Summary
In this video from Growth Hackers, Tom and Alexander discuss the most common mistakes companies make when starting their GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) efforts. The central theme is that businesses frequently fail because they approach GEO with a traditional SEO mindset. The first major mistake is treating GEO exactly the same as SEO. While there is overlap between the two disciplines, the factors that impact AI search visibility are not identical to those that drive traditional search rankings. AI models read and evaluate content differently from Google's search algorithm, making it essential to understand and respect these differences. The second common mistake follows from the first: companies continue to optimize around keywords and keyword density as they would for SEO. In the AI search world, semantic understanding of content is far more important than how many times a specific keyword appears. LLMs evaluate whether content genuinely answers a user's question and provides valuable information, not whether certain terms are used frequently. The presenters emphasize that content structure is critically important for GEO. AI essentially reads through articles to understand what they are saying and whether the information is relevant. Formatting content with clear headlines, structured FAQ sections, bullet points, tables, and short paragraphs makes it significantly easier for AI models to process and cite. For businesses with geographical relevance, grouping content by location can also improve visibility for local queries. The key advice is to approach content creation from the user's perspective: forget about traditional keyword optimization and focus on answering questions in the clearest, most logical, and easiest-to-understand way possible.
Description
In this session, we’ll highlight the biggest mistake companies make when starting with GEO: treating GEO and organic visibility the same way they treat traditional SEO. We’ll explain why this approach falls short, how it affects both search engines and AI models, and what teams should do differently to build true geographic relevance from day one.
FAQ
What is the biggest mistake companies make when starting with GEO?
The biggest mistake is treating GEO exactly the same as traditional SEO. While there is overlap, AI models evaluate content differently from search engines. Companies need to understand these differences rather than applying old SEO tactics to a new channel.
Why does keyword density not work for GEO?
AI models use semantic understanding to evaluate content relevance rather than counting keyword occurrences. What matters is whether your content genuinely answers user questions and provides valuable, structured information, not how many times you mention a specific term.
How does content structure affect GEO performance?
AI models read through content to understand its meaning and relevance. Well-structured content with clear headlines (H2, H3), short paragraphs, bullet lists, FAQ sections, and tables is significantly easier for AI to process and more likely to be cited in generated answers.
Should I consider geographic targeting in my GEO strategy?
Yes. For businesses with geographical relevance, grouping content by specific locations and areas can improve visibility when users ask location-specific questions. If your content is not about a specific city or region, its relevance for local queries will be lower.
Transcript
0:01 Hi, time again for another Gio topic. 0:07 Today's question is, what would you say 0:11 is the most common mistake companies 0:14 make when starting their work with? 0:19 >> Yeah. Hello, Alex. Uh, I think that's 0:21 another great question. Uh I I think 0:24 like in in uh in the past like months or 0:27 working with the different clients and 0:29 on the CEO uh projects we do see there 0:32 are like very interesting mistakes. I 0:35 think more based on the how people 0:38 understand it. Uh some common ones I 0:41 could mention here is um uh the first 0:44 one could be um many people tend to 0:48 still treat GEO same as SEO. Um because 0:54 people just think organic is organic to 0:57 some extent. Yes, that's correct. Though 1:00 uh uh if we deep uh deep dive deeper 1:05 then actually it's not really working 1:07 exactly the same. Um so that's why I 1:11 don't think people really should treat 1:12 them at the same because how uh what the 1:15 factors that will impact this are not 1:18 exactly same even though as previously 1:21 we have mentioned there are a lot of 1:23 things that SEO also matter for GEO. 1:26 Yeah I think the first common mistake is 1:29 like this. Uh second one I think could 1:33 be uh a following mistake uh from the 1:36 first one like uh since people 1:39 understand GEO more like in the SEO way 1:42 so they often tend to look into the GEO 1:46 or the air search optimization 1:49 and still work around the optimizing 1:52 different keywords even like uh the even 1:56 the more old-fashioned way thinking 1:58 about the keywords density. 2:01 uh but we I think we also briefly talk 2:03 about it uh in AI search actually the uh 2:08 semantic understanding of the content 2:11 that's actually much much more 2:12 important. So it's not about how many 2:16 times uh you mention the keyword in your 2:19 article in your content. It's more like 2:22 if your information is really answering 2:25 people's question or provide valuable 2:27 information or or people who are looking 2:30 for something. I think that's much much 2:33 more important. Yeah. 2:36 >> And maybe to add something when it comes 2:38 to I mean something that Bill think is 2:39 really interesting and we talked about 2:41 it in our last talk but how you 2:43 structure your content. I mean that's 2:45 super important and that may be 2:47 something that people don't think about 2:48 in the same terms when it comes to SEO 2:50 but it's really really important when it 2:52 comes to to make sure you structure it 2:54 correctly. 2:55 >> Yeah, exactly. Uh so uh because like AI 3:00 doesn't really crawl the website same 3:02 way as Google's blackbox SEO algorithm. 3:06 Uh so AI you can we can imagine this way 3:09 AI just basically read through your 3:11 article try to understand what you're 3:13 saying if it's relevant for people what 3:15 people is asking so to make the content 3:19 very structured easy to digest like in 3:22 different formats of tables and bullets 3:26 uh clear headline and even make like f 3:30 FAQ uh that will make things much much 3:34 easier to understand even for AI 3:36 So with those kind of thoughts behind 3:39 the structures your AI search 3:42 performance would be much better. And 3:45 also I think another topic on this one 3:47 is uh especially for the service that 3:50 has a uh uh geographical uh impact that 3:55 you probably need to think about how you 3:57 group your content for different areas 4:00 as if people looking for service in one 4:03 city. If your information is not about 4:05 this city then the relevancy could be 4:08 slightly lower. 4:11 >> Okay, cool. Uh but to end this topic, 4:14 what would you say? Do you have any 4:16 specific answer? What's the a major 4:19 mistake if people do something that they 4:20 should really watch out for? 4:23 >> Yeah, I think um it's it's very very 4:27 difficult to make a one sentence answer. 4:29 But I would say uh once you when you 4:32 create a content try to put yourself 4:35 into the users's perspective what do you 4:39 really want to see when you're asking 4:40 this question I think without thoughts 4:43 forget what you worked with the SEO like 4:47 don't get yourself trapped by the 4:49 keywords just try to answer the question 4:51 in the most clear logical easy to 4:54 understand way then we'll have a really 4:57 good start already. 4:59 >> Okay, perfect. So, clear oners 5:02 structured data on your site. That 5:05 that's more or less the answer to to be 5:07 successful. 5:08 >> Thank you for today. Let's be back later 5:13 with more questions regarding EO. Thanks 5:16 for today. Thank you. Bye.
