How to Rank in AI‑Powered Search Results with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
GEO? Never heard of her. As if the world needed another acronym, GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization, and it refers to the practice of optimizing your content to be cited in AI-generated responses. Just as we’ve gotten the hang of optimizing content for search engines, now we have to add another thing into the mix. But don’t panic, your hard-won SEO skills aren’t obsolete. In fact, they’re a solid foundation for what comes next.
Of course, you still want to appear in the top spots on Google or Bing (seriously, does anybody even use Bing?), but GEO takes traditional search one step further. It creates content for conversational models, including GPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. These tools don’t just list links; they provide answers, meaning that if your content isn’t a part of them, you risk being invisible to a large portion of your audience and missing out on potential leads. Now we kind of get how Blockbuster felt when Netflix took over, eh?
Not to worry, in this blog we’ll give you the low-down on everything you need to know about GEO: why it’s important, how to rank, and how to leverage it to stand out amongst your competitors.
Generative Engine Optimization in 2025: Why it matters
Instead of being introspective and searching for answers within themselves or on traditional search engines, people are turning to AI. We’re going to robots for everything from answering simple questions we’d previously pop into Google to creating outlines, presentations, and even getting a free therapy session. That’s right, the next time someone tells you to go to therapy, you can tell your life crises to ChatGPT and get the validation you need. All of this means that scrolling through search engine results is a thing of the past; in the words of viral sensation Sweet Brown, “Aint nobody got time fo’ that!”
Since the start of 2025, Google’s AI overviews appear in over 13% of searches, skyrocketing from just 6.49% in January to 13.14% in March. We’re also seeing a surge in Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini, with referrals up 800% between Q3 and Q4 of 2024.
The way things are going, these numbers are only expected to rise, meaning that if your content isn’t optimized for AI, you won’t be getting the exposure you so rightfully deserve, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?
GEO vs. SEO: What's the Difference?
SEO is like the older, slightly less trendy sister of optimization. It targets ranking within search engine results pages (SERPs) via keywords, backlinks, and technical flags. Every time you type a query into Google, the page that pops up features several web pages that may contain the answer you’re looking for; you just have to look for it. The pages that rank closer to the top of the page are more likely to contain the relevant information and thus, are more likely to be visited, creating leads.
GEO, on the other hand, focuses on having content directly cited by AI tools, including content and links in AI-generated responses across multiple platforms. With the information laid out in a neat, AI summary or conversational, chat-based answer, this minimizes the need for users to click through results. That also means that it doesn’t matter where you rank on the SERP; if you’re not optimizing for GEO, you’re not appearing. Period. Here's a visual breakdown:
GEO Strategies for Beginners
If you’re just getting started with generative engine optimization, we've got you. Here are a few key steps that can help your content show up in AI-generated answers.
- Create an AI Roadmap: Life would be better with a blueprint, wouldn’t it? The same thing applies to AI. Start with an llms.txt file. This simple text document lists your most important pages with short descriptions, and tools like WordLift or Hostinger make it easy to create.
- Use structured content & schema: Schema is part of the grand scheme for AI visibility. Use structured content with schema markup, especially FAQ-style formats that AI can easily read and understand. For example, embedding a bit of code from Schema.org helps AI recognize your content’s purpose. Here’s an example:<script type="application/ld+json">{"@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [{"question": "What is GEO?", "answer": "GEO helps your content appear in AI-generated responses."}]}</script>
- Stick to the technical basics: Robots may be smart, but you’ve got to dumb it down for them to reach their full potential. Avoid heavy JavaScript and keep content clear and simple so AI crawlers can access and understand it efficiently.
- Get mentions and co-citations: It’s all about the mentions, baby. Don’t underestimate the power of mentions and co-citations; even without direct backlinks, when other sites mention you, it signals credibility. Use platforms like Semrush or Ziptie.dev to track these.
