SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher on search engines like Google for relevant keywords. It focuses on improving website content, structure, backlinks, and technical aspects to increase organic traffic. Key components of SEO include on-page SEO such as content optimization, meta titles, meta descriptions, and headings; off-page SEO such as backlinks and social signals; and technical SEO like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and crawlability. The main goal of SEO is to make a website more visible in search results, helping users find it when they search for specific queries.

On the other hand, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is a newer approach that focuses on optimizing content so that search engines provide direct answers to users’ questions. AEO is about understanding user intent and structuring content in a way that makes it easy for AI-driven search engines and voice assistants to extract answers. Key elements of AEO include using structured data and schema markup, creating answer-focused content such as FAQs and step-by-step guides, optimizing for natural language queries, and maintaining a clear content hierarchy. The goal of AEO is to have content displayed as a featured snippet or a direct answer in search results, rather than just a link.