GEO vs SEO: What Activity Venues Need to Know
SEO gets you found on Google. GEO — generative engine optimisation — gets you recommended by AI. For activity venues you now need both, because customers split across two very different moments. Here’s the difference in plain English, and what to actually do about each.
SEO: ranking on Google
Search engine optimisation is about appearing in Google’s results — especially the Maps “pack” and organic listings — when someone searches “[venue] near me”. It rewards relevance, proximity and prominence. For a local venue the core work is:
- A fully optimised Google Business Profile (right categories, services, photos, posts, Q&A).
- Consistent name/address/phone across the web.
- On-page basics — clear titles, city/activity pages, fast mobile site, local schema.
- Reviews — volume, rating and recency.
This is still where most local bookings are won today. See local SEO for venues.
Proof, not promises
Real venues. Real #1 rankings.
See how we take real activity venues to the top of Google and the Maps pack for the searches that fill them.
GEO: being named by AI
Generative engine optimisation is about being one of the two or three venues that ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI recommend when someone asks them where to go. There’s no list of ten links to scroll — being named is everything. The core work:
- Letting AI crawlers in (GPTBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended).
- llms.txt and FAQ/entity schema so AI can read and trust you.
- Third-party citations — “best [activity] in [city]” lists, Tripadvisor, what’s-on pages.
- Reviews and consistent facts, which AI leans on to decide who to name.
See AI search visibility and our step-by-step guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT.
The key differences
- The result: SEO gives a ranked list; GEO gives a short recommendation. Position 8 in Google still gets some clicks; “not named” by AI gets zero.
- The moment: SEO catches the active searcher (“go karting near me”); GEO catches the person asking for advice (“what should I do for my son’s birthday in Leeds?”).
- Visibility of failure: with Google you can see your ranking; with AI you can’t see that you’re being left out unless you check.
- Maturity: SEO is established and competitive; GEO is new, so first movers win an outsized, compounding advantage.
Why venues need both
They reach the customer at different points in the same decision. Win only SEO and you’re invisible to the fast-growing group asking AI; win only GEO and you miss the larger volume still searching Google directly. The good news: the work overlaps — clean, consistent business data, strong reviews and good structured content feed both — so doing them together is efficient rather than double the effort.
What to do this month
- SEO: verify and fully fill your Google Business Profile, fix NAP consistency, and start a weekly review drip.
- GEO: check robots.txt allows the AI bots, publish an llms.txt, and add FAQ schema answering your top customer questions.
- Both: get listed on the local “best/things to do in [city]” pages — they help your Google authority and your AI citations at once.
Measure both
Track your Maps/organic position for your main searches, and each month ask ChatGPT and Perplexity the queries that matter in your area to see if you’re named. Not sure where you stand? The free visibility audit checks both.
Leave A Comment