Even if your team hasn’t refined your search approach in several years, you can see as a consumer how things are changing. It’s not a passing trend; search results are different, and they are impacting small business marketing.
Instead of seeing a list of sites on a search engine results page, you may be seeing an answer to your question or an AI-fueled summary of the information available. Now, along with search engine optimization (SEO), you also need to become familiar with answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO).
While you might think that someone was just excited to throw together some new sets of letters, this is the industry’s attempt to name a new, complex structure for search. Here are a few things you need to know about it:
It’s a Structure, not a Replacement: If you were just a casual observer, rather than someone invested in small business marketing, you might think of AI-generated answers as the replacement for SEO. You might even wonder if it’s just a trend on its way to becoming something even more creative.
That’s a common misconception about the new search approach. SEO is still a major part of search, and it is foundational to how your information and content are accessed.
- SEO is the base foundation, using all of the techniques you are familiar with, such as optimizing your content, making sure your website is regularly updated and accessible to all audiences and optimized for mobile. It’s the SEO you know and love.
- AEO is the answer function that allows a user to receive a quick answer to a search. It draws on your SEO basics to provide answers to those looking for your information.
- GEO is the generative summary that search engines are now providing that, again, draws on your foundational SEO strategy to pull information from your website and cite it as part of a short, informative article for users.
If you’ve been considering abandoning your SEO strategy to adapt to new, AI-based results, that’s a move based on a common misunderstanding. You want to keep your focus on SEO because it’s driving strong results in AEO and GEO.
It’s a Good Time to Check Consistency: One aspect of search strategy that’s becoming more critical for small business marketing is branding consistency. When a search engine crawls your site, it will see any inconsistencies as a lack of confidence rather than nuance. That means your visual branding, voice, content and menus should all work cohesively and consistently.
Think Strategically: You may be tempted to eye these developments as part of a passing trend or something to be distrusted. Generative summaries are simply a result of advancing technology in software, and it’s part of a bigger trajectory. Search is changing, but taking a strategic approach to building a responsive site with consistent branding still matters.
We’re Here to Help: You probably have questions.
- Where do keywords fit into all of this?
- I never understood SEO; how will I tackle more layers?
- Can I just opt out?
We understand you probably have a lot of ideas running through your mind, and we can help you sort through priorities and make sure your business is findable in a changing search environment. Contact us at SJC Marketing to talk more.