THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, BRAND CREDIBILITY AND CLIENT ATTRACTION
- Jenny Henderson
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
AI generated search results are becoming the new normal. For online business owners and service providers, this shift matters a lot. More people are skipping time-consuming Google searches in favour of quick, conversational AI business recommendations.
Consider this your sign to get serious about your brand foundation. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) favours brands that are clear, credible, and consistent. In this blog you’ll learn what GEO is, the role your brand plays, and how to get AI to recommend your business in the age of AI.
CONTENTS
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEO AND GEO?
Just as you were getting the hang of SEO, everyone seems to be talking about GEO. What exactly is GEO and how is it different from SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are similar but here’s the high-level difference between the two:
An Example of SEO vs GEO
Let’s say you were in the market to hire a landscaper. You might type into Google “best landscaping companies in Toronto” and Google would serve up a list of links for you.
To save you time going page by page, you can ask a Large Language Model (LLM) like ChatGPT a similar question: what are the best landscaping companies in Toronto? Instead of listing links, ChatGPT will conversationally respond with its top recommendations for local landscaping companies, elaborating on a few key highlights.
The biggest difference between SEO and GEO? Google ranks websites. AI recommends brands. While SEO rewards keyword-rich content, GEO rewards businesses with a strong, consistent online presence across social channels, media, podcasts, and beyond.
This means a strong brand foundation is imperative for getting AI to personally recommend your business.
WHAT GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION MEANS FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
So, what does this shift actually mean for your small business?
It’s not about abandoning SEO and your beloved blog, it’s about strengthening your brand’s digital footprint so AI recognizes you as a trusted expert in your field. The biggest shift here is being strategic about content that demonstrates your expertise and depth on specific topics. AI is scanning the internet for digital breadcrumbs that signal your credibility, such as:
your business bio across social media channels
content you’re posting on Instagram and LinkedIn
pins you post on Pinterest
business name mentions on blogs and in the media
your bio and the transcript for a podcast appearance
your company overview on a business directory
awards and accolades you’ve earned
your profile at a digital summit or expert panel
your business profile on third-party websites
This is why deliberate brand clarity and specificity are crucial to rank in AI search results. Not to mention the increased advantage you have to earn podcast spots, presentation opportunities, and awards.
HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR BRAND TO IMPROVE AI GENERATED SEARCH RESULTS
It’s time to get serious about your brand. The more clear and consistent your business is across your website, social channels, third-party sites, mentions, guest bios—you get the idea—the more likely you are to show up in AI generated search results.
If you haven’t updated your Google Business Profile since 2021—which I’m totally guilty of this too—now is the time! Consider it housekeeping to impress AI.
Auditing Your Brand Touchpoints and Declare Your Value Proposition
How consistent are your business bios and value propositions across every brand touchpoint?
AI is scanning the entirety of the internet in an instant, including those long forgotten about third-party platforms your business once appeared on. The goal is to avoid having inconsistent details about your business.
Auditing your brand touchpoints will likely inspire you to refresh your business bio and brand messaging—and that’s a good thing. It’s your opportunity to make your brand count. Take the steps to craft a brand message and business bio that you actually want to commit to long-term so:
you don’t have to audit your channels every 6 months
AI recognizes your brand authority
Your bios don’t have to be word-for-word identical, but cohesive language is a must as it relates to AI search results.
Discover your roots as a brand. Declare it everywhere once and for all!
Need help with this? Planner IV "Positioning Your Brand" of my Strategic Brand Planner guides you step-by-step towards crafting memorable messaging.
GEO Requires You to Know Your Brand Pillars
GEO rewards credibility and topical authority. When your business focuses on a few key topics and shows up consistently within them, AI platforms can confidently associate your brand with those areas of expertise.
For my brand strategy clients, this is called Messaging Architecture. We pinpoint three unique selling propositions (USPs) and three to four content pillars.
These become the foundation for your brand messaging, centring around your key areas of expertise and unique differentiators. This is how you keep your marketing focused while shaping your authority as a brand.
BRAND CREDIBILITY AND GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
The way people find solutions to their problems is changing. AI is making our searches easier and more direct. Even our beloved Google is serving up its top recommendations ahead of any actual search results.
This means it’s more important than ever for online business owners and service providers to take their brand foundation seriously. Generative Engine Optimization is the new game and it has new rules. And those rules favour brand clarity, consistency, and credibility.
You already have the expertise. Now it’s time to anchor that expertise in a clear, consistent brand foundation that signals your authority across the web. Ready to make sure AI knows who you are? Let’s clarify your brand foundation so you become the go-to recommendation in your industry by people and AI platforms alike.
Explore my brand strategy services for in-depth solutions or use my comprehensive Strategic Brand Planner to define your brand on your own.
Pin This
Jenny Henderson Studio develops memorable brand experiences and strategic brand foundations to improve recognition and revenue for service-based small businesses.
Comments