GEO vs SEO: What’s the Difference?

Ottawa agents hear SEO (Google rankings) and GEO (generative engine optimization for AI answers). They overlap but solve different problems. This guide explains both in plain language for the National Capital Region.

SEO — search engines

Search engine optimization helps you rank when people type keywords — “Realtor Kanata,” “listing photos Ottawa.” It relies on fast mobile sites, neighbourhood pages, Google Business Profile, reviews, blogs, and technical basics like titles, sitemaps, and schema. Results are measurable in Search Console: clicks, impressions, calls.

GEO — AI assistants

Generative engine optimization helps ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews cite your brand in full-sentence answers — “Who does drones in Gatineau?” GEO needs clear factual copy, FAQ structure, llms.txt, allowed AI crawlers in robots.txt, and consistent name/phone across the web. Marketing GEO is not the same as HTML geo meta tags; those help local SEO too.

Use both

AI often pulls from the same web Google indexes. Weak SEO means less for AI to cite. Build the library with SEO; make your “book” easy to quote with GEO. Our website SEO article and web packages cover implementation for Ottawa agents.

FAQ

Is GEO replacing SEO?

No. Search volume on Google remains huge for real estate. GEO adds a second channel as AI usage grows.

How long until GEO results show?

AI citation is less transparent than Google Search Console. Consistent content and a clear site help over weeks and months as crawlers revisit your domain.