Cialdini's Persuasion Frameworks for Growth Tests

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of optimizing your content to appear in AI language model responses, similar to how SEO works for search engines but with key differences in strategy and execution.

Understanding AEO vs SEO

• AEO and SEO share foundational principles, but differ in critical ways:

  • "Everything that works in SEO works in AEO, but there are additional things beyond SEO that also work in AEO"
  • The "head" (main query) and "tail" (specific queries) work differently in AEO
  • In search engines, ranking #1 means you win; in LLMs, being mentioned most frequently across citations is what matters

• LLM traffic converts significantly better than search traffic:

  • Webflow saw a 6x higher conversion rate from LLM traffic compared to Google search traffic
  • Users are more qualified because they've built intent through conversation with the AI
  • Currently represents about 8% of signups for companies like Webflow

The 7-Step AEO Strategy

1. Identify target questions

   • Transform your SEO keywords into questions (ChatGPT can help with this)
   • Mine questions from sales calls, customer support, and Reddit
   • Focus on both high-volume questions and specific long-tail questions

2. Set up answer tracking

   • Use AEO tracking tools (similar to keyword tracking)
   • Track your "share of voice" - how often you appear in answers
   • Monitor across multiple LLMs and question variants

3. Analyze current citations

   • Identify which sites are currently being cited for your target questions
   • Different industries have different citation patterns (B2B: TechRadar; Commerce: Glamour; Marketplaces: Yelp)
   • Develop strategies for each citation type

4. Create optimized landing pages

   • Answer the main question comprehensively
   • Crucially, answer all potential follow-up questions
   • Focus on the long tail - specific questions competitors aren't addressing

5. Implement citation optimization

   • Get mentioned across multiple sources:
     • YouTube/Vimeo videos (especially valuable for B2B topics with less video content)
     • Reddit (authentic participation, not spam)
     • Affiliate sites
     • Blogs and other content

6. Run controlled experiments

   • Test group vs. control group (don't just do before/after)
   • Measure impact with answer tracking
   • Reproduce successful experiments to confirm results

7. Build the right team

   • Leverage your SEO team for on-site optimization
   • Add community/marketing specialists for off-site citation work

Reddit Optimization Strategy

• Reddit is heavily cited by LLMs but requires authentic participation
• Effective approach:
  • Create a real account with your actual identity
  • State who you are and where you work
  • Provide genuinely useful information
  • Focus on quality over quantity (5 great comments > 100 spam comments)
  • Target threads that are already appearing in citations

Help Center Optimization

• Help centers are valuable for AEO because they answer specific product questions
• Key optimization tactics:
  • Move from subdomain to subdirectory
  • Implement cross-linking between help center pages
  • Create content for long-tail use cases not currently addressed
  • Consider opening to community contributions to cover more specific scenarios

Early-Stage Company Strategy

• Unlike SEO, early-stage companies can win at AEO quickly
• Focus on:
  • Citation optimization (getting mentioned in various sources)
  • Long-tail questions (especially for unique product features)
  • Avoid traditional mid-funnel SEO tactics that require domain authority

AI-Generated Content Warning

• 100% AI-generated content without human editing doesn't perform well
  • Study showed only 10-12% of content in Google and ChatGPT is fully AI-generated
  • Creates risk of "model collapse" - AI summarizing AI in an infinite loop
  • Leads to loss of diverse perspectives and opinion convergence
• AI-assisted content (human-edited) is effective and recommended