GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO: A Plain-Language Guide for Marketing Leaders

If you've been leading marketing for a while, you probably got comfortable thinking in terms of SEO. Get the site in shape, publish content, earn some backlinks, and you're on the right track.

Now you keep hearing new acronyms—GEO, LLMO, AEO—and it's fair to wonder: "Am I behind? Do I need all of this? Or is this just another wave of jargon?"

Here at My Brand Mentioned, we talk to a lot of business owners and marketing leaders who are in the same boat. You're responsible for pipeline, not keeping up with every technical trend. You don't have time to become an AI engineer, but you also don't want to be the last one to adapt when your customers increasingly ask AI tools for help.

In this guide, we're going to unpack GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO in plain language. We'll show:

• What each acronym actually means.
• How they overlap instead of fighting for budget.
• Where smart brands invest first, so you're not spreading money across four separate "projects" without a strategy.

Underneath all the terminology is a simple reality: "just doing SEO" often isn't enough in an AI-first world. If AI tools don't recognize and trust your brand, you'll get skipped over—even if your rankings look fine on paper. That's the gap we want to help you see and close.

At My Brand Mentioned, we specialize in helping brands become the helpful, trustworthy answer AI tools reach for when people ask questions in your space—not just another blue link hiding on page two.

Plain-Language Definitions: What GEO, LLMO, AEO, and SEO Actually Mean

SEO in One Minute: Still the Foundation

Let's start with the familiar piece of the GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO puzzle: SEO.

Search engine optimization is simply the work of making it easy for Google and other search engines to understand your website and show it to the right people. In practical terms, that means:

• Using the words and phrases your ideal customers type into search (keywords).
• Creating helpful content that answers their questions.
• Keeping your site technically healthy—fast, mobile-friendly, easy to crawl.
• Building authority with backlinks from relevant, trustworthy sites.

When SEO is working, you get more qualified visitors from search results who are actively looking for what you offer. That's why SEO is usually the first long-term channel marketing leaders invest in.

If you want to dig into the technical side, Google's own team has published this overview of how Google Search finds, understands, and ranks content, but you don't need to memorize it to benefit from SEO.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): Showing Up in AI-Generated Answers

GEO—Generative Engine Optimization—is about making sure you show up when people ask questions to AI assistants instead of traditional search engines.

Instead of typing "plumber Boston," a user might ask, "Who's the most reliable plumber near me for emergency leaks?" The AI doesn't just list 10 blue links; it responds in plain English and might recommend two or three specific companies.

If those AI tools don't "know" your brand, you never get mentioned in those moments—even if your SEO is decent and you're technically on page one somewhere.

GEO focuses on giving AI assistants enough high-quality, context-rich material so they feel confident recommending you. That usually includes:

• Deep, detailed articles about your brand and expertise on trusted third-party sites.
• Clear, consistent messaging about who you are, what you do, who you serve, and why you're a safe recommendation.

Example: Imagine a local home services company that ranks fine for "AC repair in Springfield" but never gets mentioned when someone asks an AI, "Who should I use for AC repair near me?" The problem isn't just rankings—it's that there isn't enough clear, third-party context about that brand for AI tools to latch onto.

LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization): Training the Models to Recognize You

LLMO—Large Language Model Optimization—is closely related to GEO. Instead of focusing only on where you appear, LLMO is about what the AI "brain" knows about you in the first place.

Large language models learn from:

• Public web pages and blog posts.
• Articles and listicles that mention your brand.
• Reviews, interviews, podcasts, and press features.
• Structured data and other machine-readable signals about your company.

When LLMO is working well, AI tools can talk about you accurately and confidently. So when someone asks, "What are the best B2B SEO tools for agencies?" or "How do agencies usually handle link building?" the model has enough evidence to say, "Here are some brands that specialize in this," and you're one of them.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): Winning the "One Best Answer" Slot

AEO—Answer Engine Optimization—is about being chosen as the answer when a platform wants to show a single, direct response.

In Google, this shows up as featured snippets, "People Also Ask" boxes, or AI overviews that summarize an answer at the top of the page. AEO focuses on:

• Answering specific questions clearly and directly.
• Using headings, FAQs, and structured formats that are easy for search systems to quote.
• Supporting those answers with trustworthy, detailed content.

If a competitor's answer gets chosen for these spots, you can still technically "rank" but miss most of the attention and clicks. That's why AEO is an important part of the GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO mix.

How These Four Fit Together

Here's the simple way to see the relationship:

• SEO = You show up in traditional search results.
• AEO = You're chosen as the direct answer.
• GEO = You're visible inside AI-generated responses.
• LLMO = The AI models themselves truly "know" who you are and what you do.

