SEO vs GEO: What Changes, What Still Matters
Start with the distinction between a page being eligible to read and a product actually choosing to mention it. These are different questions, and they need different evidence.
SEO and GEO ask different questions
Technical SEO checks whether search systems can discover and understand a page: a working URL, crawl permission, meaningful content, indexing instructions, links, and an appropriate representative URL. GEO, or generative engine optimization, is a broad name for work intended to make content useful in AI-generated search answers. It is not one universal provider-defined checklist.
| Question | Useful evidence |
|---|---|
| Can this page be fetched? | Observed HTTP response and crawl rules |
| Is the product clearly described? | Visible product explanation and consistent brand details |
| Did Google index it? | Owner-authorized indexing inspection |
| Did an AI answer mention it? | The actual answer, query, time, and citation URL |
The technical foundations overlap
Clear information, working internal links, and accessible public pages help people and crawlers understand a site. For Google’s AI features, Google says there is no separate technical optimization requirement beyond the usual search requirements. That statement describes Google’s products; it should not be extended into a guarantee about every AI provider.
Separate search access from training choices
A website owner may allow search access while restricting training use. OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot separately from GPTBot. Anthropic documents search, user-requested, and training crawlers separately. Inspect each purpose rather than “optimizing” the site by allowing all agents. Also check the firewall: a permissive robots file cannot override a blocked network request.
A readiness score cannot stand in for exposure
In SiteFix.app, the readiness score summarizes confirmed applicable checks. Unknown conditions stay outside its denominator, and coverage appears beside the number. A website can improve those foundations without appearing in any observed AI answer. It can also be cited despite an imperfect audit. There is no honest conversion from a readiness score to a citation probability.
To investigate actual visibility, retain a reproducible question, answer text, citation links, provider, timestamp, and the observation method. Compare equivalent questions and comparable observation windows. Label API observations as API observations; do not present them as all users’ results in a consumer product. SiteFix.app currently labels observed AI visibility Not Available.
Choose a repair you can verify
Start with concrete defects: a page accidentally asks not to be indexed, a canonical points to an unrelated page, or an internal link returns 404. Then improve unclear product explanations using true information. Record the old evidence, make a small change, and inspect the published result. Treat actual search and AI-answer observations as a separate follow-up measurement.
Make the next fix a clear one.
Start with public-page evidence. Let your coding assistant find the right files, then verify the change.
Run a website audit