Executive Summary
- GEO competitor analysis is misleading when reduced to a single metric. Looking through four axes — SOV / Position / Sentiment / Diversity — surfaces the strategic differences between players.
- Each axis represents a distinct issue. Low SOV + high Position means "lack of exposure opportunity"; high SOV + low Sentiment means "negative exposure" — the remedies are different.
- Identifying competitors starts from "the set of companies AI mentions on the same Topic." SEO competitors and GEO competitors do not necessarily overlap.
- Tracking the per-axis change in 3-month cycles lets you decompose competitor moves and the effect of your own tactics.
1. Why Four Axes
"Raise our AI search visibility" sounds like one goal, but it actually splits into several different issues.
- Is the volume of exposure too low?
- Is the quality of exposure (the ranking) too low?
- Is the sentiment of exposure negative?
- Is the diversity of exposure (range of citation sources) too narrow?
These are separate problems with separate remedies. Judging from a single metric (e.g., raw mention count) means missing critical weaknesses.
GEO Meter expresses each as an independent score on a 0-100 scale.
| Axis | Short name | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Share of Voice | SOV | Industry share (relative mention count) |
| Position | Position | Quality of ranking when cited (average position) |
| Sentiment | Sentiment | Favorability of the citation context |
| Diversity | Diversity | Diversity of citing source domains |
2. Interpreting Each Axis and the Direction of the Fix
Organizing the four axes: SOV and Position represent "exposure volume," while Sentiment and Diversity represent "exposure quality." Each is independent and the fixes differ.
2.1 SOV (Share of Voice) — industry share
What it measures: across Topics in the same industry, mentions of your company ÷ total mentions across all companies. Your "share of voice" inside the industry.
Typical causes when the score is low:
- The basic structured data work is missing in the first place (e.g., no
llms.txt) - Little publication of primary data about the industry
- Few third-party media mentions
Direction of the fix:
- Start by getting the observation-based "foundational tactics" in place (see the complete guide to GEO implementation)
- Publish industry reports and original research
- Push press releases and exposure in industry media
2.2 Position — quality of ranking
What it measures: when AI offers multiple candidates, where does your company appear? Rank 1 ≈ 100, rank 10 ≈ 30.
Typical causes when the score is low:
- Your information is less fresh than competitors'
- Proofs of expertise (credentials, track record, case studies) are thin
- AI does not have you as its "most-recommended candidate"
Direction of the fix:
- Raise the frequency of primary data publication (at least monthly original research)
- Strengthen E-E-A-T (richer "about" pages and case studies)
- Create deep explainer content covering the industry's specialist vocabulary
2.3 Sentiment — favorability
What it measures: whether the citation context is positive, neutral, or negative. Is the company being described as "recommended" or "be careful with"?
Typical causes when the score is low:
- Negative third-party reviews or news rank highly
- Past incidents are being cited
- Unfavorable evidence is being pulled into comparisons against competitors
Direction of the fix:
- Refresh official information (directly improves the Sentiment score)
- Aggressively publish customer success stories
- Address legal issues if any (PR crises, regulatory violations, etc.)
2.4 Diversity — domain diversity
What it measures: the number of distinct citing source domains. Are you over-reliant on one source like your own site or only comparison sites?
Typical causes when the score is low:
- Almost no mentions outside your own site
- Few features in industry media or specialist sites
- Weak backlink and third-party mention footprint
Direction of the fix:
- Guest contributions to industry media (about once a month)
- Lean into interview requests
- Speak at industry conferences
- Prepare for placement on comparison and ranking sites
3. Patterns of the 4-Axis Combination
In real competitor analysis, the combinations of the four axes let you read off strategy.
Pattern A: high SOV / high Position / high Sentiment / high Diversity
= the industry leader. Top of every axis.
- If you are in this position, the strategy is to hold it.
- If a competitor is here, your realistic options are "niche down" or "break through on one specific axis."
Pattern B: high SOV / low Position / mid Sentiment / mid Diversity
= volume but not ranking. Exposure opportunities exist, but you are not the front-runner.
