SEO and GEO: visibility in Google and ChatGPT

What is the difference between SEO and GEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. The terms describe overlapping work on discovery and understandable content. GEO adds attention to how your information may be selected as a source in an AI-generated answer.

Think about the customer's task. Someone may search for a salon website provider, or ask an AI tool what a salon needs to take bookings online. Your website should help with both questions. It needs to explain what you offer, who it is for and how the next step works.

• Google’s SEO starter guide
• Bing’s guidance for search and AI experiences

Why does a website need more than an attractive design?

A beautiful homepage can still leave basic questions unanswered. What does your service include? Which customers can you help? What determines the price? If that information is absent, a visitor has little basis for choosing you. Optimisation brings those answers together with a working, accessible website.

For example, a salon website could explain each treatment, its duration, current price and booking process. An agency could describe project scope, show actual work and distinguish a fixed package from a tailored quote. These are concrete improvements you can review, rather than an abstract promise of more visibility.

• See what a beauty salon website needs
• Compare website scope and costs

How can ChatGPT and other AI tools find your website?

Separate access from selection. A system first needs a way to discover and read a page; it then decides whether that information helps answer the question. Being readable is a starting condition, not proof that the page will be selected. Check the requirements of each platform you want to reach.

For ChatGPT search, OpenAI recommends allowing OAI-SearchBot and its published IP ranges. GPTBot concerns model training and has a separate setting. Search access does not require you to allow training. Ask your developer to check both robots.txt and hosting restrictions for the relevant crawler.

• OpenAI: search and training crawlers
• Google: Search generative AI control
• Perplexity: crawler documentation

Which technical checks should come first?

Start with the pages that explain or sell your core services. Record each issue, the affected URL, who can fix it and how you will verify the change. A blocked service page deserves attention before producing another article about the same service.

Use Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to inspect discovery and indexing. For Google’s generative AI features, also review the Search generative AI setting, including any inherited setting. These checks have different purposes; a sitemap alone does not confirm that a page is indexed or included in AI answers.

• Access: the intended public page opens without login, an error page or an unintended crawler block.
• Indexing: check for an unintended noindex instruction and a canonical URL pointing to the wrong page.
• Discovery: link to the page from relevant parts of the site and include its preferred URL in the sitemap.
• Content: make the essential explanation readable as text, with a clear title and meaningful headings.
• Usability: test the page, images, forms and booking route on a phone.
• Languages: keep translations accurate and connect equivalent language versions.
• Verification: inspect the published result and record the date of the substantive change.

• Google’s technical and content foundations
• Check the Google AI inclusion setting

Which content helps customers understand and choose?

Start with questions from real enquiries. Give the answer early, then explain the conditions, options and next step. A short answer is useful for a reader in a hurry; the detail helps someone compare providers. Choose the length needed to explain the subject, rather than writing towards a word count.

Suppose a customer asks whether online booking is included in a salon website. A useful answer describes the agreed booking method, any external subscription and how an appointment is confirmed. A list of phrases such as ‘best salon website’ would not resolve that question. Add a real screenshot or case only when it shows work you actually delivered.

Make the business identifiable: use consistent contact details, explain who is responsible for the information and keep prices and service descriptions current. Publish genuine reviews and examples with permission. A useful page should help someone make a decision even when they arrive without seeing the homepage.

• Google’s guidance on useful content for AI search

Do structured data or llms.txt guarantee AI visibility?

Structured data adds machine-readable descriptions of page content, for example an organisation or article. It should agree with what visitors can see. Google does not require a special AI schema for its AI search features. Adding markup is not a guarantee of a citation.

Google also says that llms.txt does not improve visibility in Google Search. It may serve a separate purpose for systems that explicitly use it, but it does not replace your website content, access checks or sitemap. Agree what a proposed file or plugin actually does before paying for it.

• Google: structured data and AI features
• Google: guidance on llms.txt and other claimed shortcuts

How do you measure progress without guessing?

Create a baseline before changing the website. Record the important pages, relevant searches and useful enquiries. Compare similar periods afterwards and note campaigns or seasonal changes that could affect the figures. Treat visibility, website visits and enquiries as separate outcomes.

Review Google and Bing reporting and any AI-specific reports available in those tools. In your analytics, inspect identifiable visits from AI services, while recognising that not every visit can be attributed. Record a small, consistent set of customer questions for manual AI checks, with the date, tool, wording and cited URL. A single answer is an observation, not a stable ranking or proof of total reach.

• Technical progress: important pages can be accessed and indexing problems have been addressed.
• Search visibility: relevant impressions and clicks, separated from searches for your own business name.
• AI observations: which pages were actually cited, with enough context to repeat the check.
• Business value: relevant enquiries, appointments or purchases after a website visit.

How can MakeMorrow help with SEO and GEO?

We can review your existing website or include these checks when building a new one. Start with your services, customers and the pages that matter most. We then agree the technical fixes, content improvements and measurement needed for your situation.

Share your website address, main services, target audience and any existing search data. The proposal should state what will be reviewed, which changes are included and when we evaluate them. Scope and price depend on the website and required work; no fixed SEO/GEO result or guaranteed AI recommendation is offered.

• Explore website design and development
• Understand ongoing website care
• Compare organic visibility with advertising decisions