GEO is a new name for an old job: be the clearest, most specific source on the questions your buyers ask. The new part is who reads the page first. Now it is often a machine writing an answer for a person.
Is GEO different from SEO and AEO?
Mostly no. All three reward the same pages; they keep score differently.
- SEO (search engine optimization) is about ranking in the list of blue links. The scoreboard is position and clicks.
- AEO (answer engine optimization) is about being the answer in featured snippets, voice assistants, and "People also ask." The scoreboard is whether your sentence gets pulled out.
- GEO (generative engine optimization) is about being named or cited when an AI writes the answer itself. The scoreboard is mentions and citations, often with no click at all.
A page that answers one question plainly, with a price and a place, does well on all three. Anyone selling GEO as a separate discipline with separate tricks is selling you the label.
What does GEO involve for a small business?
Five things, in this order.
- Answer pages. One page per real buyer question, answered in the first sentence, with specifics: what it costs, how long it takes, who it is for, where you are.
- Listings. Your name, address, phone, and services identical on Google Business Profile, Bing Places, LinkedIn, and your industry's directories. Assistants cross-check.
- Structured data. The schema markup that tells machines a page is a business, a service, an FAQ, or an article.
- Reviews. Real ones, on the platforms your buyers already use. Assistants pull from them for local and "who's good at" questions.
- Measurement. Weekly readings from Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console, plus asking the assistants your buyers' questions and writing down who they name.
What does GEO not need?
- Tricks. Hidden text, prompt instructions buried in a page, or fake "AI-friendly" formats. Assistants are built by companies with every reason to ignore them.
- Keyword stuffing. A page that repeats "best plumber Minneapolis" eleven times reads as junk to people and machines alike.
- A tool before the work. Paid AI visibility trackers are fine later. Buying one before you have pages worth citing just measures zero more precisely.
- Hundreds of thin pages. Twenty good answers beat two hundred filler ones.
Does it work for a small business?
Yes, and a small business has an edge: it can be more specific than a national site. My own appraisal firm, Lukes & Lukes, went from a new LLC to its first call in 90 days. In 90 days its Bing Copilot citations went from 835 to about 2,100, and its Google AI impressions went from 689 to about 1,450, on a domain that started from nothing. The work was answer pages, listings, structured data, and weekly measurement. Nothing on that list is secret.
What does GEO cost?
A check-up is one hour for $150: I ask the assistants your buyers' questions, look at what they say about you, and tell you what to fix first. A Google Business Profile done right is $600. Answer pages with a website start at $1,500. Ongoing work fits inside a fractional CMO seat or runs hourly. Details are on the AI search page.
How long before GEO shows results?
Weeks for the first citations, months for steady ones. Assistants refresh what they know on their own schedules, and new domains start with no trust. Measure weekly and judge it month over month, because a single week tells you very little.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.