Generative engine optimization (Research Paper Analysis)

article you guys sent about generative

engine optimization Geo for short kind

of sounds like uh like SEO but way more

like complex it does yeah it's like

seo's uh brainy cousin maybe we're going

be talking about how people creating

content online can you know adjust their

strategies for AI search things like

chat GPT oh yeah Google's search

generative experience G right exactly I

saw that the article mentioned a

research paper from some like bigname

schools yeah Princeton Princeton Georgia

Tech yeah they um it sounds like they

really experimented with different

techniques to see what AI search engines

pick up on yeah they um really went deep

and we're going to unpack some of the

more interesting findings like how they

Define Geo how they actually measured

success with this yeah and you know most

importantly what really works okay so

this is this is like next level stuff

this isn't just tweaking our keywords

this is figuring out how the AI actually

thinks that's it all right let's dive in

so the article says that Geo is am I

quote the Art and Science of structuring

websites and content to be picked up by

these AI search engines so basically

you're trying to get your content cited

by chat GPT Google's

SG even uh I saw this tool called

perplexity doai another AI powered

search they're all like giving answers

to your questions directly right pulling

from different sources and that's I mean

that's huge because I mean these AI

tools are more and more becoming like

the first place people go to get

information sometimes they don't even

have to click to a website anymore

exactly that's it it's uh it's really

important because those are often

replacing um the need to actually click

through to individual websites yeah okay

so that is a big shift and how we and

how we find information online it is

speaking of shifts how how did the

researchers measure success in this new

world like traditional SEO ranking that

doesn't really work anymore yeah you're

right it's different it's a whole new

ball game yeah because the way that

these AI tools present information is is

totally different so they came up with

new metrics oh okay and one of them was

uh position adjusted word count okay

what is position adjusted word count so

let's say you ask um an AI engine a

question and it gives you a nice little

answer box so position adjusted word

count tells you how much space your

websites content is taking up in that

response oh okay the more words from

your website the better the better so

it's not just about getting mentioned

it's about how much of your actual

content they use exactly that makes

sense and then they also looked at what

they call um subjective impression so

it's kind of like a layer on top of that

it considers you know how relevant is

your content to the search how much does

it seem to influence the ai's answer wow

and even like How likely someone is to

click the citation so it's not just

about the word count but the overall

impact your content has so like a

quality score on top of the quantity oh

that's fascinating okay so tell me about

the strategies they tested um I'm going

to guess that keyword stuffing is not

going to cut it in the age of AI you got

it keyword stuffing yeah they uh they

tested nine different techniques okay

and some of those were those old school

tactics like key word stuffing and

you're right it totally flopped yeah it

did not work but some of the findings

were really really interesting okay well

give me the good stuff what what worked

well this is where it gets um really

interesting adding statistics to your

content okay citing your sources

including relevant quotes gotcha all of

that significantly improved visibility

in fact the research showed that just

adding even one statistic to your

content if it was relevant could

increase visibility by up to 25% wow 25%

yeah okay so it really is not about

algorithms anymore it's about like

backing up your claims with real

information right providing solid

evidence wow that's a big shift it seems

like AI is pushing us to have better

content overall yeah I think so too it's

not about just gaming the system anymore

right it's about providing valuable

information I love that so much better

um they also found that like certain

techniques work better depending on the

topic right like adding statistics was

really effective for like legal topics

or government stuff yes so you really

need to tailor your approach to the kind

of info you're dealing with precisely

and so all of this research that they

did though yeah it was Focus mainly on

your own website oh okay so what about

like things outside of our website

exactly yeah how how your content is

kind of perceived yeah shared across the

whole internet across the whole internet

that's a big one that they didn't really

look into right yeah and the article

kind of highlights this as a major Gap

in the research they call it offsite Geo

offsite okay

yeah because these AI engines are

pulling from like huge amounts of data

massive data sets it's not just about

what's happening on your little website

exactly exactly so even if your website

is perfectly optimized you also need to

make sure that you're being mentioned in

the right places across the web right

okay so it's almost like you need to

build this like ecosystem of credibility

around your content yes yes almost like

um backlink strategies in traditional

SEO but even more than that it it's

really about building a reputation M for

expertise in your field okay and that

leads us to some really interesting

strategies so we were talking about this

this idea of offsite Geo yeah like what

does that even look like what do we do

well so you got to think of these AI

engines they're they're like super fast

readers like they're reading everything

online yeah they're not just looking at

your website right you know they're

taking it all in so it's not enough to

just make great content on our site we

have to to like be part of this bigger

conversation happening online exactly

it's it's about being mentioned in the

right places right by the right sources

so if an AI you know sees your content

cited in by some trusted Source you know

somebody who's who's seen as an expert

in the field right that sends a powerful

signal that's a good sign so it's like

building up like a I don't know a

network of validation for your content

that's a great way to put it almost like

um like a digital seal of approval yeah

and backlinks still matter okay but it's

not just about the number of backlinks

it's like are they coming from good

sources authoritative websites are they

actually adding to the conversation so

we're still doing strategic link

building MH but it's even more strategic

now it's even more nuanced think about

like you know how those links are going

to be seen by the AI right so imagine

like an AI is reading an

article about um I don't best

restaurants in Seattle okay right and if

if your restaurant is consistently

mentioned by food bloggers critics you

know local Publications right right

that's going to carry a lot of weight

you're going to move up in the rankings

right because you're part of this

trusted ecosystem yeah but it goes Way

Beyond just backlinks right yeah what

about social media oh yeah social media

huge right I mean that's a gold mine of

information for these AIS yeah they can

see what people are saying saying about

your content you know how it's being

shared and engaging with it yeah exactly

so having a good social media presence

is still super important more than ever

yeah more than ever but again it's

