Asif Ikbal Bhuiya

Digital Transformation Strategist | Global Marketing & Sales Tech Leader

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

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:

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:

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:

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.

Featured illustration for blog titled 'From Search Engines to Answer Engines' showing Asif Ikbal Bhuiya with AI and search engine icons.

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:

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:

🚨 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.

A digital illustration showing a confident business strategist surrounded by icons of AI tools like ChatGPT, HubSpot AI, Copilot, GrammarlyGO, and Notion AI — representing AI integration in modern B2B marketing workflows.

By Asif Ikbal Bhuiya

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.

In our daily operations, AI helps us:

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

Everyone on the team is HubSpot-proficient. AI helps us:

✅ ChatGPT

Our content assistant. It helps:

✅ Microsoft Copilot

Because our company approved it, we use it for:

✅ Looker Studio & Matomo

We believe in dual tracking.

⚠️ The Challenges We Faced

We didn’t go from zero to AI overnight. There were bumps:

Today, we’re confident — but we’re still evolving.

🧭 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?

You can:

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

Content is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. However, creating content that resonates with your target audience and drives engagement can be challenging. That’s where data-driven content strategy comes in. Using data to inform your content creation process, you can create content tailored to your audience’s preferences and interests. In this article, we’ll explore how to create a data-driven content strategy for your business.

  1. Understand Your Audience

To create a data-driven content strategy, you must first understand your audience. Who are they? What are their interests, pain points, and preferences? The more you know about your audience, the better you can tailor your content to their needs.

There are several ways to gather data about your audience, including:

  1. Conduct Keyword Research

Keyword research is identifying the words and phrases people use to search for content related to your business. By understanding the keywords relevant to your business, you can create content that targets those keywords and drives organic traffic to your website.

There are several tools that you can use to conduct keyword research, including:

  1. Use Data to Inform Content Creation

Once you deeply understand your audience and have conducted keyword research, you can use data to inform your content creation process. Here are a few ways to do this:

  1. Measure and Optimize

Finally, it’s essential to measure the performance of your content and optimize it for better results. Here are a few metrics to track:

Use these metrics to optimize your content for better results. For example, if you find that your content is driving traffic but not converting, you may need to adjust your call-to-action or improve the user experience on your website.

Conclusion

Creating a data-driven content strategy involves understanding your audience, conducting keyword research, using data to inform content creation, and measuring and optimizing your content for better results. By taking a data-driven approach to content creation, you can create content that resonates with

Data-driven marketing involves using data to make informed decisions about marketing strategies, campaigns, and tactics. One essential tool that data-driven marketers use to optimize their efforts is A/B testing. A/B testing compares two versions of a marketing campaign to see which one performs better. This article will explore the importance of A/B testing in data-driven marketing.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing involves creating two versions of a marketing campaign, often referred to as the A and B versions. These versions differ in one or more variables, such as the headline, call to action, or images. The two versions are then randomly shown to different subsets of the target audience, and the performance of each version is measured and compared.

The objective of A/B testing is to determine which version of the marketing campaign performs better. This information can be used to optimize the campaign and improve its overall effectiveness.

Why is A/B Testing Important?

A/B testing is essential for several reasons:

  1. It provides valuable insights

A/B testing provides valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t work in your marketing campaigns. By testing different versions of your campaigns, you can identify which elements of your campaign are most effective in driving conversions and which parts need to be improved.

  1. It allows for data-driven decision-making.

A/B testing allows for data-driven decision-making. Instead of relying on assumptions or gut instincts, you can use data to inform your marketing decisions. By testing different versions of your campaign, you can make informed decisions about which version to use and why.

  1. It helps to optimize campaigns.

A/B testing helps to optimize campaigns for better results. By identifying the most effective elements of your campaign, you can make changes to optimize those elements for even better performance. This can lead to improved ROI and higher conversion rates.

  1. It leads to continuous improvement.

A/B testing is a continuous process of testing and refining. As you gather data and insights from your tests, you can use that information to further improve your campaigns. This leads to a continuous cycle of testing, refining, and optimizing that can result in significant improvements over time.

How to Conduct an A/B Test

To conduct an A/B test, follow these steps:

  1. Determine what you want to test. This could be anything from the headline of an email to the call to action on a landing page.
  2. Create two versions of your marketing campaign, with one element that differs between the two versions.
  3. Randomly split your target audience into two groups and show each group a different version of your campaign.
  4. Measure the performance of each version using metrics such as conversion rate, click-through rate, or engagement rate.
  5. Analyze the results and determine which version performed better.
  6. Use the insights from your A/B test to optimize your campaign and improve its overall effectiveness.

Conclusion

A/B testing is a valuable tool for data-driven marketers. By testing different versions of their campaigns, they can identify which elements are most effective in driving conversions and optimize their campaigns for better results. A/B testing allows for data-driven decision-making and leads to continuous improvement over time. It is an essential part of any data-driven marketing strategy and should be used regularly to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, it’s more important than ever for businesses to make data-driven decisions. By analyzing and using data, companies can gain insights into their target audience, improve their marketing campaigns, and ultimately boost their ROI.

