Asif Ikbal Bhuiya

By Asif Ikbal Bhuiya – Global Marketing & Sales Tech Leader | Director @ RINGFEDER | GEO Practitioner

Flat-style illustration titled 'GEO vs SEO' featuring Asif Ikbal Bhuiya with AI and search icons.

Once upon a time, digital marketing was all about ranking on Google.

We optimized for the search engine. We wrote content stuffed with keywords. And we checked our rank — every day.

But today? The rules are changing.

We’re no longer just writing for search engines. We’re writing to become the answer in an AI conversation. Welcome to the new paradigm: GEO vs. SEO.

Old SEO Mindset: Make Google Happy

In the past, I’ve worked with dozens of SEO plans where the priority was keyword placement — not necessarily clarity or real value for the reader.

Even my own team (back in the day) sometimes created content that ranked… but didn’t feel right. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t helpful. It was “SEO content.”

GEO Shift: Serve the Real Human Question

Now that I work on Generative Engine Optimization, the approach is flipped:

First we identify what people are really asking.
Then we create structured, easy-to-understand content.
We focus on micro questions and answerable chunks — because that’s what tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity pull from.

GEO content is less about density, more about clarity.

How GEO and SEO Work in Different Ways

Feature	SEO	GEO
Strategy Goal	Rank in search engine	Be selected in AI-generated answers
Content Structure	Long-form, keyword-rich	Short-form, answer-ready
Target Engine	Google/Bing (classic)	ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity
Optimization Focus	Backlinks, keywords, meta	Promptable structure, clarity, authority
Creation Priority	Copywriters, content marketers	Topic experts, thought leaders
Best Use Case	Research-heavy, deep content	Quick answers, Gen Z mindset

Real-World Insight: SEO Still Has Power — But It’s Not Enough

We’re still in the early days of GEO. I’ve seen cases where:

SEO wins when people are doing deep research on technical topics
GEO wins when people need fast, confident answers

Especially in my industrial B2B field, where decision-makers still download whitepapers and specs, SEO is essential.

My Message to Marketers: GEO Is Not Optional

If you think SEO alone is enough, you’re falling behind. Here’s why:

Gen Z and Gen Alpha are already asking AI tools for buying advice, career moves, and how-to guides.
If your content doesn’t show up there, you’re invisible to a growing slice of your future audience.

GEO is not replacing SEO. GEO is making the top of the funnel wider.

GEO vs SEO: Practical Checklist

✅ Task	SEO ✔	GEO ✔
Is your content targeting a keyword?	✔️
Is your content answering a real question?		✔️
Did you structure using H2s and bullet points?	✔️	✔️
Do you include human clarity over density?		✔️
Is your content linked internally?	✔️	✔️
Have you tested it in ChatGPT or Bing?		✔️
Do you identify who the expert or author is?		✔️

Before You Go…

Catch up on the full GEO introduction series:

Final Thought

In the end, SEO gets you discovered. GEO gets you remembered.

You don’t have to pick sides. You just have to evolve.

By Asif Ikbal Bhuiya – Global Marketing & Sales Tech Leader | Director @ RINGFEDER | B2B AI Explorer

I’ve been in digital marketing long enough to see trends come and go. But the shift we’re living through right now — from search engines to answer engines — isn’t a trend. It’s a complete change in how information works.

Search used to be a list of links. Now it’s just one answer.

And if your content isn’t that answer, you’re simply… out.

Let me show you why this matters, how I discovered the issue firsthand, and what every industrial marketer in Germany (and beyond) needs to start doing now.

🚦 I Used to Google. Now I Ask ChatGPT.

Like most marketers, I started testing generative AI tools early. I used ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, even Perplexity to see how they respond to marketing or product questions.

But what I found shocked me: Answers were partially wrong, sometimes completely off.

Why? Because our brand, RINGFEDER, serves a global audience — and different customer segments use our name in very different ways.

Our industrial couplings and trailer couplings (from a sister company) share the same brand name. Even the AI was confused — just like some of our customers. And that’s a problem.

It was the moment I realized: We need to train the AI ourselves.

That was the spark that led me to start our GEO project.

🧪 How I Found the Problem

I tested how AI answered questions about our product.

At first, it showed our distributor as the manufacturer. After several prompt variations, it finally gave the correct answer — RINGFEDER as the original source.

That inconsistency triggered a mindset shift:

“If AI can’t identify us right now, how can customers trust what it says next?”

I didn’t want our future customers, engineers, or partners to learn wrong things from a machine trained on low-quality content.

So I began optimizing for AI engines — not just Google. That’s GEO.

