Future of Search: How We Used GEO Initiatives to Increase Brand Engagement and Clicks in 1 Month

The sentiment among search experts these days is pretty uneasy.

Many are declaring the death of traditional SEO. Blue links are pretty much out; AI summaries are in. Website traffic is visibly dropping as AI tools such as ChatGPT and AI Overviews beat brands to it, serving direct answers in their summaries.

We’re witnessing a flood of open-mouthed, crocodile-like Google Search Console screenshots on our social feeds, with impressions skyrocketing and clicks fading. We’re reading endless articles about the Great Decoupling — and we’re all wondering what online visibility really means in this new normal.

Multi-location marketers are especially searching for actionable solutions to remain relevant in local search. The shift has seen generative engine optimization (GEO) become the “new” normal for maximizing online visibility — though whether it’s truly new or simply SEO with a new set of priorities is up for debate.

Either way, uncertainty breeds opportunity. The results of our most recent experiment demonstrate this: We saw both website clicks and engagement increase after implementing recommended GEO initiatives across one of our client’s locations.

Why Are Marketers Reacting So Drastically to the AI Shift?

You might be wondering whether all this attention to AI search is necessary or overhyped. Marketing best practices change constantly, Google updates its algorithms multiple times every year, and technology never stops evolving. Marketers have always been on their toes.

The zero-click phenomenon is nothing new — that said, it’s clearer than ever that we need to rewrite parts of the local SEO playbook for AI search.

To break it down, this is what all the fuss is about:

• AI tools are reducing direct traffic: It just became even harder to get users to click through to your website if AI tools give them all the answers they were looking for. According to Pew Research Center, only 8% of users click on traditional blue links when an AI summary appears. Those who click on the links within the AI summary are even rarer, at 1%. Even if they’ve engaged with a summary pulled from your website, you aren’t rewarded with a click or any visible sign of brand engagement.

• There are new priorities for discoverability: The AI search shift is more than a Google algorithm update; marketers are now being told website content must be more structured, fact-based, and semantically clear to be understood by AI systems. Otherwise, their brand will not appear in AI-driven search results.

• There’s no escaping the need for stronger brand consistency: This is a particularly hard blow for multi-location marketers, who are already juggling tasks to unify their brand’s presence across directories, reviews, and social platforms. No consistency likely means no visibility in AI search, so there’s a lot at stake here.

Marketing has always been about finding new opportunities. It’s crystal clear that local SEO strategies must adapt — but there’s no need to pull a U-turn on your local search initiatives.

In the future of search, it’s all about focusing more on the right things to ensure AI systems can find your business, understand your content, and reference it in their answers. How does this look in practice?

How Do You Optimize for GEO?

Our experiment looked at how our GEO optimizations benefitted SEO, GEO, and LLMO performance. In other words, how visible we were in Google traditional search results, Google AI Overviews, and AI tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT. You can find a table below breaking down how each initiative impacts the performance of each of these.

There are few one-size-fits-all solutions in branding and marketing, but luckily what we did — as well as these tips we’re sharing — are what many multi-location businesses can do with the right tools and resources.

1. Create High-Quality, Authoritative Content

E-E-A-T – a concept created by Google in 2022 – is more relevant than ever before. The concept is that by driving signals of expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, brands can stand out and be visible in search.

• Go beyond product listings. For example, create comparison guides (e.g., “How to Choose the Right Coffee Maker”) and educational content.

• Use well-researched, fact-checked information.

• Cite studies, statistics, or expert opinions where relevant.

• Add high-quality images and make the content easy to find on your site. These can potentially be used in AI-generated summaries if the AI has visual capabilities.

It is more than just about visibility — it’s about driving maximum engagement from every website visitor. If consumers trust you and appreciate the quality of content you’re producing, they’re more likely to buy from you or recommend you to others in future. Danny Goodwin explains in this article that AI users behave differently to traditional users. They’re more likely to bounce, less likely to engage, and spend less time on individual pages.

This means that website pages must offer more unique, valuable content than ever before if multi-location businesses want to a) be visible in search b) be chosen over their competitors.

2. Structure Content for AI Readability

You need to organize your content so AI systems can extract and summarize it.

These initiatives are as old as time in SEO, but if you haven’t been prioritizing these across your website, it’s about time you do.

• Use descriptive, logical headings (H2, H3) and anchor text.

• Include lists, bullet points, tables, and FAQs.

• Ensure NAP consistency across all directories (name, address, phone number).

• For restaurants: Ensure your menu page is easily navigable from your homepage.

Taking YogurtCenter as an example, restructuring content could mean creating a dedicated section on the menu for the dish they want to be known for (i.e. Chocolate Flavors). It would also be important to use clear, specific names for menu items, such as Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Detailed descriptions with descriptive adjectives are crucial for GEO — YogurtCenter could talk about the following:

1. Texture: “Smooth and creamy,” “velvety,” “indulgent.”

2. Taste profile: “Intense dark chocolate with a hint of bitterness,” “sweet and classic milk chocolate,” “rich chocolate with chewy brownie pieces.”

