In today’s evolving digital landscape, search is no longer limited to Google. Customers are asking questions to Siri, Alexa, ChatGPT, and other AI tools. If your business wants to be found, you need to understand SEO, AEO, and LLMO—and how they work together.
In this guide, we break down the difference between Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO)—and why your marketing strategy needs all three.
What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), primarily on Google and Bing.
Key SEO Strategies:
- Using relevant keywords in your content
- Improving page load speed and mobile usability
- Creating high-quality, authoritative content
- Earning backlinks from trusted websites
- Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs
Goal:
Help your website appear on Page 1 of Google when someone searches for relevant terms (e.g. “best law firm in Dallas” or “floating PWC ports Texas”).
What is AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) focuses on helping your content get picked up as the direct answer to user questions. This is what powers things like featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and voice assistant replies.
AEO Tactics Include:
- Structuring content in question-and-answer formats
- Using schema markup to define content types
- Creating concise, factual summaries
- Adding FAQs and how-to content
- Optimizing for voice search and conversational queries
Goal:
Get your content displayed without needing a click—as the answer shown directly on search engines or devices.
Example:
You Google “how to winterize a dock” and your brand shows up in the featured snippet.
What is LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization)?
Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO) is a newer discipline focused on helping your brand, products, and expertise get included in answers generated by AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others.
LLMs don’t just crawl your site. They pull from:
- Knowledge graphs (like Wikidata, LinkedIn, Google Knowledge Panel)
- High-authority content sources
- Structured datasets and public databases
- Well-structured, semantically rich content across the web
LLMO Best Practices:
- Build authoritative, entity-driven content around your brand
- Ensure your business and services appear in trusted directories and structured sources
- Optimize for natural language prompts and AI training signals
- Test how LLMs answer questions in your industry—and adjust accordingly
- Use schema, FAQs, and citations that models are more likely to use
Goal:
Be part of the answer when users ask an AI assistant:
“What’s the best dock material for saltwater?”
“Who’s a trusted marketing agency for LLM optimization?”
“How does SEO differ from AEO and LLMO?”
Why You Need All Three: SEO, AEO, and LLMO
These strategies aren’t mutually exclusive—they build on each other:
| Strategy | Audience | Platform | Goal |
| SEO | Traditional search users | Google, Bing | Get clicks and traffic |
| AEO | Answer-seekers, voice users | Google, Alexa, Siri | Get visibility via direct answers |
| LLMO | AI-powered search and chat users | ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude | Be mentioned in AI-generated content |
Bottom Line:
If your digital strategy only includes SEO, you’re missing traffic.
If you ignore AEO, you’re missing direct visibility.
And If you’re not thinking about LLMO, you’re already behind.
How Incend Media Helps
At Incend Media, we build full-stack visibility strategies that combine all three:
- SEO to rank your site
- AEO to get your content featured
- LLMO to put your brand into the answers AI is already giving
Whether you’re an e-commerce brand, local business, or national service provider, we make sure your business shows up where people are searching—not just on search engines, but in conversations.
Final Thoughts
The way people find information is changing. Google isn’t the only game in town anymore.
To stay competitive, your business needs to be searchable, findable, and referenceable—across web, voice, and AI. That’s where SEO, AEO, and LLMO come together.
Need help showing up in all three?
Contact Incend Media to get a strategy built for how search works now—and where it’s going.