How to carry out your tactics for a "Generative Engine Optimization" module

• Generative AI research and analysis.
• Content optimization for generative AI.
• Technical optimization for AI accessibility.
• Content distribution and engagement.
• Building brand authority and credibility.

• GEO keyword research.
• AI Overview response analysis.
• Competitor research and analysis.
• Brand perception intelligence.

GEO keyword research

• Know your target audience:

1. Start by forming a clear picture of what is driving your audience's search – are they looking for information, solutions or products?
2. Focus on the words, phrases and questions they use to craft content that effectively meets their needs.

Identify relevant keywords, phrases and entities:

• Find keywords and phrases that resonate with your audience while aligning with AI’s focus on natural language processing:
• Long-tail keywords and conversational queries: Longer, more specific phrases that capture user intent and reflect natural, conversational search behavior.
• Semantic keywords: Variations, related terms or synonyms that add context and depth to your main keyword and render your content more meaningful and relevant.
• Entities: Definable people, places, things or specific concepts that enable AI to correctly categorize and refer to your content.
• Contextually relevant phrases: Phrases that occur naturally in discussion of a topic and reassert your content's topic, enabling AI to infer the overall context of your content.
• Include these in your content to meet user demands as well as make it easy for AI to analyze and categorize effectively.
• Example: "best wireless headphones"
• Long-tail keywords: best wireless headphones under $200, best wireless headphones for exercising, wireless headphones with extended battery life
• Conversational queries: what are the best wireless headphones in 2024, which wireless headphones are best at noise cancellation?
• Semantic keywords: Bluetooth headphones, wireless earbuds, over-ear wireless headphones
• Entities: Apple, Bluetooth, Bose, Sony
• Contextually relevant terms: crystal-clear sound quality, long-lasting battery, comfortable fit for all-day wear

1. Example: "digital marketing strategies"

• Long-tail keyword: best digital marketing strategies in 2024, digital marketing strategies for small businesses
• Conversational query: what are the most effective digital marketing strategies, what type of marketing is best for small businesses
• Semantic keywords: digital marketing channels, digital marketing tips, online advertising strategies, inbound marketing strategies
• Entities: search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, email marketing
• Contextually relevant terms: grow your business, increase brand awareness, drive qualified traffic, reach your target audience

1. Explore SERP features and leverage AI tools:

• Explore SERP features: Leverage tools like Google's "People Also Ask" and Autocomplete to find long-tail questions and related search terms. Tools like AlsoAsked can extract more insights from this data.
• Utilize AI tools for topic research: Employ sites such as ChatGPT to come up with related concepts, phrases and questions. This will enhance your content's depth of relevance and be in line with how AI understands the subject.
• Prompt example
• List long-tail keywords, conversational queries and contextually relevant phrases around '[KEYWORD]' that address different types of user intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional). Include common user questions, semantically related terms and key entities that should be prioritized to create comprehensive, user-focused content. Determine areas also where users tend to seek more detailed information, specific pain points or actionable tips."

• Identifying the queries that trigger AI-generated overviews in Google.
• Understanding the prioritized topics and structures.
• Ensuring your brand is well-represented. 

• Wider visibility: AI Overviews are accessible by all U.S. users, including those in incognito mode, meaning wider visibility and new opportunities for content discovery. Google also introduced AI Overview availability to six more countries, extending its global reach and potential for influencing content visibility.
• Semrush AI Overview tracking enhancement: Semrush has enhanced its tracking for AI Overviews, simplifying large-scale analysis. While not all keyword data is fully integrated, the Organic Research report can help track the performance of queries triggering AI Overviews.

• Track your key queries triggering AI Overviews: Determine the queries that trigger AI Overviews with a set of tools for content performance measurement and topic prioritization in your GEO strategy.
• Keyword ranking tracking tools: Use tools like Semrush, BrightEdge and others to track keywords, keeping in mind that visibility will remain low for less frequent triggers.
• Google Search Console: While lacking in direct AI Overview tracking, GSC provides valuable insight when paired with other tools.
• Google Chrome extensions : Google AI Overview Impact Analysis: Monitor AI Overviews and referencing sources for multiple keywords using this free extension. Export the data, identify trends and refine your strategy.
• Google AI Overview Citation Analysis: Contrast URLs referenced in AI Overviews with conventional SERPs using this free extension, facilitating side-by-side comparison, competitor tracking and trend identification.

