GEO and AEO explained for business owners
GEO = make your facts easy for generative engines to quote. AEO = win the answer with a clear opening and structured Q&A. Both need crawlable HTML — a JavaScript-only shell is not enough.
SEO vs GEO (comparison table)
| Criterion | Classic SEO | GEO / AEO |
|---|---|---|
| Primary consumer | Search results page | Answer engine (ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews) |
| Winning format | Ranked blue links | Citable passage + entity match |
| Page type | Keyword landing | Definition first, FAQPage, schema, llms.txt |
| JS-only SPA | Often indexed after render | Usually invisible — crawlers need HTML in the first response |
| Volume of filler FAQ | Sometimes gamed | Harms trust; unique facts beat clones |
LLM ranking criteria (plain list)
- Speed and HTTP 200 for GPTBot / ClaudeBot / PerplexityBot
- Clear first-paragraph definition
- Consistent Organization name + URL across pages
- No invented stats
- Freshness (monthly refresh beats a one-off brochure)
Practical checklist
- FAQPage JSON-LD on real questions customers ask
- Organization / LocalBusiness schema with consistent name and URL
llms.txt+ optionalllms-full.txt- robots.txt Allows AI search bots (not Cloudflare managed Disallow)
- Monthly refresh so answers stay current
MABIDO operationalizes GEO for SMBs via Global Business. Details: global-business · Machine summary: llms.txt.