SEO and GEO: getting found on Google and in AI answers

How customers find you now

When someone needs a plumber, an accountant or a café, they might:

• type it into Google and scan the results,
• look at the map of nearby businesses,
• read the AI Overview at the top of Google’s results, or switch to Google’s AI Mode,
• or ask an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini or Perplexity, which searches the web and writes an answer with links.

SEO (search engine optimisation) is the work of appearing in the first two. GEO (generative engine optimisation) is the newer name for appearing, and being cited, in the last two.

The reassuring part: they reward the same things. Google’s own guidance for site owners says there are no additional requirements or special optimisations needed to appear in its AI features. If you do the basics well, you’re doing GEO too.

Step 1: Make sure you can be found at all

You can’t rank or be quoted if search engines can’t read your site.

1. Set up Google Search Console (free). It shows whether Google has indexed your pages, which searches you appear for, and any problems. Traffic from Google’s AI features is included in its Performance report.
2. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools (free). Bing’s index powers Microsoft Copilot’s answers, and you can import your Search Console settings in a few clicks.
3. Submit a sitemap. Most website builders create one automatically; give its address to both tools.
4. Check your robots.txt isn’t blocking search crawlers. Allow Googlebot and Bingbot. If you want to appear in ChatGPT’s search answers, OpenAI says to allow its search crawler, OAI-SearchBot. You can block AI training crawlers (such as GPTBot) separately without affecting search.
5. Make sure each important page loads fast and works on a phone.

Step 2: Get local search right

For businesses serving a local area, this is usually where the quickest wins are.

• Claim and complete your Google Business Profile: correct categories, service areas, opening hours, photos, products or services, and a description in plain words.
• Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere: your website, Google, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, industry directories and social profiles. AI assistants cross-check these details.
• Ask every happy customer for a review, and reply to reviews, good and bad. Never buy or fake reviews: it breaks platform rules and can breach Australian Consumer Law.
• Add local detail to your website: suburbs you serve, local projects, local partners.

Step 3: Write pages that answer real questions

Search engines and AI assistants both look for the clearest, most trustworthy answer to a question. Give them one.

• One page per service, and per main location if you serve several. A single “Services” page listing everything rarely ranks for anything.
• Use headings that match how customers ask: “How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Perth?”, “Do you service Joondalup?”
• Answer first, then explain. Put a short, direct answer at the top of each page or section. An “In short” summary or a few bullet points works well.
• Be specific. Price ranges, timeframes, what’s included, what isn’t, and the areas you cover. Specific facts get quoted; vague claims don’t.
• Show who’s behind it: real names, qualifications, licences, photos of real work. This builds trust with people and with search systems.
• Add a frequently asked questions section using the questions customers actually ask you on the phone.
• Keep pages up to date and show when they were last reviewed.

Our guide to content marketing covers how to keep producing useful pages without it taking over your week.

Step 4: Technical basics, without the jargon

• Page titles and descriptions: each page gets a unique title (what it is + where) and a one-sentence description.
• Text, not pictures of text: put prices, menus and key information in real text, not only in images or PDFs.
• Internal links: link related pages to each other so people and crawlers can find everything.
• Structured data: optional “markup” such as LocalBusiness details helps search engines read your page. Keep it consistent with what’s visible on the page. Google says there’s no special markup required for its AI features.
• Speed and security: a modern host, compressed images and HTTPS. Our guide to building a business website covers the options.

Step 5: Earn mentions, don’t buy them

Links and mentions from other reputable websites still signal that you’re worth trusting, and AI assistants pay attention to where a business is mentioned.

• Join your industry association and local chamber of commerce, and make sure they list you.
• Get listed in reputable directories for your industry and area, not in link farms.
• Do things worth writing about: sponsor a local team, run a workshop, publish useful data, comment in local media. Our PR and free publicity guide shows how.
• Partner with complementary businesses and refer customers to each other.

What GEO adds on top

Because AI assistants write a summary and cite a few sources, a few things matter more than they used to:

• Be the clearest source on your topic. Pages with direct answers, specific numbers and plain explanations are the ones AI answers quote and link to.
• Consistency across the web. If your hours or services differ between your website, Google and directories, AI answers may get them wrong.
• Reputation beyond your own site. Reviews, directory listings and mentions in local media all feed into how AI assistants describe your business.
• Test it yourself. Every month or two, ask a few AI assistants the questions your customers would ask (“best mobile mechanic in Bunbury”), note whether you appear, and what they say about you. Fix anything inaccurate at its source.

Stop doing these

This website’s own history is a lesson here: in 2009 the web was full of short articles written to carry a link back to someone’s site. Search engines learned to ignore them years ago. Avoid:

• Buying links, link exchanges, and “500 backlinks for $50” offers.
• Keyword stuffing: repeating a phrase unnaturally in the hope of ranking.
• Mass-produced pages, including AI-generated pages published without human review, that add nothing new.
• Fake or incentivised reviews.
• Anyone who guarantees a #1 ranking. No one can.

Hiring help

If you hire an SEO consultant or agency, ask:

1. What will you do in the first 90 days, specifically?
2. How will you report results, in terms of enquiries and sales and not just rankings?
3. How do you build links? (Any mention of buying them is a red flag.)
4. Who owns the work: the content, the accounts, the website changes?
5. Can I speak to two current clients like my business?