What is AEO?
AEO stands for AI Engine Optimization. It’s pretty similar to SEO, which is a more familiar term, but it focuses on how AI models interpret and rank your information.
AEO is an emerging market, and there’s not a lot of guidance on how it works or how to even get started. I’ve spent the last 6 months dialing in a strategy that has now made a significant difference in organic traffic, AI rankings and internet sales for multiple clients.
Search results on Google have changed drastically over the last 2 years. When you search for something today, this is the breakdown you see:
- AI Overview (This is where we’re focusing today)
- Paid Advertising
- Organic Search Results (We want to start here to start ranking in AI)
Step 1: How is Google reading your site?
How does your site look from an organic perspective? Does Google recognize your site as an authority?
An essential part of ranking organically on Google is making sure your metadata meets Google’s standards. This includes meta titles, meta descriptions, canonical links, and the structural breakdown of headlines on a webpage.
Google differentiates pages by these titles and headers; it’s essentially telling Google “This is the purpose of the page.” Having a solid organic standing or even working toward a solid standing is going to help immensely in the other aspects of this strategy and is a mandatory starting point for any AEO strategy.
Step 2: Know your industry and audience
I’ve spent countless hours researching keywords and identifying the specific questions people ask related to them. These questions are the leverage you need to be seen as an authority.
You might be asking “Why would I write content if I’m already paying for the keyword?”
AI Overviews and SERP features show up before any sponsored content is seen, and rarely are people scrolling past the AI Overview. It’s important that we rank in all three areas.
Take the questions you’ve found and write long-form, informative content. These are not promotional pages, but educational. We have to treat this like traditional SEO; it’s a long term play, not an overnight switch. When working with my clients, I saw an improvement in as soon as 60 days with some industries and 90 days with others.
Step 3: Consistency
“Consistency is key” is the only way to approach this strategy successfully. With my clients, I was posting 2-3 articles of content a week and indexing them immediately. Through testing, I’ve found that this cadence is the sweet spot for keep Google engaged with our site. Google recognizes authority not just by what you write, but by how consistently you provide value.
Step 4: Identify unique opportunities
Depending on your industry, you also have the opportunity to publish pillar content. For example, a client of mine in the pest control industry, we published a pest identification page that had content written for every. single. pest. you can find in their service areas.
The results? In the first 3 weeks, we had 30,000 impressions, and that was in the off season. We jumped from a 44 average placement to a top 10 placement organically. And we had a significant increase in AI referencing us as a top source on their platforms and in AI Overviews.
Things to keep in mind:
Hot topics will cause spikes. Traffic will stabilize after a trend fades, but consistent updates will keep your authority status with Google.
What you want to pay attention to is:
- Keywords you’re ranking in the top 10 for
- A steady increase in rankings
- A steady increase in AI Overview and SERP feature mentions
It’s common for blog posts to take a large portion of site traffic. The goal is to establish yourself as the expert so that when a user needs a service, you’re the name they trust.
