A Guide to GEO for B2B Marketers

Q: What do we need to do to make sure we have a strong presence in AI search results?

AI search tools (such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude) look at both the HTML of a website AND the font-end facing content. Therefore, to achieve a strong AI presence, you must: 1) Make sure the underlying structure and build of your website follows best practices (by working with a B2B website design agency that specializes in that; and 2) Ensure you have a well-built, user-friendly B2B website design that rests on a clean, clearly formatted HTML foundation. Once this foundation is in place, Bop Design then recommends creating and implementing a robust SEO and digital marketing strategy. That way, you’ll have the right mix of long-form educational content and timely thought leadership pieces that people need, whether they are in the awareness, education, or purchase phase of their buying journey when searching.

Q: How can we make it easy for AI to crawl our B2B website?

To make it easy for search engines and AI crawler bots to navigate your B2B website, your website must: Have a clear structure and hierarchy, clean code, and proper markup. Use plain, clear, and direct language (avoid overly flowery language or complex sentences). Have a well-maintained backend (remove any unnecessary plugins or tracking codes). For example, at Bop Design, we provide clear signposts to AI bots that indicate what type of content they are reviewing, along with summaries and directives to give context to bots. We also use technical tools such as schema markup and llms.txt to clearly communicate with all bots, from search engines to AI bots.

Q: How do I get started with GEO for my B2B brand?

The first step is by partnering with a knowledgeable B2B digital marketing agency that has experience getting strong GEO results. Be sure to ask what they’ve seen that works for GEO and how they monitor progress. Then, since GEO and SEO go hand in hand, ensure you have a foundational SEO strategy in place that connects your company with ideal buyers. For more specific information on how to get started with GEO, contact the Bop Design team today.

Q: What are other B2B brands doing to show up in AI platforms?

While this is a simple question, the answer is complex and varies depending on what type of market your company serves. For instance, for B2B service-based or software firms, Bop Design has found a mix of long-form educational content, strong service and solutions pages, timely thought leadership blog posts, and in-depth guides works well. However, you don’t have to create all of these at once. Instead, Bop Design recommends doing a thorough GEO review of both your website and market and then focusing on the most important and high-value content and activities first.

TL;DR

Key Takeaways

How people search is evolving from traditional search engines to AI-driven search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI overviews.
Traditional SEO and creating high-quality website content are still important. But if you want your brand to be visible and cited in AI search responses and summaries, it’s also crucial to do generative engine optimization (GEO).
To win with GEO: 1) Create high-quality, in-depth, and authoritative long-form content for both AI and humans; 2) Structure your company’s website content so that it’s easy for AI search tools to read, understand, and parse.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Generative Engine Optimization is a digital marketing strategy that focuses on:

Getting a company’s B2B website content included in artificial intelligence (AI) search responses and summaries in tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
Ensuring the information AI tools use about a brand is accurate.

In conjunction with GEO, B2B marketers may also hear the term Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO). AIO is the process of making sure AI bots know what your business does and can easily read your B2B website content so they can get your content into AI tools in an efficient and scalable manner (in other words, AIO is the vehicle to get it there).

Artificial intelligence: The next evolution of search

How people search for information online is fundamentally changing.

Traditional approach	Now
People use search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing to search for information	People ask an AI search tool (such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews) for information
People go through a list of websites and links to find the information they need	AI tools immediately generate an answer and give them information they need

In addition, according to research from Bain and Company, nearly 80 percent of search users use AI summaries for information at least 40 percent of the time, and 60 percent of traditional search engine searches now end without the user moving to another website during their search session, resulting in what we call “zero-click searches”.

In this new AI search environment, traditional search engines like Google still dominate (with an 89.82 percent market share), and SEO practices and creating high-quality content still matter. But as the number of AI-driven searches continues to grow, analyst firm Gartner expects organic search traffic from traditional search engines to fall by 50 percent by 2028.

Therefore, if you want your company’s B2B website content to be visible to your target audience(s) in AI-driven search tools and in AI overviews, it’s also crucial to do generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO).

The difference between SEO, GEO, and AEO

SEO, GEO, and AEO all fall under the SEO umbrella and strive to provide website users with a good experience. But they have different purposes.

