Artificial intelligence has changed the way we search online.
With the new advancements in technology and a shift in user behaviour, another way of content optimization is making rounds on the internet - answer engine optimization.
In this article, we will go through all the detailed steps of answer engine optimization but first look at what answer engines are!
What is an Answer Engine and its Types?
Answer engines are specialized programmes or tools that make use of artificial intelligence and natural language processing techniques to understand the meaning of a user query and provide quick and to-the-point answers.
Unlike typical search results that you see on SERPs, these programs give you the exact answer to your question without needing you to click on several links to get exactly what you want.
Answer engines can be divided into two major categories.
Generative AI Bots
You must have used or at least heard about ChatGPT. This is a type of generative AI bot. It uses advanced algorithms to give detailed and relevant answers to the queries entered into them.
These bots are trained with large data sets to engage in conversations with users and respond the way humans do by properly understanding the meaning or context of a query.
Some of the most popular examples of generative AI bots are ChatGPT, Google Bard (now Gemini), Perplexity, Claude, etc.
The best thing about those tools is that they allow you to give feedback to the generated responses to make the process more personalised and accurate.
AI Voice Search Assistants
According to Yaguara, 50% of people use the voice search feature worldwide. In the coming days, this figure is expected to increase.
The AI voice search assistants work in response to voice commands making it easy for users to search for queries without having to type them. They save time by quickly providing answers to the questions through voice recognition technology.
The popular AI voice search assistants are Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Bixby. You can use them to ask for directions, find answers to your questions, set reminders, and do a lot of tasks.
Now that you have understood what answer engines are, let’s move on to the next part which is about optimizing your websites or content for them.
What is AEO?
AEO or answer engine optimization is a strategy that involves optimizing the content of your website to appear in AI-generated responses to the queries.
There are two ways in which you can expect this answer to appear in front of you:
First, it can be directly displayed as a featured snippet or an answer box at the top of the SERP, especially if you have turned on the Google Search Labs option or using Microsoft Bing.
Secondly, if you are using an answer engine or AI assistant like ChatGPT or Gemini, those responses will be directly displayed in chat by pulling from different sources.
AEO is just an extension of SEO or its subset. If you are already doing SEO for your website, you may also be optimizing your content for the answer engines. However, you need to do it more precisely and specifically.
Why Is AEO Important?
With the introduction of AI assistants, the need to optimize the content for AI tools is becoming crucial for website owners with every passing day.
It is important because people tend to use AI tools to obtain specific answers so that they may not have to spend time finding them from multiple search results.
According to a study by SEMrush, 57% of mobile users and 53% of desktop users do not bother to click the organic results below SERP features.
This is because they can get quick and precise answers from the answer boxes right above the traditional organic results.
Even if someone uses an AI tool to get the answer to a query, it still comes from a source. Though some tools like ChatGPT do not mention the source links unless requested, Gemini and some other tools do.
Therefore, optimizing content with AEO techniques can make these AI tools get the answers from your content. This will lead people to explore more on your website - ultimately increasing traffic and conversions.
AEO vs SEO
AEO and SEO both involve strategies to optimize your website content, however, they differ a bit in terms of goal, keyword targeting and content formatting.
SEO includes a wide range of techniques and is a broader category while AEO is narrow and specific in terms of goal, or you can say AEO is a subset of SEO.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) | |
|---|---|---|
Target | Traditional search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) | Answer engines or AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity etc.) |
Focus | Improving website visibility and rankings | Providing direct answers to user queries |
Techniques | Keyword optimization, link building, site structure, featured snippets, structured data | Optimizing content structure, language comprehensibility, understanding user intent |
Content | Valuable and relevant content matching user queries | Concise and accurate answers to specific questions |
Scope | Broad - optimizing for various search scenarios | Specialized - mostly targets question-based queries and long-tail keywords |
How to Optimize for AEO?
If you want your content to be chosen by AI tools or answer engines, here are the steps you need to follow for better content optimization.
Understanding User Intent
You must be familiar with search intent already if you are doing SEO for your website. The same goes for AEO as you also need to understand the user intent to create the content that specifically answers the particular queries of users.
This search intent can be informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial.
You may use the same methods as you use in your typical keyword research process to understand the intent behind a search query.
However, if you do not know how to do it, we have a detailed article on search intent where you can understand everything about it.
Besides search intent, it is also important to get familiar with semantic relevance. It refers to contextual relevance which gives the search engines an idea about the context of the query.
This involves the use of related terms and synonyms that fit in well with a specific context in response to a specific query.
As you usually target long-tail keywords in AEO, that does not mean your content must not be in-depth or comprehensive. Even if you are optimizing for long, question-based queries, your content must cover all aspects of a topic.
This is because if someone is interested in reading more about this particular topic, they can find it on your website.
Make Use of FAQs
Some SEOs recommend using FAQs because AEO is focused on giving direct answers. If you add a dedicated section to your content covering all the important questions and answers related to a particular topic, it has a better chance of being selected as a featured snippet.
According to the Semrush study, “70% of all answers returned from voice searches occupied a SERP feature (with 60% of those returning a Featured Snippet result)”.
