July 31, 2025
Reading time: 8 minutes

GEO Strategy in 9 Simple Steps (No SEO Expertise Needed)

Sketchy robot with
Sketchy robot with label "AI" on him and chat with question "GEO?"
Just ranking high won’t cut it anymore. Google’s AI wants answers it can trust, and if you want to be part of that answer, you need Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

By the end of this guide, you’ll know:
  • what GEO is
  • why it matters,
  • how to build a GEO strategy that actually works.

Let’s start!  

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)? 

SEO is changing fast. If you’ve been working hard to climb Google’s top 10, you might’ve noticed something strange: users are clicking less, even when you’re ranking high. That’s because search isn’t just about links anymore, it’s about answers. 

​Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is all about helping your content get picked up and cited directly by AI tools, like Google AI Overview, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, ChatGPT. These tools don’t just list pages, they summarize answers using info from around the web. So instead of competing for clicks, you’re competing to be part of the answer. 
💡 Check Also:

Prepare to AI Mode with optimization to AI Overview results with our tips.  

Why does Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) matter now?  

Google's AI systems can read your content, break it down into micro-answers, and combine it with others to give users a direct reply in the search results. We are seeing the rise of zero-click searches, where users get all the information they need without ever clicking through to a website. In fact, 60% of searches end without a click when the AI Overview is able to fully answer the query.

But if your site is GEO-optimized, you’ve still got a shot at the spotlight, even in zero-click searches. 

Key elements of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) 

  1. Citing sources in AI responses: Content optimized for GEO is more likely to be quoted by AI engines when they generate summaries or answer queries directly in the search results.
  2. Structured Data & Schema: AI engines rely heavily on structured data (such as FAQ, How-To, and Product schema) to extract and synthesize information. GEO ensures your website’s content is formatted in ways that AI engines can process and use effectively.
  3. Multi-faceted content: Instead of just targeting one keyword, GEO means building content that covers the whole topic: definitions, comparisons, step-by-steps, real examples, etc. This gives AI engines everything they need to choose your content as the source.
💡 Growth Tip:

Go back to your top 10 blog posts. For each one, add:

  1. A one-sentence summary that directly answers the main query (at the top of the post).
  2. A short FAQ section at the bottom (with schema).
  3. A table, bullet list, or how-to section AI can easily lift.

These simple tweaks can massively improve your chances of showing up in AI-generated search features. 

GEO vs. traditional SEO: What’s the difference?

SEO is about ranking. GEO is about getting quoted.

Traditional SEO focuses on climbing to the top of search results through keywords, backlinks, and technical structure. But in the age of AI search, like Google’s AI Overview and ChatGPT, that’s not always enough.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is about making sure your content is understood, trusted, and cited by AI. That means writing clear answers, structuring content for machines, and optimizing for visibility inside the AI-generated answers. 

Category

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

Focus

Ranking high in traditional search

Being cited in AI-generated answers

Positioning tactics

Keywords, backlinks, technical SEO

Entities, structured data, clear answers

Main goal

Get users to click your link

Get content quoted or summarized by AI

Success metric

Top 10 ranking in Google SERPs

Inclusion in AI Overviews or AI Mode results

You still need SEO, but GEO is how you stay visible when clicks disappear. Think of it as SEO, leveled up for AI. 

How to build a GEO strategy (without overcomplicating it)?

The good news: you don’t need to reinvent your entire SEO strategy. But you do need to tweak how you structure, write, and track your content so that AI-powered engines (like Google Gemini or ChatGPT) can understand it and cite it.

Let’s walk through it step-by-step. 

Step 1: Run a quick content audit 

Before you start adding new content, check what you've already got. You might be surprised by how much of it can be reused or upgraded for GEO.
Here’s how I do it (and what we do at Concept21 for our clients):

  1. Skim your top content: Look at your blog, landing pages, and guides. Ask yourself: Does this answer a real question clearly? Would AI find this trustworthy enough to quote? Is the structure clean (intro > answer > supporting info)?
  2. Analyze content performance: Check metrics such as organic traffic, bounce rates, and keyword rankings. Are there pages that perform well for long-tail queries or featured snippets? These might be great candidates for optimization in AI-driven formats.
  3. Identify content gaps: Look for missing content or underrepresented topics that AI engines may be prioritizing. Expand your content to fill these gaps and increase relevance.
💡 Growth Tip:

Take your top 5 blog posts and add a short, clear Q&A section at the bottom. Use real user questions (from “People also ask” or Search Console), and answer them in 2–3 sentences max. Add FAQ schema to increase your AI visibility.  

Step 2: Match content to search intent 

AI search tools are really good at figuring out what people actually want when they type something. So if your content doesn’t match the intent, it’s unlikely to get picked up or cited.

