There are killers in your midst. You just don’t know them.
Our GEO work, to date, has revealed that a few dark horses pose the biggest threat to AI search optimization programs.
They are wildly different, show up at different times, and in varied ways.
Silo-ization
Silo-ization. Like Hip Hop, GEO has five elements: Web architecture, PR, SEO, content and metrics. To achieve positive results these pieces need to work in total lockstep, especially during the early phases of a mandate. In no marketing realm, has there ever been such a deep need for integration of people with as diverse a set of perspectives and worldviews as GEO. For companies from places where siloes are the norm (hello, China!) this is the primary challenge.
Incuriosity
Incuriosity. To the curious go the victories. GEO advice is so generic and much of what is parrotted as wisdom is just aggregate data repackaged. You must look at YOUR data with a curious eye towards what it says about which levers to pull (remember, GEO has 5 elements, one of which guides choice and 4 of which you can pull on).
Our biggest consumer tech client sees their presence primarily built by earned media. Our own presence is built primarily on the back owned content, much of which has been created by AI for AI despite experts’ and Google’s hectoring about humans writing for humans.
Had we not asked deeper questions about what the data said about what worked, for each individual case, we’d have been nowhere. Curiosity is critical to blocking out the noise.
Cheapness
Cheapness. You cannot do GEO cheaply. Because these mandates combine so many functions, and because before a proper customer survey and diagnostic no one really knows what to do, you need to be ready to spend across multiple business areas.
I cannot see anyone spending less than $12-20k USD a month on agency fees for at least 3.5 to 6 months before you see anything. And that cost can climb quickly if you want to build things like brand-owned media outlets, which are the hot topic du jour in GEO circles.
Beware of these 3 dangerous dark horses. They’re out to torpedo your efforts before you even get started. Better to wait on any spend if these problems are serious in your organization. Just don’t wait too long, or you’ll be left behind.