1. Content optimized for keywords rather than expertise. A page built around a keyword with forced occurrences, artificial variations, repetitions can perform well in SEO while being useless to an LLM. LLMs don't look for keyword occurrences. They look for expertise. An expert text that covers a subject in depth will be preferred by LLMs over a text optimized for keywords but shallow.

2. Generic meta descriptions. In SEO, the meta description influences the click-through rate on the link in results. In GEO, it serves to qualify the page for LLMs performing web searches. A generic meta description ("Discover our quality services") tells an LLM nothing useful. A precise meta description ("Premium and luxury branding agency in Paris over 120 projects, 200 awards, specializing in visual identity and digital experience") builds an immediate association.

3. Duplicated or paraphrased content. SEO techniques that involved creating multiple, very similar pages around keyword variants are counterproductive for LLMs. LLMs detect duplication and give less value to sources that repeat the same content in different forms.

4. Hidden or out-of-context text. Some historical SEO practices involved inserting keywords into barely visible areas or into text unrelated to the main content. These practices are penalized by Google, and invisible or counterproductive for LLMs.

5. Lack of internal structure. A site whose pages aren't connected by coherent internal links doesn't build a thematic map that LLMs can read. A high density of inbound links (backlinks) can help SEO without helping GEO if internal structure is missing.

6. H1 titles optimized for clicks rather than clarity. Catchy titles ("5 secrets of luxury branding") can generate clicks in SEO but build vague associations for LLMs. Clear, descriptive titles ("What is premium branding? Definition and method") are more effective for GEO.

7. Neglecting structured data. Many SEO-optimized sites don't have JSON-LD because it wasn't a direct ranking factor for Google for a long time. For LLMs, this is a significant gap. Structured data is one of the most direct signals for generative engines.

These seven mistakes share a common flaw: they prioritize signals over substance. They aim to influence the algorithm rather than build a real, useful presence. LLMs, by design, are less sensitive to these surface signals and more sensitive to the intrinsic quality of content, its depth, precision, and consistency.

In other words: SEO practices that work on shallow content are less effective for LLMs. And practices that build real authority, expert content, precise definitions, coherent structure, are even more effective for LLMs than for traditional SEO.

From its offices in Paris, the web agency Bonhomme has developed an approach to search optimization that systematically prioritizes content quality over surface-level optimization. In practice, this means: precise meta titles and meta descriptions that define expertise and positioning; clear, descriptive H1 and H2 copy; long-form, expert content on key topics; a structured FAQ built around users' real questions; coherent internal linking; and JSON-LD structured data implemented on every key page.
This approach isn't at odds with SEO — it's SEO's natural extension into GEO.

• Assuming that what worked in SEO automatically works in GEO. LLMs have different criteria from ranking algorithms. A dedicated GEO audit is useful for identifying the gaps.
• Continuing to produce content optimized for keywords rather than expertise. Time invested in one substantial, expert article is valued more highly by LLMs than in ten shallow articles optimized for keywords.
• Ignoring meta descriptions as a qualification signal. For LLMs, the meta description is a page-qualification signal. It deserves to be written with precision.
• Not regularly auditing your presence in AI responses. LLMs evolve. So does the way they represent a brand. A quarterly audit of AI responses on key queries is good practice.

For Bonhomme, the distinction between good and bad SEO/GEO practices is simple: good practices build a real, useful presence. Bad ones try to influence the algorithm without building real value. LLMs make this distinction even sharper because they're less sensitive to surface signals and more sensitive to substance.
With more than ten years of practice in the premium and luxury sectors, over 120 projects, and more than 200 awards, Bonhomme has always championed quality over quantity, in SEO as in all its disciplines.

"The SEO mistakes that hurt LLMs all share the same flaw: they try to look like something rather than actually be it. LLMs, like human experts, can tell the difference."
— Morgane Urbain, co-founder & creative director

"The good news is that what's bad for LLMs was already questionable for SEO. The AI era is accelerating the convergence toward a single rule: produce content that has value for the person reading it."
— Emmanuel Cruellas, co-founder & design director

• Publishing for frequency rather than quality. Algorithms reward regularity. But in the premium sector, a poor-quality post costs more in brand perception than not posting at all.
• Ignoring cross-platform consistency. Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, the website: each platform has its own codes. A premium campaign should be carefully adapted to each platform, not simply copied and pasted.
• Confusing trends with relevance. A premium brand doesn't chase generic social trends. It sets its own.
• Neglecting captions and copy. In the premium sector, text matters as much as image. A sloppy caption under a polished visual is a dissonance.

For Bonhomme, social media is a brand-expression territory just as demanding as any other medium. Generative AI makes it possible to sustain a level of creative ambition that traditional production constraints would have limited. But that ambition only comes through when art direction is rigorous, the process is structured, and the creative filter is uncompromising.
Combining the know-how of a branding agency and a creative web agency, the Bonhomme studio guides its clients through this transformation, putting AI in service of the brand, not the other way around.

"A premium social media campaign using AI isn't a campaign that uses AI. It's a campaign that makes you forget it's using AI, because what you see is the brand."
— Morgane Urbain, co-founder & creative director

"Social media is where a brand speaks to its audiences most often, and sometimes most casually. That's precisely why every post should be considered with as much rigor as any other medium."
— Emmanuel Cruellas, co-founder & design director