The GEO Gold Rush
Since ChatGPT went mainstream, "GEO agencies" have been sprouting up everywhere. In 2026, every SEO shop suddenly claims GEO expertise on its website. But how do you know who truly understands how AI search engines work?
The answer: ask the right questions. A genuine GEO agency answers them without missing a beat.
Question 1: "What is your llms.txt strategy?"
This is the litmus test. In 2026, llms.txt is what robots.txt was in 2005: essential. Any agency that takes GEO seriously has a concrete strategy for it.
What you want to hear: "We build a structured llms.txt file that tells AI models which pages matter most, with descriptions per section. Optionally, we provide llms-full.txt for full content indexing."
What you don't want to hear: "What's llms.txt?"
Question 2: "How do you measure GEO results?"
You measure SEO results in rankings and clicks. GEO results are measured differently — and a good agency knows it.
Good answer: "We measure AI mentions (how often you're cited in ChatGPT/Perplexity answers), AI traffic in your analytics, and citation growth. We use tools that simulate AI crawls and we also test manually."
Question 3: "What is your approach to structured data?"
JSON-LD structured data is the universal language AI models understand. Without it, your website isn't talking to AI.
Good answer: "We implement schema.org markup on every relevant page: Organization, FAQ, Article, Breadcrumb, Service. We use JSON-LD and validate it with Google's Rich Results Test."
Question 4: "How do you make content citation-worthy?"
AI models trust sources that other sources already trust. Backlinks alone aren't enough.
Good answer: "We build conceptual authority through in-depth content, mentions in reputable publications, and consistency in factual claims. A Wikipedia mention or a .edu backlink carries more weight than 50 spam links."
Question 5: "Can you build an AI-native website?"
GEO goes beyond content. The technical foundation — how your website is built — determines how AI models interpret it.
Good answer: "Yes, we build with Next.js and Claude Code. That means every page has semantically correct HTML, all metadata is complete, and the site is optimized for both traditional and AI search engines."
The red flags
- "GEO is just SEO with AI tools" — No.
- "We use ChatGPT to create content" — AI-generated content without human editing is a GEO risk, not an advantage.
- "We guarantee the #1 spot in ChatGPT" — Nobody can guarantee that.
What you can expect from a GEO agency in the Netherlands
The five questions above filter out the pretenders. What you can then expect from an agency is concrete: a technical foundation that lets AI crawlers in, structured data that makes your pages understandable, content that answers questions instead of repeating claims, and measurement of AI mentions rather than rankings alone.
At WeArkMedia, that's the work we do every day — from AI-native websites to GEO programmes for SMEs (the Dutch MKB). What's included and what isn't is on our GEO agency page; what it costs and what it delivers is in this breakdown of GEO costs and ROI.
Conclusion
A real GEO agency combines technical expertise (JSON-LD, llms.txt, Next.js) with content strategy (conceptual authority, citation-worthiness) and measurable results (AI traffic, mentions).
Ask these 5 questions and you'll know within 5 minutes whether you're talking to an expert.