Organic search is a powerful marketing channel to drive retention rates. AI and answer engines are advancing daily, making it easier than ever for customers to find you in search– if you know how to optimize for it.
In this blog, we’ll cover how to align your SEO strategy with the customer journey and three ways to make your strategy more customer-focused with SEO and AEO.
Customer churn costs U.S. businesses $168 billion per year.
As a whole, U.S. companies could save over $35 billion per year by focusing on keeping their existing customers happy. Returning customers spend more (and more often) than new customers.
The research suggests brands should focus on minimizing churn and retaining happy customers. Seems like a no-brainer – right?
Customer-Focused SEO and AEO at a Glance
Customer-focused SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) are strategies designed to align a business’s online presence with its customers’ needs and behaviors.
SEO refers to optimizing a website to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). This involves various techniques, including keyword research, content creation, and technical adjustments. The primary goal is to ensure that the content meets the needs of users searching for specific information or solutions.
AEO, on the other hand, focuses specifically on optimizing content for answer engines—platforms that provide direct answers to user queries, such as Google’s AI Overview, ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude. AEO aims to position content in a way that directly addresses user questions, enhancing the likelihood of being featured in answer engine search results.
Aligning your SEO and AEO strategies with customer intent and behavior allows you to effectively target their needs, leading to higher conversion rates and customer loyalty.
Understanding Customer Intent
There are four types of customer intent, each signifying a different path the user will take.
Navigational Intent: Customers are searching for a specific website or webpage.
- Example: A user typing “Facebook login” is looking to navigate directly to Facebook’s login page.
Informational Intent: Customers want to learn about a particular topic without the immediate intention to purchase.
- Example: Queries like “how to improve SEO” or “what is customer intent” fall under this category, as users are looking for knowledge rather than making a purchase.
Transactional Intent: This indicates that customers are ready to make a purchase or complete an action.
- Example: Searches such as “buy Nike shoes” or “subscribe to Netflix” show a clear intention to transact.
Commercial Intent: Customers are in the research phase, comparing products or services before making a decision.
- Example: A search like “best laptops for gaming” reflects a desire to evaluate options before purchasing.
Understanding customer intent helps in finding keywords that are more likely to convert. Keywords with high transactional intent indicate that users are ready to buy, making them ideal targets for SEO and PPC campaigns. In contrast, informational intent keywords indicate users want to learn more about a topic. Incorporating customer intent into keyword research allows businesses to create relevant content that resonates with users’ needs.
Aligning SEO and AEO Strategies with the Customer Journey
The customer journey is a concept that maps out the path a consumer takes from first becoming aware of a product to becoming a loyal customer. It’s broken down into four key stages: awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. Each of these stages offers unique opportunities to integrate SEO strategies that not only capture attention but also foster deeper engagement and drive conversions.
Awareness
In the awareness stage, potential customers are discovering their needs or problems. At this point, SEO strategies should focus on creating informative content that addresses general questions related to the business’s industry.
Let’s say you’re a SaaS company offering online privacy protection services. To nurture leads at the awareness stage, you can create blog posts addressing topics such as “How can I protect sensitive information while shopping online?” This question should have an H1 or H2 header tag with a direct answer to the question in a concise paragraph. You can elaborate in the following paragraphs, but make sure your first paragraph fully answers the question of your header tag.
TL:DR: How to Build Awareness with SEO and AEO
- Target long-tail keywords with informational intent
- Craft valuable, informative blog posts to answer the user’s questions directly
- Use answer engines such as Gemini, Perplexity, Cluade, or ChatGPT to find questions users are asking about your blog topic
- Target user queries with an H2 header tag, then provide a direct answer to the question.
Consideration
As users move into the consideration stage, they have identified their problem and are actively researching potential solutions. Here, potential customers might use commercial intent keywords like “best privacy protection software” or “pros and cons of privacy protection services.” Content should focus on comparing options and providing detailed information about various solutions. This could include case studies, product comparisons, and FAQs that help users evaluate their choices.
TL:DR: SEO and AEO Strategies to Nurture Leads at the Consideration Stage
- Add FAQ sections to product and service pages.
- Perform keyword research and optimize your FAQ’s for informational keywords.
- Add schema markup to your FAQ section to increase the chances of being featured in voice search and answer engine results.
- Create blog posts targeting commercial intent keywords.
Conversion
In the conversion stage, users are ready to make a purchase decision. SEO strategies should target transactional keywords that indicate buying intent, while AEO can help present concise product information or comparisons that facilitate decision-making. Clear CTA’s and optimized landing pages can significantly enhance conversion rates during this phase.
Focus on optimizing content for transactional keywords that indicate strong buying intent. For instance, phrases like “buy running shoes online” or “best price for laptop” should be strategically integrated into product pages and blog content. This helps attract users who are ready to purchase and ensures that the content aligns with their immediate needs.
Create dedicated landing pages that are specifically designed to convert visitors. These pages should feature clear calls to action (CTAs), compelling product descriptions, and essential details such as pricing and availability. Utilizing persuasive elements like urgency (e.g., limited-time offers) can further encourage users to complete their purchases.
Develop content that anticipates and addresses common objections or questions users may have before making a purchase. This could include comparison articles, FAQs, or detailed guides that clarify product benefits and features, helping users feel more confident in their choices.
Incorporate user-generated content such as reviews and testimonials prominently on product pages. This social proof can significantly influence purchasing decisions by building trust and credibility, addressing potential objections, and reinforcing the value of the product or service.
