Since the earliest days of the internet, SEO has been the bedrock on which a digital marketing strategy was built. But over the years, user behavior has evolved. More and more, people are using voice commands to search for answers to their questions with virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, or using AI bots like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. As a result, a new player has emerged: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
What is Answer Engine Optimization?
Answer engines are AI-powered search tools designed to scour the web to find the clearest and most direct answer to a user’s query.
As users shift from traditional typed search methods to voice-assisted queries, people are becoming accustomed to asking questions in full sentences with natural language. When a user poses a query, AI algorithms use something called Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze the context and figure out the user’s intent behind their question. So, when you conduct a search, rather than clicking through multiple search results to find the information you’re looking for, this family of intelligent tools does the work for you and summarizes the answer in an AI-generated overview. Optimizing your site to show up in these AI results is AEO.
Although the core principles of AEO are the same as SEO, there are key differences to be aware of as this avenue of optimization becomes more important.
What’s the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO is centered around leveraging keywords and meta data to boost website rankings in the SERPs. However, AEO is focused on answering questions so that your content appears in AI overviews and their supporting website links.
Is it worth optimizing for AEO? According to Google VP Liz Reid, the answer is yes. In a May 2024 blog article, she noted “we see that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query”. So, AEO offers another way to increase engagement with your website beyond conventional search results listings.
Does that mean that SEO is out and AEO is in? Not at all! SEO is still the MVP of the digital marketing game, but with the growing popularity of AI-based search, businesses and digital marketers need to adopt some new optimization methods to remain competitive. In this article, we’ll explain what you need to know to stay in the game.
Building Your AEO Strategy
AEO is about identifying what questions your audience is asking and organically addressing those subjects in your content in a way that’s easy for AI engines to consume. Here are some methods for determining what questions to target and how to illuminate the underlying meaning for AI engines:
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Take note of customer questions. Some of the most valuable information about what’s on the minds of your audience may already be in-house. Ask your customer service team what questions and complaints they hear most often and create content to address them. If your site has an AI chatbot, leverage the data it gathers to identify persistent questions, then look for creative ways to directly answer them in your content.
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Competitive research: You can also check out your competitors’ websites to see if they’re offering any content that speaks to other customer concerns you may not have considered.
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Use tools to research industry questions. Heavy hitters of optimization like SEM Rush and Ahrefs offer research tools that assist digital marketers and content creators in identifying the types of questions an audience is searching for. These tools can pinpoint popular questions related to your products and services so you can develop content that responds to those queries.
How to Create Content to Support AEO
When writing AEO content, keep in mind that answer engines are not in the business of matching keyword to keyword but seek to comprehend the intent behind the user’s query so they can deliver the most relevant answer. This means, Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines promoting content that displays experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness are more important than ever for AEO. Answer engines are on the lookout for well-structured, informative content that can be conveniently delivered in an AI overview. What types of content attract answer engines? Here are a few:
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Educational blog articles. Draw answer engines to your site by supplying a steady stream of fresh, engaging blog content that speaks to the questions of your target audience. Your articles should include clear subheadings and concise answers that will appeal to human readers while also allowing AI algorithms to easily pluck out content for their overviews. Breaking down your content with keyword-rich headings, short paragraphs and bullets makes it effortlessly digestible for AI systems. Stay away from cold, technical, overly professional terms and write your content with natural, conversational language for the best results. For example, a bank or credit union might post regular articles that answer everyday financial questions for their customers or members, like how to create a budget or how to save more money.
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Comprehensive FAQs. An AEO content strategy that fits especially well into the world of banks and credit unions is a Frequently Asked Questions page. The format is an AEO slam dunk as it simultaneously fills a human need plus answers questions for AI algorithms. ZAG’s FAQ management tool streamlines the organization of this content inside your website’s CMS so maintaining an extensive list of FAQs is a breeze.
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Implement schema mark up. Schema is a form of structured data that’s placed in the HTML code on your web pages to help answer engines (and search engines) grasp the meaning of your content. The addition of schema makes interpreting content simpler for these AI tools so they’re more likely to include it in their overviews.
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A balanced approach. Of course, your business goals aren’t just to answer questions, the end game is conversions. You want to drive website visitors to open an account, apply for a loan, sign up for a service or take some other action. So, when you optimize for answer engines, you’ll always want to think about how your content will impact the user journey and guide visitors down the sales funnel.
AEO is Here to Stay
Search habits have changed, and AI generated answers are bound to increase in popularity. While search engine optimization will still be central to your digital marketing plan moving forward, AEO should play a strong supporting role. If you need a hand integrating AEO strategies into your website or writing content around the conversational way people search today, ZAG is here to help. Contact us.