How to Get Your New Plymouth Business Recommended by AI: A Generative Engine Optimisation Playbook

GEO is the natural evolution of organic marketing in an AI-first search world. It borrows from SEO, but zooms out to look at your entire digital footprint, not just your website.

GEO focuses on helping AI models easily understand who you are, what you do and why you are credible, so they are more likely to cite you when it is relevant.

Instead of just polishing one site for search engines, GEO connects everything: your website, content, PR, branding and social activity, so they all work together to earn mentions inside AI-generated answers.

In practice, that might look like Google's AI Overview using a stat from your blog while a chatbot recommends your service by name in the same query.

The way people search has shifted fast, and it is not slowing down.

Search behaviour is moving from short keywords to full conversational questions, often asked directly inside AI tools rather than a classic search bar.

Zero‑click behaviour is increasing, because if an AI answer solves the problem, people rarely scroll further or click around.

At the same time, when someone does click through from an AI answer to your site, they are usually much warmer and closer to converting than a typical browser.

A strong GEO strategy is not a separate channel; it is what happens when your existing organic channels are working in sync.

When each piece is aligned, GEO becomes a by‑product of doing organic marketing well, not an extra to bolt on.

SEO is still foundational. GEO does not replace SEO; they work best together.

Search engines remain a core discovery layer, and their indices are one of the major inputs for generative models.

If search engines already trust your site, you are starting GEO with a serious advantage, because that trust often flows through to AI tools that draw on the same ecosystem.

Think of SEO as building the house, and GEO as making sure that house shows up in every AI‑powered neighbourhood map your customers use.

Here is a practical way to begin folding GEO into your marketing without blowing up what you already do.

1. Audit your content for AI‑readiness

Start by making your existing content easy for AI to understand and quote.

• Refresh stats, dates and claims so they are current and accurate.
• Reference reputable sources where appropriate to strengthen perceived authority.
• Restructure long walls of text into clear headings, short paragraphs and bullet points.
• Use natural, conversational language that mirrors how people actually ask questions.

The aim is for your best content to read like a reliable reference that AI tools can comfortably pull from.

2. Build brand presence beyond your site

Generative engines look across the web, not just your domain, so off‑site presence matters more than ever.

For example, take Egmont Honey—a Taranaki producer that does GEO well without necessarily calling it that. They have a clean, informative website explaining their process. They appear in local tourism guides and gift shop listings. They are mentioned in blog posts about Taranaki food trails and New Zealand honey. Their products show up on retail sites with consistent descriptions. When an AI tool is asked "what's a good Taranaki gift?" or "where can I buy local honey in New Plymouth?", Egmont Honey gets surfaced because the AI can connect multiple credible mentions back to a single, clearly defined brand.

• Contribute guest content, appear on podcasts and say yes to relevant collaborations.
• Maintain accurate and active profiles on key directories and professional platforms.
• Invest in PR where there is something genuinely newsworthy to share.
• Encourage consistent posting and thought leadership from your team on platforms like LinkedIn.

Each credible mention becomes another point in your favour when an AI system weighs up who to include in an answer.

3. Track, learn and refine

Treat GEO as an ongoing experiment, not a one‑off project.

• Use available tools to monitor how often your brand is being mentioned or cited in AI environments where possible.
• Pay attention not just to whether you are mentioned, but how you are described and in what context.
• Keep an eye on traffic and leads that originate from AI‑related touchpoints.
• If you notice inaccurate or unhelpful descriptions, trace them back to the original source content and improve it there.