With the increasing adoption of ChatGPT and features such as Google’s AI overviews, generative engine optimization (GEO) has emerged as a key marketing channel for businesses that want these AI tools to recommend their products. We’ve previously discussed GEO strategy in more detail in our strategy guide, and in this article, we’ll break down the best practices your business should follow when executing a GEO campaign. But first, marketers should understand how GEO and traditional SEO relate to each other.
GEO’s Relationship with SEO
GEO operates under very similar criteria to SEO and other online marketing. Many searches will produce results that are identical to those found in the top Google listings for the same keyword. For example:
In other words, SEO serves as the foundation for GEO, and reviewing our article on SEO best practices will serve you well when optimizing your website for GEO. Your GEO strategy should begin with:
- Developing a strategic content rollout strategy
- Orienting content around high-value topical pillars
- Meeting the search intent of a given keyword (transactional keywords are similar for Google and generative AI chatbot queries)
- Creating thought leadership content that either adds something new to an existing discussion or adds more depth or expertise than existing content
- Publishing new content and updating it regularly
GEO, however, is more about structuring content. To target your strategy specifically to catch the attention of GEOs, consider the following generative engine optimization best practices.
Secure Placement in Highly-Ranked List Articles
Appearing in lists or articles that are already ranking highly is one of the most consistent ways to get the attention of generative search engines. As mentioned in the previous section, many responses from generative engines are taken verbatim from the corresponding Google search. This means that appearing on those lists is a fast ticket to earning those mentions.
Ensuring comprehensive coverage is critical here, as well. For example, someone targeting “finance software” will want to create pages covering a variety of use cases around that keyword.
- best finance software
- finance software for small business
- finance software for personal use
- finance software tools
This ensures optimal coverage, increasing the chances that generative engines will pick up your article when asked about a specific topic. This is true both because a)it increases your chances of hitting a direct match with the search and b)it establishes your comprehensive knowledge of the topic, making you more likely to be recognized as an authority.
If you do not have the resources to publish independently, you can also pay for an online review with a reputable third-party publisher. Paying a fee is often all you need to get on these lists. However, some will require you to provide evidence for why they should include you (remember, they must provide trustworthy information to rank highly themselves).
| Most Important For: | |
| 1 | Perplexity |
| 2 | Google Gemini |
| 3 | ChatGPT |
| 4 | Claude |
Seek Inclusion in Well-Known Directories and Databases
As indicated in the previous section, having an established page in already trusted sources of information is one of the most reliable ways to earn a recommendation from a generative engine. Similarly, they also pull from existing directories and databases to make recommendations, meaning that making your company a page on these sites can be critical.
Generally, these directories fall into one of three categories:
- High Authority Data & Research: McKinsey, Statista, Encyclopedia Britannica, Pew Research Center
- General Directories & Review Platforms: Wikipedia, Hoovers, Bloomberg, Clutch, Glassdoor
- Industry-Specific Databases & Aggregators: Contingent on industry.
Depending on what engine you are using, these tiers are likely to be weighted differently. The following table provides rough averages for each tier by each engine, sourced directly from the engines themselves.
Generative Engines: Directory & Database Tiers
| Publication Type | Influence on Recommendations | |||
| ChatGPT | Gemini | Perplexity | Claude | |
| Tier 1: High-Authority Data & Research | 55% | 45% | 40% | 65% |
| Tier 2: Business Directories & Review Platforms | 25% | 30% | 35% | 20% |
| Tier 3: Industry-Specific Databases & Aggregators | 20% | 25% | 25% | 15% |
Careful readers will note that ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity have percentages listed here despite pulling 0% of their information from traditional directories in the first chart. This is because Claude directly pulls from traditional directories, while the others pull from them indirectly through search queries. Mentions in these directories are still important, regardless of your target engine.
| Most Important For: | |
| 1 | Claude |
| 2 | Perplexity |
| Google Gemini | |
| ChatGPT | |
Publicize Your Awards, Accreditations, & Affiliations
Generative engines operate on reputation; this means that publishing your company’s accomplishments can help them establish your position within your industry, giving them a good sense of whether or not they should recommend you to a searcher.
Awards, Accreditations, and Affiliations by Gen Engine
| Publication Type | Influence on Recommendations | |||
| ChatGPT (18%) | Gemini (15%) | Perplexity (5%) | Claude (19%) | |
| Awards | 45% | 35% | 40% | No numerical weights – recommendations are more contextual than formulaic |
| Accreditations | 30% | 45% | 35% | |
| Affiliations | 25% | 20% | 25% | |
It’s important to note that this category is difficult to parse in some use cases. SEO and marketing, for example, have few formal accreditations, making it difficult for generative engines to utilize them when recommending companies. They will likely lean more heavily on other evaluation factors in these cases.
