SEO and GEO: what businesses should actually prepare

1. Put SEO and GEO in context

SEO refers to work on a website's discoverability and clear presentation in search engines. Here, GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization, means preparing content for answers from generative search systems. For a company, the first important question is which system is being considered: statements about Google cannot automatically be applied to every AI service.

Google documents no additional technical requirements or special optimisations for AI Overviews and AI Mode. To appear as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear with a search snippet. Even then, inclusion is not guaranteed. Our recommendation follows from this: check the existing foundations before planning a separate package of measures solely under the GEO label.

Source: Google Search Central: AI features and your website

2. Check accessibility before adding more content

Google's minimum technical requirements include an accessible Googlebot, a successfully delivered page and indexable content. A login requirement can prevent access. These conditions allow a page to be considered for search; they do not determine whether, or in which position, it will actually appear.

For your review, we recommend listing the most important service pages. For each URL, record whether it is publicly accessible, returns a successful response and makes content available for indexing. Add a second review from the visitor's perspective: are the service, contact person and next step easy to identify on a smartphone too? Separate technical errors from content gaps so that responsibility and the next action remain clear.

Source: Google Search Central: Technical requirements

3. Answer a specific customer question fully

Google recommends helpful content for people and includes originality, identifiable sources and evident expertise among its assessment questions. From this, we derive a simple editorial method for company pages: before writing the copy, note the decision the page should help someone make.

A page about property photography could, for example, explain which properties the service suits, what preparation is needed and which image formats may be available afterwards. A general statement such as “We showcase properties” does not answer these questions. Describe the actual scope, possible options and prerequisites. If the scope or process still needs to be agreed, say so explicitly. Then link only to other services that meaningfully complement the need you have described.

Source: Google Search Central: Helpful, reliable, people-first content

4. Document experience so that it can be verified

For project examples, we recommend a short, reusable structure: starting point, task, your contribution and an outcome that can be published. Describe the work you personally delivered. A customer logo alone does not answer that question. If a project was delivered with others, your own contribution can be placed in the appropriate context.

Support figures with a timeframe, measurement basis, and context. If these details are unavailable, a factual description of the resulting website, production, or campaign can still be helpful. Do not invent metrics to make a reference appear more impressive. Also assign someone who can review content when services, contacts, or project details need updating.

5. Assess progress through several observations

For internal evaluation, we recommend three separate questions: are relevant pages being found? Are visitors using the available contact options? Do the resulting enquiries fit your company? A single metric rarely answers all three. Record page changes and feedback from your sales team in the same overview.

When monitoring responses from AI systems, record the question, date and system used. Treat individual mentions as observations. A single mention is not evidence of lasting visibility. Then prioritise specific improvements: answer an outstanding customer question, clarify an unclear service or simplify a contact route. This keeps the work closely connected to the usefulness of your website.

6. A decision example: create a new page or improve an existing answer?

Suppose a property company wants to help owners prepare for marketing a property. Its website already has a service page, a short photography article and a general contact page. Yet a recurring question is which documents are useful before the first conversation. Our editorial recommendation is to start with this specific gap and consider where prospects would most easily find the answer.

If preparation is directly part of the service described, an additional section on the service page may be enough. If the question requires a standalone guide covering different situations, an expert article may be appropriate. Link to it where the question arises. A new page is justified when it helps with a distinct decision and contains enough specific information.

Check the limits of the existing material too. If only general statements are available, first speak to the people with the relevant expertise. Ask them to explain when the recommendation applies, what exceptions occur and what the next step is. Label a simplified example as such. This makes it clear what readers can apply to their own circumstances.

Then record the decision in your content plan: the question answered, the responsible person, the existing page, and outstanding information needs. When further texts are created, compare their purpose with this entry. This keeps each publication grounded in a content need and supports targeted improvements to existing answers. This approach provides a clear foundation for editorial maintenance; it does not promise search positions or mentions in AI answers.