How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO aims to get your page into a list of search results. GEO aims to get your business into an answer. When someone asks an AI tool "who builds websites near Chesterfield?", it doesn't show ten blue links. It writes a reply, and it only mentions businesses it can find and trust.
The good news is that most of what helps with GEO also helps with ordinary SEO. You're not starting from scratch.
How do AI tools decide which businesses to mention?
Nobody outside these companies knows the exact recipe, and anyone who claims to is selling something. What's clear is that AI answers draw on content that's easy to read, specific and consistent across the web. Vague pages full of "innovative solutions" give an AI nothing to quote.
What can a small business actually do?
- Answer questions directly. Start each page or section with a clear, plain answer to the question it covers, then explain. That's exactly the shape AI tools like to lift.
- State your facts clearly. What you do, where you do it, what it costs and who it's for. Say it in words, on the page, not hidden in an image.
- Keep your details identical everywhere. The same name, address and phone number on your website, Google Business Profile and directory listings.
- Use structured data. Schema markup tells machines who you are, where you are and what you offer, in a format they don't have to guess at.
- Let AI crawlers in. Check your robots.txt isn't blocking crawlers like GPTBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot, unless you've decided you want to.
- Make sure content isn't hidden behind JavaScript. Many AI crawlers read the raw HTML of a page. If your text only appears after scripts run, they may not see it.
- Earn mentions elsewhere. Reviews, local press and directory listings all help AI tools confirm you're real.
Is GEO a replacement for SEO?
No. Traditional search still sends most small businesses most of their customers. Think of GEO as SEO done properly, with a bit of extra care for how machines read your site.
Do your websites handle this?
Yes. Every site we build is server-rendered, uses structured data, opens each section with a direct answer, and lets the major AI crawlers in by default. More on our SEO page.