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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

The GEO agency that gets AI to recommend you

More and more people ask AI their questions instead of Google. We make businesses in the Netherlands visible in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, backed by our own research.

The basics

What is GEO?

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is a marketing strategy that optimizes your online presence so AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews recommend your business in their answers. Traditional SEO is about ranking high in Google's search results. GEO focuses specifically on getting your business into AI-generated answers.

AI search engines work in a fundamentally different way than traditional search engines. They don't just crawl your website. They analyze your entire online footprint: your content, mentions, reviews, structured data, and how consistent and trustworthy your information looks.

GEO makes AI work for you, not against you.

AI platforms where GEO helps you

  • ChatGPT (OpenAI)
  • Perplexity AI
  • Google AI Overviews
  • Claude (Anthropic)
  • Microsoft Copilot

Why it matters now

AI isn't the future of search. It's happening now.

Google shows AI Overviews for more and more searches. ChatGPT has more than 300 million weekly users. Perplexity grew 15x in a single year. Businesses that invest in GEO now are building a lead that will be very hard to close later.

300M+

weekly ChatGPT users

25%+

of Google searches show an AI Overview

15x

Perplexity growth in one year

Curious where the Netherlands stands? Our study of the robots.txt files of the 500 most popular .nl sites found that 1 in 5 blocks at least one AI crawler. And the bot you block decides whether you still show up in AI answers. Read the AI crawler study.

Original research

What happens when AI skips your site as a source

We asked ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity 185 customer questions about 37 Dutch brands and checked 1,917 answers against verified facts. A clear pattern emerged, and it goes straight to the heart of GEO.

When ChatGPT described a brand correctly, the information came from the brand's own domain 81.8% of the time. In incorrect answers, that dropped to just 55.1%. Comparison and affiliate sites, on the other hand, showed up five times as often in the wrong answers: 20.4% versus 4.1%. Gemini paints the same picture. There, 39.8% of incorrect answers relied on a comparison site, compared with 23.0% of correct ones.

1,917

AI answers checked against verified facts

37

Dutch brands tested on three AI models

5x

as often, a wrong ChatGPT answer leans on a comparison site

If AI can't reach your own site, someone else tells your story. And that story is wrong more often.

That's what GEO is about: making sure your site is the source an AI model goes back to. Read the full study, including the methodology and the numbers for each model.

Our method

Three pillars of AI visibility

Content and authority

  • Factual depth and original data that AI recognizes as authoritative
  • Clear definitions and a logical structure machines can process with ease
  • Quotable passages AI models can lift word for word

Technical structure

  • Schema markup and JSON-LD that help AI understand your content exactly
  • FAQ schema, organization markup, and structured data on every page
  • A technical foundation that wins over both Google and AI models

Online presence

  • Consistent mentions on the platforms AI models pull from
  • Strong reviews and authority signals in your industry
  • The more often AI comes across your name, the sooner it recommends you
BNR NieuwsradioDe Technoloog · August 2026 · in Dutch

From SEO to GEO: how chatbots are changing the entire internet

Matt Timmermans explains to hosts Ben van der Burg and Mark Beekhuis how brands end up in AI answers, using the numbers from our study of 1,917 AI answers.

The benefits

What does GEO deliver?

GEO opens up an entirely new channel for winning customers. You get found not just in Google, but also on the AI platforms where more and more people ask their first question.

  • AI chatbots recommend your business to potential customers
  • More traffic from Google AI Overviews and featured snippets
  • Stronger authority that also lifts your traditional SEO rankings
  • A first-mover advantage in a channel most competitors haven't discovered yet
  • A future-proof strategy for a search landscape that changes fast
  • Measurable results: you know exactly which AI answers mention you

Results in practice

AI recommends our clients

Real ChatGPT results from clients we work with. This is what generative engine optimization looks like.

ChatGPT recommends Own Property Abroad as the top result for buying property in Indonesia
GEO result

Own Property Abroad

Own Property Abroad helps international buyers purchase real estate in Southeast Asia. When someone asks ChatGPT where to find information about buying property in Indonesia, Own Property Abroad comes up as the #1 recommendation.

Results

#1

recommendation in ChatGPT, measured January 2026

+83%

AI traffic, September through December 2025

Real estate

international market

ChatGPT recommends Zenchef as the top restaurant management software in Amsterdam
GEO result

Zenchef

Zenchef is a restaurant management platform used by more than 25,000 restaurants across Europe. When a restaurant owner in Amsterdam asks ChatGPT for the best management software, Zenchef is recommended as the #1 option.

