Path hub · Practitioner
Learning Path: GEO Practitioner
GEO Practitioner is a four-course learning path for marketers who run AI search work: technical audits, earning citations, optimising for individual engines and measuring visibility and ROI. It takes about 30 hours (estimate) and ends with a 60-day sprint capstone using real before-and-after data. You'll finish able to plan, run and report a GEO programme.
What you'll be able to do
- Run technical GEO audits, including AI crawler access
- Earn citations from the sources AI systems rely on
- Optimise for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and others individually
- Build prompt sets and measure share of voice and recommendation rate
Who is this path for?
SEO, content and growth managers who own or execute the work. Prerequisites: the Break into GEO badge, or one or more years of SEO or content experience. Placement option: pass the GEO 101 placement quiz and submit a baseline audit.
Which courses are in the path?
| # | Course | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technical GEO | AI crawlers and user agents, robots.txt, rendering, structured data, logs |
| 2 | Engine-by-Engine GEO | How ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and others choose sources and brands |
| 3 | Earning AI Citations | How sources get chosen, reviews, PR, communities and citation gaps |
| 4 | Measuring AI Visibility and ROI | Metrics, prompt sets, statistics, attribution and reporting |
Elective: AI Shopping & Agents, for ecommerce teams and sites preparing for AI agents.
Recommended guides: buying committees, dark AI traffic and brand building.
Why this order?
Access comes first: if AI crawlers can't reach your site, nothing else works. Engine knowledge comes next, because each surface differs. Citations build on both. Measurement closes the loop, so you can prove what changed.
What's the capstone?
The GEO Practitioner capstone is a 60-day GEO sprint: a plan, a baseline and a re-scan in a MentionX free account, a citation gap analysis and a monthly report dashboard. It's scored against a published rubric.
How do you earn the certificate?
| Requirement | Pass mark |
|---|---|
| Per-course 10-question quiz | 80% or higher |
| Capstone, scored on the published rubric | 70% or higher |
Passing earns MentionX Certified: GEO Practitioner, with a shareable certificate URL and a LinkedIn certification entry.
How should you plan your time?
Suggested pace (estimate): one course every two weeks at around four hours a week, then the 60-day capstone running alongside your normal work. Because the capstone needs real re-scan data, start it once you've finished Technical GEO, and keep studying while it runs.
What comes next?
The Lead AI Search Strategy path covers business cases, budgets, team design, KPIs and board reporting, for when you're ready to own GEO strategy.
Where do you start?
Begin with Technical GEO, Lesson 1: AI crawlers and user agents. If you need a refresher first, see the list of AI crawlers and user agents.
Questions
Who is this path for?
SEO, content and growth managers who run GEO work day to day.
What do I need before starting?
The Break into GEO badge, or at least a year of SEO or content experience.
Is there an elective?
Yes. AI Shopping & Agents is an optional course for ecommerce and agent-ready sites.