AI SEO Melbourne

AI SEO — also called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) — is the practice of optimising your digital presence to be discovered and recommended by AI platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. While traditional SEO focuses on ranking in Google's ten blue links through backlinks and keyword optimisation, AI SEO focuses on entity building, schema markup, citation authority, and content structuring that AI models can parse and cite. The two approaches are complementary — strong traditional SEO creates the foundation that AI platforms build upon.

ChatGPT draws recommendations from its training data, which includes authoritative websites, directories, review platforms, and structured data across the web. To get mentioned, your business needs strong entity signals (consistent NAP data across 60+ directories), citations from authoritative Australian sources, comprehensive schema markup, and content that clearly establishes your expertise. We build these signals systematically through our CITE Framework — most Melbourne businesses see their first ChatGPT mentions within 3-4 months.

Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above the traditional search results for approximately 47% of Australian searches. Powered by Google's Gemini model, they synthesise information from multiple web sources to answer queries directly — often without the user needing to click any link. For Melbourne businesses, this means your website might never get visited even if you rank on page one. Optimising for AI Overviews requires structured data, topical authority, concise quotable content, and strong E-E-A-T signals. Getting cited in an AI Overview can deliver more qualified traffic than a position-one organic ranking.

GEO is the umbrella term for optimising content to appear in AI-generated responses from platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity. Where traditional SEO targets search engine crawlers, GEO targets Large Language Models (LLMs). This involves structuring content using the inverted pyramid method so AI can easily extract direct answers, building entity authority through co-citation and co-occurrence, implementing comprehensive schema markup, and creating FAQ content that matches the conversational queries users ask AI assistants. Our AI SEO services encompass full GEO optimisation for Melbourne businesses.

Schema markup is structured data code that explicitly tells AI systems what your business is, what services you offer, your location, reviews, pricing, and more. Without it, AI models have to guess — and they often guess wrong or skip you entirely. We implement LocalBusiness schema (hours, location, price range), Service schema (specific offerings), Review schema (star ratings), FAQ schema (common questions), and Speakable schema (content optimised for voice assistants). Comprehensive schema implementation typically improves AI visibility scores by 30-50% alone.

An llms.txt file works like robots.txt but for AI models. It sits in your website's root directory and provides explicit instructions to Large Language Models about your business — who you are, what you do, where you're located, and what you want to be recommended for. While it's still an emerging standard, early adopters gain a significant advantage because AI crawlers actively look for these signals. We implement llms.txt as part of every AI SEO engagement alongside comprehensive schema markup and technical optimisation.

AI SEO typically shows initial improvements in 2-4 months as AI models update their knowledge bases. Schema markup improvements can impact Google AI Overviews within weeks, while ChatGPT and Gemini mentions depend on when these models next update their training data. Full optimisation with consistent AI recommendations usually takes 4-6 months of sustained effort. The timeline varies by industry competitiveness — a Melbourne dentist in a less competitive suburb may see results faster than a law firm in the CBD.

Small businesses actually have the biggest opportunity in AI SEO right now. When someone asks ChatGPT for "the best café in Fitzroy with outdoor seating", the AI doesn't favour big brands — it favours businesses with the strongest entity signals, best reviews, and most structured data. Most large competitors haven't implemented AI SEO yet, which means a well-optimised small business can leapfrog them in AI recommendations. Our Melbourne industry audits show that over 85% of local businesses have zero AI optimisation, giving early movers a massive competitive advantage.

We track AI visibility through multiple metrics: AI Visibility Score (our proprietary audit measuring schema, entity, content, and trust signals), AI Overview citation rate (how often your business appears in Google's AI summaries), ChatGPT and Gemini mention frequency (tested across industry-relevant prompts), citation traffic (referrals from AI platforms tracked through UTM parameters and referrer data), and brand search volume growth. You receive monthly reports showing movement across all AI platforms alongside traditional SEO metrics.

Absolutely. Traditional SEO and AI SEO are complementary — not competing strategies. Strong traditional SEO provides the domain authority, indexation, and topical relevance that AI platforms use as trust signals. Google's AI Overviews, for example, primarily cite content that already ranks well organically. We layer AI optimisation on top of your existing SEO foundation, enhancing both channels simultaneously. The Melbourne businesses seeing the best results in 2026 invest in both.

AI SEO pricing depends on your current digital footprint, industry competitiveness, and scope of work needed. A standalone AI visibility audit and schema implementation might be a one-off project, while ongoing entity building and content optimisation is a monthly engagement. We offer a free AI Visibility Audit so you can see exactly where you stand and what needs attention before committing to anything. Book your free audit and we'll provide a tailored quote based on your specific situation.

This is a critical distinction many agencies blur. "Using AI for SEO" means using tools like ChatGPT or Jasper to write blog posts and do keyword research — that's just automation. "AI SEO" (what we do) means optimising your business to be discovered and recommended BY AI platforms when potential customers ask them questions. One uses AI as a tool; the other treats AI platforms as a search channel to be optimised for. Both are valuable, but they're fundamentally different strategies with different outcomes.