If You’ve Been Investing in SEO, You’re on the Right Track With GEO: An AMA With Lily Ray

4. How do we rebuild meaningful capacity benchmarks erstwhile Google keeps moving the goalposts?

The first point to retrieve is that this affects everyone equally. It’s a reporting change, not needfully a alteration successful really your tract appears successful search. Google's trying to limit excessive crawling from LLMs and AI crawlers, which explains the update. 

But moreover earlier this, rankings beyond position 20 offered small worth and were much directional than actionable. 

Now, we request to attraction connected apical rankings and broader business metrics, including: 

• AI visibility
• Brand assistance studies
• Branded impressions

5. What metrics are you presently search for GEO/AI success?

It's tricky correct now because we don’t person a “Search Console for ChatGPT,” and AI Overviews aliases AI Mode postulation isn’t surgery retired successful GA4. So yes, the tooling is limited, but we’re adapting.

6. Should we put successful GEO, aliases is it conscionable chasing a fad?

Both tin beryllium true. A batch of what’s being branded as Generative Engine Optimization overlaps pinch what SEO teams person been doing for years. 

This includes: 

• Creating original, data-driven contented pinch unsocial perspectives
• Featuring recognized authors and trusted brands. 

GEO improves AI visibility, but it’s not a caller concept. Fundamentally, if you’ve been investing successful SEO, marque building, and contented marketing, you’re already doing GEO. If you haven’t, now’s the clip because it decidedly matters for AI search.

7. Should recipe, food, aliases recreation bloggers artifact AI crawlers?

That’s a really difficult one. I cognize immoderate group successful the recreation abstraction are already blocking AI crawlers because they spot their contented arsenic original and don’t consent to it being taken and reused for free, and I wholly understand that perspective.

However, there’s a trade-off: blocking AI crawlers limits your visibility successful AI search. It puts bloggers successful a benignant of prisoner’s dilemma. If you wall disconnected your content, you mightiness protect it, but you besides consequence becoming invisible successful the platforms wherever group are now searching.

Also, not each crawlers respect those blocks, truthful there’s nary guarantee. But if you genuinely want to support your contented for your assemblage and trust connected different channels for traffic, that’s a valid business choice.

That said, I deliberation astir companies and creators won’t spell that route. If the mostly of consumers are getting their answers from LLMs, it’s difficult to warrant removing yourself from that ecosystem completely.

8. How do you woody pinch stakeholders obsessed pinch GEO who don’t understand SEO?

The first measurement is education, but pinch an unfastened mind. Acknowledge that hunt is changing, and person honorable conversations astir what it really takes to look successful AI search. 

At Amsive, we’ve been utilizing Venn diagrams to show the overlap betwixt SEO and GEO, which is astir 90%. 

It tin beryllium frustrating erstwhile clients presume you're not prepared for the early of hunt conscionable because you're not overhyping the newest trend. But that’s why it’s important to enactment proactive. 

Share insights, supply resources, and show that you're profoundly informed astir really these models work.

I really presented connected this at MozCon recently, and I’ve recorded a type that mightiness thief you explicate GEO to your clients.

12. What algorithm updates tin we expect successful 2026?

Normally, I’m not excited astir halfway updates because they origin a batch of chaos, often hitting guiltless businesses. But this time, I really am. 

Right now, I’d opportunity spammers are winning, some successful AI hunt and accepted Google results. Even successful features for illustration preferred sources and apical stories, we’re seeing a flood of low-quality content.

Google’s been truthful focused connected AI that spam has outpaced enforcement. But that won’t last. Historically, erstwhile things get messy, Google responds pinch awesome algorithm updates specified arsenic those successful March and May 2024, which were the biggest ever.

I’d expect thing akin soon. They’re paying adjacent attraction to these caller GEO tactics, and I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if we spot a immense update that devalues manipulative AI contented and scaled spam.

I besides deliberation we mightiness spot caller spam policies targeting things for illustration self-promotional listicles that rank a institution #1. Google’s created highly circumstantial penalties successful the past, and I could easy spot them cracking down connected that benignant of behavior.

13. Are location immoderate niches aliases industries you judge will beryllium astir impacted by hunt changes successful 2026? 

I deliberation publishers, particularly news and media sites that trust heavy connected upper-funnel, informational content, are already seeing the biggest impact. 

These businesses trust connected postulation to money their operations, and pinch AI hunt occupying a larger information of hunt results, we’re seeing important click drops successful Search Console for these sites.

But it’s not each punishment and gloom. If anything, this should beryllium a wake-up telephone to diversify assemblage acquisition and engagement strategies. 

Here are a fewer tactics:

• Encourage labor to build a individual brand: Some publishers are encouraging their journalists to build individual brands, essentially becoming influencers. That intends creating videos, launching societal campaigns, and speaking straight to audiences, not conscionable publishing text. It whitethorn not beryllium for everyone, but it’s working, particularly pinch younger audiences.
• Diversify wherever your contented lives: People are progressively staying wrong societal platforms for illustration Threads, LinkedIn, BlueSky, and X. You request to meet them wherever they are because they’re not ever clicking out.
• Create contented that’s highly shareable and socially engaging: Even if integrated clicks decline, you tin compensate pinch stronger visibility and traction crossed different platforms.