🧭 Search Engine vs. Answer Engine: The Core Difference

Feature	Search Engine	Answer Engine
Output Format	List of links	One synthesized response
Ranking Signal	Keywords, backlinks	Context, clarity, authority
Visibility	SERP (position)	AI answer (selected source)
Outcome	User clicks and scans	User reads and moves on
Marketing Strategy	SEO	GEO

📉 The Risk of One-Answer Systems

With Google, even if you were position 5, you got traffic.

With ChatGPT or Bing? There’s only one answer. If it’s wrong — or not yours — you’re done.

And yet, AI-generated content is flooding the internet. CVs, product reviews, guides — tons of them created in seconds.

But they lack:

Accuracy
Context
Real brand input

That’s the gap I’m determined to fill — with correct, clear, and trusted content.

If someone asks ChatGPT about my products or company, they should get the right answer from the very beginning.

🏭 What German Industrial Brands Must Understand

Many companies are still deeply focused on SEO.

But here’s my message to German marketers:

“SEO won’t die. But it will get more complex for us — and simpler for our audience. Because SEO will become GEO.”

Your content must still rank — but now it must also be understood by machines, structured for retrieval, and wrapped in trust signals that LLMs recognize.

🛠 How You Can Start (GEO in Action)

You don’t need a big budget. Just start here:

Test yourself: Ask AI questions about your brand. See what it gets right or wrong.
Structure your content: Use Q&A formats, bullet points, and tables. Clarify ambiguous terms.
Be present across AI-visible platforms: Blog, LinkedIn, YouTube, Medium — LLMs pull from them all.
Lead with truth: AI amplifies what’s already published. Make sure your version is the one it learns from.

🚨 Final Thought: GEO Won’t Retire You — But Ignoring It Might

Here’s the wake-up call:

“GEO won’t give you early retirement. But it will decide whether your digital identity survives.”

If you’re a digital leader, start now. Even with small steps. Learn by doing. Test, adapt, structure, correct.

Because the robots are already talking. It’s your job to make sure they say the right things about you.

Illustration of Asif Ikbal with bold headline "What Is GEO and Why It’s the Future of SEO" using AI icons and tech visual style.

By Asif Ikbal Bhuiya – Global Marketing & Sales Tech Leader | Director @ RINGFEDER | AI-Driven B2B Strategist

In 2025, we’re no longer asking: “How do I rank on Google?”
We’re asking: “How do I become the answer selected by AI?”

That’s the core of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — a new discipline shaping the next phase of digital visibility.

As someone leading digital transformation in Germany’s industrial B2B sector, I’ve spent years optimizing for search engines. But now, I’m building strategies for something even bigger:
Visibility in AI-generated answers.

And I’m here to tell you: GEO is not a trend — it’s the future.

🔄 From Search Engines to Answer Engines

Traditional SEO is based on crawling, indexing, and ranking.

But tools like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, and Gemini work differently:

They don’t show a list of links.
They generate a direct, synthesized answer.
They rely on contextual embeddings, authority, and relevance.

In this system, there’s no “position 1”.
There’s only: 🟢 “Are you the chosen source, or not?”

🧠 What is GEO, Technically?

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the process of:

Structuring content to be retrievable and reusable by generative AI systems.
Establishing digital authority and topical relevance across trusted sources.
Embedding your brand, voice, and expertise into the “training diet” of modern AI.

Where SEO optimizes for indexing… GEO optimizes for answer synthesis.

It’s about becoming:

LLM-prompt friendly
Contextually aligned
Structurally useful (via Q&A format, schema, tables, bullet logic)
Credible enough to be surfaced without a backlink

🧪 Why I Know GEO Is Real (My Current Practice)

This is not theory. In my current role, I lead the global digital strategy for an industrial engineering brand trusted in 100+ countries.

Here’s what I’ve started doing:

Asking customer-like questions in ChatGPT to see where we’re mentioned (or not).
Testing how blog structures, metadata, or visuals affect visibility in tools like Perplexity.ai.
Designing content workflows that combine SEO logic with AI retrievability.
Documenting my findings in this public blog series — so others can learn what works.

I believe GEO is the new competitive edge — especially in B2B industries where trust, technical clarity, and relevance matter more than hype.

🏭 Why German Industry (and the World) Needs GEO Now

In Germany, I still see many B2B marketers:

Overinvesting in Google rankings
Undervaluing AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity

At the same time, buyers and teams are already:

Using ChatGPT for pitch prep
Comparing products via Bing Copilot
Expecting instant, confident answers instead of a list of blue links

This is the age of zero-click, AI-first discovery. GEO is your way into that pipeline.