3. Ingredients (if notable): “Made with premium cocoa,” “infused with real chocolate shavings.”

4. Experience: “A perfect treat for chocolate lovers,” “satisfy your chocolate cravings.”

Beyond AI: The clearer and more structured your content, the less likely it is for users who do land on your website to bounce — because they’ll find the information they need much easier. So, it’s not just about optimizing for the AI but for your customers, too.

3. Speak Naturally and Answer Questions Directly

We recommend writing content in a conversational tone, addressing common queries using natural phrasing, and mirroring the customer language you see in reviews or FAQs.

When brands mirror how their customers speak or write, this builds confidence and semantic trust that their business is:

• relevant

• trustworthy

• aligned with user intent

For example, if many reviews for YogurtCenter mention “Dairy-free frozen yogurt,” then your listings, GBP description, metadata and headers, Yelp description, social media bios, and pinned posts could intentionally reflect the business’ dairy-free and vegan frozen yogurt options.

4. Target Semantic Search Intent

This will probably be the biggest shift in your local search strategy. Multi-location marketers will need to focus on entities and semantic search instead of just optimizing content heavily for SEO keywords.

This is where your keyword strategy, however, will still be important.

• Include keywords naturally within the descriptions: Don’t stuff keywords; use them naturally as you describe your products. For example, instead of YogurtCenter just writing “dark chocolate,” they could adjust this to “rich dark chocolate yogurt.”

• Consider variations: Think about how people might search; you don't need to repeat these keywords verbatim constantly. Using synonyms and related terms will help.

• In headings and subheadings: These are natural places for your keyword to live.

Post-GEO: Our YogurtCenter Case Study Results

Our Uberall team ran an experiment for a yogurt business. For the purpose of this article, we’ll call them YogurtCenter (note: this is a fictitious name). And to put theory into practice, we tested GEO improvements with this local brand.

For more than 45 days, we implemented GEO-focused enhancements — including:

• detailed flavor descriptions

• structured data

• FAQs

• local signals

and we tracked how these changes affected customer engagement.

Following our optimization, YogurtCenter saw a notable increase across all the customer engagement metrics we tracked.

While organic clicks rose modestly, deeper engagement metrics (e.g. time on site, calls, inquiries) saw significant lifts — which suggests that our initiatives positively impacted performance in both traditional and AI search, and indicate that AI recommendations likely led users to seek out the physical store or contact them. Increased time on the website also indicated greater user interest, leading to more online orders.

We recognize that not every business will see exactly the same results, as it will depend on its customers, business type, location, management history, but we’re excited to see this local brand celebrate such promising results in just one month.

Incremental improvements like this to help local businesses show up for the right queries are crucial. The sooner teams start experimenting with the right tools and initiatives, such as those listed above, the more likely they are to stay ahead. Like we said, this is a time of opportunity.

Real-World Scenarios: When Could YogurtCenter Show Up?

To give you more inspiration or understanding on how these optimizations work in practice, consider these realistic prompts.

Prompt: “Best yogurt in my area (Gibsonton, FL)”

YogurtCenter might appear if:

• Local listings (Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor) are accurate and up-to-date.

• The website includes a store finder or location mentions with zip codes.

• Positive customer reviews mention “Gibsonton” or similar.

• Site content that prioritizes variety, freshness, and quality.

Prompt: “Best chocolate yogurt”

YogurtCenter might appear if:

• Menu pages clearly describe chocolate options.

• SEO-friendly headings include terms like “Chocolate Frozen Yogurt.”

• Reviews highlight chocolate flavors or call them “the best.”

Other Initiatives in the Future of Search

There are, of course, other things you can continue to do to boost your visibility in AI and traditional search. These include maintaining a steady flow of three to five new reviews per week, actively responding to reviews, encouraging customers to mention specific products or locations in their reviews, and aiming for an average star rating of at least 4.2+.

You should also get listed and reviewed across more than just Google. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Apple Maps, and other relevant platforms are also important. It’s especially helpful if your posts include location-relevant keywords or tags, if your posts get reshared or embedded into blogs or Reddit threads, since AI models pick up external shares and links. Maybe your business is even tagged or named in viral or high-engagement posts, which is great news for your AI visibility.

When it comes to third-party mentions, you should make sure that

• You include text context with your promo or photo content.

• Encourage real interaction and engagement with your content.

• Ensure you don’t have a private/personal account with no location connection.

• You are included in “best of” lists on blogs, websites, or forums.

Findings of Our GEO Experiment: Do GEO Efforts Help Traditional SEO?

Yes — we found out that the new priorities of search are not just a hype. Within one month, we saw GEO initiatives indirectly but significantly boost the performance of the local business across 21 locations.

Just to summarize again why all this is important to you as a business:

• Brand visibility: Being mentioned in AI-generated responses increases awareness among customers.

• Enhanced authority: Strong content and structure ensure your customers trust you more than competitors.

• More backlinks: Good content gets cited — by AI and humans, which amplifies trust and awareness.

• User engagement: Longer time on site and more inquiries highlight customer interest and intent.

GEO isn’t just another marketing acronym — it’s a great opportunity for businesses to refocus their marketing efforts from optimizing for clicks to optimizing for answers.

Our team is excited about the future of local search, as we continue to help brands build their presence in this new normal.