A la Blackshaw, I'm not sure whether we should be making distinctions between all these things. Marketers are confused enough about AEO. Heck, I'm confused enough about AEO. Other than some technical stuff (structure and shema), it sounds a hell of a lot like content marketing, social media marketing, influencer engagement, and just plain ol' marketing done right. No?
That said, YES YES YES narrative is still vital in the age of the algorithm.
I'd echo also Pete's point that no matter what you call it, the motivation *should* be providing human (egads, human, not user!) value. That's certainly something we all agree on, and to me seems to come across in your article (no matter what you call it.)
First off you are killing it on graphics, and if I were in the agency/design biz I'd be a bit terrified. :-). I'll stick to my position on AEO. It's consumer/user centered vs. all the other terminology (GEO...even IEO) where the consumer/user is just the target. We're effectively shifting from "search results" to "answers and problems solved" (and even w/all the "agentic" developments). AEO anchors optimization in user value. You know better than I do that Search 1.0 turned into a "tragedy of the commons" because we completely lost sight of the consumer (quickly became a bazaar of noise and distraction...w/all the objective stuff pushing way below the fold), and I really think the terminology we use shapes outcomes and marketing behavior. Maybe IEO is ok for industry inside-baseball, but we really need you, Mr. Armano, wise sage of our industry, as an advocate of a consumer/user centered path forward. This is no different that the early days of the word-of-mouth industry. How do we set the right standards and expectations, and not screw this up!
I taught AI how to emulate my visual thinking style and now it’s an extension of me. Good point on being customer centric! I don’t think or even want my proposed terminology to stick (it won’t) but hopefully it will actually get insiders to understand what they are really trying to do. It’s a provocation.
What's next, EIEO?
A la Blackshaw, I'm not sure whether we should be making distinctions between all these things. Marketers are confused enough about AEO. Heck, I'm confused enough about AEO. Other than some technical stuff (structure and shema), it sounds a hell of a lot like content marketing, social media marketing, influencer engagement, and just plain ol' marketing done right. No?
That said, YES YES YES narrative is still vital in the age of the algorithm.
I'd echo also Pete's point that no matter what you call it, the motivation *should* be providing human (egads, human, not user!) value. That's certainly something we all agree on, and to me seems to come across in your article (no matter what you call it.)
PS my 'still learning this stuff' take on AEO and GEO is here. Lots of the same tips (in a good way): https://thecognitivepath.substack.com/p/what-is-answer-engine-optimization
Made you look 👀😊
First off you are killing it on graphics, and if I were in the agency/design biz I'd be a bit terrified. :-). I'll stick to my position on AEO. It's consumer/user centered vs. all the other terminology (GEO...even IEO) where the consumer/user is just the target. We're effectively shifting from "search results" to "answers and problems solved" (and even w/all the "agentic" developments). AEO anchors optimization in user value. You know better than I do that Search 1.0 turned into a "tragedy of the commons" because we completely lost sight of the consumer (quickly became a bazaar of noise and distraction...w/all the objective stuff pushing way below the fold), and I really think the terminology we use shapes outcomes and marketing behavior. Maybe IEO is ok for industry inside-baseball, but we really need you, Mr. Armano, wise sage of our industry, as an advocate of a consumer/user centered path forward. This is no different that the early days of the word-of-mouth industry. How do we set the right standards and expectations, and not screw this up!
I taught AI how to emulate my visual thinking style and now it’s an extension of me. Good point on being customer centric! I don’t think or even want my proposed terminology to stick (it won’t) but hopefully it will actually get insiders to understand what they are really trying to do. It’s a provocation.