How SEO Is Viewed
The knowledge gap between SEO professionals and everyone else — and why it matters for your business
By SEO Experts
By Non-SEO Experts
"Just add more keywords."
The CITE Framework™
What experts actually focus on for AI Search Optimization
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is modern SEO so complex?
Modern SEO extends far beyond keywords. Search engines and AI systems now evaluate content quality, user experience, technical performance, entity authority, content structure, and multi-platform visibility. Success requires understanding how both Google's algorithms and AI language models discover, evaluate, and cite your content.
What are GEO, AEO, AIO, and SXO?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) targets AI-generated responses. AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) focuses on being the cited source in AI answers. AIO (AI Optimisation) broadly optimises for AI discovery. SXO (Search Experience Optimisation) combines SEO with user experience. These represent different facets of modern search visibility.
Why doesn't "just adding keywords" work anymore?
Search engines evolved to understand context, intent, and semantic meaning. Keyword stuffing is now penalised. AI systems extract value from well-structured, authoritative content that answers questions completely. Success comes from understanding user intent and providing genuinely helpful content, not repeating keywords.
What are the most important SEO concepts in 2025?
Key concepts include: AI visibility (appearing in AI responses), content chunking (structuring for AI extraction), entity recognition (being known as an authority), schema markup (structured data), passage ranking (individual section value), and semantic search (context over keywords). Understanding these gives you a competitive advantage.
How do I explain SEO to non-experts?
Frame SEO as "making your content easy for search engines and AI to understand and recommend." It's about being the helpful expert that both Google and AI assistants want to cite when people ask questions. Quality content, clear structure, and consistent authority signals matter more than technical tricks.
What's the business case for investing in modern SEO?
Organic search still drives 53% of all website traffic (BrightEdge), and AI-referred traffic converts 6x higher than traditional organic (seoClarity 2024). The global SEO industry is worth $80+ billion because businesses see measurable ROI. Companies investing in AI-optimised content are capturing the 1,200% growth in AI referral traffic happening right now.
How often does SEO knowledge become outdated?
Core SEO principles (quality content, user intent, technical health) remain constant. However, specific tactics evolve constantly—Google makes 500-600 algorithm changes per year, and AI search adds entirely new channels. SEO experts continuously update their knowledge through industry research, testing, and platform documentation. What worked in 2023 may not work in 2025.
Ready to Dominate AI Search Results?
Our SEO agency specializes in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies that get your brand cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. We combine traditional SEO expertise with cutting-edge AI visibility tactics.