Searching online has changed a lot in the last decade. We went from writing the URL we wanted to just writing a few keywords into the search bar and getting thousands of results matching our query. Search engines like Google are trying to improve the user experience in general.
What do they mean by that? Well, instead of getting hundreds of related results, you get an answer to your query right away with the option to dive deeper if you scroll down. If you go and type into your search bar what year some important event happened, or what the top trending song is on the Billboard charts, you will get a “smart card” with that information first, without having to go to a site and check there.
The same concept applies to search assistants like Siri, Google (now Gemini), and others. All of this might sound trivial to the users, but if you still want to rank and appear on search results, you need to take this seriously, as it will impact performance a lot!
What Is Answer Engine Optimization, Anyways?
Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, is the process of optimizing your content so that search engines can extract valuable info from it and present it to the user within the search results. The goal is to get the right information to the user in less time and with less friction.
If done properly, the results from the user query will appear in one of the following places:
- Featured Snippets
A box that appears at the top of Google results with the information and a link at the end to the original content.
- “People Also Ask”
A list of related queries that people searched for that might get you interested in finding out more about your search results.
- Voice Search
Search results from mobile assistants, smart speakers, or any other voice-activated search.
- AI Answers
The results that AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and others give the users.
So all of this shows that with the right AEO, users will get the information they want more easily, faster, and more efficiently. But this isn't always in the best interest of the people who host the websites and make the content.
With these changes, users are no longer as incentivised to visit a page and interact with it. All they do is just look at the information on the Search results page, without ever opening your website. This, of course, costs a lot of traffic that would usually be sent to the page, but for the time being, there is not much you can do about it, and it's still better to optimize for stuff like this than not do it at all.
Why is AEO So Important Right Now?
Answer engine optimization has gotten more and more important as search engines focus more on giving the users the results straight away, and their ever-increasing use of AI-powered assistants.
As we all know, we are more tied to our devices than ever, we often talk to our devices, and chatbots and quick results are something everyone is after. As a content provider, this means that you need to focus on AEO if you want to appear to users at all.
If you do everything right, you will appear in results often, search engines will build more trust towards your content, and you will increase the likelihood of users landing on your website after doing a bit of research on the query. Sadly, this is not a promise, and for content providers, it's often not fair, but until there is a better thing to do, optimizing for AEO and SEO is the best thing you can do.
How To Optimize for Answering Questions?
So now that you know what it is and roughly how it works, it's time to cover the main topic: how to do AEO.
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Think Like Someone Asking a Question
First, you need to know your audience and, depending on what niche you are in, know what they possibly might have questions about. Imagine an expanded FAQ section on whatever you have to offer. This is what you should be optimizing for.
You can get some help from the search engine itself. Try searching for common stuff regarding your services and products, and see what appears in the “People also ask” section. These can often indicate what you can optimize for.
Combine this knowledge with how you write. Try writing in such a way that indicates right away what the answer is. The search engine AI crawlers will have an easier time picking the results out, and it should increase your chances of appearing in the results.
To help you get the most out of your content, you should also include a lot of question-like keywords. So instead of “bathroom remodel programs”, you could use “how to apply for bathroom remodel programs”.
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Use Special Labels (Schema Markup)
Helping the search engine understand your content is important if you want to increase the chances of being in the results. Adding special labels to your content and info through schema markup can help the bots understand what you have to offer better.
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Write for Voice Search
When writing your content, try focusing on writing in a style that mimics the way people get their answers. This is important because the AI crawlers take snippets from answers if they can, and they don't like to summarize things on their own, as it can often cause mistakes.
What does this mean? Well, a few things.
- Sound Natural
Write the way you talk. Make things easy to understand for both the crawler and the human who is getting the information.
- Keep it Short
If you can give a quick and simple answer, do it. The space for snippets and AI answers is short, so keeping your answer short with a more detailed explanation available underneath should be the best strategy.
- Try Localizing
If you have a local service, then make sure to localize your content as well. Users often search for things like best X near me, and you could rank for that.
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Focus on Quality Content
As with anything, quality content is the key to success. With better content comes more views, interactions, and more trust. If you can, make sure that your content is the most detailed and researched information available.
Aim to have helpful and well-explained content, with no errors, both factual and grammatical. Show that you know what you are talking about and that you have some authority on the topic.
If it's possible, keep the page updated with fresh info and changes as they become available. If you are already ranking high, then you should aim to keep it that way and not get replaced by newer and fresher things.
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Optimization for Mobile
The entire internet runs on phones nowadays. No matter what traffic source you have, the users are 80% + from their mobile devices, and Google and other search engines know this. This is why they always focus on mobile-first sites and designs.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate, use, and interact with on a mobile device. Make sure it loads up fast without unnecessary scripts and trackers, and make it as smooth as you can.
Conclusion
AEO is here to stay. With how content consumption is evolving, users will likely use search engines less and less and be drawn more to instant answers through their AI bots, smart devices, and voice assistants.
While this almost always hurts content providers, you can minimize the effects by optimizing for it before everyone else does and get a head start.
The first thing you can do is build an FAQ page. This should already help you with ranking for Q and A stuff. After you are done, you should take a deeper dive and look at your audience, website, and start focusing on the big questions. Adapt your content to fit them, and slowly optimize what you can to make the experience as smooth as possible.
With some luck, you should start ranking for voice, smart assistants, and AI in no time!
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