How can businesses proactively prepare their content and teams for a generative-first digital future?
Kia ora! To proactively prepare your content and teams for a generative-first digital future, businesses need to embrace Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which is increasingly becoming essential for brand visibility and trust in AI-generated content. This shift means optimising for AI systems that generate comprehensive answers rather than just listing search results.
Here's a comprehensive approach;
Preparing Your Content for AI-Driven Search
Become a Verified Entity:
An "entity" is a person, place, or thing with a machine ID that AI understands.
Claim and sync all normal internet profiles: This includes Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Wikipedia, Better Business Bureau (BBB), and all social media platforms.
Ensure consistency: Keep your name, address, and phone number (NAP) consistent across the web. Inconsistent information can confuse AI models and reduce recommendations.
Use tools like Yex: These tools can help distribute your information across hundreds of platforms and directories, which directly integrates with AI engines like ChatGPT.
Encourage branded searches: Even humans searching for your brand frequently can help create an entity for it in Google's eyes.
Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup):
Schema markup is a "behind-the-scenes label" for your website content that tells AI models and Google what each section means (e.g., business location, operating hours, customer reviews).
Go in-depth: You can add schema that mentions and connects your social media, full descriptions, founding details, and founder information.
Use local schema: For local businesses, this tells AI precisely where to find and identify your business.
Optimise for snippets and summaries: Use markup for FAQs, detailed definitions, tables of stats, and embedded insights.
Add speakable schema: This optimises your written content for voice search by identifying short, concise answers within your content.
Create AI-Optimised Content:
Focus on conversational, expert content: AI models prefer human-sounding content written in the voice of an expert. Avoid corporate jargon and aim for a conversational tone, perhaps at a seventh-grade reading level.
Prioritise buyer-intent questions (bottom-of-funnel): Shift from answering broad informational questions to specific buyer-intent questions, like "Who's the best [service] in [city]?" The goal is to train the AI to recommend your business as the top choice.
Structure for machine readability and depth:
Use short paragraphs, sentences under 20 words, bullet points, numbered lists, and clear headings/subheadings.
The first paragraph or 40-60 words after each heading should immediately answer the heading's question.
Layer your content: make the surface skimmable for humans, while deeper layers contain rich, detailed information for AI.
Integrate statistics and citations: AI models often look for data to create compelling, fact-based responses. Include relevant, up-to-date statistics and strategically incorporate references from authoritative and credible sources like academic journals or industry leaders.
Flaunt case studies and testimonials: These provide real proof of results that AI can reference. Collect positive reviews from multiple platforms (Google, Yelp, Facebook, Trustpilot) and compile them on a dedicated testimonials page on your site.
Create specific content types:
Best Fit Briefs: Short posts positioning your business as the best choice for various specific situations or requests (e.g., "Who's the best artificial turf installer in Las Vegas?").
Top Reasons Series: Articles for each service titled "Top Reasons to Choose Your Business for [Service]" listing why you're the best.
Strategic Service/City Posts: For local businesses, create posts for every service-city combination (e.g., "Best [Service] in [City]") written in a third-person, expert voice.
Comparison Tables: Simple, structured tables comparing your business to competitors, highlighting where you excel.
Essential Pages: Ensure you have comprehensive FAQ, Case Studies, Testimonials, and Pricing pages.
Syndicate and Distribute Content Everywhere:
Go multimedia/multiformat: Repurpose blog posts into audio versions, podcasts, image formats for social media (Pinterest), and articles on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn Pulse.
Leverage social media and forums: Users are searching on platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, and Quora, which now feed generative engine inputs. Engage in these communities, especially where your brand is mentioned.
Seek press releases and media mentions: These are still major factors for GEO. Get your brand, entity, and products mentioned with relevant terms. Press releases distributed across hundreds of websites can help AI bots associate your brand with user queries. Getting listed on "Top 10" listicles is particularly effective as LLMs often cite these.
Explore influencer marketing: For lesser-known brands, micro-influencers can put your brand in front of customers who then search for related keywords.
Utilise LLMs.txt:
This is a proposed standard file you can add to your website's root folder to communicate directly with LLMs. It allows you to specify your most important pages, helping AI understand your website and influencing mentions.
Preparing Your Teams and Strategy
Embrace GEO as the New SEO:
Recognise that GEO is not replacing SEO but evolving it. SEO will become "search everywhere optimisation," with GEO as a core component.
Understand that AI Overviews now appear above paid ads, indicating the seriousness with which major players like Google view this shift.
Shift focus from clicks to citations/mentions: GEO success isn't primarily measured by clicks but by how often your content is cited, mentioned, and included in AI outputs.
Foster Collaboration and New Skill Sets:
Align PR, marketing, and SEO: These disciplines are converging rapidly and must collaborate to build a unified approach to visibility in both traditional search and AI-generated outputs.
Develop new roles: Consider roles like an AI Visibility Strategist (combining PR, SEO, and data science), Prompt Architects (crafting prompts for AI-generated content), and AI Ethics & Brand Integrity Leads.
Invest in training: Learn new best practices for optimising for LLMs and train your teams accordingly.
Implement a Continuous Learning and Auditing Process:
Regularly spot-check AI recommendations: Ask AI tools "Who's the best [your service] in [your local area]?" If you're not mentioned, tweak your approach by adding more reviews, local content, or third-party mentions.
Proactively feed AI platforms your content: For example, input your blog posts into an AI and ask it to summarise or suggest improvements for social media content. This helps the AI learn about your expertise.
Audit your existing content: Review your most important content through a GEO lens. Are they structured for AI readability? Do they provide citable information? Are they comprehensive authorities on their topics?.
Track key metrics: Build reports for website and brand mentions and visibility in LLMs.
Adopt a Strategic and Iterative Approach:
Focus on information gain: Instead of creating generic content, provide new insights, examples, fresh perspectives, original data, updated stats, or unique angles that stand out. AI rewards value, not just length or keyword stuffing.
Prioritise authoritative sources: Generative AI pulls from high-quality, trusted sources, so amplify expert-driven content and ensure your brand is positioned as a credible authority.
Experiment and iterate: Generative AI is an evolving technology. Get buy-in to test new ideas, share wins, and apply learnings as part of your SEO strategy.
Act quickly: Being an early adopter of GEO presents an enormous opportunity to gain significant market share while competitors are still focusing on traditional SEO.
By adopting these strategies, businesses can not only adapt to the changing digital landscape but also gain a significant competitive advantage in the generative-first future.
🚀 Ready to Make Your Business AI-Search Ready?
Generative AI is already reshaping how customers discover businesses. If you’re not showing up in AI-generated answers, you’re invisible to a growing share of your market.
We’ll help you identify gaps, optimise your content, and position your brand as the trusted authority AI engines recommend first.
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