In this evolving AI-powered landscape, ranking first on search engine results pages (SERPs) is no longer sufficient. The new objective is to be mentioned, cited, and synthesized in answers generated by Google, Yandex, and other major search engines. Keep reading to learn what SEO and GEO are and why you need to incorporate both into your AI-focused content strategies.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing content to rank highly in search results. SEO was the dominant content strategy for decades, focusing on signals such as keywords, backlinks, and site structure. Although the implementation of AI has fundamentally changed how most search engines operate, some SEO basics remain crucial for AI visibility.
Indexability
Indexability was a major factor in SEO because it was central to how traditional search engines compiled their link lists, and it remains important because AI search engines still index sites when deciding which sources are citation-worthy. Your site will be more indexable by AI crawlers and large language models (LLMs) if it has title tags, headers, meta descriptions, and other crawlable elements.
Before optimizing content for AI-powered search visibility, it’s important to confirm that your webpages are actually being indexed by search engines. Using an Index Checker helps marketers quickly verify whether important pages appear in Google’s index. This is especially useful when publishing new content, updating old pages, or troubleshooting technical SEO issues that may prevent search engines from crawling a site properly. Regular index monitoring also supports GEO strategies by ensuring AI systems can access and evaluate your latest content for citations and visibility.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing your site’s infrastructure so that it is more likely to be surfaced in search and cited by AI systems. In both SEO and GEO, the objective of this approach is to create the right conditions for search engines to crawl and index your content quickly. Improving your site’s technical SEO involves using a logical URL structure, removing content clutter, fixing loading issues, cleaning up code, enabling AI bot permissions, and optimizing for mobile devices.
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics developed by Google to measure real-world user experience, and they have become a significant signal for modern SEO. The three aspects of page experience that they measure are how fast the main content loads (LCP), how quickly the page responds to user input (INP), and how visually stable the page is as it loads (CLS).
Pages that score well across these three aspects are more likely to rank highly in search. Major search engines like Yandex, Bing, and Baidu have also developed their own page experience metrics that overlap with Core Web Vitals.
Keywords
Stuffing keywords no longer leads to high search rankings, but keyword placement still helps AI systems find direct, comprehensive answers. Every industry and niche will have target keywords that appear in user queries, and any modern SEO strategy should still center on content that covers the most relevant keywords. Long-tail keywords are also incredibly important, as users tend to now write more conversational queries using natural-language phrases.
Internal Links
In both SEO and GEO strategies, internal links act as a map through which LLMs can understand your site as a whole. AI-powered search engines will quickly crawl the internet for content related to user queries and identify collections of interrelated webpages to address relevant topics and subtopics. AI systems are more likely to draw from sites with clean organizational structures, including main landing pages and connected supporting pages.
Backlinks
Backlinks were once a primary SEO signal of domain authority, and they remain a vital secondary signal of brand authority. Getting high-quality backlinks from authoritative brands in your specific industry is especially important because it signals to AI systems that your brand is citation-worthy. Backlinks are often generated by creating high-quality content, but there are also industry-specific backlink-creation sites worth considering.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of optimizing content so that it is surfaced and cited by AI-powered systems such as Google’s AI Overviews, Yandex, and Claude. Instead of just returning a list of links, these new systems generate a direct answer to user queries. Optimizing content for these emerging technologies involves prioritizing factors like schema markup, brand authority, and content freshness.
Intent
Instead of focusing on matching key terms and phrases, AI-powered search engines are designed to interpret the intent behind each user query. LLMs are trained to understand the full context of a query and identify related topics, generating the most comprehensive answer. Several AI systems use methods that identify a list of related topics and subtopics for each user query, then run multiple simultaneous queries before synthesizing a direct answer.
Freshness
AI-powered search engines are also more likely to surface and cite content that has been freshly published or recently updated. Webpages created or updated within the last three months are significantly more likely to be indexed, and maintaining a regular publishing schedule can help brands keep content fresh.
Adding a “last updated” tag at the top of each article also helps LLMs immediately know when a webpage was last updated. It is also worth noting that evergreen content that remains accurate and up-to-date will not be penalized for age.
Schema Markup
Schema markup is structured data added to a webpage to make it easier for AI crawlers to read. Using JSON-LD, this code explains to both traditional search engines and AI systems what the content says. Direct labeling makes it clear who wrote the article, when it was published/updated, what type of content it is, and which specific entities it references. For example, an FAQPage label marks an FAQ section, while QAPage refers to a question-and-answer format.
Brand Authority
AI systems are much more likely to draw content from sources that they consider authoritative and trustworthy. In fact, Google’s own E-E-A-T framework stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Content that reflects all four aspects is much more likely to be found by AI-powered search engines as they generate their answers.
To improve brand authority, your site needs to comprehensively cover its main topic and related subtopics relevant to your industry. High-quality backlinks from reputable sources, establishing entity identity, and other clear trust signals will also help convince LLMs that your site is credible.
Citations
Content that explicitly cites its sources is also much more likely to be mentioned, cited, and used by AI search engines. Using citations from high-quality sources signals to LLMs that your content meets a high editorial standard and is factually correct. Placing your content alongside other authoritative sources also elevates your credibility and increases the likelihood that it will be perceived as a trusted entity. Creating original research that other sources cite only further adds to your site’s authority.
Building an Integrated Strategy
To get noticed by major AI-powered search engines like Yandex or Google, you need a modern strategy that combines SEO basics with the fundamentals of GEO. Focus on creating fresh, authoritative content with a solid schema markup, but don’t forget about including the right target keywords or high-quality backlinks. The right primary and secondary signals will get your brand mentioned and cited by the biggest names in AI search.
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