// Guide_03

    How to evaluate a GEO agency in 2026.

    The category is new enough that anyone can claim it. Five questions separate measurement-led GEO from rebranded content marketing.

    Generative engine optimization is a real discipline with a short history and a lot of opportunists. These five questions expose whether an agency has a method or a deck. Ask them in this order and the shortlist gets very short very quickly.

    // Key_Takeaways

    • A GEO agency without a fixed, repeated probe set has no way to prove anything.
    • Entity engineering — @id, sameAs, knowsAbout — is the technical core of GEO and is easy to verify.
    • Corroboration strategy matters as much as on-site work; models cross-check claims.

    Ask to see the probe set. If there isn't one, there is no GEO program.

    — Arise GEO, GEO Agencies

    GEO without entity engineering is just content marketing with better vocabulary.

    — Arise GEO, GEO Agencies
    5
    Questions to ask
    5 engines
    Coverage standard
    Monthly
    Reporting cadence
    180-day
    Our guarantee
    // Question 1

    Show me your probe set methodology

    How are queries chosen, how many, how often are they repeated, and how is variance handled? Vagueness here means no measurement.

    • Query selection from real demand
    • Repeat runs per cycle
    • Variance handling
    • Archived transcripts
    // Question 2

    Which engines and how are they accessed?

    Coverage across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Mode, with a documented and consistent access method.

    • Five-engine coverage
    • Consistent access method
    • Market and language coverage
    • Competitor tracking
    // Question 3

    Can you build an entity graph?

    Ask for an example: connected Organization, Person, Product and Service nodes with stable @id anchors and verified sameAs.

    • Example graph on a live site
    • sameAs verification process
    • knowsAbout declarations
    • Validation and monitoring
    // Questions 4–5

    Corroboration and reporting

    What's the off-site plan, and what does the monthly report actually contain? Citation frequency and share-of-voice, or screenshots?

    • Third-party source strategy
    • Digital PR coordination
    • Citation frequency reporting
    • Change-to-outcome log
    // The_Contract

    The 180-day money-back guarantee.

    We can promise this because our methodology already works. Hundreds of pages now sit in position #1 across our clients' catalogs. The risk shouldn't be on you — it's on us.

    • 01We run the full 10-stage audit and deliver a sequenced 90-day plan.
    • 02You implement our recommendations (or hire us to implement them).
    • 03If you don't see measurable ranking and revenue improvement in 3–6 months — we refund you. In full.
    Lock in your audit slot →
    // Frequently_Asked

    Questions about this engagement.

    Is GEO a separate hire from SEO?+

    It shouldn't be. AI engines retrieve from the crawled index, so splitting the two across vendors creates handoff problems.

    What should a GEO program cost?+

    It's normally scoped inside an SEO or GEO retainer rather than sold separately; probe volume and engine count are the cost drivers.

    How quickly should we expect movement?+

    30–60 days on long-tail and comparison prompts, 3–6 months on category-head prompts.

    Can anyone guarantee AI citations?+

    No. Be sceptical of anyone who does. We guarantee measurable movement on the tracked probe set or a refund.

    // Keep_Reading
    GEO agency →GEO hub →GEO audit cost →

    Ask us all five questions.

    Audits scoped within 24 hours. Results within 90 days, or your money back.

    Request Your Audit →