- Learn from your competitors: If you want to keep up with the Joneses, you have to lightly stalk them, legally, of course. See how your competitors are appearing in AI search results using tools like Ahrefs, and adapt what works for your own strategy.
Follow their lead: GEO Case Studies to emulate
Case Study 1: Geneva Worldwide via Boulder SEO Marketing
Geneva Worldwide, a translation and interpretation company, teamed up with Boulder SEO Marketing to optimize its visibility in generative AI platforms like Google Gemini and ChatGPT. The strategy began with a prompt audit to analyze how AI responds to queries in this particular niche. After analyzing the results, they played a game of copycat where they rewrote key landing pages. To do this, they used a structured Q&A format, implemented FAQ schema, and clarified page headings for semantic consistency.
The results speak for themselves: Geneva Worldwide earned citations in Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT results for queries like “top global consultancy firms.” As a result, branded search interest surged, and referral traffic from AI-generated content increased by a whopping 30%.
Case Study 2: eCommerce Eco‑Lifestyle Retailer
An eco-lifestyle eCommerce brand embraced generative engine optimization to increase their visibility in AI-powered search, and the results were anything but recycled. Their strategy included adding short, focused FAQ schema blocks of just 40–60 words on key product pages, promoting organic brand mentions in niche communities like r/ZeroWaste, and improving crawlability through server-side rendering and a properly structured llms.txt file.
The result? Within weeks, the brand began showing up in Perplexity.ai’s responses for “top eco-friendly stores” and Google AI Overviews. Even better? They saw an 18% lift in monthly online revenue within just two months.
Easy-to-use Tools & Resources for Generative Engine Optimization
We get it, GEO sounds more intimidating than Simon Cowell on a judging panel. But optimizing for AI-powered search doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right tools, you can make real progress without a degree in machine learning. Here are some of our favorite beginner-friendly resources to help you get started:
- Semrush AI Toolkit: Track how your content is showing up in AI-generated responses and discover new opportunities to boost your visibility. Semrush’s AI Toolkit gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how your content performs in AI-generated responses, like Google AI Overviews or Perplexity.ai snippets. It analyzes which pages are being cited, identifies gaps in visibility, and uncovers prompt-based opportunities to rank so that you’re not left in the desert SERP dust.
- Ziptie.dev: Monitor brand mentions and co-citations across the web, even when you don’t get a direct link. Ziptie helps you stay on the AI’s radar. It shows where you're being mentioned in the context of other authoritative sources. This is especially useful for GEO, where indirect signals can help increase trust and ranking in LLM-generated answers.
- WordLift Plugin: Automatically generate an llms.txt file to guide AI crawlers toward your key pages. This file tells AI systems which of your pages are most important, using short descriptions and clean formatting. With WordLift, you can generate and maintain this file with just a few clicks, no coding needed. Simple, fast, and made for non-techies.
With tools like these, GEO isn’t just for SEO pros. It’s for anyone who wants their content to be found in the age of AI.
GEO checklist for easy ranking
Relax, you’re not Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries; you don’t need a makeover or site overhaul to get noticed. Start with this simple checklist for generative engine optimization and improve your chances of being featured in AI responses.
- Guide AI to your best content: Use tools like WordLift or Hostinger to generate a file that lists your most important pages and describes them clearly. Think of it like an AI roadmap.
- Ask questions, give answers: Break down your key topics into a Q&A format and use FAQ schema markup. This makes your content easier for AI models to interpret and cite in responses.
- Skip the heavy JavaScript: Make sure your pages load fast and are easy for AI crawlers to access. Want bonus points? Think server-side rendering.
- Monitor mentions: Use tools like Ziptie.dev or Semrush to see where your brand is being talked about, even if you’re not getting a backlink. As they often say, any publicity is good publicity, right?
- Test your visibility in real time: Try typing relevant prompts into ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, or Perplexity.ai. Are you showing up? If not, refine your content and test again.
