Stop Wasting Money on these 5 Things for GEO / AI SEO

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Stop Wasting Money on these 5 Things for GEO

Don't Spend Money on These Things for AI SEO / GEO

AI search revolution is completely changing how people find information.

But most businesses are still spending money on outdated SEO tactics that don't work in this new world.

Today, I'm going to save you thousands of dollars by showing you exactly what to stop spending money on when it comes to AI SEO and Generative Engine Optimization.

These are the five biggest money pits I see companies falling into. If you're doing any of these, you need to stop right now.

Stop Wasting Money on Commodity Top-of-Funnel Content

Let's start with the biggest waste of money I see: commodity top-of-funnel content.

You know what I'm talking about:

• Those generic blog posts like "What is Digital Marketing?"

• "10 Benefits of Cloud Computing" that every company in your space is writing

• Basic explanatory content that's been covered a million times

Here's why this is a complete waste of money in the age of AI search:

When someone asks ChatGPT or Claude a basic question like "What is digital marketing?", the AI doesn't need to link back to your generic explanation. It can synthesize information from hundreds of sources and give a comprehensive answer without ever mentioning your brand.

AI search engines are designed to summarize and synthesize information, not to drive traffic to individual websites.

So when you create the same basic content that everyone else is creating, you're essentially paying to be invisible.

The competition for these topics is insane. There are literally thousands of articles on basic marketing concepts.

Your generic "What is SEO?" post isn't going to stand out in a sea of identical content.

What to do instead:

Focus on specific, unique insights that only you can provide.

• Share case studies, proprietary data, or unique methodologies.

• Create content that AI engines would actually want to cite because it offers something new and valuable.

That's specific, unique, and citable.

Don't Buy Backlinks or Chase Domain Rating Vanity Metrics

The second money pit is buying backlinks and chasing domain rating vanity metrics.

I see companies spending thousands of dollars on:

• Guest posts from high-DR sites that have nothing to do with their industry

• Random backlink packages

• Generic directory submissions

• Spammy link-building services

This is old-school SEO thinking that doesn't work for AI search.

Here's the reality: AI search engines care about credible citations, not spammy guest posts.

They're looking for authoritative sources that actually validate your expertise. A backlink from a random high-DR lifestyle blog isn't going to help you get cited by ChatGPT when someone asks about B2B marketing strategy.

AI engines are smart enough to evaluate the relevance and credibility of sources. They're looking for citations from:

• • Industry organizations

• • Standards bodies

• • Government sources

• • Respected trade publications

• • Other genuinely authoritative sources in your field

The smart approach:

Instead of buying generic backlinks, focus on getting mentioned and cited by high-signal sources in your industry.

Contribute to industry reports, get quoted in trade publications, participate in standards bodies, or collaborate with respected organizations in your field.

For example, if you're in cybersecurity, getting mentioned in a NIST publication or an industry association report is worth way more than a hundred guest posts on random high-DR sites.

Stop Creating Gated "Thought-Leadership" PDFs

The third waste of money is gated thought-leadership PDFs.

I put thought-leadership in quotes because most of these aren't actually thought leadership. They're just rehashed content hidden behind a lead capture form.

But here's the bigger issue: AI engines can't cite what they can't crawl.

When you gate your content, you're making it invisible to AI search engines. They can't access it, can't read it, and can't cite it.

So all that valuable information you're putting behind a form is essentially worthless for AI visibility.

I see companies spending huge budgets on these elaborate PDF reports: • Hiring designers, researchers, and writers • Creating genuinely valuable insights • Then hiding everything behind a gate

It's like writing a brilliant book and then locking it in a vault.

A better strategy:

If your content is genuinely valuable and insightful, why are you hiding it? The whole point of thought leadership is to demonstrate your expertise publicly.

At minimum, publish a crawlable summary. Include the key facts, data tables, and insights in a publicly accessible format. Use structured data markup so AI engines can easily understand and potentially cite your findings.

Better yet, publish the full content openly and capture leads through other means:

• • Offer related services

• • Invite people to webinars

• • Provide additional resources

The companies that are winning in AI search are the ones sharing their expertise openly and generously.

Stop Vanity Social Media and Impression Buys

The fourth money pit is vanity social media and impression buys.

I see companies spending thousands on: • Boosting posts for impressions • Buying followers or engagement • Generic social media advertising without clear objectives • Vanity metrics that don't drive results

Here's the thing: If your social media activity isn't feeding into Q&A surfaces, FAQ sections, forums, or documentation that AI engines can crawl, it's basically noise from an AI SEO perspective.

Most social media impressions are ephemeral. They might generate some short-term visibility, but they don't create the kind of persistent, crawlable content that AI engines can cite.

A boosted LinkedIn post that gets 10,000 impressions but doesn't lead to any meaningful content or citations is just vanity metrics.

Social media can be valuable for AI SEO, but only if you're strategic:

• • Drive discussions that end up in searchable forums

• • Lead to Q&A content on your website

• • Generate user-generated content that can be crawled

• • Use UTM parameters to track meaningful engagement

Use social media to drive traffic to detailed FAQ sections on your website, encourage discussions in forums or communities, or promote webinars that result in transcribed Q&A content.

The goal should be distribution that leads to substance, not just eyeballs that disappear.

Stop Creating Subdomain Sprawl

The fifth and final money pit is subdomain sprawl and microsites.

I see companies creating separate subdomains or microsites for:

• • Every product launch

• • Each marketing campaign

• • Different business initiatives

• • Regional variations

This fragments your entity graph and dilutes your brand authority in the eyes of AI engines.

Think about how AI engines understand brands and entities. They're looking at your overall digital footprint, your content ecosystem, and your authority signals.

When you spread your content across multiple subdomains and microsites, you're fragmenting that authority instead of consolidating it.

Each separate subdomain essentially starts from zero in terms of entity recognition and authority. Instead of building one strong, authoritative presence, you're creating multiple weak ones.

It's like trying to build ten small campfires instead of one big one.

The smarter approach:

Unless there's a legitimate compliance reason or a genuine business need for separation, you should consolidate your content under your main domain.

Build your authority in one place instead of spreading it thin.

This doesn't mean you can't have different sections or categories. You can absolutely organize your content into different areas of your main site. But keep it all under your primary domain where it can contribute to your overall entity authority.

For example: • Instead of "cybersecurity.yourcompany.com" and "cloudservices.yourcompany.com" • Create "yourcompany.com/cybersecurity" and "yourcompany.com/cloud-services"

Same organization, but all the authority flows to your main domain.

What to Do Instead

So if you're not spending money on these five things, what should you focus on?

Here's the high-level strategy:

Create unique, specific content that only you can produce. Share proprietary insights, case studies, and methodologies. Make it crawlable and citable.

Focus on earning citations from genuinely authoritative sources in your industry. Build real relationships with trade publications, industry organizations, and respected experts.

Publish your best insights openly. Use content to demonstrate expertise, not just to capture leads.

Use social media strategically to drive meaningful engagement that creates crawlable content.

Consolidate your digital presence to build strong entity authority in one place.

The Bottom Line

Stop spending money on tactics that worked in 2015 and start investing in strategies that will get you cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and the next generation of AI search engines.

The companies that adapt now will have a massive advantage over those still playing by the old rules.

Talk soon,

Jason Patel
Co-founder & CEO, Open Forge AI
We help your business get seen, cited, and selected by AI search engines.

Answer Engine Optimization Strategies

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