GEO is not SEO with a hat on

SEO optimizes for a results page. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) optimizes for an answer. When ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews respond to a buyer's question, they synthesize from sources they can parse, trust, and attribute. Getting into that synthesis is a different game from ranking #3.

What transfers from SEO

• Crawlability and clean information architecture still gate everything.
• Authority still compounds, but citations matter more than backlinks.
• Structured data goes from nice-to-have to load-bearing.

What changes

Answer engines quote passages, not pages. Content that wins is quotable: specific claims, clear definitions, data with sources, FAQ-shaped sections that map to real questions. Vague thought leadership is invisible to a model assembling an answer.

The uncomfortable part: you can rank well and be uncitable. We audit both, because buyers now ask both kinds of engines.