Track your GEO progress
Alright, so you’ve implemented the generative engine optimization strategies, but how do you know that they’re working? First things first, you need to be on the hunt for your content. That means testing prompts in AI tools. Try different variations of questions related to your niche. If your brand or content starts showing up in the answers, you’re on the right track.
Next, you can use platforms like Semrush to track how your content is performing in AI search environments. Look for increases in branded search volume, referral traffic from AI sources, and mentions across third-party content. Tools like Ziptie.dev can also help identify unlinked mentions that could possibly have an impact on your AI visibility.
GoViral Conclusion
GEO isn’t replacing SEO just yet. It’s here to complement it and expand your visibility in a world increasingly shaped by AI-driven search. Platforms like Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity continue to evolve. Optimizing for generative responses gives your brand a powerful new way to stand out.
The good news? You don’t need to be an expert to get started. Begin with simple steps, like creating an llms.txt file, adding structured FAQs, and checking your presence in AI tools. Experiment, measure, and adapt as the landscape grows, and with GEO, the small changes you make today can lead to greater visibility tomorrow.
Want help maximizing your online presence and GEO? Contact us or request a custom proposal and we'll help you get started.
Google’s AI Search Updates: What Marketers Need to Know
Let’s face it: there’s nothing worse than putting effort into creating something and feeling the anticipation and excitement of putting it online, only to have it not be seen by anyone. It’s hard not to take it personally, but this has little to do with how good your content actually is and more to do with getting ranked on search engines, Google being the big dog in the game.
It’s no secret that Google has a lot of power, and with the emergence of AI in their search experiences, it’s fundamentally reshaping the way we receive information online. After the rollout of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), the traditional rules of SEO and digital visibility are evolving fast, which means that marketers need to pay attention and evolve with them. No longer limited to static links and simple keyword matching, Google's new AI search delivers more contextual, conversational, and predictive results, further streamlining the user experience. For marketers, this is a double-edged sword, presenting both new challenges and unprecedented opportunities to connect with audiences in smarter, more meaningful ways. In this blog, we’ll tell you why this shift matters and how you can stay ahead of the game and finally get the recognition you deserve.
What Is the Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
Powered by artificial intelligence, this new platform leverages advanced AI models to provide dynamic and intuitive search results in order to anticipate user intent. Long story short, the goal of SGE is to use AI to improve our online search experience.
Google initially announced SGE in May of 2023 at their annual I/O conference as part of a push to integrate generative AI into search. Since late 2023 onwards, they have expanded search functionality with more interactive elements like coding help, definitions, and more visual results and while it continues to evolve, it still remains in an experimental phase.
What are the key features of SGE?
AI Summaries (Snapshot)
Nowadays, you’ll probably notice that when you search for something in Google, oftentimes there is an AI-generated summary at the top of the results page. This is a concise, experimental summary sourced from multiple sites in response to complex or multi-part queries, and it’s often linked for credibility.
Insights Pane
This sidebar appears to offer deeper insights, definitions, or topics related to the original search, which can prove useful for exploring a topic in context without ever leaving the results page. What’s more, it’s often enhanced with visuals or other interactive elements, making it more engaging for users.
Conversational Follow-ups
The quest for knowledge doesn’t usually stop at the initial search. If you’re like the majority of users, you’ll have follow-up questions, and SGE has the answers. After an initial query, users can ask follow-up questions in a chat-like interface, keeping the context of the conversation contained in a chatbot and enabling a deeper search journey.
How does SGE differ from traditional SERPs?
There are many differences in the format and user flow of SGE versus those of traditional SERPs. Firstly, the links and snippets of information published in the search results of SGE are AI-generated and, as opposed to being ranked by the search engine, they are aggregated from multiple sources and displayed transparently. Additionally, the focus of a traditional SERP is to navigate users to a website, whereas the goal of SGE is information synthesis. Naturally, this makes the interactivity with the user more conversational and contextual, unlike a traditional SERP experience,e which is more static.
