From SEO to GEO: 3 easy ways small businesses can elevate their online presence in the AI age
AI is shaping how our audience finds us, but being found starts with greater clarity, authority, and consistency.
AI is dramatically shaping how we consume information. Whether we’re using it to find a dinner recipe, run a leadership retreat, or analyze data, it’s distilling and refining a universe of information and packaging it in a form that’s most relevant to the questions we’re asking.
For solopreneurs and business owners working hard to create an online presence and increase their findability, AI is changing the formula – but not necessarily in a bad way. Once we understand what’s changing and why, there are simple and practical ways we can elevate our authentic voice and online presence.
From SEO to GEO
For the past several years, optimizing our content to show up through search engines (Search Engine Optimization or SEO) looked like this:
more blog posts + more social media posts + more keywords = more visibility
It took a lot of time and backend understanding to get strong results. But, AI is now refining how and where we talk about our work, so we show up as a recommended resource on AI-generated platforms (Generative Engine Optimization or GEO).
The new formula looks more like this:
greater clarity + greater authority + greater consistency = greater discoverability
This new way is less a reinvention and more a refinement – and one that reinforces some old principles: we’re more likely to connect with our audience when we have a clearer understanding of who they are and how we’re providing solutions to their pain points.
Elevating your presence in the age of AI
Many of us are still figuring out our relationship with AI as a tool. But as an information platform, the shift in how people consume information presents opportunities for us to be more intentional with how and where we talk about our work.
In marketing, it’s always been important to be clear on:
Who your audience is
What problems they face
How your work provides a solution to those problems
These three things can make it easier to talk about your work and find the right marketing channels to promote and share your work. With the shift to AI, there’s also a greater emphasis on serving people content based on their challenges or questions. And in order for you to come up as an option, AI engines need to see and understand – quickly – whether you are an authority who can speak to those problems.
Consider that the same thing is true when you’re giving an elevator pitch or when someone visits your website for the first time… You have 30 seconds to make your case before they disconnect. But if you’re speaking to their needs or if they can see themselves in your work, they’re more likely to take the next step.
Enhancing your existing online presence
Using this as a foundation, we can start to build out our content in a way that supports greater discovery through AI platforms.
Search expert Andrew Holland suggests thinking about how your content supports a need and then ensuring your solution is easy and accessible to find:
Who do you solve the problem for?
What problem do you solve?
How do you solve it?
Why is your approach better or different?
What proof do you have that you have solved it before?
And here’s how it might show up on your homepage:
Title and headers that are clear and descriptive
Intro copy that summarizes what you do and who you do it for
A bio that’s descriptive of who you are and your experience
Sections that address how you work
Testimonials that serve as proof points
And then there are additional content opportunities to help you build even greater authority:
Long-form blog posts – Long-form blog content enhances your ability to be found online, but the content also boosts authority and trust with your audience as a resource to help them navigate common challenges or questions.
Case studies – Case studies also offer a unique perspective on how you uniquely support your audience’s needs across the services you provide.
FAQs – FAQs provide a direct way for you to answer commonly asked questions but also speak to how you uniquely work.
Testimonials – Testimonials are a great way to show the real impact of your work and what it’s like to work with you.
2. Building consistency across your “owned” channels
Once you’ve refined and distilled how you talk about your work, your next step is to ensure you’re building consistency across all of your owned platforms.
The more time you use your refined language, the more AI will see it and know what to pull. You’re similarly making it clear for your audience, no matter where they find you.
So, once you have this language on your website, make sure it’s consistent across your other owned platforms, including:
Social media profiles
Business profiles, such as Google or Yelp
Business directory listings, such as with your local Chamber of Commerce or other groups you’re part of
3. Elevating each other
It truly takes a village to make our businesses sustainable, and this is true offline and online. When it comes to elevating our online presence, consider taking a community approach with partners or others who align with your work.
The more conversation there is around your work online, the greater your authority is. But there are ways to boost this organically and authentically, and by doing it through a collective system of support, you’re also helping each other rise:
Like and share each other’s content on social media
List partners on your website and link back to their sites
Exchange guest blog posts on each other’s websites
Create other community-based opportunities to talk about or promote each other’s work
Beating the algorithm can be a game we play collectively, but it’s also a reminder that we’re in this together and we’re stronger as a community.
The Bottom Line
When we're clear about who we are, what we do, and who our audience is, marketing becomes significantly easier. It provides a foundation to operate from, as well as a platform to build on.
As AI continues to shape how people discover information, we don’t need to be the loudest – we just need to show up with the most intention. And don’t forget that AI is simply the conduit, you’re the heart and intelligence and your audience of humans are the ultimate decision-makers.
A special shout-out to Brian Loebig and Christy Price for helping me make my own mental shift from SEO and GEO, but we’re also here to help you build an authentic brand voice and thought leadership that resonates deeply with you and those you serve. If you’re looking for support, let’s connect.
