Generative Engine Optimization vs Traditional SEO: My Move

Generative engine optimization vs traditional SEO matters to a business because the old way paid you for being anywhere on page one, and the new way only pays the one to three names the AI answer gives.

My move was to keep the traditional foundations, stop paying for tactics that only chased rankings, and point everything at being named in the answer.

In mid-2025 I shifted my own focus from SEO tactics to AI agents that do the SEO, and this post is the business side of what changed.

You'll get the old way versus the new way, what it means for your leads, what to keep paying for and a switch plan that doesn't throw away what already works.

If you want my team's view on your own business, book a free AEO SEO strategy session and get a custom game plan.

The Old Way vs The New Way For A Business

This is the comparison through the eyes of someone who needs leads, not rankings for their own sake.

What a business cares about	The old way: traditional SEO	The new way: GEO
Where buyers look	A page of ten blue links.	A written AI answer above or instead of the links.
How many businesses get seen	Ten or more, and position seven still got some clicks.	Maybe one to three names, so there's no room for number seven.
What earns the spot	A well-optimised page plus links.	Several good pages that agree you're the answer, plus real proof.
What the buyer gets	A list to compare themselves.	A recommendation that's already been made for them.
What a business measures	Rankings and clicks.	Rankings and clicks, plus whether the AI names and describes you.
What it costs to ignore	Lower traffic.	Being left out of the recommendation entirely.

The last row is why I made the switch.

🔥 Want my exact Generative Engine Optimization vs Traditional SEO setup, step by step? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get step-by-step video trainings, my installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members building real automations. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom

Why Page Seven Stopped Paying

In the traditional model, a dentist ranking seventh for "dentist near me" still got some calls.

People scrolled, compared and clicked.

AI answers don't work like that, because they usually name a short list of businesses and stop.

If you're not in that list, the buyer may never see you at all.

That's the business problem generative engine optimisation solves.

GEO stands for generative engine optimisation, and the name comes from a 2023 research paper called GEO: Generative Engine Optimization.

In plain words, it's the work of making your business the name when someone asks Google AI, Gemini or ChatGPT who to use.

Why The Traditional Basics Are Still Worth Paying For

The AI doesn't invent its answer from nothing.

It reads the pages that rank and sums up what they say.

I compare it to five friends recommending the same restaurant, because if five good pages say the same name, the AI repeats that name.

So the traditional work of getting indexed and ranking is still what gets you into the conversation.

Google's AI features and your website page says the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode.

It also says there are no additional requirements and no special optimisations needed.

That's good news for a business, because the money you've already spent on solid SEO isn't wasted.

What I Kept From Traditional SEO

I kept technical health, because a page that Google can't crawl and index can't appear in its AI answers.
I kept useful service and product pages, because they're what the AI reads when a buyer asks a question.
I kept internal linking, because Google lists it as a best practice for its AI features.
I kept earning links and mentions from relevant sites, because the AI wants to see other sources agree with you.
I kept accurate business listings, because Google says Business Profile and Merchant Center information should be up to date.

What I Wouldn't Pay For Now

I wouldn't pay for thin pages that repeat a keyword without saying anything new.
I wouldn't pay for keyword stuffing, which the GEO paper found performed poorly in AI answers.
I don't treat a page-one ranking as the finish line any more.
I'd never pay for "AI text files" or special schema for Google's AI features, because Google says you don't need them.

What I Changed In How The Business Publishes

I call the new approach the answer engine, and it has three moves.

Be the source

Every page now carries a real case study, meaning something we tested and a real result.

The AI can't write about a test only you ran, so your page becomes the one it has to cite.

For a business, a case study can be as simple as a real job, the problem, what you did and what happened.

The GEO paper points the same way, because its best methods were adding citations, quotations and statistics.

Be everywhere

I run multiple websites, each with a different angle, all pointing to the same answer.

That's how I can show up two to four times on page one for one search.

My subreddit, AI SEO Insider, ranks on page one as well.

For a business, being everywhere can mean your own site, a partner's site, a directory profile and a community post all telling the same story.

Be first

I publish within 24 hours of a topic appearing, like "Jev architecture" and "Jev waitlist" the weekend Jev AI dropped.

For a business, being first means answering a new question in your industry before your competitors do.

📞 Want to know what to keep and what to cut? Book a free AEO SEO strategy session and my team will look at your site, your competitors and the keywords you're closest to winning. → Get your free custom game plan

🚀 Ready to put Generative Engine Optimization vs Traditional SEO to work in your business? Inside the AI Profit Boardroom you get step-by-step video trainings, my installable Agent OS and four coaching calls a week with 3,400+ members building real automations. → Join the AI Profit Boardroom

What The New Way Looks Like For Real Businesses

Here's how the switch plays out for a few common kinds of business.