Still confusing? Here’s an example. In traditional search results, users typically see a list of blue links accompanied by brief snippets of text. This format requires users to click through multiple links to gather comprehensive information. The need for multiple clicks is reduced with SGE since the interface integrates AI-generated summaries directly into the search results, putting concise information at the top of the page. SGE aims to move away from a former link-centric approach to search and streamline information retrieval, making it more intuitive and context-aware.
AI‑Powered Answer Blocks and Their Impact on Click Behavior
Google AIOs are designed with the user in mind, providing immediate, synthesized information on the search results page directly. Components like text snippets and generated summaries address the user’s queries first-hand, citing and linking sources referenced in the text.
AIOs have addressed user pain points by placing ready-made information at their fingertips. Consequently, there’s been a shift in user behavior and since users no longer have to navigate from the results page to obtain relevant information, we’ve seen a reduction in website traffic.
Various studies, including one by Search Engine Journal, have noted a decline in click-through rates for organic listings, and informational queries dropped by over 7% in the last quarter of 2024. Similarly, other sources like the CEO of SparkToro, Rand Fishkin, suggest that in 2024, nearly 60% of all Google searches resulted in zero clicks due to all of the relevant information being on the results page.
While this trend has certainly caused a decline in organic traffic, paid search ads still continue to capture user attention, suggesting that businesses might need to start allocating more of the budget to SEA in order to maintain traffic.
What is Long‑Tail Content and Why is it Back in the Spotlight?
Up until now, SEO has been crucial for content to rank and reach the user, but since they’re no longer scrolling down the list of blue links to obtain information, your content won’t reach them even if it is ranked highly on Google. If your content isn’t showing up in these AI responses or isn’t structured in a way that AI can easily digest, it risks becoming invisible.
However, in the midst of this seismic change, there is one silver lining: long-tail content is becoming increasingly more valuable. But what is long-tail content? It’s any content that targets highly specific keywords or phrases that users enter into search engines. While these queries typically have less search volume, they are more precise in their intent, and because they are less competitive than broad words, it is easier to rank for them. An example of long-tail content would be “How to use Google Analytics for tracking SEO performance in 2025.” This targets a specific niche in the digital marketing world and users who want updated, advanced strategies. The benefit to long-tail content is that it targets users like these with very niche interests, connecting them with exactly what they’re looking for, which leads to more relevant traffic and an increase in conversions.
Since Google’s SGE encourages users to ask more natural, conversational queries, content that addresses these specific questions has a better chance of being featured in AI-generated results. The key is creating high-quality, intent-driven content that mirrors how real people ask real questions.
The Challenges of Broad Queries in Google’s SGE
As Google continues to evolve its search experience with AI-powered summaries, marketers face a new challenge: broad queries can sometimes lead to oversimplified or generalized answers that fail to fully address a user's specific needs. Although SGE offers quick, concise summaries, it risks leaving out crucial nuances or deeper insights that users are often searching for. For broad or vague queries, SGE pulls from various sources to produce high-level summaries that provide a general answer. This is great for users who need a quick overview, but doesn't necessarily serve those looking for detailed, authoritative content.
Here’s an example: If a user is searching for “SEO Writing Best Practices,” Google might provide a brief, AI-generated response with general tips that aren’t up to date and won’t suffice for users who are looking for in-depth case studies. This is where long-tail content comes in. By providing detailed, comprehensive answers, it can become a critical asset for cutting through these generic AI summaries and delivering the insights that users truly want. This type of content is less likely to get lost in the sea of generative summaries and attract users who want more comprehensive insights. And as Google increasingly values authoritative, well-researched content, it also has a higher chance of being featured in AI-generated responses.
Tactical Takeaways for Marketers: Adapting to Google’s GSE
As Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) reshapes the future of search results and how they are displayed, marketers need to take a new approach to creating content that stands out in a new, AI-driven environment. Here are some key tactics to help marketers stay ahead.