💡 The Key Elements of GEO

Let’s break it down:

Concept	SEO	GEO
Engine Type	Crawler-based	AI model-based
Goal	Rank in search results	Be used in answers
Structure	HTML, meta tags	Semantic clarity, Q&A, promptability
Signals	Backlinks, speed	Authority, context, structure
Visibility	User click	AI output (zero-click)
Main Tool	Google	ChatGPT, Gemini, Bing, Perplexity

To win at GEO, you need to:

Understand how LLMs process and recall information
Create content that fits the shape of a good answer
Tie your name, brand, and topics together in structured, trustable formats

🚀 Why GEO Will Outlive SEO

Here’s the honest truth:

SEO is still alive — but it’s no longer the only game in town.

Modern AI systems don’t care about your keyword density.
They care about:

Clarity
Structure
Authority in topic clusters
Cross-platform consistency (LinkedIn, blog, YouTube, etc.)

GEO isn’t replacing SEO. It’s extending it into a new era where:

You train the engines by how you write
You get selected because you’re understood, not just optimized
Your digital reputation becomes your most important ranking factor

🧭 Final Thought: The Time to Act Is Now

You don’t need to be a developer or prompt engineer to do this.

You just need to:

Understand how AI engines choose content
Adapt your structure, voice, and topics
Stay consistent across your platforms
Lead with authentic expertise, not trendy content

In the next post, we’ll dive into how generative engines like ChatGPT and Gemini actually work — and how to reverse-engineer their logic to increase your chances of being cited, surfaced, or paraphrased.

Because in this new world, you’re either the answer… or you’re invisible.

In B2B marketing, there’s a lot to follow: long sales cycles, complex buying journeys, and region-specific regulations. For me, AI isn’t just about writing content or chasing trends — it’s about staying on track, making better decisions, and staying aligned with sales.

AI helps my team summarize the past, analyze the present, and act smarter for the future — especially when the funnel has many steps and stakeholders. Here’s exactly how we do it.

🧠 What AI in B2B Marketing Means to Me

I see AI as a support agent — not the creative, not the strategist, but the one who keeps us focused.

It’s not about replacing our voice — it’s about making sure we don’t lose it in the noise.

🎯 Where We Use AI Across the Funnel

We don’t just use AI at the “top” of the funnel — it supports us at every step, like a silent team member.

1. Awareness

We use ChatGPT to build content outlines and repurpose ideas. It’s like a strategic assistant that never sleeps.

2. Engagement

Email subject lines, social captions, visual prompts — all AI-assisted. Not to replace human creativity, but to test faster and reach the audience sooner.

3. Lead Nurturing

This is where HubSpot AI shines. Smart workflows, automated follow-ups, and persona-based triggers help us move faster — and more personally.

4. Conversion & Handover

Our leads don’t just stay in marketing. When we qualify them, we pass them to sales — and our Caesar CRM keeps them aligned with ERP and real pipeline processes.

5. Feedback Loop

We use Looker Studio and Matomo for campaign performance. Matomo gives us cookie-less insights, and Looker lets us see the full journey clearly.

🧰 AI Tools We Use (And How)

We didn’t adopt every tool on Day 1 — but here’s what our team uses today:

✅ HubSpot AI

✅ ChatGPT

✅ Microsoft Copilot

✅ Looker Studio & Matomo

⚠️ The Challenges We Faced

🧭 Final Thought: Start Small. Stay Human.

AI is not magic — but it is powerful when applied right.
You don’t have to automate everything.
You just need to know what not to automate.

My advice?
🔹 Start small.
🔹 Build your own use case library.
🔹 And stay focused on strategy — because AI still needs leadership.

📩 Want help mapping or modernizing your stack?

📚 Want more insights like this? Explore my full blog archive for more practical strategy tips.

Let’s face it: most people still think of AI as either a futuristic robot or a flashy writing gimmick.

But for me — and for many digital leaders in real companies — AI is something more practical:
🧠 A smart co-worker
🛠 A productivity amplifier
📊 A pattern recognizer that helps ideas grow

As someone leading global digital marketing and sales technology, I don’t use AI to replace human work.
I use it to refine it, scale it, and make it smarter.

🔍 First — The Tools I Actually Use

I’ve tested dozens of platforms, but these are the ones in my real weekly workflow:

Each has its own rhythm. The trick is not choosing “one AI to rule them all.”
The trick is knowing when to reach for which one.

💼 Where AI Actually Helps in My Role

✅ 1. Summarizing Long Reports

Whether it’s a product spec sheet, a global market update, or a campaign analysis — I use Copilot or ChatGPT to get clear, structured summaries.
Then I shape the story based on what matters to my business audience.