- Raise the frequency of primary data publication
- Strengthen proofs of expertise
- You are likely "ranked 3-5 inside comparison articles"
Pattern C: mid SOV / high Position / high Sentiment / low Diversity
= locally strong. Highly rated in a specific domain (e.g., your own site) but underexposed externally.
- Expand industry media exposure
- Acquire third-party backlinks
- Sustain guest contributions and speaking activity
Pattern D: low SOV / high Position / high Sentiment / mid Diversity
= a hidden gem. Quality is there, volume is not.
- First, finish the foundational tactics (llms.txt, structured data)
- Build awareness through industry reports and research
- Target Topics with larger search volume
Pattern E: mid SOV / mid Position / low Sentiment / mid Diversity
= a negative-exposure problem. Volume exists but the perception is bad.
- Identify the negative mentions (which articles/sites are being cited)
- Overwrite with refreshed official information
- Address any legal issues
4. How to Identify Competitors
GEO competitors do not necessarily match SEO competitors.
SEO competitors vs GEO competitors
| SEO competitors | GEO competitors | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Compete for the same keyword rankings | Get mentioned by AI on the same Topic |
| How to find | Look at the top of Google search results | Look at companies named together in AI search answers |
| Overlap | — | Some overlap, but there is a set of top-cited companies specific to AI search |
| Likely strategy | Win the keyword rankings | Become the entity AI "tends to cite" |
In GEO Meter's initial observations (the first ranking in the tax accountant industry), generic-sounding firm names (e.g., "○○ Startup Financing Center" — names that directly include area + domain) were observed ranking near the top of the GEO ranking. This suggests that firms which are not strong from an SEO perspective can still land at the top of AI citations. We will continue verifying the cross-industry trend as observation data accumulates.
How to build the competitor list
- Pick your top 3-5 Topics.
- For each Topic, ask the question to AI (ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini).
- Note every company named in the answer.
- Repeat three times and extract the 5-10 most frequently appearing companies — that is your GEO competitor list.
In GEO Meter, the industry-specific rankings automatically visualize the competitor list.
5. The Monthly Competitor Analysis Workflow
In practice, monthly operations consist of three cycles: start of month, mid-month, and end of month. A rough time allocation looks like this:
Start of month (15 min)
- Check last month's 4-axis scores for your company and the top 3 competitors
- Note per-axis changes (anything moving by ±5pt or more deserves attention)
Mid-month (30 min)
- Tour competitor websites, 5 minutes each
- Look for new pages and new tactics
- Check for newly published industry reports or research
End of month (30 min)
- Commit to 1-2 moves for your own company
- Decide "what to look at" in next month's competitor analysis
Total: about 75 minutes per month. Consistency matters.
6. FAQ
Q. Of the four axes, which is the top priority?
If your SOV is below the industry average, prioritize SOV (it is improvable with foundational tactics). If your SOV is around the industry average, Position or Diversity tends to be the next move.
Q. If the Sentiment score drops, what should I look at?
GEO Meter's Service Report displays the citations underlying the Sentiment score. When Sentiment is low, read through those citations and identify what is being quoted in a negative context.
Q. The competitor set is growing — what do I do?
Covering every competitor is impossible. Focus on the top 3-5; for the rest, a once-a-quarter check is enough.
Q. How do I set targets for the 4-axis scores?
Set the industry median as the floor and the top 25% of the industry as the 12-month target. For concrete numbers, see the industry benchmarks (refer to the complete guide to GEO management).
7. Summary
By viewing GEO competitor analysis through the four-axis score, "what is the problem" and "what should we change" become clear.
What matters is tracking per-axis change monthly. Rather than concluding from a single snapshot, watching change over 3-6 months lets you decompose the effect of your moves and the actions of competitors.
→ Complete guide to GEO management → Complete guide to GEO implementation → Industry-specific rankings → Measure your 4-axis scores with the free diagnostic
Related Resources
- Complete guide to GEO management — KPI design details
- GEO budget allocation framework — investment decisions
- Complete guide to per-AI optimization — deep dive on the Position axis