• Get your content featured in AI Overviews for your target searches, especially if it is performing well organically. AI does not necessarily pull from top-performing SERP content, so featuring in overviews helps to future-proof visibility.
• A recent seoClarity study conducted by Mark Traphagen discovered that 99.5% of AI Overview citations now match one or more of Google's top 10 search results. Correlation can change, so ongoing monitoring is required.
• Tip: Filter top queries from a ranking export that are likely to trigger AI Overviews using a regex pattern with ChatGPT. As illustrated below, pass these keywords through the AI Overview Impact Analysis extension to identify which queries return overviews and the sources cited
• By combining the downloaded report with your ranking data using VLOOKUP, you can effectively analyze AI Overviews in relation to your organic performance.
• With conditional formatting, you can easily track your brand's position and monitor the sources being cited.

• Optimize your content for AI Summaries, understand how AI structures its responses to your primary questions.
• Identify the common formats – lists, tables or videos – and shape your content to incorporate elements like data points, topics, multimedia and key phrases that AI deems relevant.

• "What is SEO" AI Summary: Begins with a short paragraph, then continues with headings and bullet points that cover why SEO is important and how to make a website more SEO-friendly. In order to increase the likelihood of being featured, content should completely cover these key points.
• "Best digital marketing strategies for small business" AI Overview: Contains text, images and a bulleted list that covers specific digital marketing channels, strategies and actionable tips. If you wish to target this AI Overview, present your content in a manner that covers similar topics and actionable tips.

• Monitor competitors referenced by AI: Begin by recognizing competitors who are often featured in AI-generated summaries for your desired keywords.
• Utilize tracking tools: Leverage the free tools described above, such as the AI Overview Impact Analysis and Citation Analysis Chrome extensions, to monitor competitors.
• Leverage Advanced AI Tools: Integrate tools like the ChatGPT API with Google Sheets to develop custom solutions that allow you to efficiently track and analyze your brand's mention in AI-generated outputs.
• Monitor trends and shifts in sources cited over time: Stay in step with AI's evolving content tastes, including shifts to newer publications or specialty sources and adjust your strategy accordingly to stay competitive and relevant.
• Analyze competitors' source content and borrow successful strategies: Analyze competitors' content to reveal gaps and opportunities where you can provide more value.

• Occasionally assess how AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity portray your brand.
• Analyze AI-generated summaries, user questions and brand coverage in user-generated content (UGC) to identify gaps and areas to work on.

• Discuss how AI platforms leverage UGC to understand customer sentiment and general brand perception.
• Automate the collection and analysis of UGC using AI tools to optimize your brand strategy.

• Example research output: Provides a complete sentiment analysis report, e.g., overall sentiment, specific product/service perception areas, competitive comparisons, emotional engagement and communication effectiveness.
• Why this is useful: Enables you to quickly identify where your brand is performing well and where it needs improvement. You can then make data-informed strategic improvements to your brand's product/service offerings and customer communications.

• Monitor AI-generated questions and answers to determine customer sentiment. Tune your content and communications strategy to maintain a positive brand reputation online.

• As AI systems are refined, so will the perception of your brand. Continuous monitoring of how AI platforms reflect your brand is required to develop strategies to provide a consistent and positive message as AI systems are refined.

• Use AI-generated learnings to inform your content and overall brand strategy. Deliver consistency across channels to establish your brand's image, visibility, and credibility.

• Utilize appropriate keywords: Apply long-tail, conversational and semantic keywords from research to AI-optimize content. Use the keywords naturally to mimic users' searching patterns and interactions with AI-driven platforms.
• Expand related concepts: Apply insights from research to deepen your content, making it more comprehensive and valuable to users. Align with AI’s preference for in-depth content by filling market gaps and offering unique value.
• Integrate key entities and phrases: Use key entities, phrases and concepts identified during research to build a narrative that resonates with AI’s contextual algorithms, ensuring relevance and authority.

• Citations: Quote credible, up-to-date sources to support your claims and connect your content with authoritative research.
• Quotations: Incorporate expert quotations from individuals within the industry to include insights and credibility.
• Statistics: Incorporate relevant and up-to-date statistics presented in compelling formats like graphs or charts.
• Follow E-E-A-T guidelines: Produce websites that demonstrate experience, expertise, authority and trust (E-E-A-T).

• Create detailed, interesting and multifaceted content that completely answers user questions and matches AI preferences for content diversity.
• Give complete answers: Give complete responses that fully answer user questions, since AI prefers detailed content.
• Ensure content is informative and interesting: Prioritize making content informative, simple to comprehend and offering concise, actionable information.
• Use varied multi-modal formats: Incorporate a mix of formats – blog posts, guides, videos and interactive content – to keep your audience engaged and align with AI’s preference for diverse content.

• Regularly update your content to signal to search engines that the information is current and relevant. Fresh content aligns with current trends and user interests, improving your content’s relevance.

• Simplify language: Use simple, concise language, avoiding jargon and complex sentences.
• Break up complex information: Use bullet points, lists and short paragraphs to make concepts more scannable and easier to understand.
• Highlight important information: Use bold text, callout boxes or summaries to bring attention to key points and make them stand out.
• Use visuals and multimedia: Incorporate high-quality images, infographics and other visual elements to break up text and illustrate important concepts, enhancing engagement and readability.
• Consistent formatting: Apply the same font sizes, styles and colors to all content elements to make it easier to read.

• Organize your content to make key details easily accessible so that AI and users can quickly and easily grasp the most important points.
• Tell them what to expect: Communicate the main purpose or topic at the beginning of the content.
• Summarize key points: Present brief summaries or lists of key points at the start of your content and in suitable sections.
• Use FAQ sections: Include FAQs in lengthy content to answer frequently asked questions, making it more probable that AI will utilize it to answer specific questions.
• Give quick answers: Give concise answers to questions in the first few sentences so that AI and users can get the information they need quickly.

• Prioritize content flow: Create a smooth, logical flow in your content. Use clear transitions and well-organized paragraphs to make your content easier to read and more engaging.
• Use clear, descriptive headings: Organize content with headings that logically guide readers and AI through the content.
• Design intuitive navigation: Create a clear hierarchical structure by using H1 to H5 headings and distinct sections like FAQs or step-by-step guides to enhance usability and relevance.

• Use findings from your GEO research to inform content structure and clarity around your primary questions.
• Polish content structure and format: Tailor your content to match patterns found in AI-generated answers and referenced sources, including features such as lists, tables and other efficient formats.
• Highlight important information: Add typical data points, subjects and information that AI tends to prioritize, completing gaps in your content.
• Add multimedia: Incorporate videos, infographics or other images if AI prefers these in its answers.
• Use competitor strategies: Implement content formats and structures used by top competitors most cited by AI for your target questions.

• Structure and organize content: Use schemas like Article, Organization and Breadcrumb to let AI know your content structure and context, making your content more visible in relevant searches.
• Enable natural language queries: Utilize FAQ and QandA schemas to optimize for voice search and generative AI, allowing AI to easily find direct answers and increasing the chances of your content appearing in AI-generated results and featured snippets.
• Emphasize key features: Apply schema markup to critical content like products, reviews, and FAQs so that AI recognizes and prioritizes these features in richer search results.
• Make visual content more discoverable: Use ImageObject and VideoObject schemas to make your video and visual content more discoverable. Proper markup enables AI to recognize and prioritize this content in search results.
• Feature user-generated content: Implement Review, AggregateRating and Testimonial schemas to encourage user reviews, which will make your content more authoritative and AI-search visible.
• Extend schema usage: Explore using more types of schemas to enable AI to better understand and rank your content in specific contexts.