As featured snippets focus on providing direct answers to user queries, optimizing your content for them won’t be a bad idea.
Covering questions that are likely to appear in featured snippets, you can make it highly likely that your content will be chosen for it.
Make Use of Structured Data
Another way to make your content eligible to appear as a featured snippet is by using structured data.
Structured data markup helps search engines understand the context of the content in a better way.
When you implement structured data, you increase the chances of your content being selected by search engines for answer boxes.
Optimize for Voice Search
With the rise in the use of voice search assistants, now it has become crucial to optimize your content for voice searches also.
For voice search, you have to make use of long-tail keywords and conversational language that is usually used in casual conversations. That means you must use words or phrases that are not complicated and can be easily understood.
Some people prefer to ask full questions especially if they are using AI tools like ChatGPT. That means even if they are not voice searching, it is still beneficial for you to optimize your content for those queries.
This will enhance the chances of your content appearing as a featured snippet or in answer boxes.
Be Credible and Authoritative
Just like regular search engines, AI tools and voice search assistants also prefer to take information from the most trusted and credible sources.
You can be an authority in your niche and to do this, you will have to be knowledgeable about any topic you write on.
This is something that isn't going to happen overnight. You will have to prove it and make gradual efforts to make your website an authority in your niche or industry. For that, you can take several steps like:
Engage on social media channels
Add credible sources with correct data or statistics to make the user experience better
Create a brand with a personalized touch
Create high-quality content
Provide valuable resources
Speak with your audience at different seminars, conferences or workshops related to your niche
AEO is related to providing direct answers yet there is more you can do to make this strategy work the best for your business. It takes time but the results are worth it.
Set up Business Profiles
Answer engines may take information from online directories especially if someone asks for business recommendations, which is why setting up business profiles where necessary is important.
Setting up a Google Business Profile is best for this purpose, however, there are several other places where you can add information related to your business.
Other popular directories are Yelp, Bing, Yellow Pages, Yahoo, Apple Maps, and Angi.
The point here is not to miss even a single opportunity to make your website or its content eligible to appear both in search or answer engines.
What Advantages Can You Have with AEO?
While SEO is the best strategy to make your business rank well in your niche, AEO can be even better and maybe a quicker way to rank your business.
Here are the advantages you can get if you properly implement AEO techniques.
Increase Visibility
The main purpose of both SEO and AEO is to bring your brand, company or website to the top of results in search or answer engines respectively.
This increased visibility puts you in front of more potential customers searching for products and services related to your niche.
Specific, useful, and related answers mean more satisfied users, more organic traffic, and ultimately more conversions.
Build Authority
Frequently getting the opportunity to appear in SERP features can make you an authority within your niche. It makes an impression that you are the most reliable, knowledgeable, and profitable source in that particular field.
So what do you get in return? When you are subjected as a trusted source of information in front of people, that will benefit you in terms of traffic, visibility and conversions.
Enhance User Experience
User experience is all about the reliability and accuracy of the content you provide to the users.
Using AEO for content marketing can improve user experience and engagement. This makes them stay longer on your web pages thereby reducing bounce rates.
Challenges Associated with AEO
Although AEO is a technique that can make a huge difference in your content strategy and the results can be surprising, certain challenges are also associated with it.
User Intent
For an expert, it may not be difficult to understand the intent behind a query. However, if you are a newbie, it can be frustrating for you because users can make queries on one topic in many different ways.
The next difficult part is to match the intent and create content that fits perfectly well with the query.
A query can be informational or commercial at the same time. For this, you have to be aware of your niche and how the users put queries for one particular topic.
One best way is to monitor your Google Search Console account and see how users are finding your website, or which keywords are bringing traffic to your website.
Make sure your content has all that users are looking for.
Making Content Visible
It seems fascinating to get higher rankings or top positions in search/answer engines, but making your content visible in a crowded space is really challenging.
There is so much competition, and a popular saying is, “Because everyone is trying to rank higher, that's why no one ranks high”.
Apart from that, establishing yourself as an authority is the best solution which requires consistency and hard work.
You may not rank well for all keywords or queries, but ranking even for a few can still make a difference.
Sophisticated Algorithms
Search engines use advanced algorithms and are getting smarter day by day. It can create challenges for website owners to adjust their AEO strategy in order to rank well.
The best way is to stay updated with all the latest trends, algorithm updates, advancements in AI, and changes in search scenarios to deal with this situation.
Final Words - The Future of AEO
We have seen a massive usage of AI and machine learning in the past few years. This is expected to increase in future. But with that, we must also be aware of all the advancements in this field to stay ahead.
We may see the increased usage of more AI voice assistants in the coming days instead of generative AI tools where queries are typed and responses are read. It requires content creators to create content that is more conversational and can answer spoken queries.
Moreover, visual search is also becoming popular which can be considered important while implementing optimization techniques.
Therefore, focusing on incorporating multimedia elements into your content can be useful for the future of your AEO.
AEO, like SEO, can be the best content optimization strategy that can make your content appear in SERP features.
Future marketing strategies largely depend on AEO which is why you must consider incorporating it while optimizing your content.