A new paper called “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization” analyzes various techniques content creators can use to optimize their websites for higher visibility and impression in generative engine responses.
The authors of the paper — Pranjal Aggarwal, Vishvak Murahari, Tanmay Rajpurohit, Ashwin Kalyan, Karthik R Narasimhan, and Ameet Deshpande — are affiliated with Princeton University, Georgia Tech, The Allen Institute for AI, and IIT Delhi.
Optimizing Websites for Generative Search Engines
Generative search engines are a new type of search engine that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate more relevant and informative results.
Unlike traditional search engines that simply return links to existing websites, generative search engines can create new content, such as summaries, translations, or even creative text formats, to provide a more complete and comprehensive answer to a user’s query.
Here are the key takeaways from the research:
What Works:
- Adding relevant statistics and data points.
This makes the content more factual and trustworthy.
- Incorporating relevant quotes from credible sources.
This boosts perceived credibility.
- Improving readability through clear, engaging writing.
Generative engines favor fluent, easy-to-digest content.
- Adding citations from reliable sources.
Backing statements up with citations increases relevance.
What Doesn’t Work:
- Keyword stuffing.
Unlike with old-fashioned SEO, simply adding more keywords doesn’t help.
- Using an overtly sales-y or promotional tone.
Generative engines see through this and don’t give higher preference.
Recommendations for Bloggers:
- Support key points with facts and statistics whenever possible.
But ensure accuracy.
- Quote reputed sources liberally.
But check that quotes align with overall content meaning.
- Break up long paragraphs and use formatting elements like bullets for skimmability.
- Link out to high-authority domains when citing sources.
This boosts perceived credibility.
As these AI engines get more sophisticated, content creators need to adapt through genuine value addition and improved information quality and presentation.