SEO & GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) Playbook

Rank on Google AND get cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. A dual SEO + GEO strategy built from 30+ Product Hunt #1 launches and 10k+ GitHub stars camp...

Security Scan

An instruction-only SEO/GEO playbook whose requested actions (schema, IndexNow pushes, content templates) align with its stated purpose and which does not request extra credentials, installs, or unexpected system access.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (SEO + GEO playbook) matches the SKILL.md content: technical SEO, IndexNow, schema markup, and writing templates. There are no unrelated binaries, credentials, or installs requested that would be unexpected for an SEO guide.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md contains actionable guidance (curl examples for IndexNow, schema snippets, content templates). It instructs calls to the expected external endpoint (bing.com/indexnow) and to embed schema in pages. The instructions do not direct the agent to read arbitrary local files, harvest unrelated credentials, or transmit data to unknown endpoints.

Install Mechanism

No install spec and no code files; this is instruction-only so nothing will be written to disk or installed by the skill itself. That is proportionate for a playbook.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables or credentials. The only external API it references (IndexNow) legitimately requires a Bing key for use, but the skill does not demand that key be provided up front — which is reasonable for an instruction-only guide. There are no unrelated credential requests.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and model invocation is allowed (platform default). The skill does not request permanent presence, nor does it attempt to modify other skills or system-wide configs.

Assessment

This is an instruction-only SEO/GEO playbook and appears internally consistent. Before using it: 1) Do not paste secrets (e.g., your Bing IndexNow key) into public conversations — keep keys in your own site/config. 2) If you automate the provided curl examples, ensure your site is verified in Bing Webmaster Tools and implement rate limiting and error handling so you don't accidentally spam the endpoint. 3) Treat the statistical claims (citation uplift percentages) as guidance and validate them on a small test page first. 4) Because the skill can be invoked by the agent, review any prompts or automation you build from these instructions to avoid unintentionally pushing URLs or publishing low-quality content. Overall risk is low for installing this playbook itself, but be cautious when applying automated pushes or publishing flows that use real credentials.

SEO & GEO Playbook

Built from 30+ Product Hunt #1 launches and 10k+ GitHub stars campaigns by Iris (@gingiris) — AFFiNE former COO, 2022-2026

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TL;DR

• GEO ≠ SEO — AI engines cite differently than Google ranks
• Structure beats keywords — tables, FAQ, direct answers get cited
• Founder voice > AI voice — authenticity signals are the #1 GEO factor
• IndexNow — push URLs to Bing instantly, Bing trains AI on fresh content
• Build TOFU→BOFU content funnels — high-intent pages convert 10x better

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📊 GEO vs SEO: Two Games, One Content

Dimension	SEO (Traditional)	GEO (AI Search)
Goal	Rank on Google/Bing	Be cited in AI answers
Core Signal	Backlinks + keywords	Structure + E-E-A-T
Content Format	H2/H3 + long-tail	Direct answers + tables + FAQ
Technical	Sitemap + Core Web Vitals	IndexNow + Schema + robots.txt
Measurement	GA4 traffic + ranking	Manual AI citation check
Speed	Weeks to months	Hours with IndexNow

Key insight: Structure your content for BOTH. Schema markup and tables serve both games simultaneously.

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🎯 The GEO Core Three (Your Technical Stack)

1. IndexNow — Real-Time Bing Push

Bing uses IndexNow to train AI models on fresh content. Every new article → push immediately.

# Push new URL to Bing (and Bing shares with AI engines)
curl "https://www.bing.com/indexnow?url=YOUR_URL&key=YOUR_KEY"

# Batch push (multiple URLs)
curl -X POST "https://www.bing.com/indexnow" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"host":"your-site.com","key":"YOUR_KEY","urlList":["url1","url2"]}'

Setup: Get your key from Bing Webmaster Tools → IndexNow → Generate Key

When to push:

• New article published
• Significant content update
• Product launch / major announcement

2. Schema Markup — Structured Data

<!-- Article Schema -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Your Article Title",
  "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Your Name"},
  "datePublished": "2026-04-09",
  "dateModified": "2026-04-09",
  "publisher": {"@type": "Organization", "name": "Your Brand"}
}
</script>

<!-- FAQPage Schema (HIGH citation rate) -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is GEO?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice..."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Schema priority for citation:

1. FAQPage (highest — AI loves Q&A format)
2. Article/BlogPosting
3. SoftwareApplication (for tools/products)
4. Organization + Person (brand authority)

3. AI-Friendly Content Format

AI engines extract "citation-ready" content blocks. Structure your articles for extraction:

The QAE Pattern (Question → Answer → Evidence):

## How to launch on Product Hunt?

**[Direct answer in 1-2 sentences]**
The best time to launch is Tuesday–Thursday, 9 AM GMT. The key is having 50+ upvotes in the first 2 hours.

