engines. |
| Techniques | Keyword research, on-page optimization (Semantic SEO), off-page optimization (backlinks), and Technical SEO. | Combining traditional SEO techniques (semantic & technical) with an understanding of how generative AI models process and prioritize content. |
| Focus | Optimizing for search engine algorithms to improve site visibility and increase organic traffic. | Adapting content to be more compatible with AI search technologies, enhancing its chances of being cited as a resource by these systems. |
| Results | Higher SERP rankings, increased Click Through Rates (CTR), more organic traffic. | Better visibility measured by impressions, used as citation or referenced in AI results, increased engagement and ranking of content in AI engine search results. |
Measuring Success of GEO and SEO
By meticulously assessing your traditional SEO and GEO performance using metrics relevant to your business, you gain insights into your current standing and discern the tangible value that both SEO and GEO contribute to your marketing efforts. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) serve as a crucial link connecting your business and marketing objectives with the data accessible through tools and web analytics. To do this one needs to understand the different metrics used to measure success.
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Metrics: Impression metrics, which gauge citation visibility and relevance to user queries. Citation position in AI Engine SERPs.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Metrics: Click-through rate, bounce rate, and time spent on page.
[1] arXiv:2311.09735 [cs.LG]