GEO
ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews answer questions before people click. Generative Engine Optimization is how you make sure your business is named in those answers — with honest foundations, not hype.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of structuring your website so large language models can read, understand, trust and quote your business when they answer questions. The goal is no longer just to rank on a list of blue links — it is to be mentioned, by name, inside the answer an AI gives, ideally with a citation back to your site.
If someone asks ChatGPT “who builds bespoke websites in Kent?”, you want the answer to include byMichael. That requires clear, factual content and the technical signals AI tools use to decide what to trust.
The work below is what makes a site citable by AI search tools. It overlaps heavily with good SEO — which is why byMichael rolls it into every build rather than selling it as a separate mystery package.
Clear service pages, location pages, pricing ranges and FAQ answers written in plain English. AI tools quote what they can parse and trust — vague marketing copy does not survive. Every page should answer a real question someone might ask.
ProfessionalService, Service, FAQ, Article and Breadcrumb schema so tools understand who you are, what you do, where you work and how to cite you. Structured data is one of the clearest signals generative engines use when deciding which sources to pull from.
Clean heading hierarchy, fast load times and mobile-first layouts. AI crawlers and traditional search bots both favour sites that are easy to parse and quick to load. Sloppy code and slow pages hurt visibility everywhere.
Dedicated pages for what you do and where you work — town-level content for Kent businesses, factual service descriptions and consistent business details. These are the pages AI tools cite when answering local and service-specific questions.
Kent web design hubDirect question-and-answer content in plain language — the format ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews extract most reliably. FAQ schema markup helps machines identify and quote your answers accurately.
llms.txt & citable resources.An llms.txt file at your domain root summarising key pages, plus blog guides and case studies that AI tools can reference. Consistent name, address and phone details across your site and Google Business Profile complete the picture.
SEO and GEO overlap heavily. Both reward clean technical structure, factual content, useful pages and trustworthy sources. The difference is in the outcome.
SEO sends a user from a search results page to your website as a clickable link. GEO aims for your business to appear inside the AI-generated answer itself — sometimes with a citation, sometimes without. Your name being in the answer can still influence the decision someone makes, even if they never click.
The good news: the foundations that improve your GEO position are largely the same work you should already be doing for SEO. There is no need for a standalone £2,000 “GEO audit” when the basics are built in properly from the start.
GEO foundations are not a bolt-on upsell. Every website byMichael builds includes semantic HTML, schema on service and location pages, fast performance, FAQ structure and content written to answer real questions plainly. It is part of how the work is scoped — rolled into SEO foundations and every new site, not sold separately.
See the pricing page for how website builds, SEO work and ongoing support are structured.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is structuring your website so AI tools can read, trust, and cite your business when answering questions. It overlaps with SEO but targets mentions inside AI-generated answers, not just blue links.
byMichael includes GEO foundations in every build: schema markup, factual service and location pages, FAQ content, llms.txt, fast performance, and consistent business details across your site and Google Business Profile.
There is no guaranteed placement. ChatGPT with browsing uses Bing search results; Perplexity cites pages it trusts. Clear, factual content on your site plus strong Bing and Google visibility and consistent mentions elsewhere improve your chances of being named.
Not usually. Standalone GEO audits are mostly repackaged SEO. The foundations GEO depends on are the same work that belongs in a proper website build or SEO engagement. byMichael bakes them in rather than selling a mystery package on top.
Yes. Every byMichael website build includes GEO foundations: semantic HTML, schema markup, FAQ structure, fast performance and content written to answer real questions. See pricing for how builds are scoped.
SEO aims to send someone from a search results page to your website. GEO aims for your business to appear inside the AI-generated answer itself. The technical work overlaps heavily — which is why byMichael treats them as part of the same foundations. Read the full GEO guide for more detail.
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