✅ 2. Planning Campaign Ideas

I don’t ask AI to create campaigns.
I bring the context — and then use ChatGPT to stress-test my ideas, refine positioning, or simulate objections.

✅ 3. Improving Messaging & Tone

Whether it’s internal slides, external emails, or a leadership post, I run drafts through GrammarlyGO or ChatGPT to refine structure and tone.
Sometimes I just ask, “Is this too formal?”
Turns out — AI can be a surprisingly good editor.

✅ 4. Team Enablement & Knowledge Transfer

When onboarding new team members or sharing cross-country insights, I use Notion AI to simplify complex process notes into more digestible explanations.

✅ 5. Content Planning with Confidence

I combine keyword research with ChatGPT suggestions to build outlines. Then I validate everything with real user behavior and internal data.
AI gives me speed. But strategy still needs the steering wheel.

⚖️ So… Which Tool Is Best?

Here’s what I tell others:
💡 “Try them all. Use what works. Discard what doesn’t. AI adoption is not about mastering tools — it’s about improving systems.”

🤔 Final Thought

AI helps me get to the signal faster. It clears the noise in long reports, shaky drafts, or uncertain plans.

So if you’re a professional worried AI will replace you — don’t be.
Instead, use it to amplify what makes you human.

📩 Want help mapping or modernizing your stack?

📚 Want more insights like this? Explore my full blog archive for more practical strategy tips.

You know the feeling: marketing works hard to attract leads, sales follows up (sometimes), and in the end, no one really knows what happened to half of them.

In fast-moving tech companies, maybe you can afford a few broken systems. But in industrial B2B — especially in Europe — where buying decisions take months, product selection is long-term, and data privacy is strict, that kind of gap can quietly kill growth.

So let’s talk about something I’ve seen over and over:
👉 Why your MarTech and SalesTech systems absolutely must speak the same language in 2025.

🧩 What Happens When They Don’t?

From my global experience working across regions and industries, the pain points tend to repeat:

It’s not just a tech problem. It’s a data trust problem. A customer experience problem. A long-term revenue leak.

🔄 What Working Together Looks Like (In Real B2B Life)

In one of my current global B2B roles (let’s keep names aside), we use a hybrid of marketing automation (for inbound + fairs) and a CRM connected to ERP for real buyer handling.

It’s not about blame.
It’s about visibility.
It’s about connecting the dots.

📈 Why 2025 Is the Year of System Unity

✅ AI Is Here (and It Needs Clean Data)

AI tools like Copilot, ChatGPT, and custom dashboards are only as smart as the data they can access. If your MarTech and SalesTech are split, your AI is flying blind.

✅ B2B Buyers Expect a Smooth Ride

Even in engineering-heavy industries, decision-makers now expect B2C-like consistency. They don’t care about your backend — they want timely replies, personalized info, and no repetition.

✅ Privacy Rules Aren’t Going Away

GDPR and industry-specific compliance will keep making things harder. If your lead path isn’t clear, your ability to track ROI and conversions becomes legally murky.

💡 What You Can Do Now

🎯 Final Thought

But in 2025, if your MarTech and SalesTech don’t work together — you’ll lose leads, miss insights, and frustrate your future customers before they even get a chance to meet you.

Let your systems talk. Let your teams align.
And you’ll see marketing and sales do what they were always meant to do — win together.

📩 Want help mapping or modernizing your stack?

📚 Want more insights like this? Explore my full blog archive for more practical strategy tips.

AI is only as good as the data you feed it. Create a centralized data hub to store past performance and real-time trends. This will empower your business to make smarter, data-driven decisions.

Question: Is your business ready to leverage data for smarter AI-driven decisions?

With tools like HubSpot and Episerver (Optimizely), you don’t need an IT department to innovate. Low-code platforms empower your team to execute and automate quickly, transforming plans into action.

Monitor your business in real-time with IoT and edge computing. This data-driven approach enables faster decision-making and smoother operations

Data-driven marketing isn’t just my strategy—it’s my obsession. But let’s be honest: without tools like HubSpot’s Tracking URLs, making sense of campaign performance would feel like throwing darts in the dark.

1️⃣ Why I Use Tracking URLs

Because guessing doesn’t cut it! HubSpot lets me add UTM parameters to links so I can finally answer, “Where are these clicks coming from?” (Spoiler: It’s usually not the email I thought would work.)

2️⃣ How I Make It Work

3️⃣ Wait… Is This GDPR-Compliant?

