SEO, AEO, and GEO for Interior Designers: Is Your Website Ready for AI Search?
What I shared with LuAnn Nigara on A Well-Designed Business
(Ep. 1234: "Your SEO Is Working. But Is Search Changing?")
By Melanie Zaelich, founder of Happy Place Interiors and The Designer's Blueprint · Updated November 3, 2026
Quick answer:
SEO helps your website show up when someone searches. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) helps AI tools pull a clear answer from your site. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) helps AI recognize you as the go-to expert on a topic. For interior designers, all three start with the same foundation: a website that Google and Bing have indexed and that clearly states who you are, who you serve, and how you work.
In early 2026, a woman hired me, and I asked her my usual intake question: where did you hear about me?
She said ChatGPT.
She's about 75.
She didn't Google anything. She asked an AI tool for five Minneapolis interior designers who fit what she wanted, looked at all five websites, and picked me.
I was floored, mainly because of her age. And if you're a designer whose leads have always come from Google, I'd gently suggest this story is worth five minutes of your time. I got to dig into all of it with LuAnn Nigara on her podcast, A Well-Designed Business, and here's the version you can read with your coffee.
SEO vs. AEO vs. GEO: what is the difference?
SEO gets your page to show up in search results, AEO gets your answer pulled into an AI response, and GEO makes AI treat you as the go-to expert on a topic. Here is each one with an interior design example:
SEO matches a search. Someone types "interior design consultations in Minneapolis," and your service page shows up.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) answers a specific question. Someone asks, "Can I hire an interior designer just to tell me what to do, without handing over the whole project?" and your FAQ gives a clear, short answer.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) makes you the go-to source. You've published a whole body of helpful content on a topic, so AI sees you as the designer who really knows this.
My shortcut: A is for Answer, G is for Go-to source.
The important part is that AEO and GEO aren't replacements for SEO. They're layers on top of it. Good SEO is the foundation, and the other two build from there.
Why doesn't AI recommend my interior design firm?
Most often, it's because your pages aren't indexed. When AI tools answer a question in real time, they lean heavily on the Google and Bing indexes, so a page that isn't indexed is effectively invisible to them.
Picture a library. The AI is a researcher, and the Google and Bing indexes are the card catalog. If your pages aren't in the catalog, the researcher never walks over to your book. Plenty of designer websites have only their home page indexed, which means their service pages may be invisible.
The fix starts with Google Search Console. It's a free dashboard (not the same thing as your Google Business Profile) where you tell Google, "I just published this page, please add it to your index." Then do the same with Bing. If you have a web person, ask them to show you your Search Console.
What are the Modern Search Factors™?
Every SEO task fits into three buckets: Seen, Trusted, and Relevant. I developed this framework and named it the Modern Search Factors:
Are you seen? Can Google and AI find and read your website? (This is the technical bucket.)
Are you trusted? Are you clearly a legit business?
Are you relevant? Do your words match what your ideal client is actually asking?
Here's why I love this framework: Google and AI simply mirror human behavior. I recommend my window treatment guy, Nathan, because I know him, I trust him in my clients' homes, and what he offers fits what they need. Search works the same way.
What makes a designer's website trustworthy to Google and AI?
Search engines and AI judge trust with plain data: they're checking whether you're a verifiable, legitimate business. You can make that easy with these details:
Your name and a photo of you
Your city and state (even if you work nationwide)
A phone number and a zip code
Testimonials and reviews
A current copyright year
If you work from home and don't want to publish a street address, I completely understand. You don't have to. Even a city and state positions you somewhere, and that alone helps both search engines and humans decide you're the real deal. It's amazinghow many interior designers and home pro's don't even have their city listed on their website.
How do I help AI recommend me to the right clients?
State clearly who you serve, what you offer, and what you don't. If you only want to offer consultations and not full-service projects, your website needs to say so. If it just says "beautiful spaces," search engines (and people) can't tell what you do.
The more specific you are about who you serve, how you work, and what the experience is like, the better AI can match you with the right client. Process, client experience, and testimonials are the details that make your firm yours. The same design firm descriptions can look interchangeable until you add what working with you is actually like.
How do I make my design process recognizable as mine online?
Name it and publish it on a dedicated page. If you have a method, a process, or a signature client experience, give it a name, put it on a dedicated page on your website, and tell the story.
You don't have to invent something nobody has ever done. Most good design processes share a lot of steps. LuAnn made the point beautifully with her own sales system, which is built on timeless sales principles and is still distinctly hers. The magic is the packaging: a name, a tagline, and a description of how clients feel moving through it.
That's exactly what I did with Modern Search Factors™ framework. I took every SEO task, sorted it into three buckets, and named it. Search for the generic term and you'll get a general list of ranking factors. Search for the framework by name and it should find me.
