Definition v1.0, updated 2026-07-07

SEO, AEO and GEO, the difference

Ranking pages, being the answer, being cited by models. Three jobs, not three names.

SEO, AEO and GEO are three jobs, not three names for the same job.

SEO, search engine optimisation, is the classic one. It gets your page to rank in a list of links. The unit is the page and the goal is a click.

AEO, answer engine optimisation, is about being the answer rather than a link. When someone asks an assistant a question, the engine retrieves a passage and states it. The unit is the passage and the goal is to be lifted and cited.

GEO, generative engine optimisation, is the wider version of the same idea across generative engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity. It covers whether a model can reach your content at all, whether it can read it without running JavaScript, and whether it trusts the content enough to repeat it.

The three overlap but they reward different things. A page can rank and never be answered. A page can be answered and never rank. Topkay scores all three from one URL so you can see where you are strong and where you leak.

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