I Spent $10K Testing GEO Strategies: What Actually Works
Real experiments, real data, real results. A breakdown of which GEO tactics move the needle.
May Chen
Strategist, Geonauts
Theory is nice. Data is better. We spent $10,000 testing GEO strategies across real businesses to see what actually moves the needle.
The Experiment Setup
10
Local businesses
90
Days tested
$1K
Per business
10
Strategies tested
Strategy Results
1. Review Generation Campaigns
High ROIInvestment: $150 | Approach: Systematic review requests
23
avg new reviews
7/10
improved visibility
Best for
<50 reviews
Finding: Review volume matters with diminishing returns. Going 20→50 reviews had bigger impact than 100→150.
2. Press Release Distribution
Low ROIInvestment: $400 | Approach: PR service distribution
12
avg site pickups
3/10
improved visibility
Issue
Low-authority sites
Finding: PR distribution sites don't carry authority. AI didn't cite these mentions unless picked up by real local news.
3. Local Publication Features
High ROIInvestment: $500 | Approach: Pitched stories to local media
6/10
got featured
5/6
improved visibility
Lasting
impact
Finding: One feature in a real local publication consistently outperformed dozens of lower-quality mentions.
4. "Best Of" List Targeting
High ROIInvestment: $300 | Approach: Applied for local awards/lists
4/10
appeared on lists
4/4
improved visibility
100%
success rate
Finding: "Best of [City]" lists influence AI recommendations. They become training data and citations.
| Strategy | Investment | Success | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry Directories | $200 | 6/10 | High for pro services |
| Wikipedia (if eligible) | $800 | 2/2 eligible | Very high if you qualify |
| Content Creation | $600 | 4/10 | Medium (needs promotion) |
| GBP Optimization | $100 | 8/10 | Essential foundation |
| Podcast Appearances | $200 | 3/5 | Medium (need show notes) |
| Social Media Activity | $150 | 1/10 | Low (skip for GEO) |
The $10K Playbook
If we had to spend $10K again, here's the allocation:
Skip: Press release distribution. Skip: Social media for GEO purposes.
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