What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Google search results. If you want to

grow your organic presence today, you

need to understand how tools like

Gemini, Chatt, and Perplexity actually

work. Because these tools aren't just

answering questions. Increasingly,

they're shaping the actual decisions

your potential customers are making,

often without you even realizing it. And

if your content isn't showing up in

those AI generated answers, you're

leaving visibility and revenue on the

table. The truth is, we're not in the

era of Templinks anymore. Every time

somebody prompts their favorite LLM, it

pulls pieces of content from across the

web just to generate a single answer

customuilt for that particular user.

That's where generative engine

optimization comes in. In this video,

you'll learn what GEO is, at least how

we're thinking about it right now, how

it works, and a six-step playbook to

help your brand get recommended by AI,

no matter the platform.

Let's first talk about the shift that's

happening right now. For years, search

mostly just meant Google. one algorithm

and one place to rank. But that world is

gone. And we're calling this the new era

of search everywhere because search

isn't dying or declining. It's just

decentralizing. People still Google

things, but increasingly they're

watching how-to videos on YouTube,

skimming Reddit threads, browsing Tik

Tok comments, and reading posts on

LinkedIn. And increasingly, they're

asking their questions to generative AI

tools. Tools that consume all of those

data sources. Each of these platforms

has its own logic, its own

recommendation engine, and its own way

of deciding what gets served or ignored.

So, visibility today is not about one

algorithm. It's about showing up

wherever your audience is already

looking for answers. And the data backs

all this up. Semers predicts that by the

end of 2027, LM traffic will overtake

traditional search. And at Back Linko,

we've seen it firsthand. AI tool

referrals are up 800% year-over-year

because our users aren't just reading

blog posts anymore. They're consuming

information across all of these

different platforms, formats, and

engines. That brings us to GEO. GEO

means optimizing your brand and content

to get cited in AI generated answers

across tools like Chatribt, Perplexity,

Google AI mode, and more. Instead of

just aiming for rankings, you're aiming

to become a trusted source. And that

changes the game. But it does not mean

throwing out everything you already know

about SEO. In fact, in many ways, GEO

builds on the best parts of SEO. Content

quality, technical fundamentals, and

authority. all still matter, but it does

introduce new tactics and considerations

based on how these large language models

actually work. So, what's actually

different? In traditional SEO, success

often meant higher rankings and traffic

to your own website. With GEO, success

means getting cited. You want your brand

to become part of the answer itself. And

that means mentions, not just backlinks,

are what signals trust. Your content has

to solve problems and answer questions

clearly, concisely, and across way more

than just your own website. That's why

we put together the six-step action plan

to help you adapt. Let's go through it

now.

Step one, get your fundamentals right. A

lot of brands are skipping the basics

and then they're wondering why they're

not showing up in AI answers. It's

important to reiterate GEO still starts

with solid SEO. If your site isn't

crawable, fast, or mobile friendly,

you're going to be invisible, not just

to Google, but to all of the other AI

models as well. So before you think

about advanced tactics, make sure the

foundation is solid. Structure your

content with clear headings and page

titles. Build a strong internal link

structure to help organize your site.

Make sure every page is indexable and

prioritize speed and mobile performance.

That's just the baseline. But visibility

isn't just about being accessible. It's

about being credible. And that's where

the EAT framework comes in. You need to

demonstrate experience, real results,

firsthand knowledge, and original

insights. Expertise. Show depth, not

just summaries. Authority. Get

mentioned, cited, and quoted by others.

And trust. Use real author bios. Link

out to sources, and highlight

testimonials. This isn't about gaming

the system. It's about creating content

that both humans and AI engines

recognize as trustworthy. Because if the

AI doesn't trust you, it's not going to

site you.

[Music]

Step two is where things start to shift.

Because AI tools don't just follow

links, they learn from mentions. What's

getting talked about? Where is it being

talked about? And in what context? So if

your brand isn't showing up in relevant

red threads, YouTube videos, forum

posts, or industry roundups, you're not

just missing exposure. You're handing

that visibility to your competitors. And

that's where co-itations come in. AI

systems look at how often your brand

appears next to other trusted names,

even if there's no link at all. So

here's how to build that signal. Search

for your brand name across platforms

where your customers are actually

hanging out. Track how often you're

being mentioned and what the general

sentiment looks like. Find ways to add

value to those conversations in the same

spaces that your customers are. Get

included in comparison posts, resource

lists, and roundup content. And yes,

backlinks still matter, but now they're

really just one piece of the larger

puzzle. What matters now is mentions,

context, and association. That's what

tells LM this brand belongs in the

answer.

