AEO Who?
Move over, SEO, there’s a new sheriff in town. That sheriff is the formidable AEO and it’s taking over as a driving force in consumer brand discovery and decision-making.
So… what is AEO, exactly?
Like SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, AEO is Answer Engine Optimization. As more people turn to AI to search for trip ideas, hair dryers, niche recipes –you name it– it’s important that your brand or content is represented correctly in order to be cited by AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and others.
What Does AEO Have to Do With Creators?
AI assistants pull from everywhere, and social media and creators are emerging as a key source of truth.
For brands, creator content is an effective way to get third-party information from trusted voices out there at scale. For creators, being cited not only brings more foot traffic to your page, but helps cultivate an engaged audience looking for your answers.
Brands will want to partner with creators who are experts in their field. This way, the videos are more likely to be cited. A short introduction with qualifications at the start of the creator’s video bolsters their chances.
Think something like: “I’m Jane Smith, a registered dietitian…”
The same goes for creators. They benefit the most from collaborating with brands that resonate with their niche and making sure to always add that ethos to their content.
Fresh content best impacts Large Language Models, as it creates contemporary conversations that are read as relevant and up-to-date data. The key word here is conversation. You want to put out content that engages your audience and creates a solid case for your product or solution. This also builds context around your solution, which strengthens your credibility.
The lowest lift way to approach building this context is by tapping into conversations you’re already having. Thorough research is essential in understanding what to talk about and what questions to address.
Something to keep in mind is that, unlike search engines, AI agents remember. This often leads to personalized answers, which are incredibly hard to predict. But, this can be used to your advantage. Understanding what related conversations are being had in adjacent spaces or industries will help you illustrate new connections to what you have to offer.
AEO Loves YouTube
Turns out: AI engines choose YouTube 200x more than any other video platform. Due to its ownership by Google and the trusted nature of the platform for educational content, it’s become a powerful tool for brands who want to improve their AEO. Google AI Overviews cite YouTube videos in about 30% of responses, according to Brightedge.
But, how does AI read videos?
It pulls from:
- Text overlays
- Video titles
- Video transcripts
- Closed captions
- Video descriptions
So, as always, keywords and searchable phrases are uber important for all of those elements.
Now, let’s talk about best practices.
- Create content based on real questions people ask.
- Ensure transcripts and captions are accurate and punctuated. Create multilingual versions for non-English speaking audiences.
- Use on-screen text overlays to emphasize key points in videos.
- Make your video titles as descriptive as possible.
- Summarize the content of the full video in your description and include 2-3 relevant hashtags on YouTube.
- Use YouTube’s Chapters feature to divide long-form videos into labelled sections.
- And, for brands, link to creators’ videos within article content on the same topic(s) on your brand website.
The AEO Strategy Playbook
Now here’s a peek into our strategy when it comes to tackling AEO.
Analyze
First, Linqia’s team identifies the most-asked questions about your brand, vertical, category, product, etc.
Partner
Next, we uncover the best creators to work with to create content about the best identified topics, prioritizing qualifications, expertise, strength of YouTube presence, and content creation abilities.
Create
Finally, we contract and brief these creators to make and post videos answering the most-asked questions that best fit the strategy, delivering strong engagement and views in social, while also impacting AEO.
There’s more… but we can’t give all of our secrets away! Stay in touch for more insights via LinkedIn or request a demo to see what we can do for your brand.
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