Behind 137 GEO Training Sessions: An Unexpected Journey of an Ordinary Entrepreneur

In June 2024, I began systematically exploring GEO optimization. Back then, this field didn't even have an official name – we called it AIO, AI SEO, or more straightforwardly: how to make AI "know you, understand you, and be willing to mention you" in its responses.

I wrote a 12,000-word practical graphic textbook, testing and revising it as I went. That period was quiet: no public sharing, no deliberate promotion, let alone any training programs. I was just someone with years of experience in SEO, website building, customer acquisition, and search marketing, reacting instinctively to new changes: I had to figure out how this thing actually worked.

Until today, as of January 24, 2026, I have provided GEO optimization training to 137 enterprises or individuals.

137. This number is a reminder: I've come this far over the past year and more.

The textbook has been rewritten three times. Each rewrite, each training session, deepened my understanding.

I Never Planned to Do Training Initially

Many people think I "proactively transitioned to training." But that's not the case – I didn't even realize GEO optimization had training value at first.

My first real exposure to "training" came from an advertising agency. They had many resource-rich key clients and top brand clients who were extremely sensitive to "brand presence in AI." The problem was, no one knew how to do it.

They approached me and asked if I could help. My first reaction was to refuse.

It wasn't about being pretentious; I had practical concerns: I didn't want to be tied to this, as I was busy with other businesses at the time. I also wasn't sure if this business was compliant. I'm quite risk-averse – if something went wrong, what would happen to my long-term clients? My family and kids?

Then they said: "Then you can teach us instead."

I quoted a price casually: 20,000 RMB. To my surprise, they transferred the money via WeChat without hesitation. I was stunned for a moment.

I started thinking: Is it really worth that much, or is the market still too early and undersupplied? At that time, many peers were still in the stage of "not understanding what was happening." Meanwhile, advertising agencies were in a hurry to seize time and clients, so they couldn't afford to figure it out slowly.

After confirming that technical training was compliant, I embarked on the path of training.

My Early Thoughts Were Simple, Even a Bit Utilitarian

I never pretend to be too "idealistic." Back then, doing GEO training had two very practical goals:

First, to bring in extended orders for my company's SEO, website construction, and search marketing services.

Second, training was indeed highly profitable, and I wanted to make money during the window period to improve the company's situation.

There's nothing to deny about that. When running a business, there's no need to be ashamed to talk about money.

But the market changed quickly. After enjoying a year of dividends, technologies gradually became transparent, information spread, and the number of people seeking my training decreased significantly – only one or two per month. I soon realized: if I stuck to the original pricing, this business itself wouldn't be viable.

So I adjusted the training fee to 2,000 RMB in one go.

Many people didn't understand, saying it was "undermining my own value." But only I knew – beyond my years of experience in search marketing and some experience in full-brand cases for key clients, I'm just an ordinary entrepreneur, a regular person. No honorary aura, no connections to speak of. I don't drink, don't attend social gatherings, and have poor sales skills – I just like to keep my head down and get things done.

Charging 2,000 RMB for training is the only way for me to keep doing it long-term.

2,000 RMB Barely Covers the Costs Anymore

Giving a several-hour lecture, plus follow-up technical Q&A and reviews. From the perspective of "trading time for money," it's really not worthwhile. So why do I keep doing it?

The reason is simple: after years of doing development-related businesses and SEO projects, I was really tired.

After training, almost all these students end up needing press releases, content distribution, and media publishing. I happen to have media resources on my side. For one article, I might only earn 3 to 5 RMB – not much, but it's easy, replicable, and mentally stress-free.

And honestly, I'd rather see my students succeed on their own. They're also happy to come to me for article publishing because other platforms don't provide answers to search marketing-related questions.

Starting from August 2025, I also took on some GEO-related project collaborations. But to this day, training remains a segment I haven't given up on.

Among These 137 Students

There are marketing directors of listed companies, owners of small and micro enterprises, individual entrepreneurs, and people from other industries who want to get a share of GEO.

Some learned extremely quickly – they got it right away, and after going back to implement what they learned, they brought several times growth to their companies – of course, these are all small and micro enterprises that can sustain themselves with just a few orders a month, so the ROI looks very high. Others learned slowly, struggled with operations, and saw no obvious results.

But what comforts me is: all the people I trained eventually recouped their costs. No one thought the training fee was a waste.

They might not say "this training changed my life," but they'll say something simple and honest: "It's worth it."

For me, that's enough.

I've received many gifts in the office. In previous years, it was no more than 15 gifts a year, all from long-term clients to express gratitude during Chinese New Year or Mid-Autumn Festival. After doing GEO training, I received over 30 – mooncakes, zongzi, toys for my two sons, and big snack gift packs.

Over These Two Years, I've Seen Far More Than Just Business

The reason I'm still willing to invest time and energy in training is that during this process, I've seen many things that can't be quantified.

I've watched small teams of a few people grow to a dozen or even dozens of people in about a year. I can feel the vitality and ambition when talking to their founders.

I've seen some small and micro enterprises, after the pandemic and the complete failure of traditional customer acquisition methods, receive orders again because of GEO, and dare to hold a little hope for the future.

There was a peer in Beijing whose voice was trembling during our voice call. He said he no longer had to consider sending his child back to his hometown for school.

There was also a manufacturing boss who had run his business for nearly 30 years. His company was on the verge of collapse, and he was even sued by his landlord. After learning GEO, he received two small orders in the first month – not much money, but he still decided to take out a bank loan and give it one more shot.

At that moment, I suddenly realized: for many people, a business is not just a business – it's like a "child." No matter how sick it is, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, they can't bear to give up.

On the Compliance of GEO Optimization

These experiences have made me form a very clear attitude towards GEO.

I have always believed: GEO itself is not the problem; the real problem is non-compliant GEO optimization. Bad people exist everywhere – it's just that technologies like GEO have been amplified nowadays, attracting more attention naturally. Fabricating rankings, making up reports, inventing authority, and skirting sensitive industries – these behaviors are essentially unrelated to the existence of GEO; they have long existed on the internet.

AI has never been pure, and the internet itself has never been fair. Without GEO, small and micro enterprises would almost never be seen in AI's response system. Those repeatedly cited would still be the same established top brands – because in the past, only large enterprises would issue press releases, while small businesses basically never did.

The essence of GEO is to make real information better understood. It's not about manipulating AI, but communicating with it – using clearer, more structured, and verifiable methods to give real information a chance to be cited. GEO doesn't create information; it just determines which real information AI can see.

Technology amplifies capabilities, but also amplifies boundaries. In the end, it's always a test of people's choices.

Writing This, I Feel Quite Emotional

I don't think I've done anything "great." I just tested earlier, stepped into more pitfalls earlier, and saw the direction clearer than many people.

During training, I can feel that sometimes I teach well and students absorb the content well. Sometimes I'm not in a good state, and students absorb slowly. But fortunately, most students can eventually operate independently and achieve results.

That's a great comfort to me.

Precisely because of these experiences and judgments, what I do now has become very simple:

Doing training is to restore the essence of AI search optimization; undertaking GEO project collaborations is to truly apply these understandings to enterprises' actual scenarios.

It's not about taking shortcuts or faking results, but understanding how AI understands the world, and its boundaries and red lines. This logic is actually consistent with what I've been doing in recent years – SEO, search marketing, press release distribution, website construction – emphasizing long-termism, compliance, and replicability.

What can be continuously cited by AI is never tricks, but real value that has been repeatedly verified.

The era of AI search has arrived. It shouldn't belong only to a few people.

I hope even more that real enterprises and real efforts can be seen.