Good news: It is! 🎉 As long as you’re not tracking personal data (e.g., without consent), and you’re transparent about tracking practices, you’re playing by the EU’s rules. Tracking URLs themselves don’t process personal data—they just tell me which link brought traffic. (Big relief, right?)

The Result?

Better campaign ROI, fewer surprises, and more confidence in my data-driven decisions. Who knew tracking URLs could make life this much easier?

➡️ My question to you: Are you using tools like HubSpot to their full potential? Or are you still playing the guessing game? Let’s talk in the comments!

Tired of feeling like just another face in the crowd? Say hello to hyper-individualized marketing – your ticket to a personalized experience like no other, powered by the magic of AI (that’s Artificial Intelligence)!

Gone are the days of generic emails that barely catch your eye. With hyper-individualized marketing, it’s all about YOU. Here’s how it works:

Getting to Know You Better: Imagine if a marketing genie could peek into your online world, understanding not just what you buy but what makes you tick. That’s what AI does! It looks at your digital footprints – from the websites you visit to the stuff you talk about on social media – to figure out what makes you, well, you.

Mind-Reading Powers: Okay, not really, but it’s close! AI analyzes all that juicy data to predict what you might want next. It’s like having a friend who knows you so well they can finish your sentences – except this friend is a super-smart computer.

Instant Tailoring, Just for You: Ever wished a website could read your mind? With AI, it’s almost like that! Websites, emails, and even social media posts can change in real time to match what you’re interested in. It’s like having a personal shopper who knows your style perfectly.

Privacy First: Your data is precious, and it’s important to keep it safe. Ethical AI means being transparent about how your info is used and always putting your privacy first.

Feel Seen, Feel Heard: No more being lost in the crowd! Hyper-individualized marketing makes you feel like the star of the show.
Discover New Faves: Ever had that “wow, they just get me” moment? That’s what happens when AI suggests something you didn’t even know you wanted – but turns out, you love it!
Happier Shopping: Imagine finding exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. With hyper-individualized marketing, shopping becomes a breeze.

So, are you ready to dive into the future of marketing? Let’s chat about how AI can make your online world feel tailor-made, just for you! 🚀

Welcome to the ever-evolving universe of SEO, where the rules are written in code, and the algorithms dance to a dynamic beat. As we enter 2024, the landscape buzzes with excitement and transformation. Here’s your guide to surfing the waves of change and conquering the SEO realm:

Bid farewell to third-party cookies as Google takes a bold step towards user privacy. By the end of 2024, Chrome will no longer indulge in the cookie jar. What does this mean for SEO specialists? Brace yourselves for a shift to first-party data – your website’s new best friend. It’s time to cosy up to user engagement metrics and embrace the era of personalized, privacy-conscious strategies.

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is not just a feature; it’s a journey. Prepare for an expedition into personalized and interactive search results. Command your searches, revel in summaries, videos, and more. SEO trailblazers, ensure your websites are SGE-ready – because, in 2024, the search experience is not just about finding; it’s about interacting.

In the SEO monarchy, user experience wears the crown. Google’s unyielding love for seamless journeys, lightning-fast loading speeds, and mobile-friendly realms continues. Don’t just meet expectations; exceed them. Elevate your UX game, and watch your SEO kingdom rise through the ranks.

AI-powered maestros now conduct the symphony of content creation. Writing assistants fueled by artificial intelligence are stealing the limelight. But here’s the twist – don’t sideline human creativity. Let AI be your sidekick, not the protagonist. In 2024, the best content is a harmonious blend of machine efficiency and human finesse.

The battlefield against low-quality content rages on. Google sharpens its swords to detect and defeat spammy intruders. The key to victory? Originality, value, and relevance. Arm yourself with informative content that not only survives but thrives in the ever-watchful eyes of search engines.

For brick-and-mortar warriors, the battleground is local. Google Business Profiles are your armour, local backlinks are your weapons, and community engagement is your strategy. Secure your place on the local SEO map and attract customers from every street corner.

In the SEO ballroom, algorithms are your dance partners. Google constantly refines its moves, and you must keep pace. Stay alert, adapt your steps, and monitor the rhythm of website traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. In 2024, it’s not just about the dance; it’s about mastering the ever-changing choreography.

As we bid farewell to the old and embrace the new, remember – SEO in 2024 is a thrilling expedition, not a mundane journey. Prioritize user-centricity, harness the power of AI wisely, and dance with the algorithms. In this dynamic SEO galaxy, those who adapt, innovate, and conquer will emerge as the true champions of the digital frontier. Gear up, SEO enthusiasts – the adventure awaits!