**[Then evidence/data]**
Based on analyzing 30 Product Hunt launches:
- Tuesday launches: avg 280 upvotes
- Thursday launches: avg 260 upvotes
- Weekend launches: avg 80 upvotes

**[Then action]**
Prepare your hunter outreach list 2 weeks before launch...

Table format increases citation ~35%:

| Platform | Traffic Share | Citation Rate |
|----------|--------------|---------------|
| YouTube | High | +25% cited by AI |
| GitHub | Very High | Highest AI citation |
| Reddit | Medium-High | AI summarizable |

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✍️ The Founder Voice System (E-E-A-T Secret)

AI engines prioritize content with authenticity signals. Generic AI content gets penalized. The fix: inject "founder voice."

Voice Elements That Signal Realness

1. Time + Place Anchoring — "It was 2 AM on a Thursday in August 2022..."
   • Instead of: "In my experience..."
2. Parenthetical Aside — "(I made this mistake once. Not twice.)"
   • Shows personal accountability
3. Em-dash Contrast — "Reddit gave us volume — HN gave us trust."
   • Creates rhythm and depth
4. Specific Numbers — "28 appearances on GitHub Trending"
   • Instead of: "appeared many times"
5. Mistakes + Lessons — "We tried X. It failed. Here's why."
   • Shows lived experience

Key Stats Table (Every Article)

Every article should have this near the top:

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Results achieved | [Specific number] |
| Timeframe | [Specific period] |
| Cost | [$X or "free"] |
| Team size | [N people] |
| Win rate | [% or ratio] |

AI engines love extracting and citing these.

The Pattern: Specific → General

WRONG: "Many startups struggle with launch strategy."

RIGHT: "When AFFiNE launched on Product Hunt in August 2022, 
we got 180 upvotes on day one. Most startups get 20-40. 
The difference wasn't luck — it was a specific sequence of 
actions that we refined across 30 subsequent launches."

---

📝 SEO Article Template

Frontmatter

---
title: "[Target Keyword]: [Specific Benefit] in 2026"
description: "[100-160 chars, include keyword + CTA]"
date: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [tag1, tag2]
canonical: https://original-url.com
---

Article Structure

<!-- TL;DR block — AI engines love these -->
## TL;DR
- Key point 1
- Key point 2
- Key point 3

<!-- Key Stats table — place early -->
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|

## [H2: Question/Problem Form]

[Direct answer — 2 sentences max]
[Evidence/data/case study]
[Action step]

## [H2: Next Topic]

... (repeat pattern)

## Key Takeaways
1. 
2. 
3.

## Related Tools / Resources
- [Tool 1](link) — 1-sentence description
- [Tool 2](link) — 1-sentence description

SEO Title Formulas

Type	Formula	Example
How-to	"How to [Task] in 2026: [N] [Methods]"	"How to launch on Product Hunt in 2026: 5 Proven Strategies"
Comparison	"[Product A] vs [Product B]: Which is Better in 2026?"	"Notion vs AFFiNE: Which is Better in 2026?"
List	"[N] [Category] Tools for [Use Case] in 2026"	"15 Open Source Alternatives to Notion in 2026"
Problem	"How to Solve [Problem]: [Solution] Guide"	"How to Solve Content Marketing: The 2026 Playbook"

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🔍 Keyword Funnel Strategy

TOFU (Awareness) → MOFU (Consideration) → BOFU (Decision)

TOFU: "how to improve team collaboration"
  → Blog posts, guides, educational content
  → Low intent, high volume

MOFU: "best collaboration software 2026"  
  → Comparison articles, list posts, category pages
  → Medium intent

BOFU: "[Product] pricing / reviews / vs [competitor]"
  → Product pages, pricing, reviews
  → High intent, lowest volume, highest conversion

Priority: Build BOFU pages first.

