Common Pitfalls & Troubleshooting in GEO Content

Introduction: Why Good SEO Doesn't Guarantee Good GEO#

Understanding the difference between GEO vs SEO optimization is critical for avoiding common pitfalls. Many content teams assume that SEO best practices automatically translate to AI search success—they don't.

In this guide, we analyze the most common mistakes we see when auditing client content, explain why they happen, and provide actionable fixes for each issue.

Top 10 GEO Content Pitfalls (and How to Fix Them)#

1. Blocking AI Crawlers in robots.txt

# Bad: Blocks all bots
User-agent: *
Disallow: /blog/

# Good: Allows AI crawlers
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

2. Burying the Answer Below the Fold

Why it matters: AI engines extract from the first 500 tokens. Buried answers get missed during retrieval.

3. Missing or Invalid Schema Markup

Schema issues are the #1 technical problem we see. Common errors include:

• Missing FAQPage schema on FAQ sections
• Invalid JSON-LD syntax (trailing commas, unquoted keys)
• Schema not matching visible content
• Missing author and organization schemas

Fix: Validate all schema using Google's Rich Results Test and Schema.org Validator.

4. Over-Optimizing Headers (Keyword Stuffing)

5. Thin Content Without Depth

While SEO has moved beyond word count, AI engines still favor comprehensive content. Pages under 800 words rarely achieve strong citations because they lack:

• Sufficient context for accurate extraction
• Multiple angles on the topic
• Supporting evidence and examples

Target: Minimum 1,200 words for primary content pieces. See our Content Team Workflow for guidelines.

6. Ignoring E-E-A-T Signals

AI engines heavily weight author credibility. Common E-E-A-T gaps:

• No author byline or bio
• Missing credentials or expertise indicators
• No “Last Updated” date
• No citations to authoritative sources

7. Poor Internal Linking Structure

AI engines use internal links to understand content relationships. Isolated pages without contextual links perform poorly.

Fix: Build topic clusters with clear pillar-cluster relationships. Link related content contextually within body text.

8. Generic Stock Visuals

Stock photos add no informational value. AI engines recognize and devalue them.

Better alternatives: Custom diagrams, data visualizations, screenshots, infographics, process flows.

9. Missing FAQ Sections

FAQ content is highly extractable by AI systems. Pages without FAQ sections miss opportunities for:

• Long-tail query coverage
• Structured Q&A extraction
• Rich result eligibility

10. Not Measuring AI-Specific Metrics

Teams tracking only traditional SEO metrics miss the full picture. GEO vs SEO measurement requires different KPIs.

Fix: Implement AI citation tracking. See our AEO Performance Metrics Guide.

Quick Diagnostic Checklist#

Use this checklist to quickly identify GEO issues on any page:

Conclusion#

The key takeaway: GEO vs SEO requires different optimization approaches. What works for traditional search rankings may actively hurt your AI citation rates.

Start with the diagnostic checklist above, fix critical issues first, then work through high and medium priority items. For ongoing optimization, use tools like Seenos to continuously monitor your GEO CORE score.