What Is GEO? The Indie Author’s Guide to Generative Engine Optimization
Stop writing for algorithms—start attracting obsessed readers who crave exactly what you write.
Most authors built their websites thinking about Google rankings. Maybe you tossed in some keywords, blogged once about your writing process, and called it good enough.
Or maybe, you haven’t even blinked an eye at SEO or Google rankings.
But the digital landscape has changed. Readers aren’t just searching Google anymore. They’re asking ChatGPT what to read next. They’re using voice assistants to find “spicy vampire romance with enemies-to-lovers tension.”
And those answers? They come from generative AI engines, not just search results.
Welcome to GEO: Generative Engine Optimization—and yes, it matters for authors.
What Is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO is the practice of making your content discoverable, readable, and quotable by AI-powered engines—like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, Siri, and Alexa.
Unlike traditional SEO, which helps you rank, GEO helps you become part of the answer.
When a reader asks:
“What’s a good paranormal romance with a morally gray hero and blood magic?”
You want your book—or at least your website—to show up in that response.
That’s what GEO is for.
And here’s the truth: it doesn’t matter where you stand on AI.
You don’t have to love it, use it, or agree with how it’s changing publishing. But AI isn’t going anywhere. Readers are already using it to discover new stories, tropes, and authors.
You can resist the tech… or make sure it doesn’t erase you.
Optimizing your site for GEO isn’t selling out—it’s staying visible. It’s meeting readers in the tools they already trust to search.
How Authors Can Apply GEO to Their Websites
You don’t need to be a tech wizard. You just need to structure your site with AI (and your readers) in mind.
1. Use Clear, Trope-Based Language on Every Page
AI tools need clarity to understand what your stories are about.
Instead of:
“A passionate tale of love and danger.”
Try:
“A dark romance featuring a possessive alpha werewolf, a human heroine in hiding, and forbidden fated mates tension.”
💡 Why? AI scrapes sites for recognizable patterns. The clearer you are, the more likely your book is recommended.
2. Add a "Start Here" or FAQ Page
GEO thrives on Q&A structure.
Considering creating a page that answers real reader questions like:
What order should I read your series in?
Are your books spicy or slow burn?
Where can I read sample chapters?
Use full questions as headings and short, conversational answers underneath.
3. Make Your Book Pages AI-Citable
Every book page should include:
A short, trope-rich blurb (GEO loves clean summaries)
A list of themes and tropes (e.g., “morally gray vampire, blood magic, enemies to lovers”)
Links to where readers can buy or read
Bonus: Add a short Q&A like:
“Is this book part of a series?”
“How spicy is it on a scale of 1–5?”
4. Optimize Your Image and Metadata
Behind-the-scenes details matter too:
Use alt text on images (e.g., “Dark romance book cover featuring vampyr hero and witch heroine”)
Add meta descriptions to pages with genre-specific keywords
Use structured data if your site builder supports it (like FAQs, article schema, book schema)
5. Create AI-Friendly Blog or Bonus Content
Blog posts don’t have to be long—just useful.
Post things like:
“Reading order for the Blood Haven series”
“Dark romance tropes I love writing (and why readers devour them)”
“Top 5 morally gray heroes from my books”
Format them with subheadings, lists, and bold keywords—so AI can parse and quote easily.
6. Link Yourself Across Platforms
AI tools use multiple sources to verify trust and accuracy. I’m not saying they are perfect but they are advancing and eventually, lets be honest, they will get close enough to perfection.
Link your website to your Goodreads, Ream, Patreon, Instagram, etc.
Add an Author Bio page that repeats key phrases:
“I write dark fantasy romance featuring immortal villains, necromancer heroines, and doomed love stories.”
That repetition isn’t redundant—it’s signal.
Ready to Try It?
In the comments below, tell me:
What kind of books you write
Your top tropes or subgenres
I’ll personally reply with 3 custom GEO question-style titles that are technically FAQ-based blog posts, which is exactly what makes them GEO gold. And when turned into standalone blog posts, they become:
🖤 Long-form content AI can pull from
🖤 Keyword-rich
🖤 Highly indexable by search engines and AI scrapers
💬 Final Thoughts
You’re Not Just Writing for Readers Anymore. You’re Writing for the Tools Readers Use to Find You.
GEO isn’t about gaming the system—it’s about meeting your audience where they already are: inside AI-powered engines, asking for stories like yours.
Make your site structured, specific, and easy to parse, and you’ll stop being invisible.
You’ll start being recommended.
Ready to future-proof your author platform?
I help writers build websites and blogs that are discoverable, AI-readable, and reader-obsession-worthy.
💬 Drop your tropes in the comments and I’ll give you 3 custom GEO blog post titles you can publish this week.
📲 Or book a 1:1 GEO session and I’ll help you restructure your author site for AI visibility.
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