Data-driven marketing is the practice of using data to inform marketing strategies and tactics. This includes gathering and analyzing data about consumer behaviour, market trends, and the performance of marketing campaigns.

There are many ways in which data-driven marketing can boost your ROI. Here are a few key examples:

  1. Personalized Marketing

One of the most effective ways to boost your ROI is by providing personalized customer experiences. By gathering data about your customers, such as their past purchases, browsing history, and demographic information, you can create highly targeted marketing campaigns tailored to their specific interests and needs.

For example, if you run an e-commerce store, you can use data about a customer’s purchase history to suggest products that are likely to appeal to them. This can increase the chances of a sale and ultimately boost your ROI.

  1. Improved Targeting

Data-driven marketing allows you to target your marketing efforts more effectively. By analyzing data about your target audience, such as their age, gender, location, and interests, you can create marketing campaigns more likely to resonate with them.

This can lead to higher conversion rates and ultimately boost your ROI. For example, suppose you’re running a Facebook ad campaign. In that case, you can use data to target specific demographics and interests, increasing the chances of the ad being seen by people who are more likely to be interested in your product or service.

  1. Optimized Campaigns

Another way data-driven marketing can boost your ROI is by optimizing your marketing campaigns. By gathering data about the performance of your campaigns, such as click-through, conversion, and bounce rates, you can identify areas for improvement and make changes to your campaigns accordingly.

For example, if you’re running a Google Ads campaign, you can use data to identify which keywords are driving the most clicks and conversions. You can then adjust your campaign to focus on those keywords, which can lead to a higher ROI.

  1. Better Insights

Finally, data-driven marketing provides better insights into your target audience and market trends. By analyzing consumer behaviour data, such as their purchase history, browsing behaviour, and social media activity, you can gain a deeper understanding of what drives their buying decisions.

This can help you create more effective marketing campaigns and boost your ROI. For example, if you run a fashion brand, you can use data about consumer preferences and trends to create products that are more likely to sell.

In conclusion, data-driven marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to boost their ROI. By gathering and analyzing data about your target audience, you can create more personalized, targeted, and optimized marketing campaigns that are more likely to resonate with your customers and drive sales.

B2B (business-to-business) marketing automation refers to the use of technology to streamline and simplify marketing tasks for businesses that sell products or services to other businesses. As a result, companies can reach their target audience more efficiently and effectively, saving time and resources while increasing revenue.

B2B marketing automation can include various activities, such as email campaigns, social media management, lead generation, and customer segmentation. In addition, by automating these tasks, businesses can focus on other areas of their marketing strategy, such as customer relationship management and sales.

One of the main benefits of B2B marketing automation is that it allows businesses to personalize their marketing efforts. Companies can use data and analytics to segment their audience and tailor their messaging and marketing campaigns to specific groups. This can lead to higher conversion rates and more qualified leads.

B2B marketing automation also helps businesses track and analyze their results in real-time, allowing them to make informed decisions about their marketing strategy. By monitoring key metrics such as website traffic, lead generation, and customer engagement, businesses can identify areas for improvement and adjust their strategy accordingly.

Overall, B2B marketing automation is an effective way for businesses to reach their target audience, personalize their marketing efforts, and track and analyze their results. In addition, by automating marketing tasks, companies can save time and resources and focus on other areas of their marketing strategy.

B2B (business-to-business) digital marketing uses digital channels and tactics to reach and engage other businesses and professionals. With the rise of the internet and social media, B2B companies now have more opportunities than ever to reach and connect with their target audience. However, B2B digital marketing can be complex and requires a different approach than B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing.B2B digital marketing

Here are some tips and tricks for successful B2B digital marketing:

  1. First, identify your target audience: Before effectively marketing to other businesses, you need to know who you are trying to reach. This includes understanding their demographics, needs, pain points, and decision-making processes. In addition, it would help to consider the specific industry or sectors your target audience operates in and their unique challenges.
  2. Create valuable content: Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to attract and engage B2B buyers. This means creating and sharing useful and relevant information that helps your audience solve problems or make informed decisions. This can include blog posts, white papers, infographics, webinars, and other types of educational content.
  3. Use social media wisely: While social media is a key tool for B2C marketing, it can also be helpful for B2B companies. However, it’s essential to choose the right platforms and use them in a relevant and valuable way for your target audience. For example, LinkedIn is a handy platform for B2B marketing, as it is geared towards professionals and allows you to connect with other businesses and industry experts.
  4. Optimize your website for lead generation: Your website should be more than just an online brochure – it should be a vital tool for generating leads and driving conversions. Make sure your website is designed with this in mind and includes forms, calls-to-action, and other features that encourage visitors to take the next step in the sales process.
  5. Use email marketing effectively: Email is still one of the most effective ways to reach and engage B2B buyers. However, it’s essential to segment your email lists and create targeted campaigns that are relevant and valuable to the recipient. To ensure maximum effectiveness, you should also use A/B testing to optimize your subject lines, content, and calls to action.
  6. Utilize paid advertising: While organic reach on social media and search engines can be limited, you can reach a targeted audience at scale. This includes options like Google AdWords, LinkedIn Ads, and social media advertising. It’s essential to carefully plan and execute your paid advertising campaigns to ensure you get the best investment return.
  7. Measure and analyze your results: It’s essential to track and measure the effectiveness of your B2B digital marketing efforts. This includes setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals and using tools like Google Analytics to track your progress. This will allow you to identify what’s working and adjust as needed.

