Gemini SEO is the work of making your brand easy for Google’s Gemini app to find, trust and recommend when someone asks a question your product answers. Google documents that Gemini Apps can ground answers in content from the Google Search index, so most of Gemini SEO is Google SEO done well: indexable pages, clear facts and a strong presence on the pages Google already ranks. There are no published Gemini ranking factors and no way to buy a place in its answers.
When a buyer asks Gemini “what’s the best CRM for a 20-person startup?”, you want to be on the shortlist it writes. This guide sticks to what Google actually documents about Gemini, explains how it relates to Google Search and AI Overviews, and gives a practical process to improve and measure your visibility.
Key takeaways
- Google documents grounding for Gemini Apps as “providing content from the Google Search index to the model at prompt time”, so being indexed and well ranked in Google is the foundation of Gemini visibility.
- Google publishes no list of Gemini-specific ranking factors, and its guidance for AI features says no special files, markup or schema are needed.
- Google-Extended is the one Gemini-specific control: it governs training and grounding in Gemini Apps, but it doesn’t affect inclusion or ranking in Google Search.
- Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode are separate products, so being cited in one doesn’t mean being cited in the others.
- Gemini doesn’t link sources on every answer, so measure mentions and positions over repeated runs, not just links.
What Google documents about how Gemini answers
Most claims about “the Gemini algorithm” are guesses. Here is what Google actually states, and what it leaves open.
| What Google documents | What it doesn’t document |
|---|---|
| Gemini Apps can be grounded with content from the Google Search index at prompt time | When the Gemini app decides to search for a given prompt |
| Google-Extended manages training and grounding in Gemini Apps | How grounded pages are selected or ranked inside Gemini |
| The Gemini API can generate one or several search queries per prompt | Whether the consumer app uses exactly the same process |
| Gemini Apps sometimes show sources, and not every response includes them | How many pages Gemini reads per answer |
Grounding in the Google Search index
Google’s list of common crawlers describes Google-Extended as covering “grounding (providing content from the Google Search index to the model at prompt time to improve factuality and relevancy) in Gemini Apps”. That is the clearest official link between Gemini and Search: grounded content comes from the same index that powers Google results. A page Google hasn’t indexed can’t be part of it.
What the Gemini API documentation shows
For developers, Google documents grounding with Google Search in the Gemini API step by step. The model “analyzes the prompt and determines if a Google Search can improve the answer”, then “automatically generates one or multiple search queries and executes them”, processes the results and returns a response with citations linking parts of the text to source URLs.
This describes the API, not the Gemini app, and Google doesn’t say the two work identically. It’s still a useful model: one prompt can become several searches, and the pages that rank for them are the ones the model reads.
Sources in the Gemini app
Google’s help article on viewing related sources in Gemini Apps says Gemini “sometimes” shows sources, and that “not all responses include related links or sources”. So a Gemini answer can recommend your competitor by name without linking to anything. Brand mentions matter as much as citations here.
Gemini, Google Search and AI Overviews
All three draw on Google’s search systems, but they are different products.
| Gemini app | AI Overviews | AI Mode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it appears | gemini.google.com and the Gemini mobile apps | Above classic results on a Google search | A conversational mode inside Google Search |
| Links to sources | Sometimes, not on every answer | Supporting links on the overview | Supporting links in the answer |
| Tracked by Citegram | Yes | Yes | No |
For AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google’s AI features documentation is explicit: a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, and there are no extra technical requirements. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use “query fan-out”, issuing multiple related searches across subtopics. Our guides on AI Overviews and your traffic and Google AI Mode SEO cover those two surfaces in detail.
Google doesn’t publish an equivalent eligibility page for the Gemini app, so treat the Search requirements as a minimum.
Google-Extended: the one Gemini-specific control
Google-Extended isn’t a crawler: it’s a robots.txt token Google reads as a permission. Google says it manages whether your content may be used to train future Gemini models and for grounding in Gemini Apps, and that it “does not impact a site’s inclusion in Google Search nor is it used as a ranking signal”.
That creates a real trade-off:
- Allow Google-Extended if you want Gemini to be able to use your pages when it grounds answers.