There are 4 basic types of search intent (informational, navigational, transactional, commercial) but for GEO, informational is the biggest opportunity.

  1. Identify primary search intents: Start by categorizing the intent behind each keyword you target. Informational queries (e.g., “What is SEO?”) are more likely to trigger AI-generated summaries, while transactional queries (e.g., “Buy SEO tools”) may be less likely to do so.
  2. Create content that answers questions: Tailor your content to answer specific questions in a direct and concise manner. Include question-based keywords and provide clear answers at the top of your content.
  3. Expand on each topic: For informational queries, offer more detailed breakdowns and multi-step processes that AI engines can use to generate answers. 
💡 Growth Tip:

Check “People Also Ask” results for your main keyword. These questions often appear in AI summaries. Add them (with short answers) into your post using H2s and lists. 

Step 3: Create content around real entities 

Here’s something most people overlook: AI doesn’t just “read” your content, it maps out who and what you’re talking about. These are called entities like people, companies, tools, industries, concepts.

If your page doesn’t clearly define or connect key entities, AI engines may skip over it or misunderstand it.
Here’s how to do it:

  1. Identify key entities: Focus on defining key entities relevant to your industry or niche. For example, in a guide on digital marketing, entities might include “Google,” “SEO,” “Google Ads,” and “content marketing.”
  2. Contextualize entities: Explain the relationships between entities in your content. For example, explain how Google Ads fits into a broader digital marketing strategy.
  3. Give short definitions: Even if it feels basic, adding one-line definitions for core terms helps AI know exactly what you’re talking about. For example: “GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization, a method of making your content visible in AI-generated answers”.

Step 4: Add Structured Data & Schema Markup 

Structured data helps AI engines interpret your content, allowing it to be used in AI-driven search results like AI Overviews. Properly implementing schema markup will enhance your chances of being featured.
​
Steps to implement structured data:
​
  1. Use relevant schema: Implement FAQPage schema for FAQs, HowTo schema for instructional content, and Product schema for eCommerce content.
  2. Define entities in schema: Use structured data to define key entities and concepts in your content. This helps AI engines correctly identify and cite your content in relevant searches.
  3. Test and validate schema: Use Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator to ensure that your schema markup is correctly implemented. 

Step 5: Build smart content clusters

If you’ve ever heard someone say “Google likes topical authority,” this is what they mean, and GEO takes that even further.

AI doesn’t just look at one blog post. It looks at your entire site structure to decide whether you’re worth quoting. That’s why content clusters (aka topic silos) matter so much.

Here’s how to build them the right way:

  1. Identify pillar topics: Choose broad, high-level topics that will act as the foundation for your content clusters (e.g., “SEO Strategies” or “AI in Business”).
  2. Create supporting content: Break down that big topic into smaller, focused pieces: “GEO for Ecommerce Sites”, “How Google AI Mode Affects Clicks”, “Best Structured Data for AI Visibility”.
  3. Use internal linking: Link all supporting content back to the pillar page and vice versa. This helps AI recognize the relationship between pieces of content and strengthens your content's relevance. 
💡 Growth Tip:

Pick one pillar topic this week and build 3-5 support pieces around it. Use tools like Semrush, Ahrefs or AnswerThePublic to find natural subtopics. Then link everything together. This mini-cluster could be enough to land your content in AI Overviews.

Step 6: Focus on quality

For AI engines to use your content in AI-generated responses, it must be of high quality. Content quality not only refers to its comprehensiveness and readability but also its ability to answer questions clearly and authoritatively.

Here’s how to do it:
  1. Answer user questions concisely: Ensure your content provides clear, actionable answers to common questions. Use bullet points, numbered lists, and tables for easier readability.
  2. Back it up with trust: Include expert quotes, real stats, case studies, anything that makes your content feel like it’s written by a real pro, not a content robot.
  3. Regularly update content: Ensure that your content is up-to-date with the latest trends, statistics, and information. AI systems prefer fresh, relevant content when generating responses. 
💡 Growth Tip:

Set a calendar reminder to refresh 5 top-performing posts every 90 days. Update stats, rewrite intros with clearer answers, and add a new FAQ section. This is one of the fastest ways to boost your GEO-readiness without creating tons of new content.

Step 7: Optimize for long-tail keywords 

Want your content to show up in AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT or Google’s AI Mode? Then start using long-tail keywords.

These are longer, more specific phrases like:

  • “best schema for ecommerce SEO”
  • “how does generative engine optimization work”
  • “tools for optimizing content for AI search”


AI loves these because they match how people actually ask things. What’s even better - they also have less competition than short, generic terms.