Put together, they roll up into what we call AI visibility—your ability to be discovered and recommended wherever someone asks a digital system for help, not just in the old-school list of links.

At My Brand Mentioned, we focus on off-site content and brand mentions that support all four: better SEO authority, stronger AEO for answer boxes, and higher GEO/LLMO visibility so AI tools are more likely to recommend you over a competitor.

How GEO, LLMO, AEO, and SEO Work Together in the Real World

Think Ecosystem, Not Separate Projects

One of the biggest mistakes we see is treating GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO as four separate line items, each needing its own budget, tool stack, and project plan.

In reality, the smartest brands think in terms of an ecosystem. For example, a single strong asset—like a detailed guide, a data-backed article, or an in-depth interview—can support:

• SEO: It targets important keywords, adds internal links, and lives on a technically healthy site.
• AEO: It includes clear, question-based headers and concise answers that can be quoted directly.
• GEO/LLMO: If that asset (or a version of it) appears on trusted external sites, it becomes fuel for AI tools to learn about and recommend your brand.

From a budget standpoint, that's exactly what you want: content that "pulls triple duty" across search, answers, and AI tools instead of narrow, single-use efforts.

A Simple Journey of a Buyer in an AI-First World

Let's walk through a realistic buyer journey.

1. They start with a question in Google or an AI assistant: "What's the best reporting tool for marketing agencies?"
2. They see one or two brands show up repeatedly—in an AI overview, in comparison articles, in answer boxes, and in organic results.
3. They run quick comparison searches like "Brand X vs Brand Y" or "Brand X pricing."
4. They reach out to the brand that feels most visible, credible, and consistently recommended.

Example: We've seen B2B software companies that invested in both strong on-site content and off-site features start receiving more demo requests that begin with, "We kept seeing you recommended when we researched tools for agencies." That's the GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO stack working together in the background.

Why Off-Site Content and Brand Mentions Are So Critical

Search engines and AI tools are cautious about who they recommend. They look for signals beyond your own website to decide whether you're a safe, credible answer.

When your brand is featured in articles, listicles, expert roundups, and interviews on reputable websites, it creates "evidence" that you're legitimate and experienced. Those third-party mentions help:

• Increase your chances of being discovered.
• Boost the confidence of AI tools when deciding whether to recommend you.
• Reassure human buyers who research you across multiple sources.

This is exactly where My Brand Mentioned comes in. Our company focuses on placing high-quality, context-rich content about our clients on relevant, trustworthy sites so both search engines and AI assistants see a clear, consistent story about who you are and why you're a good choice.

The Key Differences That Actually Matter for Your Budget

Different Channels and Experiences

Let's anchor the GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO conversation in real user behavior.

• SEO/AEO: Show up in Google/Bing results, featured snippets, AI overviews, and "People Also Ask" boxes.
• GEO/LLMO: Show up when people ask conversational questions in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI features.

For your budget, the key questions are:

• Where are your best customers already asking questions—traditional search, AI assistants, or both?
• Are you mainly B2B, B2C, local, national, or global—and how do those audiences prefer to research solutions?

Different Signals and Inputs Each One Cares About

Each area of GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO leans on slightly different signals:

• SEO: On-page keywords, content depth, technical health, backlinks, page speed, internal linking, and more.
• AEO: Clear question-and-answer formatting, structured data (schema), FAQ sections, and concise explanations that can be pulled into snippets.
• GEO/LLMO: High-quality, consistent information about your brand across many trusted sources, including external articles, reviews, and structured data that makes it easy to understand what you do.

Google's own documentation on how AI features like AI Overviews work and how they use site content makes it clear that strong fundamentals plus helpful, people-first content are what feed these newer AI experiences.

How Success Is Measured for Each

When you're deciding where to focus, it helps to know how success looks at each layer:

• SEO: Rankings for key terms, organic traffic, and conversions from organic search.
• AEO: Number of featured snippets and answer placements you win, plus click-through rate from those spots.
• GEO/LLMO: How often AI tools mention or recommend you, and whether those mentions accurately reflect what you offer.

Our view is simple: all of these metrics are useful, but the real north star is qualified pipeline. Visibility should translate to conversations, demos, and revenue—not just higher numbers on a dashboard.

Where Smart Brands Should Invest First (And What to Phase In Later)

Step 1 – Get Your SEO and Website to "Good Enough"

You don't need perfect SEO before you touch AI visibility, but you do need a solid floor. Think of it as making sure your house has a proper foundation before you add more stories.

For most small to mid-sized companies, "good enough" looks like:

• Clear, up-to-date service or product pages.
• A site that loads reasonably fast and works on mobile.
• Basic keyword coverage for your core offers and locations.

