The GEO Movement: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
Contents
What is GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the next evolution of digital visibility. Many of us call it AI.
It’s all about making sure your brand shows up in answers from AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s Search Generative Experience.
Instead of just ranking on search engine result pages (SERP), you want your content to be picked up by AI when people ask questions.
It’s about showing up in the right way.
These platforms don’t just list websites. They summarise, select and present answers. If your content isn’t structured for that shift, you’re missing out.
That means creating clear, helpful, and trustworthy content that reflects your brand, so that when AI generates a response, your name is part of the story.
It’s not just SEO anymore – It’s about GEO too!
Traditional SEO focused on keywords and rankings. GEO is about making sure your content is the one AI systems choose to summarise and present.
That means thinking differently about how you write, structure and position your content.
At The Essential Agency, we don’t choose SEO over GEO, or vice-versa. We call it SEO 2.0 – Search Everywhere Optimisation.
We craft content that does both!
How-to optimise for Generative Engines
Use a clear Q&A format
Structure your content around actual questions your clients are asking and answer them directly.
Example: “How do I increase partner engagement globally?” would answer “By running a global channel incentive programme that rewards performance and drives behaviour change.”
Add structured data markup
Schema.org markup (FAQ, How-to, Article) helps AI understand your content and pull it into answers.
If you’ve got a page on “How to run a successful channel incentive programme,” mark it up as a How-To.
Create topic clusters
Build pillar pages with supporting content that gives full context. AI loves comprehensive coverage.
For example, a main page on “Channel Incentive Strategy” supported by blogs like “Types of Channel Incentives,” “How to Measure Incentive ROI,” and “Best Practices for Global Rollouts.”
Use bullet points and lists
Scannable formats like lists and steps are easier for AI to parse and present.
Think: “5 Ways to Motivate Channel Partners” or “Checklist for Launching a Channel Incentive.”
Keep answers snippet-length
Aim for 40–60 words for key answers. That’s the sweet spot for featured snippets and AI summaries.
Visibility in AI search starts with language
Just like in our previous blog, it’s all about using the language your clients use – not your internal jargon.
At The Essential Agency, we might describe ourselves as a “channel marketing agency.” But if our clients are searching for a “channel incentive agency,” we need to say both.
That small shift in language? It’s everything.
And it’s not just about the headline. It’s about weaving that language throughout your content. Your headings, your meta data, your case studies and your blogs.
More examples:
| Internal Term | Client Search Term |
|---|---|
|
Channel Marketing Agency |
Channel Incentive Agency |
|
Partner Enablement |
Partner Training Programmes |
|
Global Rollout |
How to launch a global incentive programme |
|
Campaign Activation |
How to motivate channel partners |
|
Sales Acceleration |
How to boost partner performance |
Build trust signals Generative Engines (& Search Engines) can see
AI systems don’t just look at your content; they look at your credibility.
Get quality backlinks and mentions
These help build domain authority and trust.
Example: If your incentive programme was featured in a partner success story on a vendor’s website, link to it!
Use consistent brand language
Consistency is key to building a memorable and trustworthy brand. Make sure your brand name, products, services, and key people are mentioned regularly across all content.
This reinforces recognition and helps your audience form strong associations with your brand values and voice.
But visibility doesn’t happen by accident – it’s earned through deliberate, ongoing effort.
How we build brand authority and awareness
Public Relations (PR)
Strategic PR helps position your brand as a thought leader. This includes:
- Press releases for product launches, partnerships, or milestones.
- Media outreach to secure interviews, guest articles, or features in industry publications.
- Speaking engagements at conferences or webinars to showcase expertise.
- PR builds credibility by associating your brand with trusted third-party sources.
Social Media
Social platforms are essential for real-time engagement and storytelling. Use them to:
- Share behind-the-scenes content, customer stories, and team highlights.
- Amplify blog posts, PR wins, and product updates.
- Engage with your audience through comments, polls, and live sessions.
- Consistency in tone, visuals, and messaging across platforms reinforces your brand identity.
Content Marketing
Create valuable, relevant content that solves problems for your audience. This could include:
- Blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies.
- Video tutorials or explainer videos.
- Newsletters that keep your audience informed and connected.
- Content builds trust and keeps your brand top-of-mind.
SEO and Digital Presence
Ensure your brand is discoverable:
- Optimise your website and content for search engines.
- Maintain consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details across directories.
