Donaghys Hill Track, Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park
Ollie Khedun and West Coast Council
The discoverability landscape
The way people search for travel experiences is changing. Understanding how that change works, and what to do about it, is one of the most practical things you can invest time in right now.
This page explains the shift from traditional search to AI-powered discovery, what it means for your business, and the specific actions that will make a difference. Whether you're just getting started or looking to go further, you'll find what you need here.
Little Beach Co. Resort, Chain of Lagoons
Ros Wharton
How people find you
Not long ago, someone planning a trip would open Google, type in what they were looking for, get a list of websites, click through, browse, and eventually book. That chain of search, click, browse, book, is breaking down.
Today, a growing number of travellers open an AI tool like ChatGPT or Google's AI Overview and get a direct answer. They ask for a three-day wilderness itinerary and receive one, complete with specific operator names, without visiting a single website. This is called zero-click behaviour.
For Tasmanian operators, this shift is both a challenge and a genuine opportunity. AI systems are looking for specific, authentic, locally grounded content, exactly what Tasmania's experiences are built on. The operators who articulate that distinctiveness clearly and consistently across their digital channels are the ones who will show up in the answers.
Three ways to be found
SEO — Get into the list
Search engine optimisation. The practice of making your business easier for traditional search engines like Google to find and rank. The fundamentals are consistent business information across platforms, clear page titles and headings, and content that answers the questions your potential visitors are asking. SEO gets you into the list of blue links. It is still essential and nothing on this page replaces it.
GEO — Show up in the sources
Generative engine optimisation. Builds on SEO foundations but adds emphasis on how AI tools find, understand, and cite your content. AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity generate answers from across the web. GEO is about making sure your business is present in the sources they draw on, with specific, consistent, that helps them build a confident picture of what you offer.
The AI is not reading your site the way a human does. It is scanning for signals that tell it with confidence what you offer, where you are, and who you are right for. The more specifically and consistently you give it those signals, the more confidently it will represent you in its answers.
What it means |
What it looks like in practice |
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Specific details tell the AI exactly what you offer, where it is, and who it suits. |
Instead of Stunning wilderness location, try guided walks departing from Cradle Mountain. Instead of Our Experiences, try half day kayaking, full day walks, overnight hut-to-hut treks, east coast Tasmania. |
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Your headings match what guests search for. |
A page headed "Our Walks" becomes "Guided multi-day wilderness walks in the Tasmanian highlands." A page headed "Accommodation" becomes "Off-grid luxury cabins, mountain views, central Tasmania." |
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Your information says the same thing everywhere. |
Your Google Business Profile, ATDW listing, website, and booking platforms all use the same name, location description, and experience names. If your website calls it a "guided wilderness walk" and your ATDW listing calls it a "nature tour," the AI cannot confidently connect them. |
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Each page answers one question clearly. |
A dedicated page about your three-day guided walk will be cited more consistently than a page that mentions the walk alongside ten other things. Focused pages outperform comprehensive guides. |
AEO — Become the answer
Answer engine optimisation. Where GEO targets large language models, AEO targets a different moment in the search journey entirely. It is about being surfaced as the direct answer in voice search and snippet based engines, the result that appears before the list, the response read aloud by a voice assistant, the box at the top of the page. The user intent here is different: they want an immediate, specific answer, not a list of options to browse. AEO tactics focus on structured data (schema markup), FAQ format content, and concise text that directly answers a specific question. Success is measured in snippet wins and zero click appearances rather than clicks through to your site.
These three approaches target different channels and different moments in how a traveller finds you. SEO gets you into the traditional search list, GEO gets you into AI generated answers, and AEO gets you into direct responses and voice results. They share common foundations, specific content, consistent information, clear structure, but each rewards a different kind of attention.
Where to focus your effort
Your Google Business Profile
Including your description, Q&A section, recent posts, photos, and review responses. One of the primary sources AI systems draw on for local business information.
Your website headings
The single highest-leverage on-page element for AI citation. Headings that directly match the question a traveller is asking will consistently outperform generic ones.
Your ATDW listing
A structured, authoritative source that feeds into tourism platforms. Complete, current, and specific
Review platforms
The body of public review content about your business contributes to how AI systems assess and describe you.
Other listings and mentions
Regional tourism organisation pages, local council directories, booking platforms. Consistency of language across all of them strengthens the overall picture.