Finally, in addition to being a category unto itself, publicizing this information can also help when submitting your company/product for directories and databases, as it will make it easier for the proprietor of those lists to recognize that you deserve to be on the list.
| Most Important For: | |
| 1 | Claude |
| 2 | ChatGPT |
| 3 | Google Gemini |
| 4 | Perplexity |
Seek Out Positive Online Reviews
Online reviews refer to official customer reviews of a company or product on a professionally hosted review site. Examples of these sites include:
- G2
- Clutch
- HubSpot
- Angie’s List
Our research noted a few distinct trends across different generative engines:
- Verified purchase reviews are weighted more heavily. This refers to any reviews containing language indicating a past purchase.
- Generative AI engines give more weight to review sites with trustworthy moderation and authentication processes. Sites that ensure reviews are left by actual customers are more trusted.
- More recent reviews are preferred. Positive or negative testimonials from a month ago provide users with a more accurate sense of what their interaction with the company will be like.
- Industry-specific review sites are weighted more heavily than general review sites. This is especially true in cases where a high degree of specialization is required (e.g. healthcare, engineering, tech, etc.)
- More reviews result in a higher chance of being recommended. Companies with 2000 reviews are more likely to receive a recommendation than one with 12, as the former has an established reputation based on those reviews.
As a general rule, companies want a score higher than 3.5 out of 5 (or 7/10 on a ten-point scale). Anything less will require additional attention to improve your chances of being recommended.
| Most Important For: | |
| 1 | Perplexity |
| 2 | ChatGPT |
| 3 | Google Gemini |
| 4 | Claude |
Monitor Social Sentiment
In addition to reviews, generative engines examine the overall online discussion of your company wherever it appears. This factor is known as social sentiment.
When a generative engine evaluates your social sentiment, it locates and evaluates as many instances of your company or product being mentioned as possible, closely examining the language associated with them. As of Q1 2025, social sentiment is still a smaller factor in generative AI recommendations. However, it will likely increase in influence as new generations of chatbots are made available as traditional search engines have increasingly turned to these chat forums to inform their own results.
| Most Important For: | |
| 1 | Perplexity |
| 2 | Google Gemini |
| 3 | ChatGPT |
| 4 | Claude |
Increase Google Website Authority
Domain authority is a 1-100 score issued by Google to represent the level of trustworthiness it believes a website to have. Here are a few sites for reference:
Domain Ratings & Examples
| Domain Rating | Examples |
| 90+ | Google, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia |
| ~75 | First Page Sage, Reddit, IMDB, Healthline |
| ~50 | Medium, TripAdvisor, NPR, Tech Crunch |
| ~25 | Local Business Sites, Personal Blogs, |
We’ve written extensively about raising your website authority, but the two most important factors are backlinks and a consistent publication schedule. Banklinks refer to instances where trustworthy websites with high domain ratings themselves link to one of your pages, such as a news site referring to an article. As such, they are earned by producing content worth being linked to.
Content creation is ultimately at the core of raising your domain rating. As a general rule, we recommend publishing at least 2x per week, focusing on high-value content such as:
- Thought Leadership: Content that introduces new ideas into industry conversations or challenges conventional norms.
- Comparison Articles: Not to be confused with listicles, in which the entirety of the article is an unordered list of entries, a comparison article evaluates entries based on important criteria to help readers make important decisions between them.
- “Metrics” Pieces: Articles providing valuable quantitative information, such as benchmarks, averages, and KPIs. These are especially useful for ranking highly if you provide information that is typically unavailable online.
Pursuing this goal is a great deal of work requiring the input of several highly trained specialists. It is, however, one of the most consistent ways to ensure continued improvement in your GEO performance.
Implementing Generative Engine Optimization Best Practices
Managing your marketing campaign is an exhaustive effort, and it is especially difficult when it comes to new technology like generative engines. In order to stay on top until these algorithms settle, you will need marketing experts with a great degree of experience and expertise to navigate the shifting landscape of generative engine optimization best practices.
As one of the first marketing firms to speak on GEO services, we are available to help. Our teams produce high-quality thought leadership content that establishes clients as authorities within their industry, resulting in recommendations by generative engines as well as tand search engines like Google. Contact us here to discuss a future partnership.
