A Technical Guide to AI Search Optimisation

The conversation around search is shifting. You’ve likely heard the new buzzword: AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation. While many are debating the name (some call it GEO, others LLMO) the real question is how to adapt your strategy to rank on platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity alongside Google.

The good news is that the core principles haven't changed dramatically. The strategy is not about finding "hacks" but about doubling down on solid technical and content fundamentals. 

Here is our B2B technical framework for adopting an effective AI search optimisation strategy.

1. Build a Rock-Solid Technical Foundation

Before you even think about content, your site must be technically pristine. AI crawlers, much like Google's, need a clean, accessible, and fast website to understand and index your content effectively.

• Implement Comprehensive Schema Markup: This is non-negotiable. Go beyond basic schema. Implement specific schema types on your homepage and, crucially, on every single article page. This structured data gives search engines explicit context about your content, making it easier for them to pull your information into AI-generated answers.

  
  

• Ensure Site Speed and Clean Architecture: Fast load speeds are a critical ranking factor. Your site should also have proper canonical tags set for all pages to avoid duplicate content issues. Platforms like Webflow tend to excel in providing a clean technical SEO setup out of the box.

  
  

• Master Your Sitemap: Your sitemap.xml file must be configured to update automatically every time you publish new content. Immediately after publishing, you need to manually submit this updated sitemap to both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing is particularly important, as its index is often used by various AI search models. This simple, two-step submission process signals to both major indexes that you have fresh content ready for indexing.

  
  

2. Engineer Your Content for AI Consumption

While brand and lived experience are vital, how you structure your content from a technical standpoint directly impacts its AEO performance.

• Structure with H2s and H3s to Answer Questions: The goal is to make your content easily digestible for answer engines. Use tools like AlsoAsked to find common questions related to your topic and structure your article's outline around them using H2 and H3 headings. You can also prompt ChatGPT to generate a list of related questions to sprinkle throughout your article as headings. This formatting makes it simple for an AI to identify and extract direct answers from your content.

  
  

• Optimise On-Page Elements: Beyond headings, traditional on-page SEO is still essential. Use tools like Clearscope or Surfer to ensure your content has the right keyword density and semantic relevance. Every page should be optimised, not just for a primary keyword but for a cluster of related concepts.

  
  

• Build a Strong Internal Linking Web: As soon as you publish a new article, go back to at least three older, relevant blog posts and add internal links pointing to your new content. This does two things: it passes authority to the new page and helps search engine crawlers discover and understand the new content within the context of your established topical authority.

  
  

3. Measure What Matters: The End Goal

Ultimately, ranking is a means to an end: profitable growth. While technical optimisations get you in the game, success is measured by user engagement. Think of your content's performance like a YouTube video's analytics: the most important metrics, outside of on-page optimisations, are your click-through rate (CTR) and the time users spend on your page.

High engagement signals to all search algorithms, both traditional and AI-driven, that your content is valuable and satisfies user intent. By combining a flawless technical setup with strategically structured, high-quality content, you will be well-positioned to dominate search in this new era and turn rankings into real business results.