quality over quantity right right so you

know a few thousand engaged followers

who really love your stuff are worth

more than you know millions of followers

who don't really care right yeah apathy

doesn't help right so it's about

building a community around your content

what about other online platforms forms

like uh forums or industry specific

websites those are important too think

about like where are the conversations

in your field happening yeah right are

there certain forums or online

communities right industry Publications

right that are well respected that's

where you want to be seen okay so this

off-site Geo it really does have a lot

of different channels and strategies it

does it does but

um I think the key is to you know be

strategic mhm be focused it's better to

have you know a few really good mentions

yeah from authoritative sites than to

have you know a ton of lowquality links

it's like planting seeds you got to put

them in good soil you you want to

nurture those connections yeah and then

watch them grow so it sounds like Geo is

really rewarding content creators who

are already doing things the right way

yeah like making good content connecting

with their audience building their you

know reputation as an expert it is it's

it's like the Natural Evolution of

content strategy right in a way you know

AI is pushing us to be better I like

that I have to admit though it is a lot

to think about it is so many different

like parts to juggle it's a lot but you

don't have to do everything at once

right right start with the basics okay

like focus on making really high quality

content optimize your website for both

people you know and AI yeah and start

building a strong online press

okay just you know by engaging with

people so start with those Basics and

then as we get more comfortable as you

get more comfortable you can start

adding in those those more like Advanced

off-site strategies exactly exactly it's

it's a journey yeah it's not a

destination and the good news is there's

there's so many resources out there you

know there's blogs there's podcasts

there's online courses entire

communities dedicated to helping people

understand this really wow it's it's

really amazing how quickly this field is

evolving it is it seems like every day

there's there's something new to learn

yeah it's exciting and to be honest it's

a little daunting yeah I get that but

it's also what makes it so interesting

yeah it's it's it's pushing us all

to be better yeah to think differently

and to constantly be adapting you know

speaking of adapting yeah this whole

thing has got me thinking about the user

experience right or ux like how does

that play into GE

that's a great point because at the end

of the day you know it's real people who

are interacting with these search

results right so we have to make sure

our content is is user friendly yep you

know it's engaging so things like making

our website easy to navigate writing in

a way that's clear and easy to

understand using visuals yes those are

all still important absolutely and you

know we need to think about how AI is

interacting with the content too can it

understand structure right can it easily

you know pull out the key information so

good ux isn't just about like making

things look pretty for humans it's also

about making it easy for the AI to

understand our content precisely it's

about optimizing for for both both human

readability and machine readability yeah

okay if if the AI can easily crawl your

website understand your content it's

much more likely to site you so good ux

is good Geo you got it they go together

they go hand in hand you know clear

writing concise language well structured

content all those things are good for

both right humans and Ai and don't

forget visuals oh yeah images videos

infographics y they they can help break

up your text make it more engaging and

you can actually get information across

more effectively that way too right and

it's not just about being pretty for the

human eye I mean the AI can get more out

of that too yeah visuals are more

important than ever they um not only

make your content more appealing to

people yeah but they can help AI better

understand the context like what is this

about oh okay what does it mean gotcha

and it helps with accessibility too and

making sure that people of all abilities

can understand your content that's a

good point yeah it all comes back to

creating a positive experience for

everyone whether they're human or

machine it's amazing to see how like all

these different pieces are coming

together good ux good SEO good Geo it's

all connected it is and that's what

makes this field so Dynamic and exciting

we're constantly learning new things and

figuring out you know how to create

content that really works yeah for

everyone for everyone yeah it's it's

really amazing to see all these pieces

coming together right the content the

optimization user experience it's all

like blending into this new world of AI

it is it is it's like a whole new

landscape is is emerging you know and

and we're all kind of figure it out

together yeah and it's a lot but it also

feels like kind of empowering in a way

right yeah it's like a chance to really

focus on quality authenticity for for

people and for these these AI engines

that are like becoming so important

right it's an opportunity to to Really

build a you know a more meaningful

presence online yeah so as we're as

we're wrapping up this deep dive into

Geo yeah what's like the one key

takeaway you want our listener to

remember well I think the most important

thing is to to approach this with a with

a spirit of experimentation yeah you

know Geo is is still relatively new

right and there's no like magic formula

right you know try different strategies

see what works for you see what works

for your audience what these AI tools

are responding to and and don't be

afraid to think outside the box I I love

that it's it's about being creative and

and adaptable yeah just like with any

any kind of communication really it is

it is it's you know there's no magic

formula it's about understanding the

principles and and figuring out how to

apply them in a way that feels you know

authentic to you and Geo isn't like a

one-time thing it's it's something we

have to keep working at absolutely it's

it's an ongoing process you know it

requires constant learning and adapting

it's um it's like tending a garden yes

you have to keep like watering it and

weeding and pruning to help it help it

really grow I love that analogy and and

just like a garden the the rewards of of

Geo they're worth the effort you get to

see your content grow and flourish and

and reach new heights yeah well said

well this has been a really really

insightful Deep dive into the world of

Geo thanks for for walking us through

this it's it's a lot but you made it you

know easy to understand oh you're

welcome it's it's always fun to to kind

of dive into this stuff and and see how

it shaping the future of of content

creation so to wrap things up I I have

one final question for our listener okay

as as they're you know starting out on

their their own Geo

Journey what unique value do you bring

to the online world what knowledge

insights perspectives can you share that

nobody else can because I think in this

age of AI that's really what's going to

set you apart that's that's a great

question it's all about finding your

voice and and sharing your expertise and

making a a genuine impact well thanks

again for joining us on this deep dive

into Geo until next time keep learning

keep creating and and keep pushing the

boundaries of what's possible online see

you next time