Optimizing Headings and Structured Data for AI Pull-Through
Google’s SGE relies on structured data and well-organized content to generate AI-powered summaries and rich snippets. To increase the likelihood of your content being featured in these AI summaries:
- Use clear, descriptive headings: To help search engines and AI systems easily understand and pull relevant information, structure your content using H1, H2, and H3 headings that accurately reflect what the content covers. As opposed to using a vague heading like "Tips," use something more specific like "10 Expert Tips for setting up a remote office in a small workspace.”
- Incorporate structured data (Schema Markup): Add structured data like FAQs, how-to schemas, and product reviews to your content to make it easier for Google’s AI to extract the most relevant answers for search queries. The richer the results, the greater the likelihood of appearing directly in AI summaries or answer blocks. To implement this, you can use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper.
- Write answer-focused sections: Format your content with clear, concise answers directly under headings. This increases the likelihood of your content being featured as a direct answer or snippet within SGE. For example, in a guide about "How to start a blog," include a section that clearly answers the question in a short paragraph or bulleted list, kind of like what we're doing in this blog right now!
Balancing Short “Snackable” Answers with Long-Form Deep Dives
While long-form, in-depth content is essential for comprehensive topics, Google’s SGE prioritizes quick answers for short, broad queries. Therefore, marketers are tasked with striking a balance. That means creating content that caters to immediate queries as well as that for users looking for in-depth, authoritative answers.
"Snackable" content consists of short, clear, and concise answers between 40-100 words. Ensure the answer to the question is directly stated within the first few sentences of the content, as SGE may pull this information into its AI-powered summary. A prime example could be a search query like “What is SEO?” which could lead to a quick definition presented in a short paragraph at the top of a page.
For more complex topics, long-form content of 2000 words or more is essential for a deep dive into the subject matter. Use long-form content to provide thorough explanations, case studies, or step-by-step guides to establish authority because, above all, Google still values authoritative, well-researched content.
One way to create balanced content is to use a layered content strategy where short, snappy answers serve as an introduction or summary, followed by a detailed, long-form explanation, catering to the needs of all users in one go.
Measure Performance by Combining Google Search Console, Analytics, & AI-Metric Tools
As AI-powered search continues to dominate, traditional metrics like clicks and impressions may not provide a full picture of how your content is performing. Here’s how you can leverage a combination of tools to effectively measure success and optimize your strategy:
- Google Search Console: Use this tool to track rankings, impressions, and click-through rates in SGE and look out for increases in zero-click searches. This means users are engaging directly with Google’s AI-generated responses instead of clicking through to your website. If you see high impressions but low CTR, your content may need to be optimized for better AI pull-through.
- Google Analytics: Analytics helps to monitor user behavior, including how long people are staying on your pages, bounce rates, and conversion rates. If your content is being featured in an AI-generated snippet, users may not visit your site, but they may interact with your brand in other ways, like through your social channels or brand searches. You can gauge effectiveness by measuring engagement beyond click-throughs.
- Other AI-driven performance tools: The best way to beat AI is to leverage it. AI-driven content optimization tools like Clearscope or SurferSEO provide information about how Google’s AI evaluates content, with insights into keyword relevance, content structure, and readability. You can also keep an eye on AI-powered SERPs with tools like RankRanger or SEMrush that track how often your content is being featured in AI-generated summaries.
GoViral Conclusion
Just like life, search behavior changes and continues to change every day. This also means that if marketers want their content to be seen, they have to change with it and stay on top of search behavior trends. The emergence of Google’s SGE requires marketers to regularly audit content and optimize it for AI visibility by focusing on creating niche, long-tail content that addresses specific user needs. By staying agile and creating high-quality, targeted content, marketers can thrive in this new, AI-driven search landscape. You know the saying, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!