SEO and GEO: how they differ
SEO aims for rankings and clicks on a page with ten links. GEO aims to get into a written answer that often names only three or four brands. There are fewer slots, and users don’t always click.
- Goal: SEO measures rankings, clicks and organic sales; GEO measures mentions, citations and recommendations.
- Unit of work: SEO optimises pages; GEO optimises answers and passages that AI can cite.
- Sources: in GEO, mentions in media, comparisons, forums, directories and third-party reviews carry a lot of weight.
- Measurement: SEO is measured in Search Console; GEO needs panels of questions that are run through the assistants regularly.
What each type of agency does
An SEO agency works on the website’s technical side (crawling, indexing, speed, structured data), architecture, content and links. Its reports talk about rankings, traffic and organic sales.
A GEO agency adds three things: it measures which questions your brand appears in on each assistant and against which competitors; it adapts content so it can be cited (direct answers, comparisons, first-party data); and it works on the external sources that models use to talk about your sector.
Which one you need
It depends on where you are today. These are the situations we see most often.
- Website with technical problems or little organic traffic: start with SEO. Without an indexable, authoritative base, it is hard for an AI to cite you.
- Website that already ranks well on Google: measure your AI visibility. You probably already appear in some answers and could appear in more with little work.
- Sector where people ask assistants before buying (comparisons, “which brand do you recommend”): work on SEO and GEO together from the start.
How to choose an agency
Be wary of anyone who promises fixed positions on Google or in ChatGPT: nobody controls those answers. Ask instead how they measure, with which question panel and how often they report.
- Which questions will you use to measure my AI visibility, and on which assistants?
- How do you separate traffic from ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity in analytics?
- What SEO case studies do you have with before-and-after figures?
- What will you do about external sources: media, directories, comparisons?
Where to start
Before hiring anything, measure. With our GEO service we always start with a diagnosis: which questions in your sector ChatGPT, Gemini and Google mention you in, against which competitors, and which actions come first.
If you want to understand GEO first, start with what GEO is and how to appear in AI Overviews.
Frequently asked questions
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. It builds on the same technical and content foundation. A website that ranks well on Google has a better chance of being cited by an AI.
Can I hire SEO and GEO from the same agency?
Yes, and it is usually the most efficient option, because the technical and content work serves both. Check that the agency also measures AI visibility, not just rankings.
Can you pay to appear in ChatGPT?
Organic answers can’t be bought. Some assistants have ad formats, which are managed separately as a paid media channel.
We’ll tell you what we would do in your case, no strings attached. A real person from the team replies.
CMO at Webimpacto. She leads the Growth area: SEO, GEO, paid media, CRO and analytics for brands that sell online.