Is GEO Just SEO?

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SEO + GEO

Google Search is experiencing issues in some locales, so if you’re having trouble, that’s why.

Google’s Liz Reid Says AI Is Augmenting Search, Not Replacing It

From a new The Economic Times podcast interview with Liz Reid, Google’s head of Search. Her message is clear. AI is widening the funnel, not killing blue links. Queries are getting longer with more context, and Google is seeing more deep clicks. To win, ship rich, trusted content that answers complex questions better than an overview. Prioritize depth, perspective, and human voice. Pair articles with short-form video and community signals. Structure pages for follow-ups and internal links that let users go deeper. Trim thin pages that add nothing beyond a summary. Watch AI Overviews and test inline links pointing directly to creators.

Agree or disagree?

How AI Really Weighs Your Links (Analysis of 35,000 Datapoints)

Kevin Indig shares a study of 1,000 domains that finds quality beats volume and diverse referring domains beat raw backlink counts. Push your Authority Score (from Semrush) into the top tiers where gains compound. Treat nofollow as first class. PR hits, community sites, and big platforms move AI mentions as much as followed links. Create linkable images. Original charts and product visuals earn image credits that often outperform text links. Track Share of Voice across ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, and Perplexity. Build authority with credible coverage, useful assets, and depth so AI agents reach for your brand by default.

New Report Reveals An 8% Mobile Landing Page Conversion Gap

Despite mobile traffic accounting for 83% of visits, mobile landing pages convert 8% worse than their desktop counterparts. Unbounce's report reveals that this gap could be costing industries over 1.3 million conversions. Optimizing mobile landing pages can significantly recover these lost conversions. Some of the report’s takeaways:

• Mobile landing pages convert 8% worse than desktop

• Desktop pages outperform mobile despite higher traffic share

• 1.3 million conversions could be recovered by optimization

• The median conversion rate across industries is 6.6%

• Simple, clear language increases conversions by 56%

• Pages written at a 5th-7th grade level perform best

• Complex words reduce conversions by 24.3%

• Email campaigns have the highest conversion rates (19.3%)

YouTube Dominates AI Search With 200x Citation Advantage

Danny Goodwin reports that YouTube dominates AI search results, cited 200 times more than any competitor like TikTok, Vimeo, or Twitch. This data from BrightEdge shows YouTube’s overwhelming presence across platforms like Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT, establishing it as a top information authority. With a 20% average citation share across AI platforms and 29.5% on Google AI Overviews, YouTube’s lead is significant. Optimizing for YouTube could help secure your brand’s place in the future of AI-driven SEO?

Google AI Mode Adds Visual Responses With Visual Fan-Out

Google’s AI Mode now “thinks” and replies visually, breaking your query into subtopics and image regions, then returning a grid of visual answers. To show up, treat images like top-shelf content. Use original, context-rich visuals, descriptive file names, alt text, captions, and surrounding copy that states purpose and attributes. Add image schema and complete product data that ties into Shopping Graph. Include multiple angles, close-ups, and lifestyle shots so fan-out can detect secondary objects. Preserve EXIF where appropriate. Pair visuals with short text that answers the query. Optimize page speed and image compression. Test image-led queries your customers actually ask.

Introducing the New Bing Places for Business: Built for Business Owners, Powered by Research

Bing just rebuilt its local listings platform to make winning in local search simpler. Everything now lives at bing.com/forbusiness with a cleaner UI, faster Google import, and smarter guidance. The new Recommendation Tool audits your listing health and tells you exactly what to add to drive engagement. There’ll continue rolling out more updates and deeper Bing Maps and Copilot integrations.

SEO + GEO Ripples

• In a recent discussion, Google’s John Mueller addressed the challenges of taking over an old domain. While a new domain might not rank well immediately, especially if it had a previous owner, Google can take time to "reset" its history. Mueller emphasized that there’s no manual action to take—just keep working on the site. Building visibility on platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, or Reddit can help. Meaning - aged domains continue to work!

AI

Sora 2 Is Here

OpenAI’s Sora 2 upgrades video generation with real physics, tighter control across multi-shot scenes, and synchronized dialogue and sound effects. You can get hands-on by downloading the iOS app, then storyboarding prompts that persist across cuts. Use Cameos to place approved talent after a quick in-app verification, and remix community clips to test hooks. Turn on parental and likeness controls before publishing. Track recreations and shares as leading indicators, not just views. Access will roll out by invite in the U.S. and Canada, with sora.com access after invite. ChatGPT Pro includes Sora 2 Pro. An API release is planned.

