If you work in PR and marketing, there’s no doubt you’ve noticed a new acronym creeping into the conversation.
GEO.
Generative Engine Optimisation is increasingly being discussed alongside SEO, as businesses think about what it means to be visible in a world where people are no longer relying solely on traditional search engines to find information.
But what actually is GEO? How is it different from SEO? And, more importantly, does your brand really need to worry about both?
For construction, manufacturing and other technical B2B brands, the short answer is yes – but probably not in the way you think.
First things first: what is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of improving your website and online presence so that search engines can understand your content and are more likely to show it when someone searches for something relevant.
That can involve everything from technical website performance and page structure to keywords, useful content, internal linking and digital authority.
For example, a heating manufacturer might want to appear when someone searches:
“Which smart thermostat is best for a commercial building?”
An aluminium window manufacturer might target:
“What are the benefits of aluminium windows?”
The objective is to make your website a useful, relevant result for those searches.
And despite all the changes happening in search, SEO isn’t going away.
In fact, many of the principles that underpin traditional search continue to apply to its newer AI experiences: create unique, valuable content for people, ensure your site can be crawled and indexed, and provide a good page experience.
So, what is GEO?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation.
Rather than focusing exclusively on where your website appears in a list of search results, GEO is about improving the likelihood that your business, expertise or content is understood, surfaced or referenced by generative AI tools when they answer a user’s question.
Think about the difference in how someone might search.
A traditional search could be:
“Best commercial heating controls UK”
An AI search might be:
“I’m specifying heating controls for a commercial project in the UK. What should I consider, and which manufacturers are worth looking at?”
Instead of returning ten blue links, an AI-powered search experience can synthesise information from multiple sources into a conversational answer, with links to relevant sources.
ChatGPT Search, for example, searches the web and can provide answers with links to the sources it has used.
That changes the visibility challenge.
You’re no longer only asking:
“How do I rank for this keyword?”
You’re also asking:
“When someone asks an AI about this subject, is my brand part of the information it finds?”
GEO isn’t a replacement for SEO
AI search systems use a range of signals and sources to determine what information is relevant and useful. OpenAI, for example, says there is no way to guarantee top placement in ChatGPT search, although allowing its search crawler to access your website is important if you want your content to be discoverable.
So rather than treating GEO and SEO as two completely separate disciplines, it makes more sense to think of them as two parts of the same visibility strategy.
Good SEO helps search engines find and understand your content.
Good GEO thinking helps ensure that the content you’re creating is useful, authoritative and structured around the kinds of questions people are increasingly asking AI.
In other words, the fundamentals haven’t suddenly changed.
The way people discover and consume information is changing, so the way marketers think about those fundamentals needs to change too.
Where PR comes in
This is where things get particularly interesting for B2B brands.
Your website isn’t the only place where your reputation is built.
If a brand has:
- A technically strong website
- Useful guides answering customer questions
- Original research
- Expert commentary
- Coverage in respected trade publications
- Case studies
- Industry partnerships
- Experts regularly quoted in the media
- A consistent presence across relevant industry websites
That’s a much bigger digital footprint than simply having a well-optimised website, and that matters because AI search can draw information from across the web.
ChatGPT search, for example, provides links to web sources in its responses, while OpenAI says ranking and inclusion depend on factors designed to surface relevant and reliable information.
This is one reason PR and SEO/GEO are becoming increasingly connected.
A strong piece of media coverage doesn’t just create a spike in website traffic.
It can also reinforce the fact that your business is an established voice within its industry.
So, do you need both?
For most businesses, yes.
But you don’t necessarily need two completely separate strategies.
Instead, think about building one joined-up approach to digital visibility.
SEO should help you to be found through traditional search, build relevant organic traffic, make your website technically accessible and answer the questions your customers are searching for.
Whilst GEO should encourage you to create genuinely useful and original content, build authority beyond your own website and think about how your brand is represented across trusted sources
The future isn’t SEO vs GEO
The question shouldn’t really be: “Should we invest in SEO or GEO?”
Instead, it should be: “How do we make our brand easier to find, understand and trust – wherever our customers are looking for information?”
Because the search journey is becoming more fragmented.
Customers might discover a business through Google, an industry publication, LinkedIn, a podcast, a recommendation from a colleague or an AI-powered search tool.
The brands that benefit will be those that build a strong presence across that entire ecosystem.
For construction and manufacturing businesses in particular, this presents a huge opportunity. You already have the expertise. So, the challenge is making sure that expertise is visible, useful and credible enough to be found.
Want to find out more?
At Refresh, we develop PR strategies that help technical B2B brands build visibility and authority – not just on their own websites, but across the wider digital landscape. Get in touch with our team to find out more.