The ultimate guide to AEO: How to get ChatGPT to recommend your product | Ethan Smith (Graphite)

以下是内容的中文翻译： Graphite 的 CEO 伊桑·史密斯 (Ethan Smith) 与 Lenny Rachitsky 一起探讨了 SEO 的演变格局以及答案引擎优化 (AEO) 的兴起。 史密斯澄清说，AEO 和生成引擎优化 (GEO) 本质上是相同的，都专注于优化内容，使其在 ChatGPT、Claude、Gemini 和 Perplexity 等人工智能驱动的“答案引擎”中突出显示。 史密斯认为，虽然创建高质量的内容仍然至关重要，但主动优化对于影响这些答案引擎至关重要。 他将 AEO 与传统的 SEO 进行对比，解释说 SEO 专注于在搜索结果中获得高排名，而 AEO 则关注在 AI 的摘要答案中被频繁引用为来源。 他强调，AEO 为早期公司提供了快速获胜的机会，因为可以通过在 Reddit、YouTube 视频或博客上的提及快速获得引用。 他声称来自 AEO 的转化率更有价值。 然后，史密斯分解了一个 AEO 成功的实用策略，包括： * **问题研究：** 将关键词转化为问题是识别搜索词的第一步。 然后，需要挖掘销售电话、客户支持互动和 Reddit 帖子等来源，寻找人们已经在提出的问题。 * **答案追踪：** 设置一个系统来监控你的内容在答案引擎响应中出现的频率，跨多个平台和问题变体。 * **内容创建：** 开发能够全面解答这些问题的高质量着陆页至关重要。 他强调了回答后续问题和涵盖广泛子主题的重要性，以增加被引用的可能性。 * **引用优化（站外 SEO）：** 积极努力地在各种平台上获得提及，包括 YouTube、Vimeo、Reddit、Quora、联盟网站和行业博客。 史密斯特别提到了如何通过成为 Reddit 的真实用户来优化 Reddit。 * **实验：** 不要假设在线建议是正确的。 建立一个对照组，干预测试组，并进行实验，看看哪些有效，哪些无效。 史密斯强调了拥有一支专门团队来执行这一战略的重要性，将传统 SEO 技能与 Reddit 和 YouTube 等平台的社区参与技能相结合。 史密斯还深入研究了 B2B 和面向消费者的 AEO 策略之间的差异。 B2B AEO 需要密切关注 TechRadar 等引用来源，并专注于产品功能和集成的详细解释。 它需要仔细跟踪流量。 商业 AEO 专注于产品列表和富摘要，以及最后一次点击流量数据。 史密斯承认 AI 占据了很大的流量份额，但不希望仅仅将自己用作 LM 以供 AI 使用。 他说，如果他不这样做，竞争对手将利用它来获取流量。 史密斯还谈到了防止 AI 被训练于来自公司网站的数据的重要性。 在解决围绕 AI 和 SEO 的误解时，史密斯驳斥了谷歌搜索正在消亡的说法，强调它仍然是一股主导力量，并且只是与 TikTok 和 Instagram 等新渠道一起扩张。 他告诫不要过度投资于提供关键词跟踪等商品化服务且价格昂贵的工具，并警告说，许多被认为的“最佳实践”都未经测试的假设。 史密斯批评没有人工干预的 AI 生成内容，称之为他 2007 年创建的垃圾邮件。 他谈到 AI 在没有人工干预的情况下无法工作，并引用研究表明，如果谷歌只允许 AI，它就会成为 AI 的搜索引擎。 史密斯讨论了 AEO 是一个不断发展的过程。 谷歌需要决定如何调整生成的内容。 史密斯强调帮助中心优化是 AEO 的一个有希望的领域。 他建议将帮助中心移动到子目录而不是子域，改进内部链接，并扩展覆盖范围以解决利基用例和问题。 在闪电战环节，史密斯分享了几本他最喜欢的书籍，包括《情商》、《说服力》和《如何衡量任何事物》。 史密斯还讨论了从激烈的运动和缓慢的工艺中寻找灵感，并将两者结合在一起的重要性。 史密斯强调了《异类》一书的关键要点：专注和练习。 史密斯分享了他最大的 AEO 成功案例：当他能够在搜索 "Butter Lettuce"（奶油生菜）时，让他的 Masterclass 业务排名高于更大的公司。

Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite, joins Lenny Rachitsky to discuss the evolving landscape of SEO and the rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Smith clarifies that AEO and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are essentially the same, both focused on optimizing content to appear prominently in AI-driven "answer engines" like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Smith argues that while creating high-quality content remains crucial, proactive optimization is vital to influence these answer engines. He contrasts AEO with traditional SEO, explaining that while SEO focuses on ranking high in search results, AEO is about being cited frequently as a source within the AI's summarized answer. He emphasizes that AEO presents opportunities for early-stage companies to win quickly, as citations can be earned rapidly through mentions on Reddit, YouTube videos, or blogs. He claims conversion rates from AEO are significantly more valuable. Smith then breaks down a practical strategy for AEO success, including: * **Question Research:** Converting keywords into questions is the first step to identify search terms. Then it's about mining sources like sales calls, customer support interactions, and Reddit threads for the questions people are already asking. * **Answer Tracking:** Set up a system to monitor how