AI SEO Tips and Tricks (James Dooley Interviews James Norquay)
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What Does “AI SEO Tips and Tricks (James Dooley Interviews James Norquay)” Talk About?
In this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley sits down with James Norquay to break down the practical realities of Generative Engine Optimisation, commonly referred to as GEO, and how it differs from traditional SEO. The conversation covers a wide range of tactics, including AI share buttons that allow users to summarise pages on ChatGPT or Perplexity, LLM info pages designed to give language models clear entity data, and question-focused content strategies built around detailed queries mined from Google Search Console. The hosts also dig into the concept of query fan out, explaining how a single trust-related query can expand into reviews, testimonials, case studies, and brand history, making consistent messaging across all those touchpoints critical for AI visibility.
The discussion gets into the technical side of GEO, addressing common mistakes like inadvertently blocking GPTBot in robots.txt, rendering issues that prevent AI crawlers from accessing content, and the importance of structuring information into clear, self-contained chunks that large language models can extract and cite. Norquay shares real testing results from internal travel and niche sites where AI share buttons and prompt experiments drove measurable traffic uplift. He also explains how brand corroboration and co-citations function differently from traditional link equity, and why some websites that rank prominently in Google still fail to appear in AI-generated recommendations. Revenue examples from clients receiving direct ChatGPT referrals illustrate that GEO is already producing tangible business outcomes.
“Some clients now generate significant monthly revenue directly from ChatGPT referrals.”
— James Norquay
Who Are the Guests on “AI SEO Tips and Tricks (James Dooley Interviews James Norquay)”?
James Norquay is an SEO and digital growth specialist who leads a dedicated GEO team conducting daily testing on AI search visibility strategies. With hands-on experience running internal travel and niche websites, he brings real data to the conversation rather than theory alone. His agency adopted the GEO term approximately a year ago and has since built out services including GEO audits, misinformation correction for large brands, LLM info page creation, and AI share button implementation. He works across both enterprise clients and fast-moving startups, giving him a practical perspective on how different organisations adapt to emerging AI search trends.
James Dooley is the host of the James Dooley Podcast and an experienced voice in the SEO and digital marketing space. Throughout the conversation he provides sharp context around topics like PageRank versus corroboration-based models, query fan out risks, and the strategic implications of AI visibility for brand sentiment. His questions push the discussion toward actionable insights that practitioners and business owners can apply directly.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “AI SEO Tips and Tricks (James Dooley Interviews James Norquay)”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Blocking GPTBot in robots.txt can silently damage a brand's visibility in AI-generated recommendations, making a technical audit the essential first step in any GEO strategy.
- LLM info pages containing clear, factual business data such as founding date, leadership, and core services have shown measurable citation results, while LLMs.txt has not demonstrated the same impact in real-world testing.
- Question-focused content optimisation is central to GEO success because large language model users ask detailed, conversational questions rather than the short head terms that traditional SEO targets.
- Query fan out means a single brand or trust query can expand into multiple subtopics including reviews, testimonials, and company history, so inconsistent messaging across those areas can weaken AI-generated sentiment about a brand.
- Brand corroboration and co-citations carry more weight in GEO than traditional link equity, meaning a site that ranks well in Google may still fail to appear in AI recommendations if its brand is not consistently mentioned and verified across the web.
“Traditional SEO values link equity. GEO often values corroboration and brand mentions. Those nuances are where the competitive edge sits.”
— James Norquay
Is “AI SEO Tips and Tricks (James Dooley Interviews James Norquay)” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to because it moves past surface-level hype about AI search and delivers specific, tested tactics that practitioners can evaluate and implement immediately. Norquay draws on real experiments from his agency's own properties, including AI share button tests from May and June of last year and revenue data from clients receiving direct ChatGPT referrals, which gives the conversation a grounded credibility that distinguishes it from more speculative discussions about the future of search. The breakdown of query fan out alone is valuable for any brand manager or SEO professional who has wondered why strong Google rankings do not automatically translate into AI recommendations.
The episode also does an excellent job of separating what actually works from what sounds good in theory. Norquay is candid that LLMs.txt has not shown measurable impact in their testing while LLM info pages have, which is exactly the kind of honest signal that saves practitioners wasted effort. For anyone managing SEO for a brand, building a content strategy, or advising clients on where to invest in search, the practical framework offered here, covering technical access, entity clarity, question-focused content, and brand corroboration, provides a clear starting checklist for entering the GEO space.
