SEO, GEO, AEO & LLMO — What the hell are those supposed to mean?
If you’ve been in digital marketing for a while, you already know SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — the classic game of ranking content on Google to get organic traffic. It’s still powerful and absolutely not going anywhere.
But the search world is evolving fast. New acronyms are popping up everywhere — GEO, AEO, and LLMO. They aren’t buzzwords. They’re a signal that people no longer discover answers in one single place. Visibility today happens across multiple engines, channels and AI systems.
Let’s decode the chaos
SEO — Search Engine Optimization
The original formula: optimize content so Google ranks it. Keywords, backlinks, topical authority, technical hygiene — still extremely important.
If you’re building a foundation of traffic, SEO remains step one. You’ll find the best tools for this in our SEO Tools hub.
AEO — Answer Engine Optimization
This one focuses on being the answer, not just “ranking.” Think AI Overviews, featured snippets, voice assistants, chatbot answers, and SERP extracts. Content needs to be structured so machines can lift answers directly:
- Clear definitions
- Lists and bullet points
- Steps and frameworks
- FAQ sections
AEO rewards content that gets straight to the point.
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization
GEO asks a different question: is your content good enough to be cited by AI systems?
Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing AI and others decide whether your article becomes a reference source — even without a click. GEO-friendly content usually includes:
- Original insights or comparisons
- Pricing breakdowns and feature data
- Visuals, frameworks and tables
- Clear topical focus around an entity
LLMO — Large Language Model Optimization
The newest frontier. LLMO is about formatting information so large language models understand, store and reuse it accurately.
Instead of “rank me,” the goal becomes: remember me and reuse me across answers.
That means content with:
- Clean headings and subheadings
- Definitions and key takeaways early in the text
- Strong contextual internal linking
- Structured facts and stats
The strategic shift happening right now
1. Visibility is more than rankings
In the old world, success = rank #1 on Google. In the SEO + GEO + AEO + LLMO world, success also means showing up in:
- AI-generated answers
- Overview boxes and answer cards
- Citation lists in generative engines
- Voice assistant responses
It’s not only “how high do we rank” — it’s where do we appear when answers are generated?
2. Answer-first content wins
AI systems love structure. To win visibility today, content should:
- Give the clearest answer early
- Use question-based headings (H2/H3)
- Include FAQ sections, tables and comparisons
- Stick to one clear topic per page
3. Citation-worthiness beats “just ranking”
Instead of “how do I rank this page”, the mindset becomes:
How do I make this page the reference source for this topic?
4. Measurement will need to evolve
SEO metrics still matter — traffic, CTR, impressions, rankings. But over time, marketers will also need to track:
- Brand citations inside AI tools
- Use of proprietary frameworks or comparisons in other content
- Visibility across generative search results
So what should marketers do right now?
1. Audit your existing content with these categories
- SEO content — evergreen, high-volume topics
- AEO pages — “what is…”, “how to…”, “X vs Y” answers
- GEO assets — benchmarks, pricing tables, original data
- LLMO-friendly content — structured, clean, factual
2. Format content for extraction
Make it easy for search and AI engines to reuse your content:
- Question-based subheadings
- Pros and cons lists
- Feature tables and breakdowns
- FAQ sections
3. Create “citation-bait” assets
Not clickbait — citation-bait:
- Comparison tables for tools
- Pricing breakdowns
- Original insights or frameworks
- Year-over-year updates
4. Keep doing classic SEO
SEO is still the engine. GEO, AEO and LLMO are not replacements — they are layers on top of it. A strong foundation across marketing tools still matters.
The bottom line
Search isn’t dying — it’s mutating. People look for answers across a mix of Google, AI chat tools, voice assistants, platform-specific search bars, and all-in-one ecosystems.
If you optimize only for one channel, you risk becoming invisible everywhere else.
The winning mindset today:
SEO + AEO + GEO + LLMO → Search Everywhere Optimization
And honestly… “Search Everywhere Optimization” might be my favorite definition of SEO yet.
As long as your content is:
- Structured
- Helpful
- Fresh
- Referenced by others
It will continue to show up — in rankings, in citations, in generative AI answers and in whatever discovery platform comes next.
When you’re ready to explore tools that support this new era, check out:
