Early GEO Wins: 5 Low-Lift Actions Growth Teams Can Take Right Now

[tldr]

Tl;dr: What growth teams can do now

No need for a massive replatform or a perfect GEO strategy. Instead, start making meaningful headway in AI search by taking these five low-lift actions:

1. Audit how you appear in AI answers today
2. Structure content for clarity, not creativity
3. Update existing high-value pages
4. Leverage third-party mentions strategically
5. Track a small, focused set of GEO metrics

[/tldr]

AI search is already influencing buyers—whether you measure it or not

Buyer behavior has already changed, even if attribution hasn’t caught up.

Many B2B buyers now use LLMs to summarize options, compare tools, and narrow vendors before they ever click a website:

“[Most B2B customers] already have most of their questions answered by the time they reach you.”
— Austin Furey, Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Marketing, New Chemistry AI 

So even if your SEO rankings look good, if you’re not being cited, mentioned, or accurately described in AI-generated answers, you’re losing customers. Double-so if your competitors are being intentional and prominent in the space.

[tldr]

Watch the webinar in full

Want more low-lift, high-impact GEO tips? Check out the full webinar GEO 101: A Growth Marketer’s Guide to Winning AI Search, featuring experts from our internal team and talent collective:

• RSU’s own Amy Scanlon (GM, Affiliate Practice) 
• Stephen Spiewak (Director of Organic Marketing, Hallow)
• Kelly Chambers (Content Consultant and Writer)

‍Austin Furey (Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Marketing, New Chemistry AI)

[/tldr]

The good news? Early GEO wins don’t require starting from scratch. 

Let’s go over five key things you can do to start closing the visibility gap.

Low-lift GEO action #1: Establish a baseline (even a simple one)

Before optimizing, you need at least a rough understanding of how AI models currently describe your brand. 

Kelly recommends starting with a lightweight audit using tools teams already have—or free trials—rather than waiting for the “perfect” stack:

“This is new for everyone. Pick a tool you’re comfortable with and start there.”
— Kelly Chambers, Content Consultant and Writer

What to do 

• Prompt major LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity) + Google for AI Overviews with your core questions.
• Note whether your brand is mentioned, cited, or omitted.
• Capture the language used to describe you (and/or your competitors).

Even this quick manual snapshot gives you a baseline to improve against—and you don’t have to commit to a tool.

Low-lift GEO action #2: Fix, don’t create (yet)

To dominate GEO, how your content is structured matters as much as what it says.

In that sense, it’s similar to SEO: yes, content quality is still non-negotiable, but it needs to be written in a way that appeals to both human and machine audiences. 

“If you get too creative with your writing, it’s not going to work well for getting cited.”
  — Kelly Chambers, Content Consultant and Writer

Of course, there are some nuances in what structures AI engines prefer versus web crawlers. 

What to do 

• Add “Key Takeaways” or summary bullets at the top of priority pages (like we’ve got at the beginning of this article)
• Use clear H2/H3 hierarchies
• Answer questions directly (don’t bury the lede)
• Include properly structured FAQs where relevant
• Keep definitions explicit and confident

Before publishing net-new content, start here. These updates will take way less time and often be just as impactful.

Low-lift GEO action #3: Update pages AI already pulls from

Your next low-lift, high-impact action involves an underused tactic: query fan-out analysis. (It sounds fancy but isn’t that complex, we promise.)

[tldr]

Related article

Round out your GEO expertise by reading our complete GEO guide and learning our five-step framework.

[/tldr]

When an LLM answers a prompt, it breaks that question into multiple sub-queries and pulls from a set of URLs. If your content is already in that mix, but outdated or thin, you have an immediate opportunity.

“LLMs aren’t ranking one page for one query. They’re assembling answers from multiple sources.”
— Austin Furey, Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Marketing, New Chemistry AI

What to do

• Identify which of your pages are already referenced
• Refresh them with current data, clearer positioning, and stronger summaries
• Expand sections that address common sub-questions

This is one of the fastest ways to improve AI visibility.

Low-lift GEO action #4: Leverage third-party content you don’t own

Off-site content plays a bigger role in GEO than it does in SEO. LLMs highly value external validation (even unlinked) so influencing this third-party content is a vital component to your success.

“You can’t possibly rank for everything. Let your third parties help fill in the gaps.”
— Amy Scanlon, GM, Affiliate Practice, Right Side Up

Depending on industry, LLMs frequently cite:

• Review sites and directories
• Industry blogs and media
• Reddit, Medium, and YouTube
• Affiliate and comparison partners

What to do

• Audit existing partner content for accuracy
• Proactively update outdated descriptions or pricing
• Provide partners with clear language and positioning to use

[tldr]

Related case study

Learn how we helped evolve Homebase's affiliate program into a driver of performance and visibility across new search environments.

[/tldr]

Low-lift GEO action #5: Track fewer metrics, but track them consistently

GEO measurement is still evolving, but just like we said for our first action: something is better than nothing.

“You don’t need a perfect dashboard. You need direction.”
  — Austin Furey, Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Marketing, New Chemistry AI

Austin recommends focusing on three signals:

1. Brand mentions and citations for key prompts
2. Month-over-month traffic from LLMs
3. Qualitative attribution (e.g., “How did you hear about us?” fields)

These signals won’t capture everything, but they will tell you if you’re moving in the right direction.

Why early GEO efforts compound over time

As you think about your GEO strategy, remember this key dynamic: AI search doesn’t yet have decades of entrenched winners the way Google does. 

So the sooner you start, the more impact you can make, and the faster you can close—or build—gaps. Wait too long and things will get exponentially harder.

“There’s a chance to make a disproportionately big impact early.”
— Steven Spiewak, Director of Organic Marketing, Hallow

Brands that start now benefit from:

• Less competition for citations
• Faster feedback loops
• Stronger long-term brand associations in AI models

Final takeaway: Start small, but start now

GEO doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The brands seeing early traction aren’t necessarily doing everything, but they’re prioritizing a few high-impact tasks and being consistent with them.

To summarize, if you:

• Establish a baseline
• Clean up existing content
• Coordinate language across owned and third-party channels

…you’re already ahead of most of the market.

[tldr]

Need help prioritizing and executing quick GEO wins?

Right Side Up helps growth teams assess, pilot, and scale GEO strategies—without disrupting what’s already working. If you need help auditing your AI visibility or identifying the fastest wins for your business, we’d love to step in. Reach out to us today!

[/tldr]