Part 4: AEO in Depth

Importance

SEO ensures your content ranks well; AEO ensures it is the answer (especially in AI-driven or zero-click environments).

Target Audience

• Content Creators/Writers
• Design
• Web Dev/IT

How AEO differs from SEO

Focus	SEO	AEO
Goal	Rank high in search results	Be cited or used as the direct answer
Query style	Keywords, short phrases	Full questions, natural language
Content format	Articles, long pages, depth	Q&A, FAQ, concise answer and detail
Technical needs	Metadata, links, structure	Schema, entity clarity, context
Success metrics	Clicks, impressions, rankings	Featured snippet wins, AI citations, voice answers

AEO is especially important now because search results increasingly include AI overviews, which reduce visitors coming to your website.

Best Practices for AEO

1. Start with the question: Use headings like “How to apply to Illinois?” or “What makes Illinois engineering top-ranked?”
2. Answer upfront (40–60 words): The first thing readers see becomes the quoted answer in snippets or AI tools.
3. Follow with supporting detail: Expand the answer further below with context, examples and internal links.
4. Mark up FAQs/Q&As with FAQ Page schema (3.7 FAQ).
5. Prioritize pages that already get impressions or are near Page 1 for early wins.
6. Monitor AI citation and snippet occurrence to adjust content (e.g. change phrasing, add more facts).

Contact

• Rashmi Tenneti, Director of Analytics and Alignment, rtenneti@illinois.edu
• Maggie Evenson, Analytics Coordinator, evenson@illinois.edu