From Search Engines to Answer Engines: Changing Winds of SEO-to-AEO Strategy

This article on SEO Strategy addresses the shift from page specific optimisation to brand and site-wide optimisation. It is corner-stone thinking for those charged with future proofing content strategy.

For those short on time, read this 12-Point Summary

Entity-Based Focus: SEO has evolved from targeting individual keywords to optimising for entities—clearly defined “things” like brands, products, and concepts that search engines can understand contextually

Brand Authority Over Page Rankings: Modern search algorithms prioritise brand recognition and authority signals over individual page optimisation, with branded searches acting as “implied links” that demonstrate user trust

Answer Engine optimisation (AEO): The rise of AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT Search and Perplexity requires optimisation for direct answer provision rather than traditional click-through traffic

Comprehensive Content Strategy: Instead of targeting isolated keywords, successful SEO now requires creating comprehensive content ecosystems that cover entire topic areas and demonstrate expertise

Schema Markup Integration: Structured data has become essential for helping search engines understand entity relationships and content context, enabling rich snippets and knowledge panel appearances

Zero-Click Search Reality: With AI Overviews and answer engines providing direct answers, SEO success is increasingly measured by brand mentions and conversions rather than raw traffic volume

Multi-Platform Visibility: Search behaviour is diversifying across platforms, including Reddit, TikTok, and AI chatbots, requiring brands to establish entity recognition across multiple channels

Experience and Expertise (E-E-A-T): Google’s updated guidelines emphasise demonstrable experience and expertise, favouring content that shows genuine authority and first-hand knowledge

Conversational Query optimisation: Voice search and AI assistants have shifted query patterns toward natural language, requiring optimisation for conversational and long-tail phrases

Technical Foundation Evolution: Core Web Vitals, mobile-first indexing, and user experience signals have become fundamental ranking factors, not optional optimisations

Content Quality Over Quantity: AI-driven algorithms can better distinguish between valuable content and thin pages, rewarding depth, originality, and user value over content volume

Predictive Search Intent: Modern search engines anticipate user needs and follow-up queries, requiring content strategies that address complete user journeys rather than single search terms


The Fundamental Shift: From Pages to Entities

SEO strategy has undergone its most dramatic transformation since Google’s inception. According to HubSpot’s research on the evolution of search, we’ve moved from a world where search engines ranked individual pages based on keyword relevance to a sophisticated system that understands brands, products, and concepts as complete entities.

This shift began with Google’s machine learning, which could understand the meaning behind a keyword when the Knowledge Graph launched in May 2012. As outlined in Search Engine Land’s definitive guide to Entity SEO, the famous phrase “things, not strings” from Google’s announcement marked the birth of entity-based SEO, fundamentally changing how search engines process and understand content.

Understanding Entities in Modern SEO

An entity is a clearly defined “thing” recognised in a knowledge graph. It can be a person, location, brand, product, or idea, representing a complete subject rather than just a keyword. As explained by SEO.ai’s comprehensive guide to Entity SEO, entities come with rich relationships and context that help search engines understand the broader meaning of content.

For example, when someone searches for “iPhone,” modern search engines don’t just match that string of characters. They understand iPhone as an entity connected to Apple, smartphones, iOS, specific models, and countless other related concepts. This contextual understanding allows search engines to provide more relevant and comprehensive results.

The Rise of Answer Engines

Perhaps the most significant development in 2024-2025 has been the emergence of answer engines. According to Profound’s comprehensive guide to Answer Engine optimisation, ChatGPT has over 300 million weekly users, and Perplexity is serving over 100 million queries per week, representing a fundamental shift in how people seek information online.

AI Overviews and Direct Answers

In 2024, Google released its AI-powered summaries in search results: AI Overviews. These are AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of the search results for certain keywords. According to Backlinko’s analysis of SEO trends for 2025, this feature represents a dramatic change from traditional search results, providing users with immediate answers without requiring clicks to individual websites.

The impact on SEO strategy is profound. WordStream’s comprehensive report on SEO trends speculated an increase in overall searches but a decrease in referral traffic due to AIOs, forcing marketers to reconsider their approach to organic visibility.

Answer Engine optimisation (AEO)

Answer Engine optimisation (AEO) is becoming a crucial aspect of SEO as users increasingly seek immediate answers rather than clicking through to web pages. This new discipline focuses on optimising content to be easily processed by AI algorithms and cited within AI-generated responses.

