AEO Series #6: SEO and AEO: do you need both?

Here's the question that's probably been humming away all series: is AEO just SEO wearing a new hat — and do you really need to bother with both?

Short answer: they're not rivals, and you're almost certainly already doing more than you think.

SEO (search engine optimisation) is about being found in the traditional search results — the blue links on Google. AEO (answer engine optimisation) is about being found when an AI tool answers a question directly — Claude, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews — often without the person ever clicking through to a site.

The good news is that they're built on the same foundations. A clear, well-structured, genuinely useful website helps you in both places. You don't do one instead of the other, and you don't need two separate strategies. AEO isn't a replacement for SEO — it's the same good habits, pointed at a new kind of reader.

So no, you don't need to tear anything up or start again. If you've been following this series, you've already been doing the work: a complete Business Profile, a website that answers real questions, a steady trail of reviews and mentions. That's the foundation for both.

The difference in one line

• SEO helps someone find you and click.

• AEO helps an AI recommend you when it answers on someone's behalf.

Same business, same website, two ways of being found. Cover the basics well and you're in good shape for both — no either/or required.

Your 5-point AI-visibility checklist

Run through these. If you can tick all five, you're in a genuinely strong position — better than most small businesses out there.

1. Your Google Business Profile is complete and specific — right primary category, services filled in, real photos, current hours, a description in your customers' words. (see AEO #3 in this series)

2. Your website answers the questions people actually ask — the five things every enquiry asks, answered plainly and near the top, ideally with an FAQ section. (see AEO #4)

3. You show up consistently across the web — same name, address and phone everywhere, plus a couple of relevant listings. (see AEO #5)

4. People vouch for you — a steady trickle of reviews, replied to warmly. (also AEO #5)

5. You've actually tested it — open Claude or Perplexity and ask it to recommend a business like yours, in your area, in your customers' words. See what comes back.

That last one's the real test. If you show up — brilliant. If you don't yet, you now know exactly which of the first four to work on.

That's the series

Six posts, one simple idea: getting found by AI isn't a dark art, and it isn't something to feel behind on. It's mostly the boring, foundational, human stuff — done consistently. Be clear, be findable, be worth recommending.

If you've missed any of it, the whole series is sitting in the Resource Hub whenever you want it — just look for the numbered "AEO Series" posts.

If you'd like someone to run that checklist for you — a proper look at where your site stands for both Google and AI search, in plain English — the Site Health & AI-Readiness Audit does exactly that.

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