# Foundations

> The concepts the rest of the wiki builds on — what GEO is, how Google describes helpful content and E-E-A-T — each checked against primary sources.

- URL: https://geo.casa/foundations/
- Hub
- Reviewed: 2026-10-25

Most disagreements about GEO come from mixing up three things: what search engines document, what research measured, and what practitioners believe. The entries here pin down the core terms against primary sources first.

## Start here

1. [Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)](https://geo.casa/foundations/geo/) — where the term comes from, and why Google calls it SEO.
2. [E-E-A-T](https://geo.casa/foundations/e-e-a-t/) — what Google means by experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust, and what it says E-E-A-T is not.
3. [How Google Search works](https://geo.casa/foundations/how-google-search-works/) — crawling, indexing and serving, which AI features build on.
4. [Google Search Essentials](https://geo.casa/foundations/search-essentials/) — Google's baseline: technical requirements, spam policies, best practices.
5. [People-first content](https://geo.casa/foundations/people-first-content/) — Google's self-assessment questions.
6. [Claim: Google penalizes AI-generated content](https://geo.casa/foundations/ai-generated-content/) — what Google actually says about AI-written content.

## Sources

- [Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide)
- [Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content)