Results

#1

recommendation in ChatGPT, measured December 2025

SaaS

hospitality industry

Google AI Overview recommends Bitvavo as the top exchange for buying Bitcoin in the Netherlands
GEO result

Bitvavo

Bitvavo is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Europe. With SEO and GEO content for 400+ coin pages and 60+ Learn articles, Bitvavo ranks #1 in the Google AI Overview for where to buy Bitcoin in the Netherlands (measured November 2025).

Results

#1

in Google AI Overview, measured November 2025

400+

coin pages written

Landloom, a real estate data platform for Bali and Lombok
SEO and GEO result

Landloom

+284% organic traffic in 12 months with SEO and generative engine optimization (GA4, April 2025 through March 2026).

Results

+284%

organic traffic, April 2025 through March 2026

12,847

users in 12 months

Yezzer, an insurance platform for freelancers and small businesses
GEO optimization

Yezzer

GEO optimization of insurance pages, articles, and original research for an insurance platform.

GEO cases by industry: real estate (Own Property Abroad, Landloom), hospitality SaaS (Zenchef), crypto (Bitvavo), and business insurance (Yezzer).

How it works

From analysis to results

AI visibility analysis

We look at how your business performs today in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and other AI platforms. Where do you get mentioned? Where are you missing? And what are your competitors doing?

Strategy and roadmap

Based on that analysis, we build a concrete roadmap with clear priorities. Which content, technical changes, and authority signals will pay off fastest?

Implementation

We put the strategy to work: creating and optimizing content, adding technical schema markup, and strengthening your presence on the platforms AI models consult.

Monitoring and optimization

AI models change all the time. We track your visibility, test new prompts, and adjust the strategy based on what works.

About us

Why Timmermans Media?

GEO is new, but the foundation isn't. Matt Timmermans has been writing SEO content since 2018 and has helped 70+ businesses improve their online visibility. Years of experience with how search engines judge content is exactly what successful GEO takes.

As early adopters of AI tools, we understand not only how AI models process information, but also how they pick sources and shape their recommendations. That combination sets us apart in the Dutch market.

4.8/5

Google rating

#1

GEO agency in the Netherlands

Book a call
Matt Timmermans

Our clients

Trusted by over 70 businesses

From startups to household names, in the Netherlands and beyond

Business Insider logo, media and publishers, client of Timmermans Media
Bitvavo logo, fintech and crypto exchanges, client of Timmermans Media
Coinmerce logo, fintech and crypto exchanges, client of Timmermans Media
Blox logo, fintech and crypto exchanges, client of Timmermans Media
CryptoRadar logo, crypto and investment media, client of Timmermans Media
Zenchef logo, SaaS and platforms, client of Timmermans Media
Landloom logo, SaaS and platforms, client of Timmermans Media
Perfect Day logo, SaaS and platforms, client of Timmermans Media

Reviews

What our clients say

We asked Matt Timmermans of Timmermans Media to improve our online visibility. Since Matt took this on, we have clearly been receiving more enquiries via Google and ChatGPT, which leads to better jobs and higher revenue.

MT

Marc Timmermans

MT Kluswerk

I have been working with Matt for a few months now and I am very pleased with it. Matt is very approachable and has good ideas for improving the visibility of our online store. Matt writes new blogs for us and rewrites our old ones. The blogs are well put together and cite good sources. I appreciate that Matt discusses in a constructive way what we can improve in our e-commerce.

E

Edwin

Leander Healthcare

A really pleasant collaboration with Matt! He carried out a thorough audit of our shop and we could get started on every point right away. He was always very involved throughout the process.

JK

Jeroen Kwekel

Braadbaas

Matt is a fantastic SEO and GEO advisor. He quickly generated concise, actionable feedback for my web site, and included a comprehensive report. I would highly recommend him to anyone wanting to optimize their online marketing visibility in this rapidly-evolving era of AI.

AP

A Pk

Krowne Law

I've been working with Matt as our freelance Dutch translator at Zenchef, and I couldn't be more satisfied. He's reliable, fast, and delivers consistently high-quality work. I especially appreciate his attention to detail and ability to adapt to our tone of voice. Highly recommended!

EC

Eve-Anne Collomb

Zenchef

To put it simply, Matt is the king of copywriting. Professional, flexible and reliable. We have been working with him for a year and are very happy with his work and input.