Business	The old habit	The new habit
A local dentist	One page per treatment, written for a keyword.	One page per treatment, each with a real patient story told with permission, plus consistent details on other sites.
A plumber	Chasing "plumber near me" rankings only.	Answering the questions buyers actually ask, with real jobs as proof, across the site and directories.
An accountant	Long generic articles about tax.	Short answer-first pages built on real client situations, described without private details.
A consultant	A services page and a blog.	Published tests and results on several platforms that all describe the same speciality.
An agency	Ranking its own service pages.	Showing up in "best [service] agency" answers through disclosed listicles and real case studies.

The common thread is that the proof has to be real, because invented case studies break the whole method.

The Proof From My Own Business

In my GEO video, the AI Overview for "best HARO agency" lists five suppliers and links Goldie Agency first.

Goldie Agency also ranks first in the organic results for that search.

That's a normal service business, and it shows the traditional ranking and the AI mention working together.

The AI answer for "who is the best Hermes AI SEO expert" recommends me and cites my content across several platforms.

One of my sites went from zero to about 1,300 Google clicks a day, and on one day it got over 9,600 impressions inside Google's AI features.

These are my own numbers from my own screens, and one of my sites flopped, so I'd never promise them to anyone.

How AI Agents Make The Switch Affordable

The new way sounds like more work, and it would be if you did it all by hand.

In my latest video I show how I run it with free tools.

I export my Google Search Console data to a CSV and give it to Hermes Agent, which is free and open source.

I ask it to analyse what's actually working and give me keyword and topic ideas to rank inside AI search engines.

It builds a report with clicks, brand share of clicks, non-brand click-through rate and a verdict on my best pages.

Then I give it my SEO skill, a roughly 100-point checklist that writes from a case-study angle, and let it publish.

Every page still gets a human fact-check, because Google's page on using generative AI content says it's "critical" to review AI content before publishing.

How To Explain The Switch To Your Team

If you run a team or answer to a boss, here's the short version I'd give them.

Traditional SEO got us onto page one, and we're keeping that work.

AI answers now name only a few businesses above page one, so we also need the pages that rank to agree we're the answer.

That means more real case studies, the same facts about us on more sites and faster pages on new topics.

We'll keep reporting rankings and clicks, and we'll add a weekly check of who the AI names.

📞 Want a switch plan you can hand to your team? Claim my free one-to-one GEO, AEO AI audit and leave with a plan for the searches you're closest to winning. → Book the free call

A Safe Switch Plan For A Business

Keep every page that already ranks, because the AI is already reading it.
Check the basics on Google's AI features page, such as crawl access, internal links and accurate business listings.
Write down the ten questions buyers ask before they hire you.
Check who the AI answer names for each question today.
Add one real case study to the page that best answers each question.
Get the same facts about your business onto other trusted sites and platforms.
Fact-check every page by hand, then re-check the AI answers a few weeks later.

Nothing in that plan deletes what already works, which is the whole point of switching safely.

Two Ways To Get Help

The first is the free AEO SEO strategy session, which I call a free one-to-one GEO, AEO AI audit.

It's a call rather than a written report, and my team gives you a custom game plan for Google and AI search.

The second is the AI Profit Boardroom, with my Agent OS, a search OS that finds GEO keywords from your own Search Console data, my SEO skill, four coaching calls a week and 3,400+ members.

My Verdict For Business Owners

Traditional SEO still earns its keep, because it's what gets your pages read.

The move is to stop treating page one as the goal and start treating the AI answer as the goal.

Keep the foundations, add real proof and spread the same story, and your business will be ready for whichever way buyers search next.

Also On Our Network

FAQ: Generative Engine Optimization vs Traditional SEO For Business

Is generative engine optimization vs traditional SEO a big change for a small business?

The goal changes more than the work does.

You keep the traditional basics, then add real case studies and consistent facts across sites so AI answers name you.

Is traditional SEO still worth paying for?

Yes, because AI answers lean on the pages that already rank.

Google says the usual SEO best practices still apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode.

Why doesn't ranking seventh bring leads any more?

AI answers usually name only one to three businesses, so there's no room for number seven.

Buyers who read the AI answer may never scroll to the full list of results.

What should a local business change first?

Add a real case study to the page that answers each top buyer question, and make sure your business details match everywhere.

Keep your Business Profile up to date, as Google recommends.

Can AI agents do GEO for my business?

Agents can analyse your Search Console data, suggest topics and draft pages from your case studies.

You still supply the real proof and fact-check every page by hand.

Is the free strategy session a written report?

No, it's a free one-to-one call rather than a written report.

My team looks at your site, your competitors and the keywords you're closest to winning, then gives you a custom game plan.

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About Julian

I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.

I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.

I started Goldie Agency on my own, and it is now a 7-figure SEO and link-building agency with 70+ people.
I've grown my YouTube channel to 400,000+ subscribers.
I wrote "Link Building Mastery".
My Udemy courses have taught 29,000+ students.

→ Get my best AI training inside the AI Profit Boardroom

Keep what ranks, add the proof, book a free strategy session if you want help with the plan, and your business will win both sides of generative engine optimization vs traditional SEO.