Search marketing best practices are changing at lightning speed. With generative AI entering the picture and shaking things up, old-school SEO on its own no longer cuts it. To keep your clients visible and competitive, it’s time to get familiar with Generative Engine Optimisation (aka GEO).

The good news? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. But, you will need to make some shifts and tweaks to your strategies to ensure your clients appear in AI-driven search results, known as AI overviews. 

1.   Understanding the shift: SEO vs. GEO

For years, SEO has been the backbone of search marketing. We’ve revolved every strategy around careful keyword research, backlinks, and technical site health to rank first on search engine results pages (SERPS). But with the entry of generative AI and AI-powered search results, GEO has stepped in as SEO’s younger sibling. 

A Generative Engine Optimisation strategy should complement your traditional SEO approach. Its goal is to ensure your content is considered for AI-generated answers and conversational searches – not just ranking on a page of links. Instead of putting all your eggs in the keyword basket, you will refocus on crafting messaging that speaks directly to common human queries. Think direct, research-backed, authoritative answers. 

Successful GEO implementation considers how people naturally ask questions using AI chatbots and voice assistants. Therefore, your GEO approach will involve determining those popular phrasings and crafting content using cited accurate information. 

2.   AI-driven search engines: Adapting to chatbots and conversational queries

AI assistants like Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot allow users to converse with these generative AI models, answering detailed questions with well-rounded responses.

To succeed in this environment, you’ve got to write in a way that helps AI understand context and intent.

• Writing clear, authoritative content with structured data to help AI understand its context
• Researching what kinds of questions people will ask and including natural, conversational answers
• Publishing high-quality, multi-format content such as FAQs, videos, and infographics to increase relevance.

As chatbots become the go-to for search, adapting your client’s content to meet conversational queries is essential to remain competitive. Our GEO eBook is filled with AI-powered search visibility tips from our in-house AI specialists. You can check it out for free here. 

3.   Key strategies for maximising GEO visibility 

Here’s how to get started with applying generative engine optimisation to search:

• Use lists and bullet points. Breaking content into digestible, to-the-point sections helps AI understand and pull out information. Avoid jargon and long, clumsy sentences. 
• Aim for featured snippets. AI loves pulling info from these spots – so structure content to deliver quick, direct answers.
• Use schema markup generously: Schema helps AI understand your content, boosting the chances it’ll be picked for AI responses.
• Build content clusters around core topics: When your client’s site shows depth, authenticity and authority on a subject, AI will trust it more. Lead with E-E-A-T principles: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. 
• Use relevant keywords naturally. Focus on naturally including relevant terms that help AI understand your content’s purpose. 

Craft clear, purposeful prompts. Being clear and direct helps AI deliver better answers. The two prompt styles that tend to work particularly well are question and instruction-based prompts.

4.   Merging GEO with traditional SEO practices

Generative Engine Optimisation and traditional SEO approaches work hand-in-hand to succeed in AI-driven search. Keep tracking keywords, backlinks, and site health, but start weaving in GEO tactics. For example:

• Find those conversational queries in your keyword research and create content to meet them
• Keep your backlink game strong to support content authority
• Update existing SEO content to include GEO-friendly elements like FAQs and schema markup.

A blended approach ensures your content performs well both on classic search engine results pages and within AI-generated responses.

5.   Measuring success in the age of AI search

Measuring the success of your GEO strategy takes on a shifted approach too. Using tracking tools like Google Analytics, keep an eye on:

• How often does your content appear in featured snippets and AI overviews
• Traffic from conversational queries
• Engagement with GEO-optimised content
• Rankings in voice and chatbot searches.

Just like tracking SEO performance, these insights will help you fine-tune your approach, discovering what works and needs attention.

Want to get ahead with GEO? Join us as we break down how to apply Generative Engine Optimisation to your search marketing strategies in our free AI webinar series. Register now for the Agencies AI Advantage webinar series to keep your agency future-ready and your clients competitive.