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AI in marketing, GEO and search engine optimisation

The online marketer.

Search is what I care about most, and it is changing fundamentally right now. I have worked on search engine optimisation since 2008, and for the past few years also on how brands stay visible in answer engines and where artificial intelligence genuinely holds up in marketing. Not as theory, but daily, on real projects with real revenue targets.

Florian Hieß, online marketer
Photo: David Johansson

Focus areas

What I
actually do.

AI in marketing

The part of my work that is changing fastest. It comes down to two questions: where does artificial intelligence actually save time in day-to-day marketing, research, structuring, first drafts, data analysis, and where does it create expensive busywork? Alongside that comes building your own knowledge systems, so an assistant argues from real project data rather than training knowledge. Whatever I recommend, I use myself first; this website is one example.

GEO: visibility in answer engines

Generative engine optimisation is the twin of SEO for a world where an answer engine steps between the search and the website. The question is no longer only whether a page ranks, but whether it gets cited as a source. That calls for unambiguous facts, clean structure and verifiable statements, which is exactly why this site has its own fact pages with sources and review dates.

Search engine optimisation

SEO is the discipline I have worked with longest and find least boring, because it spans so much: technology, content, structure, authority. Since 2012 I have handled in-house SEO and ranking improvements for websites in more than 35 countries, traffic growth nationally and internationally, coaching internal teams, and the coordination and execution of link building strategies. Classic SEO and GEO are not separate efforts today: the same technical base, the same content, two ways of measuring.

Performance and paid search

Since 2010 I have supported small and medium-sized companies with paid search. As a certified Google Partner, the work is about performance-oriented optimisation of campaigns and ads, lead generation, and testing new ad formats. Always with an eye on what actually turns into revenue.

Conversion optimisation

Traffic without conversion is expensive statistics. I set up and ran my first A/B test hypotheses in 2014; since then I have run such tests regularly for multilingual websites.

Digital strategy

The part that holds the others together: where is the company now, where does it want to go, which channels contribute, and which can be dropped? I would rather send an honest rejection than a concept I do not believe in myself.

Frequently asked

About working together.

Do you handle implementation or only consulting?
Both are possible. On smaller mandates I advise and your team implements. On larger projects the Digital Wings team takes over implementation, with me as your fixed point of contact.
How long until SEO shows results?
The honest answer: it depends on your starting point, the competition and how fast you implement. Technical issues can be fixed in weeks; content and authority topics take months. Anyone promising you position one in three weeks is selling you something.
Do you work internationally?
Yes. International SEO with multilingual websites has been part of my daily work since 2012, with projects across more than 35 countries. Consulting in German, and in English at business level.
Which industries fit best?
E-commerce, tourism and SaaS. That is where search visibility feeds most directly into revenue. Other industries are not excluded, but often need a different channel mix.
What is your strongest area?
Search engine optimisation, technical as well as content-side. Everything else builds on that.
Do you do Google Ads as well?
Yes, since 2010, as a certified Google Partner. In practice the combination works best: paid channels deliver data quickly, SEO delivers cheaper traffic over the long run.
How do you measure success?
By what the business actually needs: enquiries, deals, revenue. Rankings and visibility indices are intermediate steps, not goals.
What do you make of AI in SEO?
AI and agentic marketing are changing everything right now. Research, analysis and first drafts work differently than they did two years ago, and answer engines are shifting what visibility even means. Anyone thinking about SEO without AI today is working on the past.
What is GEO and do we need it?
Generative engine optimisation means staying visible when an answer engine steps between the search and the website. Whether you need it depends on how much of your traffic comes from information-driven queries.
Do you work with a fixed tool stack?
Yes. My standard tools include Sistrix, Ahrefs, Ryte, Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Otterly.ai and, of course, Claude. Project-specific tools come in as needed.
How do you handle a Google penalty?
First check whether it really is a manual action or just an update. Then evidence the cause, fix it and document it. Panic and blind link deletion usually make it worse.
Can you assess an existing website before we work together?
Yes, that is the usual entry point. An audit with a prioritised list of measures, which you can also implement without me.

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