[Music]

Step three, go multiplatform. Because

generative engines don't just pull text

content and blog posts, they pull from

everywhere across the web. That means

your concept of organic visibility

shouldn't just be limited to your

website anymore. AI tools are scanning

YouTube videos and transcripts, Reddit

and Quora threads, podcast transcripts

and summaries, LinkedIn posts, Tik Tok

and Instagram captions, all of it. So,

if your brand only exists on your blog,

you're invisible to most of the modern

web. Going multiplatform does two

important things. First, it helps you

show up where your audience actually is

and where they spend their time. And

second, it gives AI models more surface

area to recognize, site, and trust your

brand. The more places that your voice

and your content appears, the more

likely you are to be part of the answer.

[Music]

Step four, see what AI is already

citing. And you don't have to guess how

this works. Just open up Chatrib,

Claude, or Gemini and start prompting

like a real customer might. Ask the

questions you think your audience is

asking. What's the best product or

service for this particular situation?

Which brands are most trusted for this

topic? How does this category compare to

that category? And then study the

results. Which brands are showing up?

Which platforms are the citations being

pulled from? And what's the tone or

sentiment that surrounds the answers?

This is one of the easiest and most eye

opening ways to understand what LM

actually value. And once you've got that

baseline, you'll start seeing the gaps

everywhere. These are now opportunities

for you to create content that no one

else is covering or to earn a spot where

your competitors are already showing up.

You can scale this with new GEO tools

from providers like Seamrush. But even

manual testing gives you a huge edge.

[Music]

Step five, answer real questions. People

don't talk to AI the way they would

normally search on Google. They're not

just typing meal prep ideas anymore.

Instead, they're asking, "What should I

cook this week if I'm trying to lose

weight, but I only have 30 minutes a

night." That's the level of detail that

generative engines are working with

right now. And if your content doesn't

really match how real people speak,

you're not going to get cited, no matter

how good you think it is. So, here's

what to do. Dig through your customer

support tickets, sales call transcripts,

and customer reviews. Pay attention to

Reddit, Discord, Slack groups, and niche

forms, wherever your customers are. Pull

out questions that people are actually

asking in their own words. These are

gold, not just for SEO or AI visibility,

but for your entire marketing strategy.

And the best thing of all, these

longtail conversational prompts are

usually wide open because most brands

are still chasing keywords. They're not

answering real questions. So, if you can

answer better and sound more human while

doing it, you'll win in GEO.

[Music]

Step seven, track your LM visibility

because if you're not measuring it, you

can't improve it. So, start simple. Make

a list of the prompts you think your

target audience are asking. These can

just be a simple derivative of your

traditional SEO keywords that you

already know and track. Every day, check

two to three LMS to see how they're

answering. Remember, you're generally

going to want to use loged out mode to

avoid personalization and custom

results. When it comes to paid tools,

the number one I recommend right now is

Seamrush. It's still early days in the

GEO tool world, but Seamrush has a lot

to like. You can use the AI toolkit to

track your domain's visibility across AI

answer engines. And inside position

tracking, you can now start monitoring

how often your content shows up in

Chatribt search responses. If you're a

larger company, the Enterprise AIO

platform takes this even further,

helping you track brand mentions,

citations, and visibility at scale. So,

now you've seen our updated playbook.

GEO is not about starting over. It's

about shifting how you think about

organic visibility and expanding the

definition of SEO to cover what really

matters today. The good news is though

that if you've already invested in good

content and building real authority with

your brand, you're on the right track.

Now it's just time to start optimizing

for how AI finds and sites information.

Start showing up where your audience is

actually searching and build a brand

that deserves to be part of the AI

answers. If you want help implementing

GEO for your business, subscribe to the

channel. We're publishing new content

every week. You can also check out the

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