What is the difference between SEO and GEO optimization?

SEO optimization aims a page at Google's ranking algorithm, focused on keywords, backlinks, and technical crawlability. GEO optimization aims the same content at large language models, focused on whether the model can lift a clean, accurate answer from your page and attribute it to you.

The mechanics differ in emphasis. SEO rewards depth and backlink authority built over months. GEO rewards a page that states its main claim in the first two sentences, supports it with a specific number or fact, and avoids padding that a model has to wade through to find the answer.

Most sites need both. A page that ranks but never gets cited misses AI search traffic; a page written only for citation extraction with no keyword targeting may never surface in Google to begin with.

Run your pages through GEO softwareto see where each one falls short.