Unbridled technological evolution promises constant changes in the analysis patterns of Google and Bing search engines. The most evident change has been observed in the growth of voice search engines and this is causing a AEO growth.
Just think that in the early 2010s, research was overwhelmingly carried out on desktops, but with the rise of smartphones as users' preference, the world is in our hands, following us wherever we go.
With this great oracle at our disposal, the trend has been towards an ever-increasing growth in searches using voice engines, which has made this search action even easier, just ask.
When someone does a search on Google, they are looking for a solution to a problem, this is a point that cannot be forgotten by those who work with digital marketing, and especially with content. Those who have researched want an answer to the most diverse questions.
And people never tire of asking: “How do you do this”, “How do you do that”, there are millions of questions about “How to lose weight”, “How to make such and such a recipe”, “How to earn more money”, “How to find the love of your life” just to name a few. Does it seem like an exaggeration? But that’s how it is.
It is more than urgent to think that we now need response mechanisms instead of just surveys, that is, the AEO.
This behavior has led to many changes that make us wonder: “Will SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) lose ground to AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation)?
Just as many gurus have already predicted the end of SEO, or the end of inbound marketing, the end of the desktop… we can no longer be naive and think that one thing will replace the other. The internet did not kill the radio. SEO and AEO can exist together, the title of this post was a bit sensationalist, we have to admit (lol).
What is AEO?
Before we continue, let’s explain: what is AEO? It’s a new concept that shows how customers evaluate your content in relation to the way Google (or Bing) scores your content.
Although internet psychologist Graham Jones said goodbye to SEO back in 2009, this death can be seen more as a transformation. “We’re just finding the things we want to find after a few offline triggers… Add to that the fact that people are now searching for answers to questions rather than general information, and it means traditional search engines will have their work cut out for them in the coming months.”
Although much more than months have passed, according to Graham's prediction, what is perceived inIn this new world of Answer Engine, understanding and credibility are what matter most.
And what does this mean within the Answer Engine?
On the issue of understanding, looking from Google's point of view, it needs to understand who you are and what you offer to consider your offer as a possible candidate to be suggested as the best solution.
Now on the issue of credibility, Google will look at relative credibility in order to present your offer as the best of several possibilities.
In this world of millions of offers on the web, will they find your website or blog? Think about it: with the rise of voice search engines, the trend is to provide a single, better solution. That is, to be even better in order to reach position 0.
Because the voice is more detailed and natural, the trend is really towards a search for a single answer. That's why companies are making heavy use of chatbots with Artificial Intelligence, for increasingly diverse functions.
While this year the change isn’t significant yet, your competition will be adjusting to rank higher in the answer box. You need to move too!
Some changes for now
- The importance of positions #1 / position 0 / featured snippet and answer boxes will become extremely intense, since only the top will matter in voice search. Local companies should invest in local SEO and AEO, only then will they achieve good results.
- Don't panic! Voice search won't 100% replace typed searches on mobile devices, just as it didn't on desktops. In any case, it's a good idea to review your strategy.
- In any case, as we know that SEO and AEO results take time to appear, now is the right time to invest in this strategy.
Changes for after 2020
– According to data from SemRush, in 2022, the first place will have 60% of the market share, and by 2026, this number will grow to 80%. In other words, the second and third places will not even appear since the voice response will only give the first place.
– After 2020, the trend is for searches to be done 10% via desktops, 20% via smartphones and 70% via voice.
How can you improve your AEO results?
If you really want to be trustworthy and relevant in this new world, you will have to produce better content, which will be used as essential tools for the user who found this answer to their question.
In the world of AEO, where voice is gaining ground, people want objective and complete answers. Therefore, the tendency is for a single answer, while in SEO, people click on the first three on the first page.
In AEO, you can't think about texts produced with a huge amount of keywords, rich in SEO, you need to offer more.
You need dynamic, useful, interactive, user-friendly content, that is, you need to have a quality impact, and not necessarily just convert and optimize. Engaging is much more productive.
You need to actively communicate with Google so that it understands who you are and what you offer.
And more than communicating, you have to convince Google that your answer to the user's question is the best and most reliable.
Some tips for this:
- Create semantic HTML5
- Make use of the https://schema.org/
- Create quality content using appropriate vocabulary
- Confirm and value off-page mentions and links on your website
- Improve highly relevant links and brand mentions
- Improve third-party verification
- Update your posts that appear on pages 2 and 3
- Generate positive media from customer feedback
With some of these changes, you will be preparing for the new world of AEO, and you won't be caught off guard!