Google's Had a Midlife Crisis.

 

I was in Manchester last month, having dinner with a group of CEO’s. Someone asked: "When did you last actually click on a Google result?" Silence. Cutlery clinking. A sheepish look around the table.

The honest answer? Barely ever. Because Google — and every AI assistant after it — now just tells you the answer. No clicking required.

That single change has quietly dismantled 20 years of SEO strategy. And most businesses haven't noticed yet.

 

1. What on Earth is SEO?

SEO — Search Engine Optimization — is the game of making your website show up when someone types something into Google. You stuff in the right keywords, get other sites to link to yours, and pray to the algorithm gods. If it works, you appear on page one. If it doesn't, you're on page two — which, as the joke goes, is the best place to hide a dead body.

It's been the backbone of digital marketing since the late 1990s.

 

Otherwise, you get into the paid game where the highest bidder gets seen. It could be the worst product, but because they have paid the most for the ad, they appear at the top of the search page. Companies have spent fortunes on it. Some still do.

But the internet has moved on. And it's taking your customers with it.

 

2. Enter AEO — Answer Engine Optimization

Here's what's changed. When someone types "best CRM for a 50-person sales team" into Google today, they often don't see ten blue links. They see a direct answer — right there at the top. No clicking. No visiting your site. Just the answer.

That answer comes from somewhere. And if it doesn't come from your content — if your website isn't written in a way that answers real questions clearly (or you have paid a ton of money for the ad space) you're invisible. Completely.

AEO is about structuring your content so that search engines pick you as the answer. Think about FAQs. Think 'What is...?' pages.

Think content that directly answers the questions your ideal customer is actually asking.

Frank's Quick Tip  Write one page on your website that answers your single most-asked customer question, in plain English. No jargon. No waffle. Just: question at the top, clear answer underneath. That's AEO in action.

 

3. Now Meet GEO — Generative Engine Optimization

If AEO changed the game, GEO has rewritten the rulebook entirely.

When your customers ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI assistant a question “who are the best sales trainers in the UK?" or "what should I look for in a keynote speaker?" — the AI doesn't search Google. It draws on everything it's been trained on, plus real-time browsing. And it gives one authoritative answer. Maybe two or three names. Maybe mine. Maybe not.

Do a Google search for ‘Sales Technology Speaker’ and see what comes up…

GEO is about making sure that when AI talks about your industry, it talks about you.

That means being mentioned in credible online articles. My next article will be sharing my 7 point system for creating articles and blogs….

Getting quoted by respected publications. Having clear, authoritative content that AI systems can cite confidently. Building a digital reputation that AI trusts.

It's not quick. But neither was SEO in 2003. The businesses investing in it now will be the ones AI recommends in 2026 and beyond.

 

4. SEO vs AEO vs GEO — The Simple Version

 

SEO	AEO	GEO
Keywords	Questions & answers	AI-ready content
Clicks to your site	Direct answers given	Your content IN the answer
Google rankings	Voice & chat results	AI model citations
Rank higher	Be the answer	Be quoted by AI

 

5. What This Means For Your Business Right Now

You don't need to panic, but you do need to act. Here's what I tell every CEO and sales director I work with:

▪      Write like a person. Stop writing for Google bots. Start writing for human beings asking real questions.

▪      Answer the questions. Your website should answer the top five questions a prospect asks before they buy from you. Make those pages exceptional.

▪      Build your authority. Get your name and expertise into industry articles, trade publications, podcasts and news sites. That's what AI reads.

▪      Don't ditch SEO entirely. Don't abandon SEO overnight — it still matters. But treat it as one leg of a three-legged stool, not the whole chair.

▪      Test it yourself. Ask ChatGPT right now: 'Who are the top [companies] in [your sector] in [your country]?' If your name isn't there, you have work to do.

 

Quick Tip  Try this today: open ChatGPT and type 'What should I look for when hiring a [your type of service] provider?' If your expertise, your company, or your name doesn't appear in any form — that's your gap. Now go fill it.

 

The Bottom Line

The businesses that dominated Google in 2010 weren't the ones who got lucky. They were the ones who understood how search worked before their competitors did and moved first.

We're at the same moment again. The rules have changed and the question is whether you're one of the businesses shaping the new game — or one of the ones about to be left wondering where all their leads went.

Brutal truth: if an AI assistant can't find you, endorse you, or cite you — you're as invisible to a whole generation of buyers as if your website didn't exist.

Time to get found.

 

Want to make sure AI finds — and recommends — your business? Let's talk.

 

How to Dominate the First Page of Google

It has become increasing more difficult to get onto the first page of Google for almost any search term and as soon as you do Google changes its algorithm and you disappear.

It is possible though to get onto the first page and even dominate the first page of google if you give Google what it wants: good regular information spread over all the social media channels and in every form, written, audio, graphic and video.

The most difficult thing to establish is a three word phrase that when anyone types in (your search phrase), you will appear on the first page of the Google search results.

You have to think like a potential client searching for what you can offer, so if you are a health and fitness club in in London, your search phrase might be ‘Health club London’ or ‘Fitness Training London’.

I present around the world on Sales and Technology and Social Media, so my term is ‘Sales Technology Speaker’. Please do a Google search for that term and see the results.

