Search & AI.

SEO, AEO and GEO: three ways to help people find you.

What they mean for a small business like yours, what Google says about AI search, and what we build into every website.

Updated by John Hoac

A timber desk with a laptop, a phone, headphones and a notebook, with a sticky note that reads Better Websites Happier Clients

Three little acronyms

Different names,
very similar ideas.

Search engine optimisation

The classic one. It's about helping search engines find your pages and understand what you do, so someone searching for what you offer can find you.

Being found

Answer engine optimisation

This is about being the page that has the answer: the little box at the top of Google, or whatever a voice assistant reads out.

Being the answer

Generative engine optimisation

The newest one. AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity write their own answers, and this is about helping them understand your business and mention it accurately.

Being mentioned

The good news is that they overlap a lot. A clear, honest, well put together page helps with all three.

What Google says

There's no secret trick for AI search. Good basics, done well, go a long way.

  • Helpful content for people
  • Pages that can be crawled
  • A good experience on the page
  • Structured data that matches the page

That's from Google's own guidance on AI Overviews and AI Mode, which says there are no extra requirements or special optimisations beyond the usual good practice. So we'd be a little wary of anyone promising a secret shortcut. You can read it yourself at Google Search Central.

Included in every build

What goes into
every site we make.

A designer working on a colourful website layout on her screen at a desk lit in violet and orange

We write all of it to match what people can actually read on your pages, because that's what search engines and AI tools double-check.

  1. 01

    A clear heading on every page

    Each page gets a proper title, a short description and its own address, so it's obvious what the page is about.

  2. 02

    A sitemap and a robots.txt

    Think of these as a friendly map and a welcome sign for search engines and AI crawlers.

  3. 03

    Structured data

    Behind the scenes we add a little code that spells out your business name, services, prices and the areas you cover, so nothing is left to guesswork.

  4. 04

    Answers up front, and a proper FAQ

    We like to answer a question in the first line or two, then add the detail. We also gather the questions your customers ask most into an FAQ, and mark up each question and answer behind the scenes. That's what answer engine optimisation (AEO) is all about: it makes it easy for Google, voice assistants and AI tools like ChatGPT to lift your answer straight out and share it. Here's our FAQ.

  5. 05

    Quick, secure and made for phones

    Between 60% and 73% of people now browse or search on a phone, depending on the study, so that's where we start. Every site is also served securely over HTTPS.

  6. 06

    A small llms.txt file

    It's a short plain-text summary of your site, for AI tools that go looking for one. To be upfront, it isn't a ranking factor and the big search engines don't need it, but it's quick to add and harmless. Here's our llms.txt.

After launch

We keep
going.

Search and AI change all the time, so on our Essential and Pro packages we keep working on your site after launch (a yearly check-up on Essential, every two months on Pro). Here's what that covers, and in the margin, what you'll also get on the Pro package.

  1. Watching what people search for

    We keep an eye on the searches you're showing up for, which pages people click through to, and any that start to slip, then tidy up the pages that need it.

    Your Business Pulse shows where your visitors come from and what led to each enquiry and call.

  2. Keeping the technical side healthy

    Broken links, slow pages, crawl errors and structured data that's drifted out of date. These quietly hold a site back, so we find them and fix them.

  3. Answering the questions customers ask

    When we notice people asking the same things, we work the answers into your pages, up front and in plain words. It helps your visitors and it's exactly what answer engines look for.

    Your Monthly Marketing Boost adds something new every month, like an article, promotional graphic or animation, giving people and search engines a fresh reason to come back.

  4. Keeping your facts clear for AI tools

    AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini write their own answers, so we set out your key details (what you do, where you work, your hours and prices) clearly on your pages and in the structured data behind them, so they're easy to pick up.

    On Pro, we fine-tune this every two months as the AI tools change.

  5. Keeping your details consistent everywhere

    Your name, address, phone number and hours should match on your website, your Google Business Profile and anywhere else you're listed. When they agree, search engines trust them more.

    On Pro, we check your details across around 14 directories each month and tell you exactly what to update.

  6. Keeping up with the changes

    Google and the AI tools change how they work all the time. We follow what changes and adjust your site, so you don't have to.

    Early access to new tools from our Prototype Sandbox as we build them.

For local businessesIt's also worth keeping your Google Business Profile up to date. Google counts it as part of how businesses show up, and it pairs nicely with your website. When we spot something on yours that could be better, we'll let you know.

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Dactyl Websites
to build your
website?

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