Category: Uncategorized

  • GEO vs SEO: Local Business in the Age of AI Search

    GEO vs SEO: Local Business in the Age of AI Search

    As search engines evolve, local businesses in the Texoma area need to pay attention to a new acronym on the block: GEO — short for Generative Engine Optimization.

    At Texoma Marketing Solutions, we’ve helped clients grow through proven SEO strategies for years. But with the rise of AI-powered search tools like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, it’s time to start thinking about how your business shows up in AI answers — not just search engine results.

    Here’s a breakdown of SEO vs GEO, and what it means for businesses in Sherman, Denison, Durant, Gainesville, and beyond.


    What Is SEO?

    Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in traditional search results. That includes:

    • Adding relevant keywords
    • Structuring content for Google
    • Earning backlinks
    • Improving page speed and mobile responsiveness
    • Optimizing your Google Business Profile

    For example, if someone searches “best electrician in Sherman,” SEO helps your business show up in the results — especially in the local map pack.


    What Is GEO?

    Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) focuses on making your content visible to AI engines — like the ones that generate answers in:

    • Google’s AI Overviews (SGE)
    • ChatGPT browsing responses
    • Perplexity.ai and other AI search tools

    Instead of just aiming to be on page 1 of Google, GEO helps your business become part of the actual answers AI gives users. That might look like:

    • Your blog post being quoted in a summary
    • Your business cited in an AI-generated recommendation
    • Your service description used to answer a user’s question

    GEO is newer, but it’s already changing how people discover businesses — especially when they skip past search results in favor of AI summaries.


    SEO vs GEO: What’s the Real Difference?

    FeatureSEOGEO
    Target AudienceSearch engine algorithms (Google, Bing)AI models generating answers (SGE, ChatGPT, etc.)
    Content StyleKeyword-focused, structuredClear, factual, quotable
    GoalRanking in search resultsBeing cited in AI-generated responses
    Strategy TimelineLong-termEmerging, fast-moving
    Best for…Ongoing visibilityEarly-mover advantage in AI-driven discovery

    Why GEO Matters in Texoma

    People searching for businesses in Sherman, Denison, or Gainesville aren’t just Googling anymore — they’re asking ChatGPT, relying on Google’s AI summaries, or using Perplexity to find answers fast.

    Example:
    Someone asks, “Who’s the best pest control company near Lake Texoma?”
    With SEO, you’d aim to rank in the top 3 search results.
    With GEO, you want the AI itself to mention your business in its summary.


    How to Optimize for GEO

    1. Create clear, factual content
      Write in a way that answers specific questions — think “What services does [Business] offer in Denison, TX?”
    2. Use schema markup
      Help AI understand your content with structured data.
    3. Be quotable
      Use concise, direct answers that AI models can easily cite.
    4. Build trust signals
      Highlight expertise, awards, reviews, and original content.
    5. Stay active across platforms
      AI engines pull from blogs, directories, social media, and review sites — not just your website.

    Final Thoughts: Do You Need SEO or GEO?

    Both.

    • SEO is still essential for long-term visibility in traditional search.
    • GEO is your chance to get ahead of the curve as AI-driven search becomes the norm.

    At Texoma Marketing Solutions, we help businesses adapt to both — ensuring you’re not just found, but featured in the answers your customers trust.


    Let’s future-proof your visibility.

    Contact us today to see which approach fits your business best.

  • Connecting Marketing and Sales Data

    Connecting Marketing and Sales Data

    The Value of Data

    Many small business owners follow their gut when making decisions. If you’re tied into all aspects of your business this isn’t necessarily a bad thing- but to really grow a business you need to delegate certain aspects of the business to others. Now you’re involved in less of the day-to-day. Although you may have a pretty smart gut, it is now less reliable.

    The solution is data. By integrating technologies into your day to day you allow for data collection across all aspects of your business. Don’t only collect at the marketing stage. Collect across all stages of your sales.

    Tracking marketing and sales data allows you to find outliers, good or bad, and determine their cause.

    Connect Marketing and Sales

    How did each of your customers find you? What marketing avenue has the highest ROI? What marketing source has the highest conversion rate? These questions all require a connection between your marketing and sales to track.

    Utilizing a CRM to your marketing and sales processes makes this easy. An advanced CRM connects to your Google ads, your facebook ads, and most e-mail marketing tools. Assigning each lead to a marketing campaign means tracking a campaigns success through the sales cycle.

    Marketing and Sales Funnels

    A funnel for your marketing and sales categorizes your target audience and leads for easier tracking. While many standard funnels exist online, you probably will want to design your own. See the below image for an example of a marketing funnel.

    A common template for a Marketing Funnel

    While marketing and sales are their own unique funnels, the sales funnel often exists somewhere within the marketing funnel. This is due to marketing funnels encompassing repeat clients (see loyalty and advocacy stages in the above sample funnel).

    This is all of course standard guidelines. At the end of the day you need to setup your funnels however works best for you and your company. Although the standards shown in this article are a good starting point you will ultimately customize your funnels to your needs. For a more detailed breakdown of marketing funnels and the purpose they serve, check out this article on MOZ.

    Collecting And Utilizing Funnel Data

    Once you’ve developed your funnel you want to define what qualifies a lead/sale into each funnel category, and find a way to track it. For example, a lead may be considered in the “Awareness” category of the above marketing funnel if they’ve visited your website. Likewise a lead that has filled out the contact form on your website might be considered in the “Interest” category.

    Now that we have defined what qualifies a lead in these two categories, it is a simple matter of collecting that data. You know how many website visitors you have. You know how many people fill out your contact form. Now use that data! What percentage of leads in “Awareness” progressed to “Interest” month to month? Did you see a drastic change in that number between January and April? What caused it? This is just one example of how funnels and data will help you make better business decisions.

    Examining data across funnels across time intervals is when they become powerful. Each business will be different. Determine what is the normal flow-through for your funnel. Set goals for upcoming months. Identify outliers and their cause. While data is important, how you use the data is just as crucial. Funnels assist with this.

    Need help developing your funnels and connecting your marketing data to your sales data? Reach out for a free consultation from Texoma Marketing Solutions.