The GEO framework could theoretically help websites that are ranking lower in SERPs get visibility in generative AI experiences.
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
- “A novel paradigm to aid content creators in improving the visibility of their content in Generative Engine responses through a black-box optimization framework for optimizing and defining visibility metrics. We facilitate systematic evaluation in this new paradigm by introducing GEO-bench, a benchmark of diverse user queries across multiple domains, coupled with sources required to answer these queries.”
- Tested techniques.
- Authoritative: Content was modified to be more persuasive while making authoritative claims.
- Keyword Stuffing: More keywords were added to match the query.
- Statistics Addition: Quantitative statistics were added, instead of qualitative discussion.
- Cite Sources: Relevant citations were added.
- Quotation Addition: Quotations from credible sources were added.
- Easy-to-Understand: Simplified the language.
- Fluency Optimization: Improved the fluency.
- Unique Words: Added to content wherever possible.
- Technical Terms: Added to content wherever possible.
Topic-specific optimization. The report said:
- “Overall, our analysis suggests that website owners should strive towards making domain-specific targeted adjustments to their websites for higher visibility.”
For example, adding citations increased visibility for Facts, while focusing on Authoritative optimizations improved performance in the Debate and History categories.
To be clear, when the paper discusses “domains” it’s talking more about broad categories, not an online domain name. This would also be true in SEO – specific optimizations are different in healthcare versus payday loans.
Among the “domains” mentioned in the paper:
- Business
- Debate
- Explanation
- Facts
- History
- Opinion
- People & Society
- Law & Government
- Science
- Statement
Leveling the playing field? GEO could help smaller websites ranking lower in SERPs, according to the researchers:
- “Interestingly, websites that are ranked lower in SERP, which typically struggle to gain visibility, benefit significantly more from GEO than those ranked higher. …
Why we care. With the emergence of Google’s Search Generative Experience, Bing Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) and other AI-powered search engines, now is a crucial time to test and learn what helps content gain visibility. Because the things that work in SEO won’t necessarily work in the new world of GEO.
But. While this paper is an interesting read, these are not real world results (the researchers tested a subset of the results via Perplexity, but Perplexity is not Google).
