The Marketer’s Guide to GEO vs. SEO: Which One Should You Prioritise?
Why This Choice Matters in 2025
Lately, search has evolved beyond simple keyword ranking. With AI-powered assistants, generative engines, and hyper-local personalisation, the question for business leaders isn’t whether to invest in optimisation - it’s which kind.According to marketing strategist Anastasia Dyakovskaya, the rise of AI-driven discovery has blurred the line between search and suggestion.
“Users no longer search - they expect answers,” she explains. For South African executives navigating an increasingly digital and mobile-first economy, this means deciding when to focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and when to adopt GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation).
The distinction is strategic: SEO builds authority and discoverability, while GEO ensures your brand is included in the very answers users receive. So, which should you prioritise - and when?
Defining GEO and SEO
What is SEO?
As Neil Patel puts it, SEO remains “the art and science of ranking on search engines by improving content, structure, and authority.” It revolves around organic search visibility, link building, and keyword relevance, critical for long-term credibility and global reach.
SEO helps brands:
- Build organic traffic and domain authority
- Target high-value keywords relevant to their audience
- Rank for educational, transactional, or informational intent
In essence, SEO focuses on visibility through search rankings.
What is GEO?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is a newer discipline emerging in response to AI-driven platforms such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Bing Copilot. As Guillaume Deschamps explains, “GEO isn’t about ranking on page one - it’s about being the cited source in the answer itself.”
GEO involves optimising for machine interpretation rather than just human reading. It prioritises:
- Structured data and schema markup
- Contextual authority and entity alignment
- Conversational and question-based content
- Topical freshness and regional accuracy
Where SEO is about clicks, GEO is about
inclusion and influence - ensuring AI systems reference your brand as a credible source.
The Business Impact of Each Strategy
Both SEO and GEO influence how your brand is discovered and trusted, but their strategic impact differs depending on your goals, audience, and market scope.
SEO excels when you need:
- Global or pan-African reach. Ideal for consultancies, SaaS providers, or exporters who target broad digital markets.
- Thought leadership. SEO-driven content builds visibility and credibility across regions and languages.
- Sustained brand equity. SEO compounds over time, enhancing your online reputation.
- Data-led content ecosystems. It enables tracking, reporting, and scalable inbound marketing.
Example: A Cape Town-based management consultancy publishing insights on African economic trends leverages SEO to rank globally and attract cross-border partnerships.
GEO thrives when:
- Local intent drives revenue. Businesses offering regional services, e.g., legal, medical, educational, or retail, benefit from being included in generative search results for area-specific queries.
- AI discoverability is key. GEO positions your content to appear within AI-generated responses, not just traditional search listings.
- Timeliness matters. GEO rewards up-to-date, data-backed insights, especially for industries influenced by rapid regulation or trend cycles.
- Trust and authority drive choice. When users ask, “Who’s the best provider near me?” GEO ensures AI knows
you are.
Example: A Johannesburg-based law firm that updates articles on South Africa’s data privacy laws gains GEO traction by being cited in AI summaries about the POPIA Act.
Comparative Overview: SEO vs GEO Strategic Leans
| Strategic Goal | Lean Towards |
|---|---|
| Global or pan-African visibility | SEO |
| Local or regional reach | GEO |
| Long-term content authority | SEO |
| Real-time or conversational relevance | GEO |
| Organic search traffic | SEO |
| AI answer inclusion | GEO |
| B2B thought leadership | SEO & GEO |
**Note:** *Both strategies matter - the decision lies in your brand's geography, growth goals, and audience intent.*
When to Prioritise GEO vs. SEO: A Decision Framework
Here’s a practical checklist for executives deciding where to focus:
A. Audience Geography
- Localised audience: Focus on GEO (e.g., Cape Town, Sandton, or Pretoria-based clientele).
- Cross-border market: Prioritise SEO for broader digital reach.
B. Business Model
- Physical presence or service footprint: GEO for visibility in “near me” and location-based results.
- Digital-first, export, or consulting models: SEO for scalable, international discoverability.
C. Content Lifecycle
- Fast-changing information (regulatory, events, product updates): GEO
- Evergreen guides, case studies, or thought leadership: SEO
D. Data and Capability
- AI-ready structured data, schema, or entity mapping: GEO advantage
- Established backlink network and content authority: SEO strength
E. Competitive Landscape
- If competitors dominate traditional search, consider GEO to appear in AI summaries.
- If competitors are absent in AI results, GEO is your first-mover opportunity.
As Dyakovskaya notes, the goal is “dual optimisation” - building a foundation for both human and machine audiences. Companies that integrate GEO early will gain disproportionate visibility in 2025’s generative search era.
Dual Optimisation: The Future of Search in 2025
The future of digital visibility lies in hybrid optimisation. According to futurist Maxim Blue, generative engines are reshaping search into “a dialogue, not a directory.”
Key 2025 Search Trends to Consider
- Zero-click search dominance: Fewer users click through; more rely on summarised AI answers.
- Conversational queries: Voice and chat searches favour natural, question-led phrasing.
- Authority over popularity: AI systems cite credible, structured sources over high-traffic pages.
- South African user behaviour: Mobile-first, regional-language use (English, isiZulu, Afrikaans) increases localisation value.
- Freshness signals: Generative engines prioritise recently updated data and regionally accurate facts.
- Structured and multimodal content:
Use
tables, FAQs, and visuals to improve extractability.
Deschamps predicts that by 2026, GEO and SEO will merge under a single discipline - Search Experience Optimisation - where brands must craft content for both algorithms and audiences simultaneously.
Executive Takeaway
For transformation-focused leaders, the challenge is not choosing between GEO and SEO but aligning both for your digital growth model.
Action Points for Executives
- Adopt a hybrid model: Maintain SEO for authority; integrate GEO for AI visibility.
- Audit your current content: Is it machine-readable? Does it answer questions succinctly?
- Train your teams: Build GEO competence - schema, entity tagging, and structured metadata.
- Track new performance metrics: AI citations, generative inclusion, and answer share - not just keyword rankings.
- Localise where it matters: Tailor content to regional context and language preferences.
- Reinvest in authority: Consistent, high-quality thought leadership remains your greatest asset.
As Neil Patel reminds marketers, “SEO is your foundation - GEO is your evolution.” Together, they form the dual engines of search in 2025: one for discovery, one for delivery.