- Encourage reviews and testimonials to boost trust signals.
Make Your Content AI-Friendly
Think about the formats AI likes to use:
How-to guides
“How to Launch a Global Channel Incentive in 30 Days”
Step-by-step instructions
“Step 1: Define your partner goals. Step 2: Choose your incentive model…”
Comparison tables
“Points-based vs. Tiered Incentives: Which Works Best?”
Fast-loading pages
Compress images, streamline code—AI crawlers prioritise speed.
Fresh, regularly updated content
Update your incentive strategy blogs annually to reflect new trends and data.
How do I get started with GEO
To maximise your exposure, SEO and GEO (or SEO 2.0) need a plan of action. Here’s a simple framework to get you started:
Immediate focus – Your quick wins
- Add structured data markup
- Use schema.org to tag content with rich metadata (e.g., FAQs, articles, products).
- Helps AI engines understand and contextualize your content.
- Optimise high-performing content
- Identify pages already ranking well or getting traffic.
- Refine them for clarity, structure, and conversational tone.
- Implement Q&A formats
- Add FAQ sections and answer-based content.
- AI engines prefer direct, question-driven formats.
- Start monitoring AI search results
- Use tools like Google SGE, Perplexity, and ChatGPT to see how your content appears.
- Track citations, summaries, and visibility.
Short-Term (Months 1-3)
Build momentum by aligning your content with AI search behaviour:
- Build Topic Clusters
- Create interconnected content around core themes.
- Improves semantic relevance and authority.
- Create Thought Leadership Content
- Publish expert insights, original research, and opinion pieces.
- AI engines favour authoritative voices.
- Target Conversational Queries
- Use natural language and long-tail keywords.
- Think like a user asking a question to an AI assistant.
- Optimise Brand Entity Recognition
- Ensure your brand is recognised as a distinct entity.
- Use consistent naming, structured data, and external citations.
Long-Term Strategy (Months 3-12 and beyond)
Future-proof your content and infrastructure for AI-first search:
- Develop Multi-Modal Content
- Combine text, images, video, audio, and interactive elements.
- AI engines increasingly favour rich, diverse formats.
- Build APIs and Structured Data Feeds
- Provide machine-readable data for AI engines to ingest.
- Useful for product catalogues, news feeds, and datasets.
- Create Evergreen Content Libraries
- Invest in timeless, high-value content that remains relevant.
- Update regularly to maintain freshness.
- Establish Ongoing Optimisation Processes
- Set up regular audits, content refresh cycles, and performance reviews.
- GEO is iterative—keep refining based on results.
How Do You Know If Your GEO Strategy Is Working?
To evaluate the effectiveness of your Generative Engine Optimisation efforts, track both visibility and performance metrics. These indicators help you understand how well your content is being surfaced, cited, and engaged with in AI-driven search environments.
Visibility Metrics
These metrics show how often and how prominently your content appears in AI-generated results:
Appearances in AI search results
Track how frequently your content is displayed in platforms like Google SGE, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.Content citation frequency
Measure how often your brand, website, or specific content is referenced or quoted by generative engines.Featured snippet captures
Monitor how often your content is selected for featured snippets or summary boxes in search results.
Performance Metrics
These metrics reflect how users interact with your content once it’s surfaced by AI engines:
Click-Through Rates (CTR) from AI results
Analyse how often users click through to your site from AI-generated answers or summaries.Brand mention frequency
Track how often your brand is mentioned across AI platforms and conversational interfaces.Ranking for conversational queries
Measure your visibility for natural language, question-based searches that mimic how users interact with AI assistants.
GEO is about relevance…
GEO isn’t just another marketing buzzword; it’s a fundamental shift in how your content gets discovered.
It’s about understanding that your audience isn’t searching the way they used to. They’re not typing in keywords; they’re asking questions. They’re looking for solutions.
And increasingly, they’re getting those answers from AI.
If your content isn’t structured to be selected, summarised, and surfaced by these systems, you’re invisible—even if your website is technically “live.”
This is especially true in the channel space. If a vendor is searching “how to increase partner engagement in EMEA” and your content doesn’t reflect that language—even if you offer exactly that service—you won’t show up.
So, think like your client. Think like an AI. And most importantly, think like someone who wants to be found.
Because when your content speaks the language of your audience and meets the criteria of AI systems, you’re not just showing up—you’re showing up as the answer.