Introducing Claude Sonnet 4.5

Anthropic’s new Claude Sonnet 4.5 levels up coding, agents, and computer use, without a price hike. Use it today via the Claude API and in the apps. Ship faster with Claude Code checkpoints, a refreshed terminal, and a native VS Code extension. Run longer workflows using the new context editing feature and memory tool. Create spreadsheets, slides, and docs directly inside chats. Costs are the same as Claude Sonnet 4 at $3 in and $15 out per million tokens.

Buy It in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol

ChatGPT just moved from product discovery to purchase. OpenAI launches Instant Checkout for U.S. users, starting with Etsy and expanding to over a million Shopify merchants. Results stay organic and unsponsored. The Agentic Commerce Protocol is open sourced so brands can integrate fast. Keep your processor, systems, and customer relationship while ChatGPT acts as a secure concierge.

Perplexity’s Comet Browser is Free for Everyone

Comet is now available for everyone worldwide. The Perplexity team highlights how Comet amplifies curiosity, enabling users to ask more questions and gain real-time assistance with tasks like research and e-commerce. With features like the Comet Assistant and Background Assistants, the browser helps streamline workflows by handling multiple tasks simultaneously.

Tilly Norwood is The Next Scarlett Johansson?

Tilly Norwood, the first AI-generated actress from the new AI talent studio Xicoia debuted at the Zurich Film Festival. Eline Van der Velden, the founder of Xicoia, revealed that major studios are beginning to recognize the potential of AI talent for movie and TV productions. They made a 100% AI comedy sketch “AI Commissioner” to feature her. There is a lot of backlash from those in the industry saying Tilly Norwood is not an Actor.

ChatGPT - “Accessing Text Content From llms-full.txt file”

Aimee Jurenka highlights a curious pop-up in ChatGPT: the mention of the "llms-full.txt" file. What’s it include? Basically all the content in what looks like a mix of html and markdown.

AI Ripples

• Anthropic upgrades Claude Code so you can hand off bigger dev jobs with control and speed. Install the new native VS Code extension to view real-time diffs and inline edits. In terminal, use searchable history with Ctrl+r and keep Claude focused with Sonnet 4.5 as the default model. Turn on checkpoints to auto save before each change, then hit Esc twice or use /rewind to restore code, conversation, or both. Orchestrate larger builds with subagents, trigger tests and linting with hooks, and keep dev servers alive via background tasks.

• OpenAI has successfully closed a $6.6 billion secondary share sale at a $500 billion valuation, solidifying its position as the world’s most valuable private company. The deal, though falling short of the $10.3 billion initially authorized, signals investor confidence and strong demand for OpenAI stock. With competition intensifying for AI talent, the sale serves as a strategy to retain top employees without going public.

• OpenAI is adding social features to ChatGPT’s Android beta app, introducing customizable user profiles and a direct messaging system. This shift suggests ChatGPT could become more than a productivity tool, evolving into a community platform. The beta features currently include options for profile pictures, display names, and descriptions, as well as the potential for direct user-to-user communication. While still in early stages, these changes hint at a broader strategy to integrate ChatGPT with platforms like Sora 2, focusing on content-sharing and interaction. As the rollout continues, this may reshape how creators and teams collaborate using AI.

• Meta will use conversations with its AI chatbot to tailor ads and content for users. Set to roll out in December, this policy will allow Meta to serve more relevant ads based on your interactions with the chatbot. Although users cannot opt out, some sensitive topics like religion or health will be excluded from ad targeting. This shift, a part of Meta's broader AI push, highlights how social platforms are integrating deeper personalization while also sparking privacy concerns. The new feature signals Meta’s growing reliance on AI-driven content strategies.

MARKETING

AMA: Reddit Marketing Veteran Shares What Works on the Platform

Brent Csutoras, a Reddit marketing expert, offers key insights into authentic brand engagement on the platform. The biggest mistake brands make is treating Reddit like traditional social media - pushing promotions rather than fostering genuine conversations. Successful brands focus on building relationships, understanding subreddit cultures, and engaging in discussions without an immediate sales agenda. He emphasizes the importance of timing and context when sharing content, and advises marketers to become part of the community rather than just a visitor.

CONTENT

And The Truth? This Writing Style Screams AI

According to Carolyn Shelby, AI-generated content has a rhythm problem. Its clipped, dramatic style mimics speech, but lacks depth, leaving readers feeling exhausted. This “AI cadence” is an overuse of short sentences, rhetorical questions, and constant dramatic pauses, often resulting in superficial writing that lacks substance. She highlights that this pattern, stemming from AI’s training on spoken-word material, has become a hallmark of low-quality content. But there’s still a good use for the style. AI cadence is fine for short, attention-grabbing content but not for long-form or technical writing

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