What is the difference between SEO & GEO strategy?

Jos Davies - May 18, 2026 - 2 minute read

TL;DR
There is very little difference between Search Engine Optimisation and Generative Engine Optimisation. Yet, there are thousands of agencies asking “are you optimising for GEO?” as if it’s a totally different process to a decent SEO strategy.

How do we know what works?

First of all Google has come out and said exactly this in their latest documentation on GEO optimisation published on 2026-05-15.

What did Google say?

Is SEO still relevant for generative AI search?

In short, yes! The best practices for SEO continue to be relevant because our generative AI features on Google Search are rooted in our core Search ranking and quality systems.

So that’s from the horse’s mouth.

What are the pillars of SEO that are most relevant to GEO?

Content Strategy

Experience, Expertise, Authority & Trust

E-E-A-T is both incredibly important for SEO and GEO. These are the signals that show Google that the content is trustworthy and well written so that Google can confidently promote their results. Elements such as Authorship and Citations from trustworthy sources will help both you SEO & GEO.

Questions Based Content Strategy

I have used question based content strategies for years and this strategy works well for GEO as people generally ask AI tools questions. A question based strategy involves answering all the questions around your topic that are being asked within Search and AI tools.

Technical SEO

Site structure and Mark-up

Both SEO and GEO require a clear site structure and the relevant markup applied to reassure Google of our credentials.

The following mark-up should be implemented –

Organisation Mark-up – Make sure these details align with other citations and your GMB
Product Mark-up – Very important for Ecommerce Businesses
FAQ Mark-up – Only now supported for Government & Medical focused websites
Article & Author Mark-up – Essential for publishers of content who want to optimise for E-E-A-T

Citation, Recommendations & Links

These should be used to adhere to the Trust element of E-E-A-T. Generating links, recommendations and citations from trustworthy websites will both help your SEO and GEO.

Awards are a great example of how you can build trust, not only with your customer base but also with Google. Try and build links from all positive mentions of your website, service or product.

You effectively need to build your brand as an entity which is referenced around the web. This is especially important within your niche. So if you are trying to rank for terms related to property investment, then you need to be active in publications on that topic.

Summary

All the above mentioned strategies are as important to SEO as they are to GEO. I’m finding I’m fielding a lot of questions about what I can do for GEO and my response is generally that the pillars of a good SEO strategy are the perfect building blocks for a GEO strategy. If you would like to know more about what an SEO & GEO strategy would look like for your business then please do get in touch.