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AEO vs GEO: Answer Engine Optimization Preferred

by Ethan Smith on September 14, 2025

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is a strategic approach to getting your product or content to appear in AI language model responses. While related to traditional SEO, it has distinct characteristics and requires specific tactics to succeed.

AEO is fundamentally about understanding how LLMs generate answers by summarizing multiple sources. Unlike Google, where ranking #1 means winning, in LLMs you need to be mentioned frequently across multiple citations to dominate answers.

Core AEO Principles

  • AEO builds on SEO fundamentals but has key differences:

    • The "head" works differently - being mentioned most frequently across citations matters more than ranking #1
    • The "tail" is much larger - people ask longer, more specific questions (25 words vs 6 in search)
    • Traffic quality is superior - Webflow saw 6x higher conversion rates from LLM traffic vs search traffic

  • Early-stage companies can win at AEO immediately:

    • Unlike SEO, which requires domain authority built over time
    • You can get mentioned in citations quickly through Reddit, YouTube, etc.
    • Especially effective for specific, niche questions with limited competition

Effective AEO Implementation Strategy

  1. Question research:

    • Transform your high-value search keywords into questions
    • Use ChatGPT to convert keywords into likely questions
    • Mine questions from sales calls, customer support, and Reddit
    • Focus on both high-volume questions and specific long-tail questions

  2. Track your performance:

    • Set up answer tracking across multiple LLMs
    • Measure "share of voice" - how often you appear in answers
    • Test question variants since answers vary by phrasing
    • Compare performance across different LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity)

  3. Create optimized landing pages:

    • Answer the main question comprehensively
    • Address all likely follow-up questions (features, use cases, integrations)
    • Focus on long-tail specific questions others aren't answering
    • Optimize help center content (move to subdirectory, not subdomain)

  4. Citation optimization (off-site):

    • Get mentioned across multiple sources that LLMs trust
    • Different citation strategies for different verticals:
      • B2B: TechRadar, Reddit, YouTube
      • Commerce: Dotdash Meredith properties (Good Housekeeping, etc.)
      • Marketplaces: Yelp, TripAdvisor, Eater

  5. Reddit optimization:

    • Authentic participation works, spam fails
    • Create real accounts with real people
    • Identify relevant threads in citations
    • Disclose who you are and where you work
    • Provide genuinely helpful information

  6. Video content strategy:

    • Create YouTube/Vimeo content for high-value B2B topics
    • Less competition for technical/niche topics than consumer topics
    • Videos are heavily cited in LLM responses

  7. Run controlled experiments:

    • Test specific interventions against control groups
    • Compare performance before and after changes
    • Reproduce successful experiments multiple times
    • Don't assume best practices work without testing

Common AEO Misconceptions

  • AEO is not completely different from SEO - it builds on SEO fundamentals
  • AI-generated content without human editing doesn't work - studies show 90% of content ranking in both Google and LLMs is human-created
  • Google isn't dying - new channels add to the pie rather than taking from Google
  • The most expensive AEO tools aren't necessarily better - many perform commodity functions

The most effective AEO approach combines traditional SEO excellence with strategic citation building across trusted sources, focusing on comprehensive answers to both primary questions and all related follow-ups.

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