A few ways to claim your method online:
Create a dedicated page for it, with the name and the year you developed it
Mention it in your page titles and descriptions so search engines connect it to you
Talk about it on LinkedIn and social media (I call this living out loud)
Ask your web person to add schema markup, a small piece of code that quietly tells Google and AI who you are and what you offer
A quick note on that last one: schema markup works on most platforms like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and Showit, but more limited hosts and many AI-built websites may not give you that control.
Why should I keep updating my website?
Because your website is a living storefront, not a one-time setup. If you had a showroom on Nicollet Avenue, you wouldn't open it once and walk away. You'd sweep the porch, fix the rug, and turn the lights on. Your website deserves the same care. I'd also add that if a site goes untouched for months, search engines may wonder whether you're still open for business.
Do I need to do SEO myself if I have a web person?
No, but you should understand it well enough to lead the people you hire. About half the designers I work with already have a web person. They want the deeper understanding so they can be a better partner. LuAnn compared it to bookkeeping: you may not do it yourself, but knowing how it works makes you a smarter business owner.
Here are good questions to bring to your SEO or web professional:
How are we thinking about AEO and GEO in addition to SEO?
Are all of my important pages indexed?
Does my website answer the questions my ideal clients are actually asking?
Is the expertise that makes my firm different coming through clearly online?
What are the first three steps to get found by AI?
Check your index. Set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, or ask your web person to show you.
Add some trust signals. Name, photo, city and state, and testimonials on your site.
Name your process. Give it its own page and tell clients how it feels to work with you.
How can I keep up with SEO, AEO, GEO, and marketing?
Turn it into a weekly habit instead of a big project. In my Weekly 30 program, you spend about 30 minutes a week on a short, prioritized set of tasks that covers your SEO, AEO, GEO, and the rest of your marketing, so it all works together and points back to your website.
Weekly 30 runs on an AI assistant in Claude. You tell it about your website, what you do, and where your clients are, and it audits your actual site each week and gives you next steps in priority order.
Why weekly? Because your website is a storefront, and your marketing should do double duty. When your networking, speaking events, email, and social media all feed back to your website, they compound your SEO instead of competing for your time.
What's included in the Weekly 30 | SEO + AI Marketing Program
SEO & AI Marketing Assistant
Audits your site and sends you 30 minutes of prioritized to-dos each week, have more time? Just ask for more.
All your marketing is drafted for your approval: social media, emails, blog posts.
Live Coaching
Monthly Q &A plus extra trainings
The SEO-Powered Website Course
Walks you through Seen, Trusted, and Relevant, and then layers on AEO and GEO.
FAQ
What is the difference between SEO, AEO, and GEO?
SEO helps your pages show up when someone searches. AEO helps you become the clear answer to a specific question. GEO helps AI see you as the go-to source on a topic. AEO and GEO build on top of strong SEO.
Do interior designers need to worry about AI search?
Clients are increasingly asking AI tools for designer recommendations, so it's worth making sure your website is visible and easy for AI to understand.
What is Google Search Console?
It's a free Google dashboard where you can submit your pages for indexing and see how Google views your site.
What is schema markup?
It's a small piece of code that tells search engines and AI who you are, what you offer, and what you've created, without changing how your site looks.
Do AEO and GEO replace SEO?
No. AEO and GEO are layers on top of SEO. Without a solid SEO foundation, including an indexed website, AI is unlikely to find or recommend you.
How do I know if AI can see my website?
Open Google Search Console and check that your pages, not just your home page, are indexed, then submit your pages to Bing as well. If your web person manages your site, ask them to show you.
What are the Modern Search Factors?
The Modern Search Factors are three questions every SEO task falls under: Are you seen by Google and AI, are you trusted, and are you relevant to what people are asking? Melanie Zaelich created the framework.
Which website platforms support schema markup?
Schema markup can be added on most platforms, including WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and Showit. More limited hosts like GoDaddy, and many AI-built websites, may not offer that control.
What is The SEO-Powered Website?
It's a self-paced course from The Designer's Blueprint that teaches Seen, Trusted, and Relevant, then layers on AEO and GEO. It includes an SEO AI Assistant that gives you three prioritized website tasks each week.
What is the Weekly 30 program?
Weekly 30 is a marketing program that has you spend about 30 minutes a week on prioritized tasks for your SEO, AEO, GEO, and all of your marketing. An AI assistant in Claude reads your website and tells you what to work on each week.
Let's build a business that works for you the easy way.
Get visible. Get booked. And do it without the burnout.
— Mel Zaelich is an interior designer, branding strategist, and SEO expert dedicated to helping fellow designers build wildly successful businesses—without the stress of constant marketing.
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