- Disallow it if keeping your content out of Gemini training matters more to you, knowing it also covers grounding in Gemini Apps and may limit how Gemini uses your content.
- Don’t use it for AI Overviews or AI Mode. Those follow Googlebot rules and snippet controls such as
nosnippet.
Our AI crawlers and robots.txt reference compares it with other vendors’ bots.
How to improve your chances of being recommended by Gemini
- Get your key pages indexed and snippet-eligible. Check product, pricing, comparison and use-case pages with URL Inspection in Search Console, and remove any accidental
nosnippetor Googlebot block. - Check your Google-Extended rule. Open your robots.txt and confirm the token isn’t disallowed by accident, for example by a template that blocks “all AI bots”.
- Answer the searches behind the prompt. A question like “best CRM for a 20-person startup with email automation” hides narrower searches: CRM pricing per user, email automation features, comparisons with HubSpot or Pipedrive. Cover those subtopics on the pages you already have. Google warns that creating pages for every variation “primarily to manipulate rankings or generative AI responses” breaks its scaled content abuse policy. See query fan-out explained.
- State your facts plainly. Who the product is for, what it costs, what it integrates with and how it compares. A clear sentence is easier to reuse than a vague tagline.
- Be present on the pages Google ranks. For “best X for Y” questions, top results are often review sites, roundups and community threads. Make sure they list you with accurate, current information.
This is classic SEO applied to the questions buyers ask assistants; see SEO vs GEO for where the two differ.
How to measure your Gemini visibility
Google says Search Console counts traffic from AI features in Search, but its documentation doesn’t describe any report for the Gemini app. You need your own baseline.
- Build a prompt set. Pick 10 to 30 questions your buyers would ask, without your brand name in them. The AI prompt generator can give you a starting list.
- Run each prompt several times. Answers vary between runs and accounts.
- Record four things: whether you’re mentioned, your position in the list, which competitors appear and which sources are linked, when there are any.
- Compare with AI Overviews for the same questions, since the two can disagree.
- Watch referral traffic. Our guide to tracking AI traffic in GA4 shows how to separate visits from AI assistants.
Track Gemini and AI Overviews with Citegram
Citegram is a free Chrome extension with a dashboard that automates this measurement:
- Add your buyer prompts in the dashboard.
- Run them in the real Gemini app. Citegram asks each prompt in a background tab with the Google account already signed in to your browser. No API key, and questions count toward your own plan usage. Answers come from your account, so personalization and location can influence them.
- See whether Gemini named you and where. Each run records whether your brand was mentioned, its position and the sources the answer cited.
- Check AI Overviews for the same questions. Citegram records whether an AI Overview appeared in Google and which sources it cited. It doesn’t track AI Mode.
- Compare across assistants. The same prompts run in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, DeepSeek and Grok, with share of voice per brand and per assistant, the most cited domains and trends over repeated runs.
First results arrive in about 10 minutes. For the Anthropic side, see our guide to Claude SEO.
FAQ
Is Gemini SEO different from Google SEO?
Mostly no. Google documents that Gemini Apps can be grounded with content from the Google Search index, and its guidance for AI features says the usual SEO best practices apply. The differences are measurement and the Google-Extended setting.
Does Gemini use Google Search results?
Google says grounding in Gemini Apps provides content from the Google Search index to the model at prompt time. It doesn’t document when the app decides to search or how it picks pages, so a top Google ranking helps but doesn’t guarantee a mention.
Does blocking Google-Extended remove my site from Gemini?
It limits how Google may use your content for Gemini training and for grounding in Gemini Apps, so it can reduce how Gemini uses your pages. It doesn’t affect your inclusion or ranking in Google Search, and it doesn’t control AI Overviews or AI Mode.
How do I check if Gemini recommends my brand?
Ask Gemini the questions your buyers ask, without your brand name, several times each, and note whether you appear, in which position and next to which competitors. A tool like Citegram runs those prompts in the Gemini app for you and tracks the results over time.
See where you stand in Gemini
Before you change anything, find out whether Gemini names you for the questions your buyers ask. The free plan tracks one prompt across all assistants, forever. Pro adds unlimited prompts and competitors for $10 per seat per month. See pricing.
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