4 SEO Strategies to Help you Win your Digital Marketing Championship.

by Katie Fleming on Feb 08, 2025

Football season is reaching its pinnacle, and I find myself immersed in the excitement of playoff matchups. Between analyzing defensive schemes and managing fantasy rosters, I'm also deeply engaged in search engine optimization—sometimes even during commercial breaks!

What I’ve realized is that these seemingly different aspects of my life share remarkable similarities. Football—and search engine optimization—are both strategic games that require adaptability, skill, and a winning playbook. But just when you think you've mastered SEO, a new player enters the game: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

With AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Bing Chat reshaping how people find information, optimizing for traditional search rankings isn't enough anymore. If SEO is about moving the ball down the field, GEO is about making sure AI includes you in its game plan from the start.

So, how do you win in this evolving landscape? Here are four championship-caliber SEO (and now GEO) strategies that will keep your digital team at the top of the rankings.

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1. Create MVP-Worthy Content

Just like how teams need a franchise quarterback to lead their offense, your content needs to be exceptional and original. Don’t run the same plays as others—develop your unique offensive scheme. This means more than avoiding plagiarism; it includes eliminating technical duplicates like session IDs, URL parameters, and printer-friendly versions. Ensure your meta tags are as unique as your team’s playbook.

GEO Play: Generative AI tools prioritize content that provides clear, direct answers to user questions. If your content is structured well—with FAQ sections, long-form insights, and conversational phrasing—you increase your chances of being featured in AI-generated responses. Think of it as training your team to anticipate the next play before the defense can react.

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2. Master the Zone Coverage with Long-Tail Keywords

Like a well-executed zone defense, long-tail keywords help you control specific areas of the field. They bring targeted traffic to your site with less competition. Scout your territory carefully and choose your positioning wisely. You want to fill specific defensive gaps, not crowd the line of scrimmage with keyword stuffing.

GEO Play: Generative AI thrives on conversational queries. Users aren’t just searching for "best running shoes" anymore; they’re asking, "What’s the best running shoe for bad knees and marathon training?" Optimizing for these types of long-tail, natural-sounding queries helps ensure your content is picked up by AI-driven search engines.

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3. Implement a Strong Defensive Scheme Against Spam

Every championship team needs solid defense. Use robust security measures and maintain clean analytics by filtering out bot traffic. These digital opponents often have a 00:00:00 time on field. Block them using .htaccess rules and keep your analytics clean—just like keeping unnecessary roughness out of the game.

GEO Play: AI-generated content tools value trustworthy, well-sourced content. If your site is filled with spammy backlinks, outdated content, or inaccurate information, AI will pass over you in favor of a more credible source. Playing clean and smart isn’t just good for SEO—it’s crucial for winning the GEO game.

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4. Study the Game Film Religiously

Championship teams analyze every play, and you should too. Dive deep into Google Analytics to understand your fan base. Track user behavior patterns, set up conversion goals, and analyze traffic sources. Like studying opponent tendencies, this data helps you adjust your strategy for maximum impact.

GEO Play: Just as you monitor SERP rankings, start tracking how often your content appears in AI-generated responses. Pay attention to engagement metrics, bounce rates, and which of your pages are being surfaced in conversational AI searches. If you’re not showing up where customers are looking, it’s time to adjust your game plan.

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Final Thoughts: Winning in SEO and GEO

Scoring a Digital victory requires a complete team effort. Whether you need a new offensive coordinator, defensive specialist, or special teams coach for your SEO strategy, we’re here to join your roster and help lead you to victory.

But in today's game, SEO alone won’t guarantee a championship. With AI-driven search engines rewriting the rules, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is now a critical piece of the playbook. A strong SEO strategy will still get you on the leaderboard, but optimizing for GEO ensures you’re in the AI-generated answers where customers are looking first.

So, are you ready to dominate the field? Let’s get out there and win the big game.

 

About Katie Fleming

Katie Fleming is an MBA and veteran SEO/SEM/Digital Advertising Specialist who has been calling game-winning plays for our clients through measurable results and impressive ROI for over 20 years. When she’s not analyzing the latest Google algorithm updates, she’s cheering on her two sons who are college athletes, her three-sport varsity athlete junior, and her middle school daughter who plays volleyball and basketball.

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock