When someone searches for what you offer, will they see your site—or an AI-generated summary? A competitor’s product? Or nothing at all?
SEO is how websites increase their visibility in search. SEO isn’t about tricking algorithms. It’s about helping both search engines and AI systems understand your content and connect it with the people who need it.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. At its core, it’s about improving your website so that it shows up in search results when people look for topics related to your business or content. The goal is to increase the quality and quantity of organic (unpaid) traffic from search engines.
SEO isn’t a series of hacks or fixed rules. It’s a strategic, evolving discipline focused on clarity, trust, and relevance. The term used to mean “ranking high in Google’s organic search results.” But today, being found online also means:
Showing up on Google Maps and local listings
Being included in AI-generated summaries (like Google’s AI Overviews or Bing Copilot)
Being cited in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or voice search results
Whether someone types, taps, or speaks their search, SEO now means showing up wherever people are looking for answers.
Some in the industry now refer to “SEO” as Search Everywhere Optimization.
Why SEO Matters
Good SEO leads to more than just organic traffic. It impacts:
Credibility – Higher search rankings = perceived trust
User experience – Fast, mobile-friendly, clear sites perform better
Conversions – Right-fit visitors are more likely to take action
Competitive edge – Rank above competitors, win the click
SEO marketing is cost-effective, scalable, and one of the few digital strategies with compounding returns over time.
SEO vs PPC: What’s the Difference?
When businesses ask, “How do we show up on Google?” the two main answers are:
SEO — long-term visibility through content and site optimization
PPC — paid ads like Google Ads
Both methods aim to attract site visitors, but the choice of SEO or PPC depends on your business goals, budget, and desired timeline for results.
| SEO | PPC (Pay-Per-Click Ads) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free clicks (but requires time/effort) | Pay for every click |
| Speed | Takes time to build | Immediate visibility |
| Sustainability | Long-term results | Stops when you stop paying |
| Placement | Organic search results | Ads at the top of results |
| Perception | More trusted by users | Clearly marked as ads |
SEO delivers the strongest long-term ROI when compared to paid channels that stop delivering the moment you pause your budget. But some businesses can benefit from a mix of both—a total search approach—depending on goals and timelines.
What SEO Includes
Visibility today isn’t limited to traditional search results pages. Modern search engines—powered by artificial intelligence (AI)—now summarize, interpret, and even rewrite content in real time.
This evolving emphasis on AI visibility is often called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)—but it’s not a separate discipline, it’s a strategic lens within SEO. It reflects a shift toward optimizing content for inclusion in AI-generated summaries and conversational answers.
SEO touches many parts of your site and strategy:
Technical SEO: Site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability
Content SEO: Writing clear, helpful, relevant content
On-Page SEO: Titles, headings, URL structure, internal linking
Off-Page SEO: Digital PR, brand mentions, trust signals
Local SEO: Maps, Google Business Profile, local citations
GEO: Content structured for AI summaries and answer engines
Again, GEO doesn’t replace SEO—it builds on it. If your content is clear, helpful, and well-structured, you’re already doing most of what GEO rewards in AI-generated answers.
While some articles frame SEO and GEO as entirely separate, in practice, the core principles remain the same—only the surface outputs are changing. Here’s how the two compare—not to divide them, but to show how the same foundation supports both contexts:
| SEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Ranking in search results | Being cited in AI-generated answers |
| Content Style | Keyword-aware, optimized for web crawlers | Clear, factual, structured for summarization |
| Delivery System | Search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) | AI tools (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, etc.) |
| End Audience | Human users (who click and read) | Human users (who read summaries, may click) |
Google’s Take
Google confirms that “the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Search” and that there are “no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.” This reinforces a simple truth: content structured for people also serves AI. If your site focuses on clarity, helpfulness, and trust—you’re already doing what GEO requires.
How to Align with Modern SEO
Whether your content appears in traditional search results or AI-generated summaries, the core principles are the same. Today’s search engines and AI systems reward content that is clear, trustworthy, and easy to understand — this is good SEO.
Here’s how to align your content with SEO best practices:
Answer real user questions clearly and directly
Use headings and structure to organize your content logically
Add schema markup where relevant
Build trust signals—cite sources, show expertise, and update content regularly
Optimize for speed, mobile, and accessibility so your site performs well for all users
These practices don’t just help search engines, they help real people find, understand, and trust your content.
Getting Started With Search Visibility
If you’re just getting started, it helps to get familiar with the basics. See our suggestions for how to learn SEO.
Set Up Your Foundation
Claim your Google Business Profile (for local SEO)
Install Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
Place key location information on your contact page
Set up free SEO tools to track your digital marketing performance
Make pages fast, mobile-friendly, and accessible
Learn Your Platform
Focus on Helpful Content
Helpful content is written for people, not algorithms
Answer the actual questions your audience asks
Structure content for usability
Avoid Common Myths
SEO misconceptions are rampant
There is no such thing as a necessary “SEO word count” or “URL length”
A page’s H1 tag and URL structure are less important than you might think
Some SEO tools or CMS tutorials still teach SEO as a box-ticking exercise: insert the exact keyword here, hit a certain word count, tweak a headline until it scores green. These oversimplified tactics may “feel” actionable, but they misrepresent how modern search systems actually work.
SEO checklists can be helpful when you’re learning, but use them as guides—not rules.
Final Thought: Think Holistic, Think Long-Term
SEO is how your entire site and brand show up and function online. A holistic approach improves both visibility and engagement—across traditional results and AI-powered formats alike.
The best SEO isn’t just technical. It’s about serving your audience better than anyone else. That means thinking beyond rankings and toward relevance, trust, experience, and clarity.
Do that well, and you’ll succeed in both traditional SEO and AI-driven results.
Note: You can absolutely handle SEO on your own—but most small businesses benefit from expert SEO help as they get started or hit roadblocks. See:
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