SEO agency vs. GEO agency

Portrait of Marco Zumoberhaus, Founder and CEO of Yoline, expert in marketing and digital transformation.
Marco Zumoberhaus
18.6.2025
SEO or GEO — Yoline explains the differences
In brief:

Suddenly, they're everywhere: GEO agencies. They promise visibility in ChatGPT, reach in SBU and 1st place in the next answer machine. Sounds like the future. Sounds like progress. Sounds... to be honest, a bit like buzzword bingo. I understand the impulse — really. We all want to be at the forefront when digital visibility changes. But before we rename the playing field, we should make sure we understand it at all. Because good SEO agencies have long since internalized what many sell under GEO: clean structure, clear messages, technically sound set-up — in such a way that humans and machines can work with them. In this article, I'll show you what really matters: What is relevant, what is hot air — and why Yoline is geo-ready from day 1 without having called it that.

“If your company works with GEO agencies, it will soon make millions”

A new discipline — but not a new game

GEO is here - the world is raging. Companies that partner with GEO agencies can now multiply their profit margins. At least that's how it reads...

Of course, digital visibility doesn't end with Google anymore. Today, systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or the new Search Generative Experience from Bing and Google itself also include.

Yes, it's a new discipline — Generative Engine Optimization. But it is Not a new playing field. It is the logical development of what good SEO agencies have been doing for years: structure content, create trust, set up technology cleanly — in such a way that people and machines understand what it's all about.

What concerns me more personally is another change: Search behavior is changing.
People don't just Google anymore—they talk to systems. They want dialogue, contexts, solutions. Opportunity and danger at the same time.

This creates huge opportunities — provided that you build structures that allow these interactions. Or is the opportunity perhaps rather modest after all, as impressions are currently increasing but click-through rates are falling in some cases?

At Yoline, we focus on the opportunities that arise from these new technologies and developments. No, we are not yet committed to being “GEO agency” big on our flag, but we have been working on various customer projects in LLM infrastructures for around a year:

A few weeks ago, we were able to launch our new product, a controllable, segmentable, source-based AI system for content automation and consulting. Compliant with data protection regulations. Efficient Expandable in a customer-focused manner.

But more about that another time.

GEO — Buzzword or Enrichment?

Suddenly, many agencies call themselves GEO specialists. They promise visibility in AI answers, top results in chatbots, and rankings that don't even exist yet.

But what is really behind it?

GEO is not a substitute for SEO — but the result of it

GEO only works if the foundation is right and the majority of this has already been continuously optimized through structured SEO measures:

  • Content with relevance and structure
  • technical readability
  • Trust through EEAT signals

Anyone who creates clean, user-oriented content — and does so systemically — will also appear in generative answers. GEO is therefore not necessarily a new product, but the result of consistent, modern SEO work.

Technical clarity is mandatory — otherwise you won't be found

Good technical structure, clear content and semantic organization mean that your content can even be captured by LLMs such as GPT-4 or Claude.
In concrete terms, this means:

  • clear HTML structure
  • Avoid excessive JavaScript navigation
  • Server-side rendering or prerendering
What is clean becomes visible. What is technically installed remains invisible — even for AI.

Visibility also comes from reference ecosystems

(→ strengthens EEAT & authenticity)

But even that is often no longer enough: LLMs are increasingly taking account of The digital environment of your third-party content and opinions — i.e. who reviews you, quotes you, where you appear and how consistent your statements are across different platforms.

That is why, since day 1, we at Yoline have been making sure that our customers:

  • into relevant contexts are mentioned (e.g. in specialist articles, interviews, podcasts)
  • authorized author profiles lead (LinkedIn, website, Substack, etc.)
  • Content with real use cases Support — e.g. as a guest contribution, white paper or workshop recording
Visibility is not a stand-alone. She is a System of signals, contexts and trust.

Social signals & cross-domain relevance become measurable

(→ shows future prospects & expands GEO understanding)

In addition, there is: New models such as GPT-4, Claude or Mistral are increasingly evaluating content holistically. This means that they not only analyze your website, but also:

  • What reactions and interactions your content triggers on social media
  • whether other sources confirm and, at best, quote you
  • How current, consistent, and relevant your statements are across platforms
If you want to be visible today, you also need to think connectable:
Content ≠ website only — but a network of signals, brand management and authenticity.

