Visibility 3.0
Visibility is neither luck nor a secret, it is the sum of many things done properly. I show that on a project I am responsible for myself, with numbers rather than promises.
Visibility 3.0
Self initiated, planned on a SISTRIX competitive analysis against the market leaders and delivered. Results in a 28 day comparison, as of 03.08.2026.
- Used equipment pillar, cost pillar and used formwork pillar, category rehab with transactional H1s.
- 24 guide articles live in 5 clusters, 16 SEO articles from my own editorial plan, keywords up to 88,100 search volume.
- AEO and GEO: FAQ schema as JSON-LD on 11 pages, an own GEO guide for optimising towards AI search systems.
- 2 calculator landing pages, about 30 new internal links, guides added as the 5th main navigation item.
- Offpage: link audit via SISTRIX API, toxic legacy subdomains shut down and disavowed, Wikidata entry Q139591410 expanded.
- SEA on geruest.com, 28 days: € 3,666 spend, 6,510 clicks, CTR 6.77 %, avg. CPC € 0.56, 42 conversions.
Four disciplines, one outcome
SEO, SEA, AEO and GEO are often sold as four separate offerings. In practice they draw on the same foundation: a site whose structure, content and facts hold up. Buying them separately means paying three times for the same groundwork and ending up with statements that contradict each other.
- SEO makes sure the pages someone is searching for exist at all: pillar pages, clean categories, transactional headings, internal linking, a technically sound base.
- SEA buys reach where nothing ranks organically yet, and delivers the most honest keyword data there is along the way.
- AEO answers the question directly, in the language of the question, with FAQ schema and visible text that matches the schema word for word.
- GEO makes the facts citable for AI search systems: structured data, unambiguous entities, Wikidata, consistent figures across every language.
What actually happened in one year
The starting point was a SISTRIX competitive analysis against the market leaders in the industry. Not to see how far behind we were, but to find where the market leaders themselves had gaps. That produced an editorial plan, and the plan was worked through.
- Three pillar pages on the highest-volume topics: used equipment, cost, and used formwork, each as a standalone entry page rather than a paragraph on a catch-all page.
- Category rehab with transactional H1s, because category pages are the largest untapped potential in many stores.
- 24 guide articles across five clusters, 16 of them from my own editorial plan, with keywords up to 88,100 monthly searches.
- Two calculator landing pages and around 30 new internal links, plus the guide section as a fifth main navigation item.
- Off-page: link audit via the SISTRIX API, toxic legacy subdomains shut down and disavowed.
Ads as a data source, not just reach
Over 28 days: 3,666 euros spent, 6,510 clicks, a click-through rate of 6.77 per cent, an average cost per click of 0.56 euros and 42 conversions. Those numbers are not only an outcome, they are material. Every search term that led to a conversion is evidence of where an organic page is worth building.
The reverse holds too: what is expensive in paid search and does not convert does not need its own organic page either. That way paid search helps fund the prioritisation in SEO instead of running alongside it.
Staying visible when nobody clicks any more
A growing share of searches ends in an answer rather than a click. Anyone who does not appear as a source in that answer disappears from view without a single ranking dropping. That is the uncomfortable property of this shift: it does not hurt until it does.
The good news is that GEO is not a second construction site. AI systems cite what is unambiguous, consistent and structured. Sound SEO delivers exactly that anyway, it just has to be thought through to the end.
- FAQ schema as JSON-LD, with visible text that matches the schema word for word. Divergence between the two is the most common reason answers are not served.
- Unambiguous entities: who the company is, what it does, where it is based, what else it is called. For cetrac that meant building out the Wikidata entry Q139591410, a strong lever because AI systems read that source.
- Consistency across every language version: the same figure must not differ between the German and the Spanish edition.
- A dedicated GEO guide for AI search systems, so the facts exist in the form they are needed in.
- Facts with evidence instead of marketing language. A system cites a number, not a self-description.
Frequently asked questions about visibility
What is the difference between SEO, SEA, AEO and GEO?
SEO makes sure your pages are found in organic Google search. SEA buys ad placements in the same search. AEO, answer engine optimization, shapes content so it is served as a direct answer, for example in a featured snippet or a Google AI overview. GEO, generative engine optimization, makes your facts citable for generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity. Four disciplines, but one job: the foundation is the same clean structure for all of them.
Do I really need GEO already?
A growing share of searches ends in an answer rather than a click. Anyone who does not appear as a source there disappears from view without a single ranking dropping. The effort is manageable because GEO builds on the same foundation as good SEO: unambiguous entities, structured data, facts that are identical across every language version. For cetrac.com that included building out the Wikidata entry Q139591410.
How long does SEO take to work?
Technical fixes take effect within weeks, new content takes months. On the cetrac.com project the SISTRIX visibility index rose from 0.0117 in December 2025 to 0.0524 in August 2026, an all-time high for the domain, and that took a good six months. Anyone promising faster results means either ads or numbers nobody checks.
What is the point of paid search if I already rank organically?
Two things. First, reach where nothing ranks organically yet, for instance new products or new markets. Second, and often underestimated, the most honest keyword data there is: search terms that actually produced clicks and purchases. That data flows back into the organic work.
How do I tell that my SEO is not working?
High impressions with very few clicks. That means Google shows your page but nobody considers it the right answer, usually because title and description miss the question or the page sits at position 8 to 15. That is good news and bad news at once: the substance is there, the last step is missing.
Do you work with guarantees or fixed positions?
No, and nobody should. Positions depend on competition and algorithm, both outside my control. What I do promise is transparency: you see the same numbers I do, from Search Console, analytics and SISTRIX, and you learn what was done and what it achieved.
Do you do this for other languages and countries?
Yes. Market adaptation instead of literal translation, with dedicated keyword research per target market, because people search differently in Spain than in Germany. For cetrac.com seven language versions came out of this, and I work in Spanish, German and English myself.
Wondering what is holding your visibility back? Write to me and I will gladly tell you what I would look at first.