Game plan for balancing AEO, SEO, and GEO in your 2026 strategy

Summary

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Voices of Search Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode: Game plan for balancing AEO, SEO, and GEO in your 2026 strategy
Air Date: August 30, 2025
Host: Sam
Guest: Amy Jarenka, SEO Sustainable

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the complexities of building an effective search strategy for 2026 by balancing Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), traditional SEO, and Geographic (GEO) strategies. Guest Amy Jarenka, an experienced SEO director, shares actionable advice on tracking performance, client communication, and the growing need for strategy customization in an evolving AI-driven search landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Strategic Planning for Balancing AEO, SEO, and GEO

• Understanding Client Segmentation:

  • The mix of AEO, SEO, and GEO will depend heavily on the client’s business type (e.g., B2B SaaS vs. local services like plumbing or HVAC).
  • Quote:

    "If you are a B2B SaaS company, it's going to be very different than that Plumber or H Vac client."
    — Amy Jarenka (00:56)

• Comprehensive Tracking:

  • Start by tracking where the majority of client traffic originates and pinpoint where growth opportunities are emerging.

2. Methodical Approach to Service Mapping

• Amy stresses the need to document and clearly differentiate what’s being done for each area (SEO, AEO, GEO), outlining:

  • Actions being continued for traditional SEO
  • Deprecated tactics that “don’t matter” anymore
  • New tactics for AEO and how efforts transition from old practices
  • Specifics for on-page, off-page, and technical SEO, with local (GEO) search handled as a distinct discipline

• Quote:

  "Here's what we're doing for traditional SEO, right? Here's what we're not doing anymore because it doesn't matter. Here's what we're doing brand new for AEO and here's what we're transitioning... Make it really clear and simple."
  — Amy Jarenka (01:35)

3. Clear Client Communication

• Importance of simplifying complex SEO strategies both for internal alignment and external client communication.

• Using templates and clear documentation to help clients understand what’s being done and why.

  • Quote:

    "The hardest part is simplifying it for me."
    — Amy Jarenka (03:33)

  • Sam points out the equal importance of making it comprehensible for clients.

    "But even simplifying it for the client."
    — Sam (03:43)

4. Customization Over Standardization

• The era of “generalized SEO marketing” is over; strategies now need to be tailored to each client’s unique context.
• The initial template is merely a starting point, with specialization necessary as strategies evolve.
• Quote:

  “We’re done with the generalized world. We’re done with generalized SEO marketing. We’re all going to have to do a lot more work and a lot more customized for each client as we go along.”
  — Amy Jarenka (04:10)

5. Adapting to the AI Search World

• AEO is becoming a primary focus to adapt to AI search advancements and position clients as data-backed thought leaders.

  • Quote:

    “We are definitely moving over to AEO because... you want to be your partner and moving you into an AI search world.”
    — Amy Jarenka (03:56)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On segmentation and planning:

  "If you are a B2B SaaS company, it's going to be very different than that Plumber or H Vac client."
  — Amy Jarenka (00:56)

• On documenting and clarifying strategies:

  "Make it really clear and simple."
  — Amy Jarenka (01:48)

• On the challenge of simplification:

  "The hardest part is simplifying it for me."
  — Amy Jarenka (03:33)

  "But even simplifying it for the client."
  — Sam (03:43)

• On the shift away from generalized tactics:

  “We’re done with the generalized world. We’re done with generalized SEO marketing.”
  — Amy Jarenka (04:10)

• On the move towards AEO and AI search:

  “We are definitely moving over to AEO because... you want to be your partner and moving you into an AI search world.”
  — Amy Jarenka (03:56)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:43] – Episode’s strategic focus question posed by Sam: balancing AEO, SEO, and GEO
• [00:56–02:02] – Amy’s comprehensive approach: tracking, segmenting, and charting efforts for each pillar
• [03:30] – Amy on the time and effort needed to plan and simplify strategies
• [03:43–04:10] – Conversation about the importance of foundational work, customization, and client communication

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Summary & Takeaways

• Balance and integration of AEO, SEO, and GEO must be anchored in a client-specific, data-driven approach.
• Systematic tracking and documentation are crucial—not just for operational clarity, but to effectively communicate strategy shifts to clients.
• The evolving search landscape, especially with AI and Answer Engines, necessitates tailored solutions, abandoning “one size fits all.”
• Client education and buy-in are built on clear explanations, demystification of technical processes, and transparent reporting.

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For more on Amy Jarenka or her agency, visit amyjarenka.com.

Transcript

[Jordan Cooney]

The Voices of Search Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com welcome to the Voices of Search Podcast. A member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network, ready to expedite your company's organic growth efforts. Sit back, relax, and get ready for your daily dose of search engine optimization wisdom. Here's today's host of the Voices of Search Podcast, Jordan Cooney.

[Sam]

Let's jump into our last lightning round question Game plan. You're an SEO Director at an agency. What's your game plan for balancing AEO, GEO and SEO in your 2026 strategy?

[Amy Jarenka]

Right? How do I do this? And so again, this comes back down to tracking. Where is the majority of that client's traffic coming from and where do we see the growth, right? If you are a B2B SaaS company, it's going to be very different than that Plumber or H Vac client. But as we're doing this, here's what I'm doing, right? Here's how what I'm doing and I am identifying in my brain and on paper and where I'm going. This is what we did for SEO. This is what we're doing for aeo. You know, this is what we're doing for geo, you know, this is what we're doing for aeo, slash geo, you know, how are we going to be explaining this to the clients? What terms are we going to be using? But here's what we owe and I've already got everybody trained that there's on page, right? There's off page, there's technical SEO. And then local SEO is a different type of SEO. So all my clients already know that. So I'm going to be able to do a chart. Here's what we're doing for traditional SEO, right? Here's what we're not doing anymore because it doesn't matter. Here's what we're doing, brand new for AEO and here's what we're transitioning that stuff that doesn't matter over into aeo. Here's what we're doing on page, off page, technical SEO. Here's our changes, here's our additions, here's our extractions. Make it really clear and simple.

[Sponsor Voice]

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[Amy Jarenka]

That also takes time for me to like spend a lot of time. Right. Formulating that and figuring out and then trying to simplify what I think I'm going to be doing and then how to deliver that, which is, you know, usually the hardest part is simplifying it for me. Right.

[Sam]

But even simplifying it for the client. Yeah, yeah. And I love the foundational nature that like you got to start with the foundation. If it's not there, then it's not going to scale anyway.

[Amy Jarenka]

Yeah, exactly. And that's how I plan on going about it. We are definitely moving over to AEO because we want to be your, you know, you want to be your, your partner and moving you into an AI search world. Right. I mean a lot of us, that's what a lot of us are, we're here to do. So we are going to be doing different tactics and doing different things. You know that that little template that I'm going to have. Right. Isn't going to be the same for every single client. That's just going to be the starter one. And then other clients are going to need specialty things because again, I keep saying we're done with the generalized world. We're done with generalized SEO marketing. We're all going to have to do a lot more work and we're all going to have to get a lot more customized for each client as we go along.

[Sam]

Yep. And that's a great place for us to wrap up this episode of the Voice of the Search podcast. Thank you to Amy Jarenka from SEO Sustainable for joining us. If you'd like to connect with Amy, you can find a link to her LinkedIn profile in our show notes [e-mail] for more information about Amy and SEO Sustainable, visit amyjarenka.com if you haven't subscribed yet and want a daily stream of SEO and content marketing knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed soon. Okay, that's all for today, but until next time, remember, the answers are always in the data. Sam.