By following these tips and tricks, you can effectively leverage digital marketing to reach and engage other businesses and professionals. It’s essential to be strategic and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices to ensure maximum effectiveness. With the right approach, B2B digital marketing can be a powerful tool for driving leads, sales, and long-term growth.

A data-driven company uses data and analytics to inform decision-making at all levels of the organization. Rather than relying on gut feelings, subjective opinions, or traditional ways of doing things, a data-driven company uses hard evidence and quantifiable metrics to make informed decisions about everything from product development to marketing to operations.

One key aspect of a data-driven company is using data analytics tools and techniques to collect, process, and analyze large amounts of data. This can include everything from simple spreadsheets to more advanced tools like data visualization software, machine learning algorithms, and business intelligence platforms. By analyzing this data, companies can gain insights into their operations, customer behaviour, and market trends and use these insights to make better decisions.

A data-driven culture is also crucial for a company to be considered data-driven. This means that everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the front-line employees, understands the value of data and is trained to use it to inform their decision-making. It also means that data is integrated into all aspects of the business, from goal-setting and planning to performance evaluation and continuous improvement.

What is Data Driven Company ?

There are numerous benefits to being a data-driven company. For one, it allows for more objective and accurate decision-making, as it is based on hard evidence rather than subjective opinions. This can lead to better outcomes and more efficient use of resources. It can also help companies identify trends and patterns that may not be immediately apparent, allowing them to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changing market conditions.

Additionally, a data-driven approach can help companies better understand their customers and market. By analyzing customer data, companies can gain insights into what drives customer behaviour and preferences and use this information to improve the customer experience and create more targeted marketing campaigns.

There are also numerous examples of companies that have successfully implemented a data-driven approach and reaped the benefits. For instance, Amazon uses data analytics to optimize its supply chain and recommend products to customers, while Netflix uses data to inform its content creation and recommendation algorithms. Even smaller companies can benefit from a data-driven approach, as it allows them to make informed decisions with limited resources and make the most of their available data.

While becoming a data-driven company can bring many benefits, it also requires a significant investment in time, resources, and training. It can be daunting, but with the right tools, processes, and culture in place, it is well worth the effort. By embracing a data-driven approach, companies can make better, more informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Marketing automation is using software and technology to automate marketing tasks and processes. It is designed to help marketers save time and resources by automating repetitive tasks, such as email campaigns, social media posts, and ad targeting. Marketing automation also allows marketers to focus on more high-level strategy and analysis rather than on day-to-day tasks.

One of the key benefits of marketing automation is the ability to personalize and target campaigns more effectively. By collecting and analyzing data from various sources, such as customer behaviour, purchase history, and website activity, marketers can create more relevant and personalized marketing campaigns that are more likely to engage and convert consumers.

Marketing automation also enables marketers to optimize their campaigns in real-time by tracking and analyzing performance data and making adjustments as needed. This allows marketers to identify what is and isn’t working quickly and make changes to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.

What is Marketing Automation ?

In addition to automating marketing tasks, marketing automation tools can help marketers manage and analyze customer data. For example, many marketing automation platforms include customer relationship management (CRM) functionality, which allows marketers to store, organize, and analyze customer data in a central location. This can help marketers better understand their customers and create more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns.

To be successful with marketing automation, it’s important to have a clear strategy in place. This includes identifying specific goals and objectives, as well as the target audience and desired outcomes. It also involves selecting the right marketing automation platform and tools and integrating them with other systems and data sources.

In addition to selecting the right tools, it’s also essential to have a strong analytics foundation in place. This includes collecting and storing data from various sources, such as website analytics, social media, and CRM systems. It also involves using tools and software to analyze and visualize the data, such as spreadsheets, dashboards, and data visualization tools.

In conclusion, marketing automation uses software and technology to automate marketing tasks and processes. By personalizing and targeting campaigns more effectively and optimizing campaigns in real time, marketers can create more effective and efficient marketing campaigns. A clear strategy, the right marketing automation tools, and a robust analytics foundation are all key components of a successful marketing automation strategy.

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