TL:DR SEO Strategies to Drive Conversions
- Optimize for transactional keywords
- Incorporate user-generated content such as reviews and testimonials
- Create dedicated landing pages that are specifically designed to convert visitors.
- Develop content that anticipates and addresses common objections or questions
- Optimize for mobile experience with responsive design
- Use engaging formats such as videos or interactive comparisons that allow users to visualize products in action or see side-by-side comparisons of features
Loyalty
Finally, in the loyalty stage, maintaining customer relationships is key. Both SEO and AEO strategies should focus on providing ongoing value through content that addresses customer questions post-purchase, such as FAQs or how-to guides. This approach not only reinforces brand loyalty but also positions the business as a trusted authority in its field.
Create personalized content that resonates with existing customers based on their purchase history and preferences. 60% of consumers said they would be more likely to become repeat buyers if the brand offered a personalized experience. This could include tailored product recommendations or exclusive offers that reflect their interests. By optimizing this content for relevant keywords, businesses can ensure it reaches the right audience.
Optimize landing pages for loyalty programs to ensure they are easily discoverable through search engines. Use targeted keywords related to loyalty rewards and benefits to attract customers searching for information about how to maximize their rewards or engage with the program.
Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews or share their experiences on social media platforms. This not only enhances credibility but also improves SEO by generating fresh content that can rank in search results, making it easier for potential customers to discover positive feedback about your brand.
To maintain relationships with your customers post-purchase, add lead capture elements to your product and checkout pages. You can do this by adding a pop-up with a discount code to your product pages, requiring users to input their email address for the discount code. Through your checkout process, you can also enroll customers into a loyalty program for discounts and exclusive offers.
TL:DR Establishing Customer Loyalty with SEO
- Optimize product and checkout pages for loyalty programs
- Encourage customers to leave reviews and feedback, then use this data to improve their experience
- Create personalized content that resonates with existing customers based on their purchase history and preferences (product recommendations, blog posts)
3 Ways to Make Your SEO and AEO Strategies Customer-Focused
Adapting Content Strategies for AEO
AEO emphasizes providing concise answers to user queries.
To increase your chances of being featured in an AEO result, structure your content to address common questions related to your products or services directly. Answer engines prefer content that is easily digestible like bullet points, FAQs, annd short paragraphs.
For each answer you target, add a header tag directly above with the query you are targeting to help answer engines find your content more easily.
Implementing schema markup to product pages, FAQs, and videos helps search engines understand your content better. This can enhance your visibility in search results through Google AI Overview and LLMs, making it easier for users to find the information they need quickly.
Leverage Customer Feedback
Customer feedback is a powerful way to enhance your SEO and AEO strategies, ensuring that your content remains relevant, engaging, and aligned with user needs.
Reviews and testimonials improve your organic visibility in answer engine queries since LLMs and voice assistants often reference reviews when answering queries related to products and services. Reviews also serve as social proof to persuade other users to purchase.
You can feature well-written reviews on your product and service pages or social media channels. Many brands have a dedicated section for customer testimonials to highkught what others love about their products. This section can also be used to showcase user photos of your products in action. This enhances credibility encourages more customers to purchase.
Actively encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews or testimonials about their experiences with your products or services. You can do this through follow-up emails after a purchase or by offering incentives for leaving feedback (e.g., discounts on future purchases). User-generated reviews not only build trust but also contribute fresh content that search engines favor.
Predictive Data Analytics
Predictive analytics helps marketers determine future events and actions the user will take by predicting user behavior. It helps us analyze and predict user behavior to determine the type of content that leads to the most conversions.
For SEO and AEO, predictive analytics can help identify which keywords are likely to gain popularity in the future. By analyzing historical search volume trends, seasonal fluctuations, and user engagement metrics, businesses can optimize their content strategy ahead of time. For instance, if data indicates that searches for “eco-friendly products” typically increase during certain months, companies can prepare relevant content to capture this anticipated traffic.
Predictive analytics can analyze user behavior data to forecast how changes to a website might impact user engagement and retention. By identifying potential pain points—such as high bounce rates on mobile devices— we can proactively make adjustments to improve the user experience. For example, if data suggests that users frequently abandon their shopping carts on mobile, optimizing the mobile checkout process could significantly enhance conversion rates.
Utilizing predictive models can provide insights into what types of content are likely to perform well based on past performance. By examining which formats (e.g., videos, blogs, infographics) have historically driven traffic and engagement, businesses can prioritize similar content types. For example, if how-to guides have previously resulted in increased traffic after updates, these should be emphasized in future content planning.
Want to learn more about Predictive Data Analytics?
SEO and AEO Are Essential to a Customer-Focused Strategy
Incorporating SEO and AEO into a customer-focused strategy is essential for businesses seeking sustainable growth and enhanced customer engagement. By prioritizing user intent and delivering valuable content that directly addresses customer needs, companies can improve their search rankings while fostering long-term loyalty. AEO strategies, such as optimizing for Google AI Overview and utilizing structured data, ensure that businesses remain visible in a crowded space.
As search engines continue to advance, aligning SEO efforts with customer insights not only enhances the relevance of content but also builds trust and authority within the market. Ultimately, a customer-centric approach to SEO and AEO empowers organizations to create meaningful connections with their audience, driving both traffic and conversions in a way that benefits both the business and its customers.
