The Difference Between SEO and GEO/AEO - Mike King Presenting

Link to RSVP on Luma:

Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET

Location: Pendo, 301 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603

Food & Drinks: Provided

RSVP: Register on Luma

"The Difference Between SEO and GEO/AEO"

"It's just SEO" might be the most expensive advice in marketing right now. Mike King brings the data, the research, and the real-world case studies to show you exactly why optimizing for AI search is its own discipline, and what you're leaving on the table if you treat it like business as usual.

Traditional ranking factors explain very little of what actually drives citations in AI search. The overlap between Google's organic results and what shows up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews is far smaller than most marketers assume. Something fundamentally different is happening, and most of the tools and tactics the SEO community relies on haven't caught up yet.

Mike breaks down how LLMs actually find, evaluate, and cite your content. He covers query fan out and the invisible keywords you're competing on, why your meta description suddenly matters again, why content chunking is a measurable optimization and not a gimmick, and the technical blind spots that could be silently killing your AI visibility. He also gets into why AI search is more of a branding channel than a performance channel, why Reddit and YouTube dominate as cited sources, and how to think about reputation management when LLMs build consensus from across the web rather than just reading your site.

If you think your current SEO playbook has you covered for AI search, this talk will change your mind.

Mike King

Mike King is the Founder and CEO of iPullRank, a digital marketing agency focused on SEO, content strategy, and generative AI that has driven over $4 billion in incremental revenue for Fortune 500 clients. A two-time Search Engine Land Search Marketer of the Year, Mike is widely recognized as one of the leading voices on how AI is reshaping search. His work sits at the intersection of information retrieval, machine learning, and marketing strategy, and he coined the Relevance Engineering framework that has become foundational to modern search optimization. Mike has keynoted stages around the world including SXSW, MozCon, SMX, and BrightonSEO, and his upcoming book "The Science of SEO" with Wiley Publishing breaks down the computer science behind how search engines actually work. He studied Systems and Computer Science at Howard University and is also a hip hop artist who has toured four continents.

Pendo

We'll be gathering at the Pendo office in downtown Raleigh at 301 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603.

Arrive at street level in the lobby of the Pendo tower and we'll get you checked in and escorted upstairs.

6:00pm - doors open, drinks, mingling, networking

6:30pm - presentation, q&a

7:15pm - drinks, mingling, networking

8:00pm - doors close

The Triangle SEO Meetup is a free monthly meetup for SEO professionals and marketers in the Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and greater Triangle area of North Carolina. We alternate between casual community hangs and speaker-led presentations.

Learn more about us, find out our upcoming events, and signup for our email list on our website triangleseomeetup.com.