People are always looking for an easier way to accomplish a task. How else did we move from a snow shovel to a snow blower, or from writing letters to sending emails? It happens in the marketing world, as well.
“Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) is a term that dates to 1997. But is SEO a marketing strategy for a business, or is it another arrow in the marketing quiver (pause as young readers look up the meaning of “quiver”)?
The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed how businesses look to improve their company’s online performance. The latest evolution in online strategy is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Where traditional SEO relies on keywords and links, GEO emphasizes creating high-quality, authoritative content that AI can cite and integrate, including text, images, and video.
More people who had previously only used Google now use AI platforms for search purposes; even taking those “results” as being informed and carrying more authoritative weight than SEO. So, has GEO become the “easier way” for companies to be viewed as industry leaders?
A recent SectionAI.com article highlighted a GEO platform company that shut down because its owner doesn’t think GEO is a necessary product to pay for. It stated, “(GEO is) messy, hyper-personalized, and impossible to fully track. That’s because GEO is more about optimizing how AI models talk about you, not how you rank.”
For nearly three decades, companies have tried to crack the code on Google’s ever-changing algorithm methods to ensure a high SEO ranking. SectionAI.com sees the same thing happening with GEO. Currently, 40% of ChatGPT insights are pulled from Reddit, so everyone should be Reddit-centric, yes? Well, not if the next shift places greater emphasis on Wikipedia or another source.
“Companies mostly expected a magic bullet. They thought they would log in, and it would say, ‘if you do this one thing, suddenly you will be number one in ChatGPT.’”
So, ignore GEO, right? Wrong! A better idea is to include GEO as part of an overall already strong marketing strategy that is based on:
- Having a product or service that customers love
- Benefitting your customers leads to recommendations
- Building authentic relationships
- Differentiating yourself from the competition
A strong strategy. TRG Marketing has worked with clients to develop them for more than 20 years. Today, that includes an AI search audit so companies can see just where they stand in an ever-changing environment. Click here to get started.
No one is saying you should ditch the snow blower. Just recognize it for what it is: part of a snow removal plan, not the plan itself.