LLMs don't read JavaScript — what isn't in the code doesn't exist

Admittedly, we did crawl one or the other website of modern GEO agencies. And with a small smile, we ended up on websites that were sometimes overloaded with Javascript and on which JS is not being prendered. While Google often still renders complex JavaScript, large language models remain currently at HTML source code is available. Anything that is dynamically reloaded falls through the cracks.

Source: seo.ai — Can AI crawlers read JS?

Therefore, the following applies:
If you want GEO, you have to technically clean up SEO. No marketing tricks. No animation menus. No framework clutter.

SEO was yesterday. GEO is today. System is always.

GEO is more than a trend — but also less than a miracle cure.
The companies that are winning now are not the ones with the loudest agency claims. But those who think of visibility as a system:

  • between internal teams — Marketing, editing, management
  • together with external content agencies — for measurable impact instead of a content carousel
  • in coordinated editorial plans across all channels — website, social, newsletter, media
  • in close cooperation with IT agencies and customer developers — so that SEO doesn't fail due to technology
  • based on real content, real questions and real user needs — not on keyword clouds

Good SEO is the basis. GEO is a new discipline.

What you need is an agency that can do both — and helps you along the way.

At Yoline, we don't work with checklists, but with structure. Not by looking at the tool, but by looking at the whole thing. And yes: We're looking forward to making you visible — on Google, on GPT, wherever it counts. We are pleased to show you how, thanks to continuous SEO optimizations, our customers are now absolute winners in the area of GEO compared to their competitors. Of course, we can click through with you live in just a few clicks how visible you really are, in classic search, in AI systems and in the minds of your target group.

How visible are you really — in classic search, in AI systems, in the minds of your target group?

Book a non-binding strategy meeting now
Check visibility

Frequently asked questions on the topic

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Is SEO free?

Yoline marketing agency call-to-action arrow up in Yoline's corporate colors. Part of the corporate design of Yoline, the creative agency in Valais
Yoline marketing agency call-to-action arrow up in Yoline's corporate colors. Part of the corporate design of Yoline, the creative agency in Valais

SEO in itself is an unpaid way to improve your site's visibility in search engine results. Many SEO measures, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, and content creation, can be carried out without direct costs. However, tools and software can incur costs. In addition, we recommend that at least the individual SEO strategy be developed through an SEO agency such as Yoline. These expenses result in one-off investment costs. Experience has shown that we recommend working with an SEO agency on a monthly basis in order to achieve the best possible visibility on Google and Co. However, investing in SEO can pay off in the long run as it helps to increase organic traffic and reduce reliance on paid advertising.

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What is the best SEO tool?

Yoline marketing agency call-to-action arrow up in Yoline's corporate colors. Part of the corporate design of Yoline, the creative agency in Valais
Yoline marketing agency call-to-action arrow up in Yoline's corporate colors. Part of the corporate design of Yoline, the creative agency in Valais

There are lots of excellent SEO tools out there, each with different strengths. The most well-known and frequently used tools include:

  1. Google Search Console: A free tool from Google that provides detailed insights into how your site is performing. As an SEO-specific agency, we recommend that Yoline does not put a mobile app or website online without being connected to Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
  2. Sistrix: We mainly work with Sistrix. A German tool that is known above all for continuous training provided by in-house technicians and software engineers. We are a certified SEO agency from Sistrix.
  3. SEMrush: A comprehensive tool for keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitive analysis.
  4. Ahrefs: Known for its powerful backlink analysis and comprehensive SEO database.
  5. Moz Pro: Offers plenty of SEO tools, including keyword explorer, rank tracking, and site audit.
  6. Yoast SEO: A popular plugin for WordPress that helps both on-page optimization.

It should be noted that the optimal tool in the United States or in Germany is not necessarily the best tool in Switzerland. It is necessary to assess the databases that are set up in the tools for each language and country. Here at Sistrix, we have enormous volumes of data for Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

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