Our agency wants to sell us 'GEO optimization' — what is this and do we actually need it?

Classic agency marketing play. Two years ago they were trying to sell voice search optimization to everyone, now the hype is all AI. You can't even clearly see in analytics how much referral traffic AI chatbots actually send to your site. Why pay 450 Euro every month for something you can't measure?

Here is what AI models actually need to parse your content: complete Organization and LocalBusiness markup via schema.org, copy written in clear, declarative sentences, and no messy code blocks blocking crawlers on the page. These are issues that should already be resolved in any standard technical audit.

We run a logistics firm in Düsseldorf. We didn't increase our SEO budget by a single cent; we just added detailed FAQ sections to our service pages and refreshed our client references. Three months later, we noticed an AI search engine citing our company as the third recommendation when listing local warehouses. It works fine without paying extra.

Ask the agency point-blank: For this 450 Euro which analytics dashboard will you use each month to report exactly how many AI-referred visitors we received? If their answer is all vague hand-waving turn down the offer on the spot.

anyone doing proper classic seo is basically doing what geo requires anyway... feels like making up a buzzword to pad the invoice imo they should just deliver on the existing 950 euro first.

Generative AI search systems evaluate your site on two fronts: 1) the clarity and verifiability of the information on your pages, and 2) how frequently your brand is referenced across independent industry platforms. Unless the agency is handling digital PR and off-site brand authority for you, simply tweaking on-page text won't move the needle in any new way.

Edit: asked below, I wrote the answer in the second message.

Oldest rule in tech: slap the word "optimization" onto a term the client doesn't fully understand then tack at least 400 Euro onto the bill. Next year they'll probably pitch you a quantum search optimization package.

Sound corporate governance requires clear KPIs and tangible deliverables whenever expanding the scope of a service agreement. Adding consulting line items that lack defined traffic measurement or direct conversion benchmarks to an existing contract is not advisable.

the opposite hapened to me, that's why I'm writing. internal linking is the cheapest and most neglected task.

if you have questions write them; I'll answer as best I can.

ive been dealing with this for a long time... tbh map listings bring more business than blog posts for most local businesses.

hope this helps.

I went through the same thing. When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

teres a trap here, let me mention it but when we decide without measuring we always end up in the same place.

just leaving this note it might be useful.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate. Proven by experience.

Let's separate the concepts, they're getting mixed up. A page that answers one question works better than one touching on five topics.

There are three things to check when doing this. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

Let's separate the concepts, they're getting mixed up. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Let me clarify the technical side. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Quick summary for newcomers: The real issue isnt the number but what its based on.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.