What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

Q: What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

The practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in traditional search engine results, like Google and Bing.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of improving a website's visibility in a traditional search engine's results — the ranked list of links on Google or Bing. The unit of success is position: where your page lands for a given keyword.

SEO covers technical work (crawlability, page speed, structured data), on-page work (titles, headings, internal links), and off-page work (backlinks, brand mentions) that together signal to a search engine that a page deserves to rank.

SEO isn't obsolete in the AI era — it's the foundation. Most AI engines retrieve answers from the same search indexes SEO targets, so pages that rank well in classic search tend to be the pages AI engines cite. Answer Engine Optimization and Generative Engine Optimization build directly on top of SEO rather than replacing it.

Example

A SaaS company ranks third on Google for "best analytics tool for startups," driving steady organic signups. When AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity later start citing sources for the same query, that well-optimized page is already in the search index they retrieve from — giving the company a head start on AI visibility without any extra work.

Related Terms

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)

Optimizing content so it becomes the direct answer an AI or search engine gives, rather than just a ranked link.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

Optimizing your brand's presence in AI-generated answers from engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude.

Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Machine-readable JSON-LD embedded in a page that states unambiguous facts about its content for crawlers and AI systems.

Backlink

A link from another website pointing to yours, treated by search and AI engines as a signal of trust and relevance.

Track your AI visibility with Kitbase

See how often ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude mention your brand, which domains they cite, and how you stack up against competitors.

Explore AI Visibility