AEQ vs AEO, And How To Optimize For Both? 

What is Ask Engine Optimization (AEQ), and what is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?

We live in a very fast-paced world, and if things don’t happen at the snap of our fingers, we lose interest. 

Think about it: if a post or video doesn’t capture our attention in the first 3 seconds – we scroll away. If the website doesn’t clearly state what the company is about – we move on. If the sale prices are too difficult to figure out – we move on to a different brand. 

Well, search engines caught onto the trend and began implementing voice search optimization and AI bots to satisfy us, consumers, and give us an instant answer to whatever we may be searching or asking for.

So, what needs to happen for your site or information to appear as one of the AI-generated answers at the top of the search results? Your website needs to be optimized for AEQ and AEO.

While both AEQ and AEO serve similar purposes – to show up in Position 0 (the featured snippet in the Google Search results) and answer to the public, there is a difference between them. 

• Ask Engine Optimization is primarily used to answer questions and is tailored toward users who explicitly type questions into the search bar.
  
  Your answers should be short and concise, getting to the point right away.
  
  
• Answer Engine Optimization is broader, blends in with the rest of the information, and serves voice queries from devices like Siri and Alexa.
  
  While still focusing on answering questions, the answers can be longer and more detailed and involve lists, bullets, and a summary box. 
  
  

Why Optimize For AEO and AEQ?

Whether your site focuses on educating people about a specific industry or service or answers specific questions about your niche and products, getting it optimized for both AEQ and AEO will get you a spot in Position 0 in the Search Engines. Here is why this benefits you. 

• Increased Exposure And Website Traffic: Optimizing for both AEQ and AEO increases the chances of your website appearing in the top search results. And, as you know already, the more traffic, the higher the likelihood of increased sales. 
  
  
• Improved Engagement: With increased exposure comes more engagement. Once people start noticing your website’s information and how it caters to users directly, your site will become a consistent go-to for these people.
  
  
• Improved Credibility And Relevancy: Getting your site ranked by search engines, generative AI, and AI assistants helps your business gain and improve its credibility and build trust with consumers and customers.
  
  The tech and marketing world is constantly changing and evolving, and keeping up with its trends can be challenging. However, if you don’t, your business risks falling off the grid.
  
  Not every trend applies to your business, but some are fairly easy and beneficial for you to implement, like this one.
  
  
• Increased Sales: Given everything mentioned above, an increase in your revenue is inevitable.
  
  Exposure and relevancy create engagement, which means more leads, sign-ups, subscriptions, and info products and services sold. 
  
  

Pro Tips For Optimizing for AEQ 

• Offer High-Quality Written Content: The structure and quality of your content are the most important aspects of AEQ.
  
  Focus on providing users with clear, concise, and direct answers to the most common questions.
  
  Your answer should almost immediately get to the point, preferably in the first two sentences. While details are important, too, they shouldn’t be complex.
  
  
• Engage With The Community For AEQ: While your website might have all of the answers to frequently asked questions about a topic, niche, or your products and services, having other avenues that help establish your credibility and relevancy is recommended.
  
  You can engage with the rest of the community by answering and talking about a topic on platforms like Quora and Reddit. This will bring your answers more exposure and engagement and can be used as an additional way to redirect people to your website, course, or sign-up link. 
  
  
• Use Question-Based Keywords for AEQ: Use questions that revolve around What, When, Where, Why, Which, Who, How, Can, and Are to increase your likelihood of being found and seen.
  
  This should be a practice for your website and when engaging with communities on Quora and Reddit.
  
  
• Use Long-Tail Keywords for AEQ. This will help you rank highly in search results, as long-tail keywords are more specific and have less competition.
  
  Utilizing conversational keywords is also part of the process, as we don’t say things like “law firms near me;” instead, we’d say, “Are there any good lawyers in town?”
  
  

Pro Tips For Optimizing for AEO

• Identify Commonly Searched Queries: Knowing how to find and predict what people are searching for is one of the key components of Answer Engine Optimization.
  
  Once you’ve identified that, your main focus should be delivering clear and expanded answers to their search.
  
  This will help you establish your authority amongst other websites, ultimately bringing your content and site to the top.
  
  
• Optimize For The Snippets: Your answer to a query or question should consist of 50 to 200 words, can involve lists and bullets, and should have a summary box, which would make it easier for search engines to identify and extract valuable information efficiently.
  
  
• Leverage Conversational Queries: Similar to AEQ, AEO likes long-tail and conversational keywords for the same reasons: there is less competition, they are more specific, and feel more human.
  
  
• Optimize For Voice Search: “Hey Siri, how do you optimize for AEO?” Your content and answers should involve natural language and be optimized for mobile and voice search devices.
  
  By the way, we have a guide on Voice Search Optimization, we recommend you check it out! 
  
  

Closing Remarks

Both Ask Engine Optimization and Answer Engine Optimization are strategies to consider if you want your business to stay credible, relevant, and profitable in the future. 

AEQ focuses on specific question-based queries, answers them clearly and directly, and relies on both the community and your website for ranking. 

AEO, on the other hand, focuses on more detailed answers to search queries that blend in with the rest of the content but can still be easily identified by search engines, AI assistants, and Voice Search devices like Alexa, Siri, and others.

Both of these strategies complement your existing SEO and are relatively easy and cost-friendly (if not free) to implement; doing so will increase your exposure, engagement, and revenue.

On that note, subscribe to Vavoza Insider to receive more actionable and insightful tips that will help take your business to the next level! 

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-Steph