Here's a simple, non-technical way to check your current state:

1. Google your brand name. Make sure your homepage shows up, the information is accurate, and your meta description roughly matches what you do today.
2. Click into your main service/product pages and ask yourself, "Would a first-time visitor quickly understand what we do and who we serve?"
3. Test your site on your phone. Is it easy to read and navigate? Do key calls-to-action work?
4. Run a basic site audit using a common SEO tool or even free browser extensions to flag major issues (broken links, very slow pages, etc.).
5. List any obvious gaps: missing pages, outdated information, or confusing navigation.

Step 2 – Build Your AI Visibility Building Blocks

Once the basics are in place, you can start building assets that work across GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO.

We usually recommend foundations like:

• Clear, question-based content on your own site—FAQs, "How it works" pages, and simple explanations of your process.
• A handful of strong third-party articles or features that explain who you are, what you do best, and who you serve.
• Consistent descriptions of your company across your site, social profiles, directories, and press mentions.

For many teams, the bottleneck here isn't willingness—it's time and expertise. Planning the topics, writing content that feels on-brand, and actually getting published on quality sites can be a lot to juggle alongside everything else on your plate.

This is where My Brand Mentioned typically steps in. We handle the strategy, writing, and placements so marketing leaders can stay focused on running campaigns and supporting sales, while we quietly build the content "scaffolding" that AI tools and search engines rely on.

Step 3 – Layer in GEO, LLMO, and AEO Tactics Intentionally

Once you have basics and building blocks, the next step is to avoid "shiny object syndrome." You don't need four brand-new programs; you need priorities.

A simple sequence we've seen work well is:

• Start with AEO on your own site: add or improve FAQ sections, write clear answers to your most common questions, and use structured page layouts that are easy to quote.
• Then expand into GEO/LLMO by investing in off-site content and brand mentions that give AI tools more confidence in recommending you.

Done right, this creates gradual, compounding visibility across both search results and AI assistants.

A Simple 90-Day Action Plan to Improve Your AI Visibility

We know you can't pause everything for a six-month overhaul. The good news is that small, focused moves over 90 days can materially improve your AI visibility and your position across GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO.

Days 1–30 – Audit and Baseline

First, get a clear picture of where you stand today:

1. Ask a few AI tools (like ChatGPT or Perplexity) basic questions about your category and see whether your brand shows up at all.
2. Ask them directly, "What do you know about [Your Brand]?" and note how accurate the description is.
3. Review your top-performing pages in analytics and check if they clearly explain what you do, who you serve, and why someone should trust you.
4. List gaps: missing FAQs, vague service descriptions, outdated messaging, pages that assume too much prior knowledge.
5. Scan Google for your brand plus your main services and note how many first-page results come from third-party sites.
6. Capture screenshots or notes; this becomes your baseline to compare against later.

Days 31–60 – Fix the Fundamentals and Clarify Your Story

Next, use what you learned to tighten up your core presence:

• Refresh service and product pages with straightforward, jargon-free language.
• Add short Q&A or FAQ sections that directly address the questions prospects actually ask on calls and emails.
• Clarify "Who we serve" so both humans and AI systems can quickly understand your ideal customer profile.
• Begin planning 2–3 high-impact content assets: a helpful guide, a comparison piece, or a question-based article that addresses key buying questions.

Example: We worked with a regional professional services firm that simply cleaned up their service pages and FAQs—no fancy AI tricks. Within a few months, AI tools started giving more accurate, on-message summaries of the firm when users asked about providers in that space. The firm began hearing more often, "You sounded like exactly what we were looking for," on first calls.

Days 61–90 – Expand Your Footprint Beyond Your Own Website

Finally, focus on the external signals that really move the needle for GEO and LLMO:

• Pursue guest features, expert roundups, interviews, and listicle placements that genuinely fit your expertise.
• Make sure each piece clearly states who you are, what you do best, and who you serve.
• Highlight concrete outcomes, examples, or frameworks that show how you help—not just buzzwords.

These external assets become "evidence" AI tools and search engines can reference when deciding which brands to recommend. Over time, they help you move from "invisible" to "consistently suggested" when people ask questions related to your space.

This is the stage where My Brand Mentioned usually takes the lead for our clients—planning, writing, and placing the kind of off-site content that ties your strategy together and turns all this talk about GEO vs LLMO vs AEO vs SEO into real-world visibility and opportunities.

Example: A local, niche B2B company invested in a small set of high-quality external features over a quarter. Soon after, they started hearing variations of, "We saw you mentioned in a few different places," and, "You kept coming up when we researched options in Google and AI tools." That's the compounding effect you're aiming for over these 90 days and beyond.