This is a copy-ready GEO checklist. The earlier guide covered what GEO is; this one answers the practical questions: how to choose keywords, how to write content, how to build sources, and how to review.
Step 1: Run an AI-visibility baseline audit
Before optimizing anything, know your starting point.
- Pick 10 high-value questions: what customers most often ask and what directly drives a buying decision (e.g., for an appliance brand, “which AC saves the most power for a 100 m² home”).
- Ask 6 models each: Doubao, DeepSeek, Ernie, Kimi, Qwen, Tencent Yuanbao.
- Score every question × model: positive / neutral / negative / absent.
- Put the results in a table — that is your GEO baseline.
The test: if more than half of your 10 questions come back “absent,” you are basically “unsubscribed” in the AI world, and every piece of content from now on should follow the method below.
Step 2: How to pick GEO keywords
GEO keywords ≠ SEO keywords. Run two lists in parallel:
| Type | Examples | Use |
|---|---|---|
| SEO short terms | AC power saving, appliance review, renovation pitfalls | Landing / directory pages, catching traditional search |
| GEO scenario long-tail | Which AC saves the most power for a 100 m² home, Bluetooth earbuds under 500 yuan, biggest first-renovation pitfalls | Long-form content that becomes a citable “answer” for AI |
Formula: my + scenario/identity + core need + decision question. For example:
- my + 100 m² home + which AC + power saving
- me + 500 yuan budget + earbuds + which to recommend
- first renovation + 30k budget + biggest pitfalls
Plug the formula into your industry and produce 20-50 scenario long-tail keywords, each paired with a complete 800+ word answer-type piece.
Step 3: Semantic content structure — four elements
AI extracts answers from structure, not keyword density.
① Short answer (top of page): under ~100 characters, answering the question directly. Example: “The core of buying appliances is need before model — three steps: budget and space, core need, real reviews.”
② Key-facts list: break selling points into independently citable short sentences, ~10-20 characters each. Example: “GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization”; “72% of users make purchase decisions through AI recommendations.”
③ FAQ block: 3-5 entries, questions in the user’s own wording, answers directly citable. AI prefers pulling answers from FAQ, and it also feeds FAQPage structured data.
④ Knowledge-graph internal links: chain “category → scenario → decision factors → conclusion” so AI can cross-verify the same conclusion across multiple pages. The more consistent the sources, the more likely AI cites you.
Step 4: Build authoritative sources
AI trusts credible sources that are cited repeatedly:
- Keep showing up in industry directories, authoritative media, and professional communities;
- Keep official-site information consistent with external sources (brand name, address, phone, qualifications);
- In highly regulated industries (finance, healthcare, legal), complete qualification and source labeling — compliance gets you onto AI’s “whitelist.”
Step 5: Monthly review template
Once a month, re-run the 10 baseline questions across the 6 models and record the shift:
| Question | Model | Last | This | Change | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Which AC for a 100 m² home | Doubao | absent | positive | ↑ | Reinforce this content |
| Earbuds under 500 yuan | DeepSeek | neutral | neutral | → | Add sources and scenario detail |
| …… | …… | …… | …… | …… | …… |
Action rules: upgraded → reinforce content and expand related questions; flat → add sources and scenarios; downgraded → check whether content is stale or competitors added weight; absent for two straight months → rewrite that keyword’s content as a priority.
This checklist is exactly Dawn Island’s methodology: every account profile, niche page, and guide here carries GEO fields (short answer, key facts, FAQ), and a GSC keyword map continuously calibrates indexing and traffic terms. For the concept itself, go back to What is GEO?.