	SEO	GEO	AEO
Where	Traditional search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing	AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews	In Google snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and voice assistant responses
Goal	To drive more people to your company’s website	To get your B2B website content included and cited in AI search tool responses and summaries	To have answer engines use your website content to answer specific questions that AI users ask (i.e., How are companies using AI to write software code?)
Action	Get your B2B website listed in traditional search engine results Improve your ranking in those search engine results	Improve the quality and depth of your B2B website content Ensure your website content is accurate and up to date Structure your content so AI search tools can read and understand it	Add information to your B2B website that directly answers AI users’ questions Make sure your answers are structured in a way that AI can easily read, understand, and parse
Tactics	SEO keywords Internal linking Backlinks Schema markup Site performance	Create high-quality, in-depth long-form content Conduct and publish original research Align your content with your target audience’s search intent Implement advanced schema	Research the specific questions that your target audience asks AI search tools Add those questions to your company’s website, and provide short, direct, and conversational answers

For more detailed information on the difference between SEO and GEO for B2B marketing, read Bop Design’s blog “SEO, GEO.. What’s the difference and why does it matter for B2B brands”

How to tell if AI search tools are using your B2B website content

A good way to know if AI search tools are using your B2B website content is by simply asking AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews) several questions related to your brand and industry. This enables you to see what type of information AI search tools use about your brand in AI responses and summaries, how they format that information, what type of statistics and data they like, and if they include your competitors or not.

You can also: 1) Use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to view the sources of any AI traffic to your company’s website; and 2) Use AI tracking tools such as Scrunch.ai, Semrush, and others to keep track of brand mentions in AI systems and continually improve and optimize your GEO and AIO efforts for your B2B website.

How to get your B2B website content included in AI search results

A few examples of some ways to get your website content included in AI search results are:

Build your company’s authority online (to help AI recognize your brand and website content as a trusted and reliable source for information).
Conduct and publish original research that offers new data, statistics, insights, etc.
Create high-quality, in-depth long-form content on topics that align with AI user intent.
Develop content that directly and conversationally answers AI user questions.
Structure your website content so it’s easy for AI to read (use clear headers/HTML formatting (H1, H2, H3), bullet lists, tables, FAQs, etc.).
Improve the Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) of your company’s website content.
Regularly update your website content (AI systems prefer fresh/new content).

The type of content that works best for GEO

In general, the type of content that works best for GEO also works well for your target audience. A few examples include:

Original reports and studies

Full website page guides (instead of gated PDFs)

Expert interviews and quotes

Competitive comparison articles

Summaries/exec overviews in articles

Case studies

Listicles

FAQs

Note: As of the date of this content, most AI chat tools heavily rely on and favor written content to glean the information they need. However, this AI preference could change in the future. It’s still important to include video and imagery on your B2B website for human readers.

How to increase your B2B website content’s authority with AI

AI search tools have plenty of options when it comes to deciding which website content to include in AI responses and summaries. To help your content stand out, it’s crucial to increase your company’s online authority and credibility. A few ways to do this are:

Create a strong social media presence.
Participate in community forums (such as Reddit, Quora, etc.).
Publish content on high-authority platforms (industry publications, LinkedIn, etc.).
Obtain trusted third-party reviews.
Get industry references and mentions.
List your brand in industry directories.
Add authoritative links to your content.
Build high-quality backlinks.

Best practices for GEO and AIO on B2B websites

Below are some best practices on how to structure your B2B website content so there are clear pathways for bots to follow, and AI tools can easily read and parse your content:

For website content

Create high-quality, in-depth content that is written in a conversational style.
Discuss the most important information first in your content (vs. build to a conclusion).
Use a logical flow and break content into small chunks that AI can quickly pull and use.
Include headings that clearly state what each section covers.
Add a direct answer box that succinctly answers an AI user’s question.
Incorporate bullet lists and scannable tables and charts into your content.
Insert a TL;DR section into long content to quickly show what the content covers.
Use direct, simple, concise, and specific language in your website content.
Include an author bio that highlights the author’s expertise and credentials.

For technical readiness

Incorporate SEO keywords and conversational questions into your content.
Implement advanced schema markup for Articles, Product/Service, FAQ, and Organization into your company’s website HTML code.
Continually monitor and track your B2B website content visibility in AI search tools and update and adjust your content as needed.
Optimize website page load times and ensure your HTLM structure is mobile-friendly.

Common mistakes to avoid when doing GEO

To maximize your chances of AI search tools using your company’s website content, be sure to avoid these common mistakes when doing GEO:

Using generic or highly creative website content or formatting content in traditional ways. (This can make it hard for AI systems to read and understand your content.)
Writing website content the same way you always have. (Many people now begin their buying journey with AI search tools and visit a company’s website later. Thus, write website content for AI search tools first and then for humans.)
Having outdated or inaccurate information and data on your website. (This can damage your company’s credibility and authority with AI systems.)
Relying on traditional SEO practices alone, as an effective SEO website strategy now requires multiple layers (SEO, AIO, GEO, and AEO).

With the rise of AI search tools, the search landscape is evolving from traditional SEO rankings and listings to simply providing AI users with answers. To be visible in this new AI-driven environment, your company must do GEO and AEO. This ensures you provide the answers and information that AI users need and increases the quality and value of your own B2B website content.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What do we need to do to make sure we have a strong presence in AI search results? 

How can we make it easy for AI to crawl our B2B website? 

How do I get started with GEO for my B2B brand?

What are other B2B brands doing to show up in AI platforms?

Services

Industries

Company