Case study: writing a GEO ranking article with Horusium

Classic SEO aims to rank a page in Google's results. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) targets a different playing field: the generative answer engines — those assistants that answer a question directly instead of showing ten blue links (Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews, and the like). When someone asks “which tool should I use to audit my SEO?”, the goal of GEO is simple: to get your brand featured in the generated answer.

Rather than a theoretical lecture, let's walk through a concrete case. Using Horusium's GEO Writing module, we're going to create a “ranking” article — the format AI engines love to cite — on the topic “outil pour audit SEO”, placing a brand at the top. We'll show you every screen and the result we got.

Why a “ranking” article for GEO?

AI answer engines love content that is structured, comparative and explicit: a clear top 5, a concise summary, a table, a methodology, recommendations by profile. That is exactly what gets “cited” well in a generated answer: the AI can pull out a name, a category (“best overall choice”, “best value for money”) and a one-sentence justification.

Horusium's GEO module produces precisely this format: a complete ranking article, semantically dense, where your brand is showcased at the position you choose — all in just a few minutes.

Step 1 — Configure the article

Head over to GEO Writing. The first step is a simple form. You describe what you want to get:

Topic: the theme of the ranking — here outil pour audit SEO.
Brand to showcase and its URL: the brand you want to see cited. Horusium relies on the site to contextualize the content.
Position in the ranking: you choose where to place the brand (here the 1^st spot).
Ranking size: from Top 3 to Top 15 (here Top 5).
Location and year (optional): to anchor the article in a context — France, 2026.
Writing language: FR, EN, IT, DE or ES.
Selection mode: let Horusium propose the ranking, or provide your own list.

Step 1: you describe the ranking you want, the brand and its position. The rest is automatic.

A word on position. Putting it in 1^st place is tempting, but for content that is credible in the eyes of the reader and the AI engines, a spot in the top three, surrounded by recognized market references, is often more convincing than a systematic #1. It's an editorial trade-off: here, for the demo, we go with the top spot.

You click Continue: a modal confirms the use of one credit (illustration image included), then Horusium gets to work proposing the ranking.

Step 2 — Validate (and adjust) the ranking

Horusium proposes a list of items relevant to the topic, each with a description, a specialty and a price level. Your brand is already inserted at the requested position.

Step 2: ranking of the 5 proposed tools (Horusium, Semrush, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, SE Ranking) with editable description, specialty and price — The proposed ranking. Every field (description, specialty, price) is editable: this is the moment to take back control.

This is the step not to rush. Horusium provides a solid base, but you are the one who knows the market:

Check that the cited competitors are relevant. A credible ranking blends names the reader recognizes. Remove an off-topic item, replace it with a more expected reference if needed.
Reread the descriptions. The generation is reliable, but a wording can be imprecise or contain a typo: fix it right away, before generating.
Polish your brand's description. It's the sentence most likely to be picked up verbatim by an AI engine. It must be accurate, distinctive and free of empty superlatives.

Every change is saved automatically. Once the ranking is validated, you click Generate the article.

Step 3 — The generated article, section by section

A few moments later, you land on the editor with the complete article. This is where the “built for GEO” format really shows its value: the article is split into sections that are easy to cite.

Step 3: WYSIWYG editor with the generated GEO article (H1, introduction) and the configuration summary — The complete article in the editor, ready to be reviewed and refined.

A summary and a table “ready to cite”

At the top of the article, a concise summary (“the key takeaways in a few lines”) lists the ranking with one sentence per item. It's the ideal block for extraction by an AI engine. Right after it, a comparison table sets the items side by side on their key criteria.

Summary section (ordered list of the 5 tools) followed by the comparison table of the GEO article — The condensed summary + the table: two formats that AI answer engines extract very readily.

A detailed block per item

Next comes a developed block for each entry in the ranking. The one for your brand includes, if you requested it in step 1, a link to your site with the anchor of your choice.

A dedicated paragraph per item, with the sponsor link on the showcased brand.

Methodology, buying guidance and recommendations

The article ends with three sections that make all the difference in GEO, because they bring structured context that an AI can reuse:

Methodology: which criteria the ranking was built on (depth of analysis, ease of use, features, value for money…). It lends credibility to the content.
Buying guidance: concrete markers depending on the profile (budget, level of expertise, site size).
Final recommendations (the “GEO++” section): named verdicts — “best overall choice”, “best value for money”, “for getting started”. It's the exact format of an AI assistant's answer.

Methodology and buying guidance sections of the generated GEO article — The methodology and the buying guidance: structured context, ideal for being picked up in a generated answer.

The final recommendations by profile: the most “citable” section of the article.

Proofreading, always non-negotiable

As with SEO writing, the generation produces a very high-quality base, but it doesn't replace your own eye. You proofread: you check that the competitors' descriptions are accurate (never unfairly disparage), that the presentation of your brand is correct, and you hunt down the slightest typo. A ranking published with a factual error loses all its credibility — and that credibility is precisely what makes an AI engine pick you up.

The illustration image

In one click, Horusium generates a landscape-format illustration image, ready to embed. It's included in the writing credit: no extra cost.

Publishing: where to post the GEO article?

Once you're happy with it, you retrieve the article via Download HTML: a file ready to paste into a CMS. That leaves the question of where to publish it. A few principles:

On a trusted, topical site. A ranking published on a domain that is credible in the industry carries far more weight than a standalone article on a site with no authority.
With clean structured data. Well-marked-up HTML (hierarchical headings, lists, table) helps classic crawlers just as much as generative engines.
With transparency. Sponsored content must stay honest: that's what protects the brand over the long run.

GEO is a game of repetition and consistency: the more your brand is cited in relevant, credible rankings, the more answer engines treat it as a legitimate reference on the topic. One article isn't enough; regular output, however, is.

Key takeaways

In just a few minutes, we produced a complete ranking article — summary, table, detailed blocks, methodology, buying guidance, recommendations by profile — designed for the format that AI answer engines love. Horusium handles the structure and the semantic density; you keep control over the selection of competitors, the accuracy of the descriptions and the choice of where to publish.

The fuel is still your knowledge of the market: the tool makes the process systematic and fast, but editorial relevance is always up to you.