SEO and AEO Explained.
SEO gets you found on Google. AEO gets you named by AI. Here's what each one involves, how they differ, and what a service business actually needs to do about both.
For a long time, getting found online meant one thing: rank on Google. Someone types a phrase, a list of links appears, they click one. SEO — Search Engine Optimisation — was the discipline built around that process. It still matters. But it's no longer the whole picture.
More people are starting their search with an AI — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overview. They ask a question in plain language and get a single answer. No list of links. No clicking through to compare. The AI names a business and the decision often starts and ends there.
That's AEO — Answer Engine Optimisation. It's not a replacement for SEO. Different game, different surface, different rules. Most businesses aren't playing it yet.
What SEO actually involves
SEO is the practice of making a website more likely to appear in search results when someone searches for a relevant term. It has three parts:
On-page
The words on your website — whether your pages use the language your potential clients actually search for, whether your headings, titles, and descriptions are clear and specific, whether the content genuinely answers the questions people are asking. This is where most businesses have the most room to improve.
Technical
How fast your site loads, whether it works on mobile, whether search engines can crawl and index it correctly, whether the site structure makes sense. Technical SEO is less about content and more about the site being well-built.
Off-page
How many other credible websites link to yours. Links from other sites are still one of Google's strongest signals of authority. Building this takes time — it comes from publishing content worth linking to, from being listed in reputable directories, from press coverage and mentions.
SEO is a long-game discipline. Meaningful results typically take three to six months of consistent work. Businesses that treat it as a one-time task — “we did the SEO” — are usually confusing a setup with a strategy.
What AEO actually involves
AEO is the practice of making a business more likely to be named, cited, or recommended when an AI system is asked a question related to your category. The mechanics are different from SEO:
Structured, specific content
AI systems draw on content that clearly answers specific questions. A page that directly answers 'what should I look for in a bookkeeper for a small trade business' is more useful to an AI than a generic 'about us' page. FAQ sections, clearly structured articles, and specific service descriptions all help.
Consistent business information
AI models are trained on the web. If your business name, location, specialty, and description are consistent and specific across your website, Google Business, industry directories, and third-party mentions — the AI builds a clearer picture of who you are and what you do. Inconsistency creates noise.
Third-party mentions and reviews
AI systems weight information that appears in multiple credible places. Reviews that describe specifically what you do and who you helped, press coverage, directory listings, and citations in industry content all feed the model that determines whether you get named.
Structured data (schema markup)
Technical annotations in your website's code that tell AI crawlers exactly what your business is, what you offer, your location, your reviews. Schema markup doesn't guarantee AI mentions, but it makes the data easier to read correctly.
“SEO gets you into the list. AEO gets you named as the answer. Both require the same foundation: content that is specific, honest, and built around what the right client actually wants to know.”
How they differ in practice
| SEO | AEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Google, Bing, search engines | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, Claude |
| Output | A ranked list of links | A named recommendation or summary |
| User behaviour | User clicks and compares | User reads and often decides |
| Key signal | Backlinks + relevance + technical quality | Specificity + consistency + third-party mentions |
| Timeline | 3–6 months for meaningful results | 6–12 months; cumulative over time |
| Starting point | Keyword research + on-page content | Clear, structured content + business descriptions |
Does a service business need both?
Yes — but the priority depends on where your clients are searching. If most of your enquiries come from Google search, SEO has immediate practical value. If your clients are professionals, early adopters, or research-heavy decision-makers who use AI tools to shortlist providers, AEO matters now.
The practical answer for most service businesses: build the SEO foundation first — correct content, specific language, fast and technically sound site — because that foundation also feeds AEO. The same content that ranks well on Google is often the content AI systems draw on. Start with quality, specific, honest content about what you do and who you do it for. Both channels benefit.
Where AEO requires separate attention is in consistency of business information across the web, in the specificity of your reviews, and in structured data markup on the site. These are additional layers on top of solid SEO — not a replacement for it.
The one thing most businesses get wrong
Generic content. A website that says “we provide high-quality services to businesses across Australia” gives Google nothing to rank and gives AI systems nothing to cite. The businesses that benefit from both SEO and AEO are the ones that describe specifically what they do, who they do it for, where they operate, what they've achieved, and how they approach it differently. Specificity is the differentiator — on search and in AI.
Built into the strategy from the start
SEO and AEO aren't bolt-ons.
My Pixel Strategy builds SEO and AEO considerations into website strategy from the brief stage — not as an afterthought once the site is live. The content strategy, site structure, and schema markup are all planned before design starts.