AM

Armijn Meijer

Game.nl

We've been working with Timmermans Media on cryptocurrency-related blog articles for our guide and have had a very good experience. The content quality was solid, delivery on time, and only minimal corrections were needed. A reliable partner for crypto content creation.

OK

Oliver Korda

Cryptoradar

Matt delivered outstanding copy for our crypto platform. Professional, fast and always of high quality.

DVG

David van Gaalen

Crypto.be

Matt designed a beautiful modern website for Vincentius that we are very happy with. Fast, professional and always thinking along with us.

RH

Rob Hulskes

Vincentiusvereniging Boxtel

Matt is a star! Technically strong, works fast and very helpful. The collaboration is going really well. The same goes for brainstorming about how to turn problems into concrete solutions. A true all-rounder with skills in website development, SEO, content writing and more. Highly recommended!

BK

Bastiaan Konijnenbelt

The Vitality School

Keep reading

Original research on GEO and AI visibility

In-depth studies on how ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity choose their sources and talk about brands.

Brand mentions

How consistent are AI brand mentions? A study of 60 buying questions

60 buying questions, each asked 8 times to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. A single answer isn't enough to tell how often a brand gets mentioned.

Read the study
llms.txt

Does llms.txt work for AI citations? A study of 3,048 websites

We checked 3,048 websites. Sites that got cited were no more likely to have an llms.txt than sites from Google's top 10 that didn't get cited.

Read the study
Small websites

Does ChatGPT cite small websites? A study of 400 questions

400 Dutch-language questions, plus the estimated Google traffic of every website cited. Plenty of these sites get cited, but each one shows up in only a few answers.

Read the study
Google rankings

Does ChatGPT use Google results? What 1,200 answers show

400 Dutch-language questions compared with same-day Google results. ChatGPT writes its own search queries, often with brand names, and usually cites different pages.

Read the study

Want the full picture? See all our research.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between GEO and SEO?+

SEO is about ranking in Google's traditional search results. GEO is about showing up in AI-generated answers, like the ones from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The two work hand in hand. Strong SEO gives GEO a solid foundation, but GEO takes extra work, such as structured data, quotable content, and consistent mentions across the web.

Does GEO work for every type of business?+

Yes. Whether you're a local service provider, run an online store, or own a B2B company, more and more potential customers use AI tools to find suppliers, compare products, and get advice. The sooner you respond to that shift, the bigger your lead.

How quickly will I see results from GEO?+

The first improvements often show up within 4 to 8 weeks, depending on your current online presence. Technical fixes like schema markup work fast. Optimizing content and building authority signals are ongoing efforts that really start to pay off after 3 to 6 months.

Can I combine GEO with SEO?+

Absolutely, and we recommend it. Much of the work you do for GEO (better content, structured data, more authority) also helps your SEO rankings. We offer programs that bring both strategies together for the best possible results.

How much does GEO cost?+

The investment depends on your industry, your competition, and your current online presence. We always start with a free analysis to find your biggest opportunities. From there, we put together a custom proposal. Get in touch for a no-obligation conversation.

How do you measure whether GEO is working?+

We monitor your visibility on AI platforms by regularly testing relevant prompts and tracking how often, and in what context, your business gets mentioned. We also measure traffic from AI sources, the quality of that traffic, and its impact on leads and conversions.

What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?+

AEO is the more widely used term for optimizing for search engines that give direct answers, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. People often use AEO and GEO interchangeably. In practice, the work is largely the same: structured data, quotable content, and strong authority signals.

How do I get found in ChatGPT?+

To get found in ChatGPT, your content has to be quotable, your brand needs mentions on authoritative outside sources, and schema markup has to make your content semantically clear to AI models. A consistent presence on Wikipedia, industry directories, and review sites strengthens that signal.

How do I optimize content for AI?+

AI models favor clear structure, concrete definitions, lists, and factual statements. Lead with the answer, use semantic headings, add schema markup, and build E-E-A-T signals through author bios and cited sources. Short, quotable passages get picked up more often than long rhetorical sentences.

Is GEO tied to a region, the way local SEO is?+

No. AI search engines build their answers from sources, not from a zip code. Whether someone asks ChatGPT a question from North Brabant or from Groningen, the cited sources are the same. That said, there are still few Dutch-language sources on most topics, so whoever earns a spot now tends to keep it for a while.

More services

GEO works best as part of the mix

GEO is at its most powerful when you pair it with strong SEO, high-quality content, and a fast website.

Astronaut floating in space as a visual for the Timmermans Media call to action

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