There many new acronyms as people try to categorize the efforts taken to get recognized by AIs and LLMs: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization) - we like to keep it simple and just see this as the next generation of SEO or NextGen SEO.
We should first review what hasn't changed - all the previous (or legacy) SEO tactics are still relevant. If you have already been doing these, then you have a good start!
Legacy SEO always prioritized results from Google, after all before ChatGPT came on the scene (In November of 2022) Google directed over 90% of search traffic. So before the disruption of AI reviews on your Google Business Profile were given priority and backlinks were always huge (since Google ranks by the web of links that go back to your website). Today it is more important to get reviews distributed everywhere, and also Backlinks are better, mentions (without a backlink) are still good because an LLM can understand the context.
Reviews are still important, but AI and LLMs look everywhere - they are review agnostic. That means from the AI perspective, reviews on Yelp are just as important as reviews on your Google Profile.
Google was limited to the URL for association of one website endorsing another. AI has the ability to understand context, so in the past we would get really frustrated when a client would be mentioned on a top-tier news website and there was not link. Today with AI a mention is still a win!
With Legacy SEO performance measurement, the software was cheaper and measurement simpler:
Today we need to measure LLM Sentiment (how positive an AI 'feels' about your business) and LLM Visibility (how often an AI may cite your website when conversing with a person about a particular problem). This data requires new software to measure both the legacy SEO metrics, the new LLM metrics, and the significant increase in datacenter overhead for this type of analysis.
So in addition to a change in priorities, we use new tools to measure performance and the shifts in SEO strategy for LLMs are still changing, which is why we created marketing bundles that allow us to flexibly evolve the services we offer to give you maximum impact.
Guide to Market Pulse: Review Requests