A scholarly paper was published in November on arXiv, a free preprint repository for STEM research. The paper studied how to improve domain visibility within a generative AI search environment. Playing off of “SEO”, the authors coined the phrase Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO.

This was a timely release as Google was supposedly nearing its final stages of the Search Generative Experience (SGE) experiment 1, with many anticipating it would be released to all users in early 2024. This could potentially shake up the paid and organic search landscape more than almost any other development in the past 25 years.

Most of the reactions I found in SEO circles were more about the name, GEO, than the findings and methodologies themselves. Understandably, the name may be a little confusing as it is also a geographical prefix. However, the findings were quite bold (e.g., “…GEO can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses.”), and I was a bit surprised not to see anyone pressure testing them.

So, I read it. Some of what I found was problematic enough I felt compelled to write about it.

Does where you live affect your odds of getting a job in SEO? Do large metropolises only seemingly have more SEO career opportunity until you adjust for population size?

Supply and demand – that’s ultimately what I’m after with this exploration. And while there has been research posted on the subject, it didn’t take into account the number of individuals vying for those jobs.

And why settle on “SEO” jobs, anyway? After all, there’s been legitimate acknowledgement of SEO becoming less of a job title and more of a key skill to have in a Swiss Army type of role. Well, I’m glad you asked.

This research is about the present, not where we’re headed. Take a look at the number of United States job title postings from Indeed.com pulled in January 2019.

• title:(“inbound marketing”) OR title:(“inbound marketer”)- 64 (+60% from January 2017)
• title:(“content marketing”) OR title:(“content marketer”) – 532 (+14% from January 2017)
• title:seo – 888 (+8% from July 2016)

In closely related fields, “SEO” is still the heavy favorite when it comes to job titles.

OK. Let’s skip to the good stuff. I’ve added anchor links below so you can jump around as you wish, but I do have one last thing to help set the stage.