SEO, AEO and GEO - so that customers and AI find you, not someone else
SEO decides whether Google shows you. AEO decides whether you're given as the ready answer. GEO decides whether ChatGPT mentions your name when a customer asks a full question. We do all three, because in 2026 each one on its own is only part of being visible.
What is SEO?
SEO is search engine optimisation: all the work that makes Google show your business when someone searches for what you sell. It isn't a single task but several areas that have to work together. A nice-looking website isn't enough on its own, and neither are keywords dropped into the text.
Technical
Speed, how the site works on a phone, indexing, page addresses, structured data.
Content
One service per page, the right industry vocabulary, answers to real customer questions.
Local
City pages, a Google Business Profile, reviews, consistent business details across the web.
Images
File names, alt text, compression. In industries where customers look before they read, this can be the most important channel.
Local pages
Separate pages for the cities you actually work in, with real content rather than a copy with the name swapped.
Measurement
Search Console, analytics, rankings for each city separately. Without this, you're optimising blind.
What is GEO?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) means preparing your business for AI-powered search: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews and the assistants on people's phones.
The change is simple. Customers used to type two words and get ten links. Today they increasingly ask a full question and get one answer naming two or three businesses. Either you're in that answer or you're nowhere. There is no second page of results any more.
- Structured data - your business described in a machine-readable format: type of business, address, service area, services, reviews, opening hours. It's the first thing a model reads.
- Content in question-and-answer form - written exactly the way customers ask. These are the passages quoted most often.
- An llms.txt file - a short file on the server that states plainly who you are, what you do, where you work and what is worth quoting about you.
- Unambiguous facts - one version of the year you were founded, your service area and your list of services. Conflicting details lower the model's trust in the whole website.
- Consistency across the web - the same name, address and phone number on your website, on Google, on Facebook and in directories. Models compare sources and reward agreement.
- A monthly check - we ask AI the questions your customers ask and check whether you appear. It's measurable.
What is AEO?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is optimisation for answer engines: making sure your content is given as the ready answer rather than as one of ten links. It covers Google's featured snippets, the "People also ask" section, voice search (Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa) and AI assistants.
SEO competes for a place in the list of results. AEO competes for your answer being shown at the top of the screen or read out loud before anyone clicks a link. It's built with the same tools: a short, specific answer right under the question, structured data and unambiguous facts.
SEO, AEO and GEO - what's the difference?
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | A place in the list of links | Being the ready answer | Your business mentioned in an AI answer |
| Where | Search results | Featured snippets, voice, assistants | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews |
| Audience | A person scanning links | A person who wants one answer | A language model putting an answer together |
| Query | Two or three words | A full question | A full question with conditions and a location |
| What decides | Content, links, technical setup | A short answer under the question, structured data | Structured data, unambiguous facts, sources that agree |
SEO, AEO and GEO stand on one foundation: sound technical setup, unambiguous facts and content in question-and-answer form. In most local industries, competitors aren't doing AEO or GEO yet, which is why getting in now is cheap.
What we measure
The report has to answer one question: did more good enquiries come in this month than last month? Everything else is context.
- The number of form enquiries and phone calls from the website
- Google Business Profile views, and clicks on "call" and "directions"
- New reviews and the average rating, month on month
- Rankings for search terms in each city separately
- Image views in image search
- Presence in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers to your customers' questions
How payment for SEO, AEO and GEO works
SEO, AEO and GEO are put in place while the website or shop is being built and are included in the one-off starting fee. Later work on visibility is part of the monthly plan.
The one-off fee covers everything created at the start: the audit, strategy, page structure, copy, structured data, the llms.txt file, a tidied-up Google Business Profile and social media profiles. There is no separate line on the invoice for optimising a website we built ourselves.
Ongoing work (new local pages, articles, ranking tracking and monthly reports) is part of the monthly plan and billed monthly. You know the cost of the plan when you get the project quote.
We don't sell an "SEO package" detached from the website. If the website is badly built, we fix it first rather than adding SEO on top.
Common questions about SEO, AEO and GEO
How long before SEO starts working?
The first movement in the results usually shows after 6-10 weeks, and real results after 4-6 months. A Google Business Profile and reviews work faster, often within a few weeks. If someone promises you first place within a month, you're buying advertising, not SEO.
Will GEO replace SEO?
No. Language models largely take their information from the same sources as search engines: your website, your Google Business Profile and industry directories. GEO is a layer added to well-done SEO, not a replacement for it. About 70% of the work overlaps technically.
What is the difference between AEO and GEO?
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is optimising to be the ready answer: in Google's featured snippets, in voice search and with assistants. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is about being mentioned and cited by generative models such as ChatGPT or Perplexity.
The terms overlap heavily and are sometimes used interchangeably. They share one foundation: a short, unambiguous answer under the question, structured data and consistent facts about the business.
My website was built by someone else. Will you work on its SEO?
Yes, as long as we have access to it and its content and code can be changed. The problem comes with websites on a provider's subscription, where you can't add pages or edit tags. In that case we first check what can realistically be done, and we tell you plainly if moving the website makes more sense.
What is a local page?
A separate page about one service in one city, with its own address, title and unique content. A list of cities in the footer does nothing on its own: Google needs content about that city to show you to someone searching there.
Last reviewed: