Making Space for GEO in Your SEO

A Cheat Sheet For Balancing Search and AI in 2025

Search is getting smarter—and a little trickier. Let’s talk about finding balance between traditional SEO, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and Local SEO in a way that is easy to understand. Future-proof your website to keep your brand on top.Generative Engine Optimization:

The New Kid In Town

Running a local business is not for the faint of heart. According to Search Engine Journal, the average business owner spends more than twenty thousand dollars a year on optimizing for Google search, with some spending more than one hundred thousand a year. They are all in a similar rat race with the same question—how can I rank higher on Google and bring in more leads? With search changing rapidly, the answer is not easy, but it is clear that Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming a big factor.

With tools like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Claude, it is no longer a game of getting visibility and clicks; it’s a game of getting AI to love you so it will tell your story. Businesses that don’t optimize for AI search might get left out of the conversation altogether.

Let’s talk about keeping your local business visible in an AI-driven world.

The Eras Tour Of Google 

There have been three major eras in the history of digital search. Years ago, the best way to rank in Google was to stuff as many keywords on your website as possible and attach as many sketchy links as you could. Google read your website looking for signals like links and phrases, and the more you had, the higher you ranked. 

As Google evolved, there was a massive shift in the idea of helpful content. FAQs, case studies, a variety of keywords, and legitimate backlinks from relevant websites to yours were the way to build. The previous methods became troublemakers in the algorithm, and a spike in SEO investment came a lot to get companies back on page one. 

Now we’ve entered a new era, only this time, we are more loving to our retired algorithm. We listen and we don’t judge. It is more like SEO Plus. Helpful content is still king, but now it has to be helpful to the AI algorithm and the human element. It is a shift from informative tones to conversational but educational. With this new era, we show our work with quotes, statistics, and links that show our work. 

To get favor, you have to expand from optimizing for “roof repair in Nashville” to answering questions like: 

“What’s the best time of year for roof repairs in Nashville?”
“How do I know if my roof needs to be replaced?”
“Are there financing options for roof repairs?”

Key Takeaway

The more detailed and relevant your content, the better AI will understand and recommend it.

7x

Optimized listings receive 7x more clicks than those that are incomplete or inaccurate. (BrightLocal, 2023)

59%

Of smartphone users contact businesses directly from search results. (Think with Google)

2.7x

Businesses with complete and accurate Google Business Profiles are 2.7X more likely to be considered reputable. (Google)

Leveraging Local SEO

Everyone loves a solid Google Business Profile, and that includes AI. AI uses your local listings a lot like it used keyword signals back in the day. The more completed, relevant, and consistent profiles you have, the better. AI wants to see your business on BBB, Yelp, your chamber of commerce, and other places where your industry might show up.

You may have guessed, it is not enough to just have the listing; you have to make sure they are all cleaned up, make sense with your website, and scream your brand. Check on things like:

• Name, address, and phone number 

• Structured Data (Schema Markup) for location, services, and reviews.

• High-quality images with alt text 

• Accurate, complete metadata

• Fresh, positive reviews 

• Clear services and service descriptions 

  Key Takeaway

  AI-driven search relies on trusted sources, and having consistent local citations boosts credibility.

Let’s Talk, Or At Least Write Like We Talk

As people, we naturally search for things similarly to how we would ask them in person, and the advent of AI has engrained that into us even further. AI search is intentionally designed to be more conversational, so for AI to feel like you are a good result for it to provide, your copy needs to come down to the level of the people. 
People also want proof, so AI does too. This study by Foundation Marketing shows that quotes, statistics, and linking relevant sources are big factors in gaining popularity with AI.

Photo Credit To Foundation Marketing

The Other Kind of GEO 

AI also loves some hyper-local content. It doesn’t want to show you for every flooring query if it knows you only serve Chicago metro. Make sure you get optimized for where you are geographically. Roofers in Florida don’t do snow removal, roofers in Montana aren’t juggling hurricanes. 
Content fit for SEO, GEO, and Local SEO focuses on the “where” nearly as much as the “what.”
If you serve multiple locations you will want to create pages tailored to each area. In those pages you should work in as much truly local content as you can. You can talk about local regulations, weather challenges, or past projects in specific neighborhoods.

Example of a Web Page Optimized for Search and AI 

Taking the best practices from each area, a web page that is search-friendly and generated search-friendly looks something like this:

A KPI Conundrum

When you are confidently optimized to blend the pieces to appeal to both people and robots, your next step is measuring.  Because the goalpost has changed to engagement and visibility instead of clicks and organic keywords, how you measure success must be adjusted, too.
Take a look at the KPIs that were used in the past and the new ones that may give you better insight going forward: 

Wrapping Up SEO, GEO, and Local SEO Best Practices

AI is changing how people search so this is the moment that local businesses should be ramping up their optimization game to gain an edge. By focusing on context-rich content, local SEO, voice search, and geo-targeted strategies you can stay ahead of the curve and keep being seen in all the right places.

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