Rank on Google AND get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini — with one content system.
By Iris Wei (生姜) · ex-COO of AFFiNE (60K+ GitHub stars) · 30× Product Hunt #1
Google ranking and AI-search citation are two different games with one content system. SEO rewards backlinks + keywords; GEO rewards structured data + E-E-A-T authenticity. This playbook runs both engines from the same content — so a single page earns Google rankings and shows up inside ChatGPT/Perplexity/Claude answers.
⚠️ Product type note: This playbook is optimized for dev tools / OSS / B2B SaaS. If your product is a 2C consumer app, education platform, or game, key parameters differ — lower keyword volume threshold (50 vs 300), YMYL E-E-A-T requirements, and different cold-start channels (Reddit communities / 小红书 / TikTok / Quora instead of PH/GitHub/HN). See the 2c-adaptation guide in the skill's references/ folder.
| Months to 60K stars (AFFiNE, SEO-driven) | 24 |
| Startup consultations behind the system | 150+ |
| Core principles | 5 |
| Engines optimized from one content set | Google + 4 AI |
| Traffic growth in first 3 months of SEO (AFFiNE, self-reported) | ~25x |
| Monthly impressions from SEO alone, zero paid (self-reported) | ~400-500K |
| Proven content cadence | 4 articles/week |
1 · Start from BOFU, work upward
Build the highest-intent, highest-converting keywords first (pricing, comparisons, alternatives), then expand up the funnel to educational content. Revenue-adjacent pages compound fastest.
2 · Authentic voice is the best E-E-A-T
Don't let AI write like AI. Use the founder's voice, real numbers, and first-hand stories — authenticity signals are what both Google E-E-A-T and AI engines reward.
3 · Structured = citable
Add Key-Stats tables, FAQ schema, and comparison matrices to every page. Structured, answer-first content is exactly what AI engines extract and cite.
4 · IndexNow is GEO infrastructure
Wire up IndexNow so every content update pings Bing and AI search in seconds. Don't wait weeks for organic crawl when you've shipped something citable.
5 · Comparison pages are SEO gold mines
Build one dedicated page per competitor ("X vs Y", "X alternatives") to capture decision-stage users — these are the highest-ROI pages for both SEO and GEO.
Optimize for both at once: the same page should rank on Google and be quotable by AI search.
| Dimension | SEO (traditional) | GEO (AI search) |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Google / Bing rankings | Cited inside AI answers |
| Core signal | Backlinks + keyword match | Structured data + E-E-A-T |
| Content format | H2/H3 + long-tail coverage | Direct answers + tables + FAQ schema |
| Technical | XML sitemap + Core Web Vitals | IndexNow + AI-crawler-open robots.txt |
What is GEO and how is it different from SEO?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is optimizing to be cited inside AI-search answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini), where the signals are structured data + E-E-A-T authenticity. SEO targets Google/Bing rankings via backlinks + keywords. This playbook wins both from one content set.
What's the single highest-ROI thing I can do?
Build comparison pages — one dedicated "X vs Y" or "X alternatives" page per competitor. They capture decision-stage users and are equally strong for Google ranking and AI citation.
Do I really need IndexNow?
For GEO, yes — it's the infrastructure that pushes updates to Bing and AI search in seconds instead of waiting on crawl cycles. It's a one-time setup that compounds on every publish.
Who built this?
Iris Wei (生姜) — former cofounder/COO of AFFiNE (60K GitHub stars in 24 months, largely SEO-driven) and advisor to 150+ startups on search and AI-search growth.
How fast can zero-budget SEO actually work?
At AFFiNE (2022-2023, self-reported), traffic grew ~25x within 3 months of starting SEO and reached ~400-500K monthly impressions with zero paid spend — on a cadence of 4 articles/week (~20/month), each ~1,500 words with images, GIFs and tables, refreshed annually.
What does SEO compounding look like in practice?
One AFFiNE article held Google positions 3-4 for 'open source notion alternative'. When Notion banned Russian accounts, searches spiked and that single old article automatically captured a wave of Russian users — high-authority pages catch event-driven traffic for free.