In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, Lenny interviews Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite, about the evolving landscape of SEO with the rise of AI and answer engine optimization (AEO). Ethan defines AEO and GEO as strategies to appear in LLM answers, emphasizing that AEO focuses specifically on optimizing for answers. He shares insights on how AEO differs from traditional SEO, noting that early-stage companies can quickly gain visibility through citations in Reddit, YouTube, and blogs. Ethan also highlights the increased value of leads from answer engines, citing a 6x conversion rate increase for Webflow. He provides a step-by-step plan for AEO success, including identifying target questions, tracking performance, creating relevant landing pages, and optimizing off-site citations. The discussion also covers the impact of AI-generated content and strategies for maintaining content quality in the age of AI.
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