How to Effectively Combine AEO With Existing SEO Strategies

Not that it has to be stated (or maybe it’s just because I’m writing about it for the millionth time), but AI search is taking over. It’s not replacing traditional search by any means, but it accounts for a significant share of search activity: it's used by 60% of Americans and climbing up to 74% when polling those under the age of 30.

With traditional search came Search Engine Optimization (SEO); with AI search, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). No matter where customers are searching, marketers are going to figure out how to influence the algorithm in their favor. Ain't it funny how we do that?

All that is to say, until answer engines are the only way to find information, get product recommendations, or explore a topic, marketers must split their focus to optimize for both traditional and AI search. Luckily for us, the underlying principles aren’t that different, after all.

What Is AEO in Relation to SEO?

Okay, I said they’re not that different, but what does that really mean? What’s the relationship between AI search’s AEO and traditional search’s SEO? The answer is that SEO principles form the foundation of AEO principles.

• Search Engine Optimization focuses on ranking in traditional search engines by maintaining the technical health, on-page metadata, and both content quality and authority. The goal of SEO is to drive clicks and traffic to your website, and ultimately, conversions.
• Answer Engine Optimization focuses on being surfaced and cited in answers given by LLMs. This is done by creating relevant, branded content written and optimized for natural language, coupled with relevant structured data and schema inclusion. The goal is not interaction (hello, zero-click search), but visibility, which in turn builds brand awareness and trust.

To draw a generalized parallel, let’s think of answer engines as the evolution of traditional search engines. AI engines and LLMs are a far more powerful and evolved technology— so the discipline of optimizing for them should be too, right?

SEO vs. AEO: A High-Level Overview

To wrap it up, here’s a general look of SEO versus AEO principles:

You’ll notice some significant overlap in the “How to Optimize” section; that should signal to SEOs and marketing teams that if you’re already winning at SEO (or at least have a solid handle on your SEO strategy), you’re in a good position to extend that work into AEO.

Let’s look at how you can do just that 👀

Combining AEO With SEO: Compounding Organic Search Strategies

Some of the core principles to keep in mind when blending traditional SEO and AEO strategies are:

Understanding Search Intent

The way users search on Google differs pretty significantly from how they “talk” to LLMs; I even like to say that over the years, we’ve developed our own “language” for Googling. To use a practical example, I recently felt like I needed some sweet, sweet retail therapy (don’t judge me). Here’s how I went about it:

• On Google, I searched “black vegan leather bag”, assessed my options, and refined my search. “Black vegan leather bag” turned into “black vegan leather bag with o-ring”, which turned to “black vegan leather hobo bag with o-ring”, but I knew not to over-refine by adding too many keywords
• Eventually, I found a bag that I *almost* liked and turned to Gemini for additional insight. I gave it a photo of the bag and the brand it was from, and asked, “Can you find me similar bags made of vegan leather, and of the same color, that have hardware on the outside and at least one outside zipper pocket?”

Gemini returned with a list of recommended brands, but none of them were linked directly in our conversation; I turned back to Google and completed my purchase from there.

To understand user search intent, SEOs (and AEOs) must put themselves in their target audience’s shoes, really thinking about what they’re searching for, why they’re searching, and how they’re likely to phrase it.

Prioritizing Structured Data & Schema Markup

Structured data and schema markup are definitely not new concepts in the world of search optimization; they both act as a form of signage for GoogleBot (and LLM bots) to understand the type of information that’s on each page of your website.

Similar to Google’s crawlers, LLMs also scrape data from your webpages to gather information, albeit with much less powerful bots. They also prioritize slightly different kinds of information.

• Where Google crawls for BlogPosting schema to fulfill commercial queries (think “best AEO tools”), ChatGPT, for example, prioritizes long-tail informational queries (“how do I combine AEO with SEO?”).
• For SEO, Article, Product, and LocalBusiness schema provide Google with the information it needs to serve users relevant SERP results. LLMs provide users with answers and explanations, meaning they’ll likely search for reputable sources that have given those exact answers and explanations recently; this makes FAQ and QAPage schema incredibly valuable.

Formatting Content Accordingly

This principle is where I, as a writer, see the most similarities between AEO and SEO. Both disciplines love some well-structured content:

• Content hierarchy and structure using HTML tags in headings
• Shorter paragraphs that are easy to on the eyes (~300 words)
• Bulleted and numbered lists for even easier skimming of information
• Direct answers to questions, sometimes followed by a more in-depth explanation
• E.E.A.T. guidelines being followed (keep in mind that AEO tacks on an extra “H” at the beginning for “Helpfulness”)

The biggest difference is that answer engines prioritize natural language and completeness of information. If your article is titled “What Is AEO? The Ultimate Guide”, be sure to also follow the natural progression of auxiliary questions that your reader might have, such as, “Is AEO the same as SEO?”, “Is AEO replacing SEO?”, or “How do I get started with AEO?”.

This kind of thought process, a holistic understanding of the topic at hand, signals to LLMs that you are an authoritative, knowledgeable source that is actively trying to provide helpful information to your reader.

Optimizing for Position Zero

You thought we were going to talk about combining AEO with SEO and not mention AI Overview or Featured Snippets? Come on…

Position One is no longer the goal (it hasn’t been for a while, now). Position Zero has officially taken over. When a search returns an AI Overview, a Featured Snippet, or both, you can pretty much bank on the fact that a click is not going to happen for that particular search; the user got all of the information they need right there on the SERP. And that’s all thanks to Position Zero.

Here are a few tips for optimizing for Position Zero (whether it be AI Overview or Featured Snippets):

• Target question-based keywords; answer quickly and concisely before explaining further.
• Structure content to be easily skimmed by users and efficiently crawled by bots.
• Update existing content frequently and explicitly mark as such; if you optimized a blog post from 2024, don’t leave the date as 2024.
• Follow established SEO best practices when it comes to on-page metadata; there’s no harm in continuing to dot your Ts and cross your Is.

Will AEO Replace SEO?

If the answer to this question isn’t obvious already, no, AEO is not replacing SEO, per se. It is, however, going to continue growing as a discipline as AI search behavior continues to become more commonplace amongst users. Coupled with the fact that successful SEO is widely considered to be a foundational element of successful AEO, the next step is clear.

Brands that have a customer base that frequently turns to AI for product recommendations, answers, or explanations should seriously consider incorporating AEO into their marketing strategy (if they haven't already). Consider the following:

• 79% of Americans trust AI engines for search; 77% trust chatbots
• Gen Z dominates AI search usage by age group, with 34% using AI chatbots
• When surveyed, 62% of director-level marketers reported that they’ve already begun optimizing their strategies for AI search

Final Thoughts

Combining AEO with SEO doesn’t require a complete pivot in strategy; think of it more like an extension. The brands that have already found success with traditional search will have an easier time evolving their organic search strategies to include AI search, too.

And if you haven’t done the former, we know an agency that can help.