often your content appears in answer engine responses, across multiple platforms and question variations. * **Content Creation:** Developing high-quality landing pages that thoroughly address these questions is vital. He stresses the importance of answering follow-up questions and covering a wide range of subtopics to increase the likelihood of being cited. * **Citation Optimization (Off-site SEO):** Actively work to get mentioned across a variety of platforms, including YouTube, Vimeo, Reddit, Quora, affiliate sites, and industry blogs. Smith specifically mentions how to optimize for Reddit by being an authentic user of Reddit. * **Experimentation:** Don't assume that online advice is correct. Establish a control group, intervene on the test group, and experiment to see what works and what doesn't. Smith highlights the importance of a dedicated team to execute this strategy, combining traditional SEO expertise with community engagement skills for platforms like Reddit and YouTube. Smith also delves into the differences between B2B and consumer-facing AEO strategies. B2B AEO requires careful attention to citation sources like TechRadar and a focus on detailed explanations of product features and integrations. It needs careful tracking of traffic. Commerce AEO focuses on product listings and rich snippets, and last touch traffic data. Smith acknowledges that AI has a large traffic share, but does not want to be used as just an LM to be used with AI. He says competitors will use it for traffic if he does not. Smith also talks about the importance of preventing AI from being trained on data from the company website. Addressing misconceptions surrounding AI and SEO, Smith debunks the narrative that Google search is dying, emphasizing that it remains a dominant force and is simply expanding alongside new channels like TikTok and Instagram. He cautions against overspending on expensive tools that offer commodity services like keyword tracking, and warns that many perceived "best practices" are untested assumptions. Smith criticizes AI-generated content with no human loop, calling it what he created spam in 2007. He talks about how AI does not work without a human in the loop, citing how research shows how if Google allows just AI, it becomes a search engine for AI. Smith discusses how AEO is a constantly evolving process. Google needs to decide how to edge-generated content. Smith highlights Help Center optimization as a promising area for AEO. He advises moving Help Centers to subdirectories instead of subdomains, improving internal linking, and expanding coverage to address niche use cases and questions. During the lightning round, Smith shares several of his favorite books, including "Emotional Intelligence," "Persuasion," and "How to Measure Anything." Smith also discusses the importance of finding inspiration in aggressive sports and slow craftsmanship to combine the two together. Smith emphasizes the key takeaway from Outliers: focus and practice. Smith shares his biggest AEO win: when he was able to rank his business Masterclass on the search "Butter Lettuce" ahead of bigger companies.