We all know the way people find answers today is different than it was even just one year ago. Instead of scrolling through a list of blue links, more and more people are getting their answers straight from Google's AI Overviews and AI tools like ChatGPT.
For airport marketers and communicators, that raises a big question: how do we make sure our information is the answer they see? The answer is AEO. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to get started (plus how to explain why this is so important to your boss and admin teams).
What Is AEO?
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. Where SEO focuses on ranking your website in a list of search results, AEO focuses on getting your content cited as the answer: in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI-driven tools. In short, SEO helps people find your page. AEO helps AI use your page to answer the question.
Why Is AEO Important?
- The Organic Search Decline
Organic search results are being pushed further and further down the page. Traditional listings now compete with AI-generated answers, which appear towards the top of the page (or not at all in an AI chat conversation).
- Free Top Placements
AEO gives you an opportunity to appear at the top of the page, for free. If your website is the source AI tools cite, you can show up in one of the most visible spots on the page without paying for the placement.
- Controlling the Narrative
It's also about controlling the narrative. If you don't provide clear answers about your business, AI will pull information from somewhere else, whether that's a review site, an outdated listing, or a competitor. Providing the right answers, with the right point of view, means your information wins out over other people's.
Narrative control is especially important for airports, where information can be serious, important, and deeply price-sensitive. A traveler asking how much it costs to park for a week or what time a restaurant opens needs an accurate answer, and it needs to come from you.
Where To Start
Airports have an immediate advantage in this arena: brand authority. With the right strategy and approach, your airport can dominate conversational search results because your organization is the horse’s mouth so to speak. But, it can still but with any emerging marketing channel, it can feel daunting. Here are four steps to get you started.
- Run a site audit
Start by looking at what you already have. What does your website say, what's missing, and what's outdated?
- Gather your information
Collect the details your customers ask about most so you can answer them clearly on your core pages, with blogs filling in the gaps. For airports, that's parking prices, parking lots and guides, concessions options and hours, and more.
- Do prompt research
Find out what you are being cited for in AI tools, and just as importantly, what you aren't. The gaps are your biggest opportunities.
- Build a content calendar
Turn what you've learned into a plan for blog development, so you're consistently publishing answers to the questions people are asking.
What Tools Can Help?
You don't have to do all of this by hand. A few tools make the process much easier:
- Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit: See how your brand shows up in AI answers and what you're being cited for with clear, trackable data.
- AnswerThePublic: Find the real questions people are asking about your topic.
- Google Analytics "AI Assistant" channel: Track how much traffic is coming to your site from AI tools with this new default channel in GA4.
Blog and AEO Content Marketing Best Practices
Once you know what to write, how you write it matters. Here are a few best practices for AEO content:
- Use a Q&A format. Structure your content around the exact questions people ask, with the answer right underneath.
- Add structured data. Schema markup (like FAQPage or Airport) helps AI tools read your hours, prices, and locations correctly.
- Keep it simple. Simple, easy-to-read content and answers are easiest for both people and AI to understand.
- Use accurate keywords. Skip the jargon your customers don't use. Write the way they search.
- Be efficient with your copy. Get right to the answer, and include numbers whenever you can.
- Monitor your prompts. Keep checking what AI tools are saying about you, so you can spot new gaps or inaccuracies quickly.
- Keep your content updated. Information changes, and you want to make sure that the information AI is pulling from your own website is accurate. For airports, parking rates and concessions options change often, and outdated information can do more harm than no information at all. Keep a running list of your blog content so you can update it when details change.
How Do I Get Started with AEO?
Want to get your website cited by AI, but not sure where to start? That's where Bell & Porter comes in. With a team full of certified experts in the digital marketing field, we can help you audit your site, build your content strategy, and take control of your narrative in the new world of search.
Ready to put this into practice?
Let's Talk