SEO vs GEO... and why E-E-A-T is crucial

SEO is dead, GEO is not the future, it's the now, and E-E-A-T is driving the change. My advice… dig deeper than the headlines!

About a year ago I did an article that talked about the changes in Search and how this is shaping new digital strategies. Some were claiming SEO was dead, others that GEO was the new SEO and should be the focus.

The reality, while SEO is driving less traffic, it still remains the most trusted click when people are searching for what your business does.

A recent study by Backlinko claimed a 39.8% click through rate for the first organic result. In other words 4 out of 10 people that search for your good or services click the 1st result that comes up.

However, the complexity of search and even much of the research I'm reading now is out of date almost as soon as it's published.

Focus on E-E-A-T

Here's what I do know, with great certainty.

You can target both SEO AND GEO without losing out on one. This is through the principles of E-E-A-T - Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness

E-E-A-T is a framework designed to evaluate content quality and plays a key role in how Google ranks web pages. Initially known as E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), Google expanded it in 2022 by adding "Experience" to highlight the value of first-hand knowledge and real-world insights.

What does this mean in practical terms?

Focus on these onsite areas and you'll have success in terms of rankings;

• Provide in-depth content with detailed information
• Answer user questions upfront, then expand with detailed explanations
• Use clear and descriptive heading tags
• Implement structured data (schema markup)
• Include FAQ sections to address common queries, but do them well!!
• Present key facts and critical information early in the content, and use stats where possible
• Ensure fast site speed and strong indexability, make sure your robots.txt file is working well.
• Build a robust online presence with backlinks from reputable third-party sites, such as business directories

But here's the thing, it's not just about onsite, it's much more than that

E-E-A-T also covers your online reputation. In other words, what are other people saying about you and how is this affecting your reputation, your authority… your trustworthiness.

By coincidence my old mate and PR titan Tony Garner from Viva PR popped in for a brew today. We started chatting about AI and how it's now creating so many opportunities in our industry. Viva is a prime example of how you can use E-E-A-T to improve both GEO and SEO, they've done it for their own business and do it brilliantly for others.

Viva gets companies profile in the media, or nominated for awards, they write in-depth, cornerstone content, white papers – they manage reputations online. This is why their work is crucial these days for supporting onsite work, and it's one of the reasons (apart from Tony being a top bloke) that we've developed an informal partnership, take a look here

What do I do next?

Confusion, mistrust - disillusionment. So many business owners and marketers are truly lost at the moment, unsure how to really take advantage of GEO, AI and Digital marketing. Some ignore it and carry on as normal, others are trying different tactics without any real strategy.

Every week we speak to lots of companies who feel a little lost with it all. That's where we can help. If it's a brew and a chat, an hour or so of our time, you're welcome to pop in. Just drop me a quick email and I'll happily talk you through the headlines of where to start and what to do next.