Overview
Client type: a service business whose buyers now ask AI tools before they ever click a link. Goal: be cited in AI answers for the questions buyers actually ask. Timeframe: 60 days. Sample work — targets below are illustrative, not achieved results.
The challenge
- Classic SEO wins clicks; AI search gives answers. The business ranks, but the answer box quotes competitors.
- Pages bury the answer under long intros — AI cannot lift a clean quote from them.
- No structured data, no comparison tables, no clear facts (cost, timeline, process) for an engine to cite.
Strategy
- Question research: list the 30 buyer questions that precede a purchase (cost, comparison, timeline, “who is it for”, risks).
- One page per question: a direct 40–60 word answer at the top, then the evidence below — quotable by design.
- Structured data + facts: FAQPage and HowTo schema, comparison tables, and explicit pricing/service facts on money pages.
- Answer blocks on service pages: cost, process, timeline and eligibility, written so an engine can quote them verbatim.
- Tracking: which questions trigger AI answers, citation presence, and referral traffic arriving from AI tools.
What success is measured on
- Citation presence in AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity for priority questions.
- Referral sessions from AI tools and enquiries that mention an AI answer.
Illustrative target (not an achieved result): citation in AI answers for 10 priority buyer questions within 60 days.
Key takeaway
AEO rewards clarity over cleverness. If a page cannot state its answer in one quotable paragraph, no engine will quote it — however well it ranks.