Who Should Listen to “AI SEO Tips and Tricks (James Dooley Interviews James Norquay)”?
This episode is ideal for:
- SEO professionals and agency practitioners looking to expand their service offerings into generative engine optimisation
- Brand managers and marketing directors at companies concerned about how their business is represented inside large language models like ChatGPT
- Startup founders and growth marketers who want to move quickly on emerging AI search opportunities before competitors
- Content strategists seeking to understand how to structure and format content so that AI systems can extract and cite it accurately
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What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“The explanation of query fan out finally clicked for me after hearing it described here. Understanding that a single trust query can branch into reviews, testimonials, and company history changed how I think about brand consistency. Practical and well paced.”
“Really appreciated that Norquay was honest about LLMs.txt not showing measurable results in their tests. Too many people are guessing about what works in AI SEO and it was refreshing to hear someone drawing on actual data from their own sites.”
“The section on checking robots.txt for GPTBot blocking is something I immediately went and checked for three of my clients. Found one blocking it entirely. This episode paid for itself in the first ten minutes.”
James Dooley: AI SEO, LLM SEO, ChatGPT SEO, GEO. Whatever people want to call it. Today James Dooley speaks with James Norway about practical AI SEO tips and tricks. First off, what do you call it inside the agency?
James Norway: We call it GEO. We adopted that term about a year ago when it started gaining traction. We also use AI SEO. Ultimately it comes down to what the client wants. Clients want visibility in large language models and they want revenue from them. That is the focus.
James Dooley: Do you see SEO and GEO as the same thing, or are there real differences?
James Norway: The fundamentals overlap. Core SEO principles still apply. But there are nuanced differences. Tracking is different. Visibility monitoring is different. There are tactical additions such as LLM info pages, AI sharing buttons, and structuring content into accessible chunks. Even citation building shifts. For ChatGPT visibility, the goal can be brand citations rather than backlinks. Traditional SEO values link equity. GEO often values corroboration and brand mentions. Those nuances are where the competitive edge sits.
James Dooley: The client intent matters. If they want AI visibility, they expect a GEO strategy. It is not a PageRank driven model. It relies more on corroboration and co citations. You were early with AI share buttons such as summarise on ChatGPT or Perplexity. What led to that and did it work?
James Norway: We tested on our own sites around May or June last year. We run travel and niche sites internally. We added LLM sharing buttons and experimented with prompt variations like store this in your memory. We saw strong uplift. Others in growth communities scaled the tactic and drove large volumes of traffic through it. Results were positive. Clients like being ahead of competitors. When we show tested growth from our own properties, they are more open to implementation. Enterprise brands can be cautious. Startups tend to move faster.
James Dooley: Beyond share buttons, what else is working in GEO right now?
James Norway: Question focused optimisation is huge. LLM users ask detailed questions rather than typing short head terms. We mine question data in Google Search Console using regex filters and build content around those queries. Structured answers improve pickup. Some clients now generate significant monthly revenue directly from ChatGPT referrals. Misinformation correction is another key service. Large brands care about incorrect CEO names, outdated data, or inconsistent citations. We run GEO audits focused on brand health in AI systems.
James Dooley: Query fan out increases risk. A trust query can expand into reviews, testimonials, case studies and history. If messaging is not controlled across those nodes, sentiment can weaken. Some brands rank first in Google yet are not recommended by AI systems. That shows a difference between SEO and GEO.
James Norway: Exactly. Query fan out requires structured control. We have a dedicated GEO team testing daily. The news cycle is relentless. On chunks, it simply means structuring information into clear, self contained passages that AI systems can extract and cite. Regex in Search Console helps identify question patterns. Implementation is often easier to understand through visual guides.
James Dooley: For businesses not yet investing in GEO, what basics should they check first?
James Norway: Ensure AI bots are not blocked in robots.txt. Some companies block GPTBot without realising the impact. Fix rendering issues. If Google struggles to render the site, AI crawlers will too. Technical accessibility matters. LLM info pages also work. We have seen them cited. That alone signals value. LLMs.txt has not shown measurable impact in our tests. LLM info pages with clear factual business data perform better.
James Dooley: And what should go on an LLM info page?
James Norway: Straight factual information. Who the company is, when it was founded, what it does, key services and leadership. Anything an LLM would need for entity clarity. If it is being crawled and cited, it is worth doing.
James Dooley: Strong insights. That wraps up the discussion on AI SEO tips and tricks.
Creators & Guests
Host
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.