How to choose a GEO agency, advice for SMEs

If you run a small business, you’ll know that online visibility is everything. But staying visible has changed over the last three years since ChatGPT entered our lives. It’s changing how people search for products and services; rather than searching through Google pages, they’re increasingly reliant on AI summaries to do the legwork. This means that if your brand isn’t visible in AI-generated answers, you could be missing out on valuable leads.

The answer is Generative Engine Optimisation – or GEO.

GEO is about making your brand visible and trusted so that AI-powered engines reference your brand and your content. Choosing the right GEO agency partner can be a gamechanger, but it’s important to understand what to look for before you commit.

Understand generative search

Generative search is different from Google search. Instead of delivering a list of links, generative search engines, like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, use Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to understand, contextualise and respond to queries in a more conversational manner.

Rather than a directory of websites, they provide direct answers – similar to a conversation with an assistant. Right now, the race is on for visibility in these spaces. If you haven’t started optimising for generative search, now is the time.

Why work with a GEO Agency?

Just as you’d hire an accountant, solicitor, or heating engineer for their expertise, partnering with a specialist in GEO gives you access to knowledge, tools, and experience that you may not have.

GEO agencies offer expertise in technical SEO, content strategy and digital PR, making them invaluable partners for businesses navigating the AI search era.

Before you jump into working with a GEO partner, you need to understand a couple of things.

Firstly, you need to understand what it is that makes these AI search engines tick. There’s a lot of chatter and discussion about GEO, a lot of which is misleading.

The main drivers of appearance in AI search are earned media and owned content. This is what you need to be prepared for. Not just a short burst of media visibility, a bit of social and some blog content.

This is a long-term commitment.

So, understand that if you want to bring in an agency to head up AI visibility, you need to be prepared and ready to collaboratively produce what’s needed to achieve this.

What to look for in a GEO agency partner

GEO is not a single service, but rather a combination of several disciplines working together. Your chosen GEO partner should be able to perform a range of services to establish a strong foundation and drive results.

Any and every agency should be able to audit and monitor brand mentions across media and social media. But for GEO, they need to be able to track your presence in AI overviews and where you currently surface in AI responses.

With an audit of your entire content ecosystem, they can better understand your brand positioning, identify opportunities and provide actionable recommendations and clear, insightful solutions based on audit findings.

A strong GEO agency should be able to demonstrate broad SEO expertise. They must have the ability to write for SEO, especially around EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) factors. This means they must also have sector-specific knowledge to create content that resonates with your audience. From a technical aspect, they must be able to deliver on concepts such as schema markup, UX/UI, internal linking, TXT files, load times and mobile compatibility.

See Also

How to take your business to the next level through online branding

When it comes to surfacing in AI queries, your own content is a critical factor. You need an agency partner that can produce content fit for your sector and audiences and that understands the full spectrum of content marketing requirements.

Pay close attention to their media and digital PR credentials. Data shows that earned media is the biggest driver of appearance in AI search results, so it cannot be overlooked. In GEO and SEO, improving brand equity is key.

Media mentions, especially those that are high-quality and relevant, are a powerful way to enhance brand visibility and trust. So, look out for strong connections with trade and sector media, local media ties, and quality media coverage examples.

A true partner

To get the most out of any partnership, you’ll want someone who can get under the skin of your business. To challenge and ask questions, rather than just say yes to things. GEO is a long-term, always-on strategy. The world of PR offers so much more than just media coverage for today’s businesses that understand the need for online visibility.

GEO and AI-generated responses are not replacing traditional SEO, but rather complementing it. The best approach is to integrate GEO with digital PR and content strategy for maximum impact.

One final tip is to ask AI. If an agency is surfacing in AI queries themselves, that’s a strong indicator they know how to increase AI visibility. An agency with its own GEO strategy is likely capable of delivering results for you as well.