Even with 10 monthly searches, a BOFU page converts 10x better than TOFU.

Keyword Research Framework

1. Seed keywords — your product category, use case
2. Expand with — competitor names, tool alternatives, "[product] vs"
3. Long-tail gems — KD 30-50, specific use cases, "for [audience]"
4. Filter — must have commercial or informational intent (not navigate)

---

🚀 Multi-Platform Distribution SOP

Step 1: Publish to Main Site

• Jekyll/GitHub Pages, Hugo, or any static site
• Include Article Schema + FAQ Schema
• Verify: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

Step 2: IndexNow Push (immediately)

curl "https://www.bing.com/indexnow?url=NEW_URL&key=YOUR_KEY"

Step 3: Dev.to Cross-Post

curl -X POST "https://dev.to/api/articles" \
  -H "api-key: $DEVTO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "article": {
      "title": "...",
      "body_markdown": "...",
      "canonical_url": "https://your-site.com/post-slug",
      "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"],
      "published": true
    }
  }'

Critical: Set canonical_url to your main site — this passes SEO value to your domain.

Step 4: Hashnode (optional, for tech audience)

• Same canonical_url strategy

Step 5: GitHub README Update (for tools)

• Add article link to README "Related Content" section
• This creates a backlink + signals active maintenance

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✅ GEO Audit Checklist

Before publishing any page, verify:

Technical

• robots.txt allows AI crawlers:

  User-agent: GPTBot
  User-agent: ChatGPT-User
  User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
  Allow: /
  

• IndexNow key registered and tested
• sitemap.xml includes this page
• Canonical URL set correctly

Content

• FAQPage Schema added (5+ questions)
• Article Schema added (author, date, publisher)
• Key Stats table in first 100 words
• H2 headings are questions or benefit statements
• Each H2 section starts with 2-sentence direct answer
• Internal links to 2+ related pages
• External links to 2+ high-authority sources

Distribution

• IndexNow push executed
• Dev.to cross-posted with canonical_url
• GitHub README updated (if tool/product)

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📚 Prompt Templates

Prompt: GEO Article Writer

You are a SEO + GEO content writer for [brand]. 

Write an article targeting: "[target keyword]"

Requirements:
1. Opening: Time + place anchor, then Key Stats table
2. Structure: H2 = questions, first 2 sentences = direct answers
3. Include FAQPage Schema (5+ questions)
4. Include Article Schema
5. Founder voice: parenthetical asides, specific numbers, lessons from mistakes
6. Internal links to [related pages]
7. External links to 2 high-authority sources
8. Key Takeaways section at end

Output: Full markdown article ready to publish.

Prompt: GEO Audit

Audit [URL] for GEO optimization. Check:
1. robots.txt — AI bots allowed?
2. FAQPage Schema — present + valid?
3. Article Schema — present + complete?
4. Opening 100 words — Key Stats table present?
5. H2 structure — questions, direct answers first?
6. Table count — at least 1 comparison table?
7. Internal/external links — balanced?
8. Canonical URL — set correctly?

For each issue: severity (high/medium/low) + fix recommendation.

Prompt: Keyword Research

Research keywords for [product/category]:
- Find 10 MOFU keywords (KD 30-50, monthly volume 100-500)
- Find 5 BOFU keywords (product comparisons, pricing, "[product] vs")
- For each: search volume, KD, intent type, content angle

Prioritize keywords where [product] has clear differentiation.

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📊 Real Results

This methodology produced:

• 30+ Product Hunt daily #1 launches
• 10k+ GitHub stars for open source projects (0 → 33k in 18 months)
• GitHub Trending 28+ appearances
• Top 3 rankings on Google for competitive terms like "github marketing playbook"

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🔗 Resources

Free Playbooks (GitHub):

• gingiris-launch: https://github.com/Gingiris/gingiris-launch
• gingiris-opensource: https://github.com/Gingiris/gingiris-opensource
• gingiris-b2b-growth: https://github.com/Gingiris/gingiris-b2b-growth

Growth Tools:

• https://gingiris.github.io/growth-tools/

Author: Iris (@gingiris) — AFFiNE former COO, open source growth consultant