AEO: The Complete Process
Answer Engine Optimisation is the next evolution of SEO. Instead of optimising for blue links on Google, we optimise for AI-generated answers in platforms such as ChatGPT, Google SGE, Perplexity, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot.
Below is the full end-to-end AEO solution, presented in a way clients will understand.
A clear, simple explanation for your agency website
AEO Backed by Leading Research
Our AEO methodology is grounded in proven research from industry leaders and academic institutions that shape how modern search engines and AI engines discover, interpret and recommend content.
🤖OpenAI
- • Web browsing capabilities
- • Answer generation models
- • GPT-4 search integration
💡Perplexity
- • Evidence-based retrieval
- • Citation systems
- • Answer engine architecture
🎓Stanford University
- • Natural Language Understanding
- • CS224N research
- • Entity recognition models
📚Harvard Business Review
- • Jobs-to-Be-Done theory
- • Clayton Christensen frameworks
- • Customer journey research
🔬Nielsen Norman Group
- • Search behaviour analysis
- • Trust & credibility research
- • User experience studies
📊Moz, HubSpot & MarketMuse
🏢Microsoft
- • Bing + GPT-4 integration
- • Passage retrieval models
- • Copilot search architecture
🧠DeepMind
- • Long-context reading models
- • AI comprehension research
These research bodies validate our approach to entity understanding, structured content, passage optimization, topical authority, and evidence-based content creation.
Discovery & Website Audit
✓What We Do
- •Review your existing website, pages, content structure, and sitemap
- •Analyse your market, competitors, products, and customer profiles
- •Identify gaps where AI engines can't understand your value
💡Why It Matters
AI engines don't "crawl" like Google; they build knowledge maps. If your content isn't structured properly, you simply won't appear in AI answers.
Extract Your Company's Core Essence
✓What We Do
- •We analyse your website and extract the essentials:
- •Your buyer personas
- •Their pain points
- •The jobs-to-be-done
- •Your product features
- •The outcomes you deliver
💡Why It Matters
AI engines recommend brands based on how clearly they understand user problems, not on keyword stuffing.
Traffic Opportunity Mapping
✓What We Do
- •We run keyword intelligence across:
- •Personas
- •Pain points
- •Features
- •Page themes
- •Sector pages
- •Competitor content
- •We combine keyword data with AEO intent signals to find high-value opportunities.
💡Why It Matters
This step identifies the real demand in your market, so you know exactly what to create.
Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) Modelling
✓What We Do
- •We convert your product features into human problems AI recognises, such as:
- •"Capture site photos easily"
- •"Track project progress automatically"
- •"Improve classroom learning outcomes"
💡Why It Matters
AI engines don't index "features". They index problems + outcomes.
Generate Buyer Questions
✓What We Do
- •We generate and categorise all the real questions your buyers ask, covering:
- •Awareness
- •Consideration
- •Evaluation
- •Decision
💡Why It Matters
AI engines use question-based answers, not keyword-based rankings. You need content that aligns with how people actually ask for solutions.
SEO Phrase Extraction
✓What We Do
- •We take those long questions and turn them into short, real-searchable phrases:
- •Head terms (2–3 words)
- •Mid-tail phrases (3–5 words)
- •Intent-based modifiers
💡Why It Matters
AI engines and search engines prefer concise, high-intent phrasing.
Keyword Performance Scoring
✓What We Do
- •For every keyword, we measure:
- •Search volume
- •CPC value
- •Competition
- •Difficulty
- •Opportunity
- •AI visibility potential
- •Traffic fit with your personas
💡Why It Matters
This tells you which areas will produce the greatest return with the least effort.
Pillar & Cluster Content Architecture
✓What We Do
- •We build a complete information architecture:
- •Pillars (big, evergreen topics)
- •Clusters (supporting subtopics)
- •Keyword mapping
- •Intent mapping
- •Journey mapping
- •Internal linking structure
💡Why It Matters
These create the topical authority AI uses to choose which brands to recommend.
SERP & SGE Data Modelling
✓What We Do
- •We analyse:
- •Featured snippets
- •People Also Ask
- •Related queries
- •SGE summaries
- •Competitor content layouts
- •AI-generated answer patterns
💡Why It Matters
You need to understand the "shape" of the content AI likes, not just the words.
E-E-A-T & Content Proof Requirements
✓What We Include
- •Evidence blocks
- •Case studies
- •Frameworks
- •Templates
- •Diagrams
- •Data sources
- •Expert commentary
- •Region-specific compliance (UK, EU, etc.)
💡Why It Matters
AI engines reward proof, not claims.
Create Full AEO-Ready Content Plans
✓What We Build
- •For each cluster:
- •Page title
- •H2/H3 structure
- •Keyword placement map
- •SERP features to target
- •CTA placement
- •Proof references
- •FAQs
- •Schema markup
- •Multimedia suggestions
- •Internal link rules
💡Why It Matters
This produces content designed for humans and for AI engines.
Technical AEO Web Build
✓What We Implement
- •Clean HTML structure
- •Structured data (schema)
- •Component-based design
- •Low-code blocks for future content
- •Fast load times
- •Crawl-friendly architecture
- •AEO-specific metadata patterns
💡Why It Matters
Bad structure → No AI visibility. Good structure → Preferential treatment in answer engines.
AEO-Focused On-Page Enhancements
✓What We Add
- •AI-readable definitions
- •Concise paragraphs
- •One-sentence answers
- •Evidence-first formatting
- •Scannable sections
- •Chunked information
- •Rich media aligned to intent
💡Why It Matters
AI reads "passages", not pages. We optimise every passage.
Internal Linking & Journey Mapping
✓What We Create
- •Topic pathway flows
- •Persona-specific journeys
- •Funnel-based navigation
- •Cluster-to-pillar linking
- •Opportunity links for SGE
- •Anchor text recommendations
💡Why It Matters
AI uses internal linking to determine your semantic authority.
AI Search Engine Monitoring
✓What We Track
- •ChatGPT mentions
- •Perplexity citations
- •SGE visibility
- •Traffic from answer engines
- •AI-generated answer quality
- •Shifts in competitive share
💡Why It Matters
AI search changes every month. You need ongoing monitoring to stay ahead.
Monthly Refinement & Expansion
✓What We Deliver Monthly
- •New cluster ideas
- •New keyword opportunities
- •Updates to existing pages
- •Internal linking enhancements
- •SERP/SGE change reports
- •Recommendations for new proof sources
- •Content performance review
💡Why It Matters
AEO isn't "write and forget". It's "write, measure, expand".
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