GEO stands for generative engine optimisation, the practice of getting a business cited or quoted inside an AI-generated answer instead of just ranking in a list of blue links. It is not a replacement for SEO, it runs on the same foundation, but it rewards a different set of structural choices. Here is what I actually check when a client asks me to improve their GEO performance.
The ranking model has changed shape
Traditional SEO optimises for a click. A page ranks, a person clicks, they land on your site. GEO optimises for a citation. An AI assistant reads your page, decides it answers the question well, and either quotes it directly or summarises it with attribution. The person may never click through. That does not make the visit worthless, it changes what "visible" means, and it changes what you are writing for.
1. Answer the question in the first two sentences
AI systems extract passages, not entire pages. If your answer to "what does X cost" is buried under 400 words of brand story before you state a number, the model will often skip your page for a competitor who states it plainly near the top. Lead with the direct answer, then explain the reasoning underneath it.
2. Structure content so it can be lifted cleanly
Short paragraphs, explicit headings that match the question being asked, and lists where a list genuinely helps. This is not about stuffing keywords, it is about making the passage self-contained enough that it reads correctly when pulled out of context, because that is exactly what happens.
3. Back every claim with something checkable
Generic marketing language like "industry-leading" gets ignored by these systems because there is nothing to verify. A specific number, a named client, a dated result gives the model something concrete to cite. This is also why the FAQ page on this site mirrors its visible copy inside structured data exactly. If the two versions of your answer disagree, that is a trust signal working against you.
4. Structured data is not optional anymore
FAQPage, Article, Organization and BreadcrumbList schema help these systems parse what your page is and what it is claiming, faster and more reliably than inference from raw HTML. It will not force a citation on its own, but it removes ambiguity that would otherwise cost you one.
“GEO does not reward being clever. It rewards being clear enough that a machine reading your page in isolation still gets the right answer.”
What I do not recommend
Rewriting your whole site around AI search this week is overkill for most businesses. Start with the five to ten pages that answer your highest-intent questions, the ones people ask before they buy. Fix those first, measure whether citations or AI-referral traffic move, then decide whether it is worth expanding further.