How to build your SEO strategy around long-tail keywords:

  1. Focus on specific queries: Research long-tail keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business and likely to trigger AI-driven responses. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest can help identify these.
  2. Integrate long-tail keywords naturally: Include these keywords in your content, particularly in questions, subheadings, and FAQs.
  3. Target informational content: Long-tail keywords often focus on specific information-seeking behavior. Create detailed content around these queries, ensuring that your answer is comprehensive and well-structured.
  4. Write full, clear answers: Don’t just add long-tail keywords without building content around them. Actually answer the question in a way that makes it easy for AI to quote. 
💡 Growth Tip:

Take your top 10 blog posts. Use Google Search Console to see what long-tail phrases they already rank for (or get impressions on). Add those exact phrases into subheadings or bullet points. This alone can push your page into AI responses.

Step 8: Enhance User Experience (UX) 

The better the user experience, the more likely AI engines will prioritize your content. Optimizing your site for speed, accessibility, and mobile-friendliness ensures that users, and AI, can easily access and engage with your content.


Easy UX wins for better GEO performance:

  1. Improve page speed: Optimize images, minimize scripts, and use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to enhance page load times.
  2. Mobile optimization: Ensure your content is fully responsive on mobile devices. Since mobile-first indexing is now a priority for Google, mobile optimization is crucial for SEO.
  3. Clear navigation: Use a clean, intuitive site structure that makes it easy for users to find what they’re looking for and engage with your content. 
💡 Growth Tip:

Use Google’s free PageSpeed Insights once a month. If anything scores red or orange, fix it ASAP. It’s one of the fastest ways to improve both UX and AI visibility. 

Step 9: Track and measure performance

Once your GEO strategy is in place, it’s important to continuously track your performance and make adjustments as needed. Monitor key GEO SEO metrics and AI-driven visibility indicators to ensure that your strategy is delivering results.

We’re not just looking at clicks and rankings anymore. We’re looking at how often your content shows up inside AI-generated answers, and how visible your brand is in a world where people might not even click a link.

Pay attention to metrics like:

  1. Impressions from AI Results: Use Search Console to check impressions for long-tail, question-based queries. Even if the clicks drop, impressions tell you: “Hey, Google’s seeing this page.” That’s your first sign you might be part of an AI Overview or AI Mode result.
  2. AI Citations: If your content is being quoted in AI answers, you’re winning attention, even without a click. Watch branded queries for spikes in impressions with no clicks, then check sample searches to see if your snippets show up in Overviews.
  3. Visibility in AI Mode / Gemini / ChatGPT / Perplexity: Keep tabs on how often your content appears in AI search engines. Check different devices, incognito, or use Labs if needed. You won’t always get direct analytics, so mix data with observation. 
💡 Growth Tip:

Generative Engine Optimization is an ongoing process. Regularly review your content’s performance, track changes in search algorithms, and adjust your strategy accordingly. 

Build your GEO strategy today! 

As AI Search Engines and AI Overview continue to redefine how users interact with search results, it is crucial to adapt your SEO strategy to stay competitive and visible.

By embracing GEO, your businesses can:

  • Increase visibility by appearing in AI-generated snippets and gaining AI citations.
  • Drive more targeted traffic through a more AI-centered approach rather than relying solely on traditional click-through metrics.
  • Track and measure success through new KPIs such as impressions, citations, and visibility in AI-driven results.

At Concept21, we help businesses navigate the complexities of GEO and AI-powered search by offering customized, data-driven strategies that ensure your brand remains visible, trusted, and competitive in the ever-changing world of search.

Ready to secure your spot in AI-powered search? Let’s talk. 
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Generative Engine Optimization done right. Secure your spot in AI-powered search. 

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Karol Andruszkow
Co-founder and CEO of Concept21
Karol is a serial entrepreneur, e-commerce speaker, and founder of 3 startups. He advised hundreds of companies and led projects worth over EUR 50 million for financial institutions across Europe.

He earned two master's degrees – Computer Science and Marketing Management – in Poland and Portugal. He has 10+ years of experience in Silicon Valley, Poland, Portugal, USA, and UK, helping startups, financial institutions, and SMEs improve operations through digitization.
Karol Andruszkow
Co-founder and CEO of Concept21
Karol is a serial entrepreneur, e-commerce speaker, and founder of 3 startups. He advised hundreds of companies and led projects worth over EUR 50 million for financial institutions across Europe.

He earned two master's degrees – Computer Science and Marketing Management – in Poland and Portugal. He has 10+ years of experience in Silicon Valley, Poland, Portugal, USA, and UK, helping startups, financial institutions, and SMEs improve operations through digitization.