Brand Authority: The New Ranking Signal

One of the most significant changes in modern SEO is the emphasis on brand recognition as a ranking factor. According to Search Engine Journal’s analysis of branded SEO trends, in 2025, Google will rely more heavily on brand recognition as a ranking signal. This shift means businesses must focus on becoming trusted, recognisable entities in their industries.

Branded Searches as Authority Signals

Google uses branded search queries as a quality factor similar to links. In fact, it describes branded and navigational queries as implied links that demonstrate user trust and intent. This means that when people search specifically for your brand name, it signals to Google that your brand has authority and trustworthiness.

The data supports this trend: 70% of consumers are more likely to click on a brand they recognise in search results, even if it ranks lower than an unfamiliar competitor. This preference for recognised brands is now being factored into search algorithms.

Building Entity Recognition

Entity-based SEO strategies are more important than ever in 2025. You need to talk about your brand outside of your site in a variety of channels to establish entity recognition. This requires a comprehensive approach that extends beyond your website to include social media, industry publications, forums, and other platforms where your brand can be mentioned and discussed.

Content Strategy Evolution

The approach to content creation has fundamentally changed from keyword-focused writing to comprehensive topic coverage that demonstrates expertise and authority.

From Keywords to Topics

Content focused on keywords lacks depth and detail. Google’s 2023 Search Engine Ranking Factors analysis shows a direct link between topic coverage depth and rankings. Modern SEO requires creating content that explores entire topic areas comprehensively rather than targeting isolated keywords.

E-E-A-T Framework Integration

Google’s E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), while not a ranking factor, does play a vital role in how your online content is perceived by search engines. The framework now includes “Experience” as a crucial element, emphasising first-hand knowledge and practical expertise.

Technical Implementation: Schema and Structured Data

The technical implementation of entity-based SEO relies heavily on structured data and schema markup to help search engines understand content context and relationships.

Schema Markup for Entity Recognition

Schema markup stands out as one of the most powerful techniques for entity recognition. It helps search engines understand which content parts represent entities and their attributes. This structured approach to content markup has become essential for modern SEO success.

Structured data can be used to explicitly define relationships, attributes and context for search engines, resulting in a precise understanding of entities and their web of connections. This technical foundation enables rich snippets, knowledge panels, and other enhanced search features.

The Shift in Success Metrics

Traditional SEO strategy focused heavily on traffic volume and rankings, but the new paradigm emphasises different metrics that better reflect business value.

From Traffic to Conversions

The winners in the search landscape of 2025 and beyond will be brands prioritising conversions over traffic, quality over quantity, and strategic AI integration rather than resisting it. This shift recognises that fewer, more qualified visitors often provide better business outcomes than high volumes of unqualified traffic.

Zero-Click Search Reality

If a searcher is there for a quick answer and never lands on your site because they got that quick answer immediately from SERPs, this may be a useless click anyway. Clicks are getting fewer, but the value of clicks is increasing as well because people are coming to your site for an action, not to find answers.

Looking Forward: Preparing for the Answer Engine Era

The transformation of search continues to accelerate, and businesses must adapt their strategies accordingly.

Multi-Platform optimisation

In 2025, more users will look to forums for answers, especially if they’re put off by AI-generated replies. In turn, expect more marketers to look for ways to attract customers from places like Reddit and Quora. This diversification requires brands to establish entity recognition across multiple platforms, not just traditional search engines.

Continuous Adaptation

Now with 2025 well underway, staying informed about these changes is not just a strategy, but it becomes a necessity because by focusing on quality, realness and great user experience because businesses that adapt to change do not just survive but they prosper and succeed.

What you need to take away

The evolution from traditional search engines to answer engines represents more than a technological shift—it’s a fundamental change in how information is discovered, processed, and consumed online. Success in this new landscape requires understanding that SEO is no longer about optimising individual pages for specific keywords, but about establishing your brand as a recognised, authoritative entity that answer engines can trust and cite.

As answer engines reshape how users find information, success demands original content with genuine expertise, technical excellence, diversified distribution strategies, and video integration. The brands that embrace this entity-focused, comprehensive approach to SEO will be best positioned to thrive in the answer engine era.

The key is to view this transition not as a threat to traditional SEO strategy but as an evolution that rewards brands committed to providing genuine value, demonstrating expertise, and building authentic authority in their respective fields. In the answer engine era, the best SEO strategy is simply to become the most trusted and comprehensive source of information in your industry.


This article incorporates research from leading SEO publications including HubSpot, Search Engine Journal, Backlinko, WordStream, and other authoritative sources in the digital marketing industry. All claims are supported by current industry data and expert analysis from 2024-2025.

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