Fix Failing Content Strategies with SEO AEO Alignment

If you aren’t aligning your content with both search engine optimization (SEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO), you are building in the dark.

Let’s break down why traditional content strategies fall short.

AND, how to fix yours for long-term discoverability, visibility, and business impact.

The Problem: Strategy That Starts from the Wrong Place

Most content strategies begin in one of three ways:

An editorial calendar based on what leadership wants to promote
A series of ideas from product marketing or sales enablement
A push for thought leadership, written without supporting data

The common thread is that these approaches focus on what the business wants to say.

But what about what the target audience is searching for or how they are searching?

Even when keyword research is involved, it is often disconnected from the rest of the process.

Writers treat keywords like required ingredients.

SEO teams only get to optimize after drafts are already written.

Product teams push positioning that overrides natural, user-friendly messaging.

This kind of fragmented process leads to content that:

Ranks for irrelevant or low-intent terms
Fails to appear in AI-driven summaries or answer boxes
Misses the mark on buyer intent
Performs poorly in organic search and tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini

Search Has Changed. Content Strategy Has Not.

Google isn’t just returning a list of blue links anymore.

Answer engines, AI-powered summaries, and featured snippets take up prime real estate.

And user behavior has shifted.

Searches are more conversational, more specific, and more impatient.

If your content strategy still revolves around SEO tactics from 2018, it is outdated.

SEO is no longer about ranking number one.

It is about being selected as the best possible answer across multiple search and AI platforms.

That includes:

Traditional organic search
Featured snippets and People Also Ask
AI-generated summaries in search engines
Answer tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
Voice search and assistant interfaces

This is where AEO comes in. Answer Engine Optimization is not a buzzword.

It is the evolution of SEO, in a world where AI platforms extract, summarize, and deliver it.

All BEFORE a click ever happens.

The Fix: Build Your Strategy Around SEO and AEO…Together

To compete today, your strategy must support two types of discoverability:

SEO: how Google crawls, indexes, and ranks your site
AEO: how large language models extract, summarize, and cite your content as an authoritative answer

Here’s how to align both layers within your content strategy.

Step 1: Start With Search Intent and Real Questions

Every content initiative should begin with a clear understanding of user intent.

Begin by asking yourself:

What is the user trying to achieve?
What are they asking?
Where are they in the decision process?

Use tools like:

Google Search Console for query data
People Also Ask and Related Searches
ChatGPT and Perplexity to see how AI responds to key questions in your field
Your website’s internal search data

The takeaway: keywords are less important than they once were. Questions matter more.

Optimize for well-formed, helpful questions. This will give you a better shot at visibility in both Google and AI-generated answers.

Step 2: Create Structured, Scannable, High-Value Content

Content that performs across SEO and AEO must be:

Clear and well-organized
Easy to skim
Marked up with headings, bullets, and schema
Precise in answering the searcher’s question
Authoritative without being long-winded

Tactical recommendations:

Use H2 and H3 headers to organize ideas
Include TLDR summaries and pull-out takeaways
Add FAQs that directly answer user questions
Keep sections tight and digestible
Target featured snippets with structured definitions

Also, use schema markup where appropriate.

For example, FAQ, HowTo, and Article schema help AI systems understand your page faster and with better context.

Few teams do this well. But it can give you a real edge with both search and AI tools.

Step 3: Build Around Topical Authority, Not Just Keywords

Google and AI models favor depth and subject matter coverage.

One article focused on a keyword does not establish authority.

But a full cluster of related content, structured around a main topic, tells search engines and LLMs that your brand knows the subject.

To build topical authority:

Define your key content pillars
Build supporting content for each one
Interlink all posts in the cluster
Use internal linking and consistent terminology
Keep content up to date

This is how you build long-term visibility.

Not just for SEO, but also within LLMs that are indexing your site for training or real-time citation.

Step 4: Align Across Teams Early

Content strategy fails when functions operate in silos.

SEO teams focus on rankings.

Writers focus on tone and messaging.

Product marketing pushes brand stories.

Analytics teams report on clicks after the fact.

The solution? Upfront alignment.

Unify your workflows:

Share editorial calendars across SEO, content, and product teams
Agree on goals before starting content drafts
Build templates that support both brand voice and discoverability
Set up post-publishing reviews across functions

Make sure that every team understands the strategic goal behind each piece. Prior to execution.

This includes whether it is targeting organic search, AI retrieval, lead generation, or awareness.

Step 5: Monitor Where You Appear, Not Just How You Rank

Traditional KPIs like keyword rankings, organic sessions, and backlinks are still useful.

But they don’t tell the whole story.

Today’s reporting should also track:

Whether your content appears in AI-generated summaries
How often tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity cite your brand
Presence in Google’s AI Overviews (if active in your region)
Featured Snippet and People Also Ask placements
Voice search results

These metrics show your real reach across all modern discovery tools.

They also help you identify content that AI systems are extracting and reusing, even if it is failing to produce clicks.

Final Thoughts: Content Strategy Needs to Evolve

Content marketing still works.

But only when you ground it in how people discover content today.

The winning strategies in 2025 and beyond will:

Start with user intent, not internal opinion
Treat SEO and AEO as core pillars from day one
Break down silos across teams
Focus on structure, clarity, and authority
Monitor results beyond traditional analytics

If your content isn’t showing up where people search and ask questions, it isn’t working.

To fix your strategy, start with asking better questions and designing content to answer them.

Want help evaluating where your content stands today?
Reach out to schedule a content discoverability audit that blends SEO, AEO, and actionable strategy.

Bio
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Tommy Landry

President at Return On Now

With over 20 years of experience across digital marketing and business strategy, I help companies of all sizes grow through focused, practical execution. My expertise includes SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), content marketing, and digital advertising. As a marketing and AI strategist, I apply the HAIF (Human + AI Framework) Model to combine advanced AI capabilities with the human touch. This approach enables businesses to streamline operations, scale effectively, and improve marketing performance. I focus on delivering strategies that drive clear, measurable results.