Once you have the 3 word phrase you have to think about becoming part of the Google family and putting that phrase into everything that belongs to Google:

• ·         YouTube for your video
• ·         Blogger for your articles
• ·         Google +
• ·         Picasa for your info graphic

Firstly, ensure that you have that three word phrase on every page of your website as well as in the profile of all your social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Vimeo. Slideshare, LinkedIn, Picasa, Pinterest, Instagram and all the other platforms where you are sharing information. 

The secret to dominating Google is having good information for your clients or potential clients. 

Let’s take the example of the Health Club in London. They will be writing an article called ‘How to get a 6 pack in 3 months’.

That article must include ‘London Health Club’ in the text as well as the end of the article in the ‘about section’  

The first place this article needs to be uploaded to is their website, a respun version onto their blog on Blogger (Google does not like duplicate content), another onto LinkedIn and then share the article with the various article directories. 

On every one of these platforms in the ‘tags’ section include the phrase ‘London Health Club’

Then promote the article through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+

Next make an audio recording and share this on the various audio platforms once again including the phrase ‘London Health Club’ in the tags.

After that make a video of the same information and share that on all the video platforms, the most important being YouTube. When you upload the video ensure that the key phrase ‘London Health Club’ is in the title, description and tags. Before you upload the video, also rename it ‘London Health Club’

Next create an info-graphic, I use some great software to do this, take a look at http://www.frankfurness.com/logocreator

 

Once you have created the info-graphic that might have a nice picture of someone with a 6 pack saying ‘How to get a six pack in 3 months’, you need to do two things:

• ·         Rename the graphic/picture – call it London Health Club
• ·         Right click on the graphic, go to properties/details/tags and insert the tag ‘London Health  Club’ as well as some other tags.

It is now ready for uploading and has been made easy to find by Google.

Upload the graphic to Pinterest, Picasa, and Instagram with a description on each that once again includes the 3 word phrase.

What you have now created is relevant information for Google where it will find your three keyword phrase on all of your various social media platforms as well as on the information you have shared in terms of articles, audio, video and graphics which all include the phrase.

You must ensure that you are also putting out new information on a regular basis as that is what Google is looking for as well as your clients.

If you would like to see a more detailed video explaining how it all works, please take a look at my webinar at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6MY82XmxWA

Also, if you are looking for a speaker for your next conference or some in-house training for your team, please contact me as I have presented to thousands of organisations in 54 countries.

Frank Furness CSP is a Sales & Social media presenter and author of two best-selling books.

He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 54 countries. His publications and CD's have been sold globally. 

For more information or to book or sign up for the free ‘Sales & Social Media Tips’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com  and for resources take a look at http://www.frankfurness.com  and http://www.technologytoolsforbusiness.com  

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to frank@frankfurness.com  

Take a look at other articles, free software and e-Books at http://www.frankfurness.com/  

A little known website strategy to get more traffic

Many people I speak to tell me they have a great website, but very little traffic. When I ask if they have done the most basic thing and submitted their website to the various search engines, most answer that they have not.

Here is a great strategy that very few people know about. DMOZ (also known as the Open Directory Project) is the grandfather of search engines and most search engines index use it for indexing websites.

So it is essential for you or your website administrator to submit your website to be indexed into DMOZ so that search engines can find additional information about the website.

This is how you do it:

1. Visit the DMOZ directory website.

2. Review the top-level categories and click on the most appropriate category to fit the website that you will be submitting.

3. Choose a subcategory which suits your website. These are located below the alphabet links in the top centre of the page. Since so many categories are extensive in size, there may be many subcategories from to choose from.

4. Continue to choose subcategories until you are at the lowest possible category. Although not always, it will generally be a small category with no more subcategory links at the top.

5. Click suggest URL which is the third link from the left in the gray bar of links at the top of the webpage.

6. Read the guidelines and rules thoroughly that are on the website submission page and ensure that the submission form is correctly completed.

7. Complete the submission information so that it is complete while following all of the submission guidelines. The category should already be filled in with the category that was chosen. Also, make sure to include your user verification and email address.

8. Read the Submission Agreement and once complete and you agree with it, press submit.

9. Wait for the website to be indexed. All of the website submissions for each category are reviewed by volunteers who spend their time to review the website submissions, so this can take up to 6 months.

Remember that all category editors (who are the users who review website submissions) are entirely volunteers. Some categories may be more thoroughly watched and reviewed than others.

Not all website submissions are accepted, regardless of how well the submission form is filled out. There are various reasons; the site may be illegal, pornographic or simply a one page sales pitch with no information. Remember, the internet was created to share information.

DMOZ has a website index for over seventy languages and is always adding new languages. If you own a website in another language, submit that as well.

There are millions of unreviewed website submissions presently - only submit your website once to avoid being penalised!

So don’t wait, get your site indexed straight away.

Frank Furness CSP CFP TOT is a professional speaker and author specialising in sales and technology.

He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries. For more information or to sign up for the free ‘Sales Tips & Ideas’ newsletter, email frank@frankfurness.com and for resources take a look at
http://www.frankfurness.com
http://www.frankfurnessresources.com
http://www.productivitycentre.com

Download 39 Power Sales Closing Scripts at http://www.frankfurness.com/closingscripts.cfm

SEO | Search Engine Optimisation | Marketing Tips

Learn some great ways to optimise your website as well as see what is getting your competition to the top of the search engines. Also see the two great free pieces of software that will make this happen.
Watch the video below.