GEO Methodology Journey Map
A phased implementation framework showing how the Three Streams progress from capability building through operational excellence
📘 Three Streams
- Content: What should AI say about us?
- Technical: Can AI access & understand?
- Business: Do external signals validate? How do we measure success?
🎯 Four Phases
- Phase 0: Capability Building
- Phase 1: Foundation
- Phase 2: Scaling
- Phase 3: Excellence
📊 Primary KPIs
- AI Citation Frequency (ACF)
- Share of Voice - AI (SOV-AI)
- Branded Search Lift
- Conversion Rate Multiplier
📍 Where Are You Now?
Click the description that best matches your organization's current state
Start Here
Pre-Phase 0
• No GEO team assigned
• No baseline metrics
• Haven't audited content/technical
• No baseline metrics
• Haven't audited content/technical
Ready for Phase 1
Foundation Ready
• Team trained & assigned
• Baseline SOV-AI measured
• Content audit complete
• Baseline SOV-AI measured
• Content audit complete
Ready for Phase 2
Foundation Proven
• First AI citations achieved
• Core schema implemented
• Pilot content at ≥0.70 GEO score
• Core schema implemented
• Pilot content at ≥0.70 GEO score
Ready for Phase 3
Scaling Complete
• Significant citation increase
• Primary sources published
• Positive ROI trending
• Primary sources published
• Positive ROI trending
Your recommended starting point:
Your GEO Implementation Journey
Progress through four distinct phases, each building on the previous. Complete each phase gate before advancing to the next stage of maturity.
0
Capability
Building
Building
→
1
Foundation
→
2
Scaling
→
3
Excellence
↓
Pending
Phase 1
Foundation
Prove the model works with controlled pilot
▼
📝
Content Stream
- Create first 3 hub-and-spoke clusters (15 pieces)
- Implement GEO-16 formatting standards
- Apply entity-first writing principles
- Add 40-50 word answer paragraphs
- Include 3-5 citations per 1,000 words
⚙️
Technical Stream
- Implement Organization schema (root entity)
- Deploy Product schema for hero products
- Configure robots.txt for AI crawlers
- Fix CSR → SSR for critical pages
- Achieve TTFB <500ms on pilot pages
📈
Business Stream
- Establish 1-2 expert partnerships
- Create author bio pages with Person schema
- Begin Wikidata entry process
- Secure initial media placements (2-3)
- Track weekly sentinel queries
Target Metrics (End of Phase 1)
15-25%
Citation Rate
50-60%
Top-3 Placement
20-25%
SOV-AI
12+
GEO-16 Pillars
⏱️
Typical Duration
3-6 months
👥
Resources
Stream leads + 1-2 content creators
💰
Investment
Moderate (pilot scope)
🚪 Phase Gate: Proceed to Phase 2?
0/4
⚠️ Do NOT Proceed If:
- Zero AI citations achieved (model not proven)
- Organization schema not implemented
- No measurable improvement from baseline
↓
Pending
Phase 2
Scaling
Expand to full operational scale (longest phase)
▼
📝
Content Stream
- Expand to 6+ hub-and-spoke clusters (30+ pieces)
- Create primary source content (original research)
- Launch hero product orchestration (Tier A focus)
- Build FAQ content with FAQPage schema
- Implement content freshness protocols
⚙️
Technical Stream
- Full schema coverage (FAQ, HowTo, Review)
- Implement @id cross-references site-wide
- Deploy sameAs to Wikipedia/Wikidata
- Optimize all product pages for SSR
- Achieve LCP <2.5s across site
📈
Business Stream
- Pursue Wikipedia notability (6-12 month process)
- Scale expert partnerships (5+)
- Execute Digital PR campaign (10+ placements)
- Build community presence (forums, social)
- Competitive SOV-AI monitoring
Target Metrics (End of Phase 2)
25-35%
Citation Rate
60-70%
Top-3 Placement
30-35%
SOV-AI
+ROI
Trending Positive
⏱️
Typical Duration
6-12 months
👥
Resources
Full team + PR/agency support
💰
Investment
Significant (scaling spend)
🚪 Phase Gate: Proceed to Phase 3?
0/4
⚠️ Do NOT Proceed If:
- Citation rates haven't improved significantly from Phase 1
- No primary source content published
- ROI still negative with no improvement trend
↓
Pending
Phase 3
Excellence & Sustainability
Optimize performance, operationalize, maintain leadership
▼
📝
Content Stream
- Optimize based on citation performance data
- Document content creation playbooks
- Establish content refresh calendar
- Train expanded content team
- Pursue thought leadership positioning
⚙️
Technical Stream
- Automate schema validation
- Document technical playbooks
- Monitor new AI crawler emergence
- Continuous performance optimization
- Knowledge transfer to ongoing ops
📈
Business Stream
- Maintain/expand Wikipedia presence
- Ongoing PR and authority building
- Crisis communication readiness
- Competitive monitoring and defense
- Document processes for sustainability
Target Metrics (Ongoing Operations)
40%+
Citation Rate
72-78%
Top-3 Placement
Leader
SOV-AI Position
4-6X
Conv. Multiplier
⏱️
Duration
Ongoing operations
👥
Resources
Lean team + documented playbooks
💰
Investment
Maintenance (optimized)
🎯 Ongoing: Operational Excellence Checklist
0/4
Coordination Mechanisms
Required coordination mechanisms to maintain stream alignment
📅 Weekly Cross-Stream Sync
- 30 minutes, all stream leads
- Content pipeline (10 min)
- Technical status (10 min)
- Business update (10 min)
- Name specific dependencies
📊 Monthly Strategy Review
- 60 minutes, expanded team
- Measurement review (20 min)
- Gap analysis (15 min)
- Stream priorities (15 min)
- Cross-stream initiatives (10 min)
🔄 Handoff Protocol
- Content → Technical: Entities, author credentials, Q&A sections
- Business → Technical: URLs, certifications, social profiles
- Content → Business: Articles for PR, research data
⚠️ Escalation Triggers
- Handoffs missing 2+ weeks
- Content published without schema
- ACF/SOV-AI drops 5%+ MoM
- Failure mode persists after fix