• Optimize for speed and accessibility: Quick loading, mobile responsiveness and clean code allow search engines to easily crawl and index your site, giving AI systems the data they need for generating relevant answers.
• Improve performance: Accelerate server response times, compress images and fix crawl errors or broken links. A well-performing site is more likely to be indexed correctly, and that means better search visibility.
• Secure your site: Implement HTTPS and adhere to good security best practices. AI algorithms prefer secure sites, so securing your site increases credibility and trust.
• Streamline site structure: Well-organized content hierarchy and proper internal linking enable AI to understand the connection between different pieces of content, which improves relevance in search.
• Prioritize mobile optimization: As mobile search dominates, ensure that your content is mobile-optimized. AI prioritizes mobile-optimized content, and it has a direct impact on your visibility.

• What to do: Identify 3-5 platforms where your audience is active (e.g., social media, Reddit, Quora) and modify your content to fit the tone of each platform while posting regularly.
• Why: Putting your content on these platforms signals AI that it's authoritative and worthy of priority. More visibility on more platforms increases the chances of AI crawling and ranking your content.

• What to do: Encourage your audience to participate in campaigns like hashtag challenges or reviews and showcase the best UGC on your channels.
• Why: User-generated content makes your brand more credible by reflecting actual user engagement, which AI platforms prefer. This credibility enhances engagement and makes your content more appealing to both users and AI.

• What to do: Schedule time daily to interact with your social media followers by responding to questions, addressing comments and joining in discussions.
• Why: Two-way communication tells AI your content is relevant and liked, so it makes it more discoverable and allows you to reach more individuals.

• What to do: Create shareable content like infographics, tips and visually appealing posts. Use clear calls to action and social sharing buttons to encourage sharing.
• Why: Shared content is given more visibility, which signals its relevance to AI, leading to greater reach and influence.

• What to do: Occasionally update high-performing content with new keywords, relevant links and fresh visuals. Repurpose and reshare it on platforms to current it.
• Why:  AI favors content that is regularly updated and aligned with trends, so it shows and becomes relevant.

• Build backlinks from authoritative sites: Get backlinks from authoritative websites to communicate trustworthiness to AI algorithms.
• Guest blogging: Guest blog on authoritative industry websites.
• Partnerships: Associate with authoritative brands.
• Shareable content: Create content that quality backlinks naturally wish to link to.

• Transparency: Be clear and honest, without clickbait.
• User-focused: Create content that truly benefits your audience.
• Fact-checking and accuracy: Fact-check your content always to be accurate.
• Accessibility: Make it accessible to everyone, including users with disabilities.
• Demonstrate your expertise: Always show your knowledge and expertise to substantiate your authority.
• Original research: Publish original, data-driven findings.
• Case studies: Highlight successful strategies and innovations.
• Expert opinions: Include industry experts in your material.
• Use consistent branding: Project a recognizable and dependable identity in all media.
• Single messaging: Communicate your brand messaging consistently.
• Visual identity: Employ logos, colors and design elements consistently.
• Build relationships with influencers and thought leaders: Collaborations with well-established influencers and thought leaders can greatly enhance your brand's credibility. Focus on:
• Content collaboration: Co-create content with industry influencers.
• Endorsements: Get testimonials from experts.
• Guest appearances: Appear as a guest on industry panels and podcasts.

• Embrace GEO as the future of SEO: SEO is evolving as we know it. GEO makes your brand stay visible and competitive in AI-powered search.
• Leverage AI research: Start with the insight into how AI reads content. Dive into semantic analysis, user intent, competitor strategy, AI-generated responses and brand perception research to attune your content to AI algorithms and make your brand authoritative.
• AI prioritization content optimization: Good content is just the starting point. Structure it for AI by making it clear, relevant and positioned to rank high in AI-driven results.
• Master technical SEO: Make your site technically solid with structured data, fast load times and mobile responsiveness so AI can crawl and rank your content readily.
• Strategically distribute and engage: Publish your content widely and often across platforms and engage with your audience regularly. The more your content is out there and active, the more AI will prioritize it – so post often and be consistent.
• Build and maintain brand credibility: Trust is all that counts. Focus on quality backlinks, consistent branding and ethical, value-added content to build credibility with both AI and users.