Is Your AEO Content Creation Just Adding to the Noise?

Something pretty much everyone can agree on—the internet is a noisy place. (Even the use of em-dashes has fueled much online furor, thanks to AI.) Every organization and bot is shouting for your attention, and in the process, many have created a ton of shouty junk content, much of it AI-generated.

So, in the race to lead AI mentions and citations for your vector, you’ve acquired a shiny new AEO tool, but is it causing you to add to the noise rather than cut through it? Before you jump headlong into implementing its content creation suggestions, take a beat and consider the following guidelines.

Don’t Ditch Your Quality SEO for Unproven Tactics

The current drumbeat of many of the top voices in SEO is that good search optimization practices are good across the board. In other words, SEO isn’t dead, and following AI-optimization tactics without good technical and semantic SEO isn’t likely to get you very far.

Rankings may not be the only factor for AI citations and mentions, but they’re certainly one of them.

Of course, the rise of AEO also introduces a new set of spam tactics. If it sounds shady, it probably is. And while spam tactics may work in the short term, they usually bite you in the end as search engines catch up.

Don’t Autogenerate Content

The brave new world of AI-generated content is still contentious. The allure is siren-like given that it’s cheap and effortless. And your AEO tool may make it seem even more effortless.

It promises to create a piece tailored to the suggestion that it gave you for greater AI visibility. If you didn’t clock that: it’s literally machines writing content for other machines. If you were looking for soullessness, you’ve found it.

Since 2023, Google has stated that it doesn’t penalize AI-generated content; however, it does for mass-scale content meant to manipulate rankings. It also theoretically rewards high-quality content while downgrading low-quality content. Low-effort AI content is frequently referred to as AI slop.

Without a human at the wheel, AI-generated text is going to be a rehash of existing content. If you’re not providing new or specific insight or even a unique reading experience, your content is likely to be read as duplicate noise by both LLMs and by search engines.

Don’t Blindly Accept Your AEO Tool’s Content Suggestions

Like most tools, your AEO tool will only be as helpful as the thoughtful application that goes into its use. Sometimes you know better than the machine.

Understanding When the Suggestion Doesn’t Fit

There may be a problem with the suggested format. For example, your AEO tools recognizes that AI platforms are referencing listicles for your type of product, so it tells you to create a listicle, or heaven forbid a bunch of them. (Listicles, they just won’t die.) So, where’s the problem?

• First, while some search specialists beg to differ, Lily Ray has pointed out how publishing self-promotional listicles may actually be counterproductive, given recent Google core updates.
• Second, even if your I’m-the-best listicle works for a while, it’s pretty disingenuous, and that bias is going to be transparent and likely off-putting to the user. (An upfront comparison article might be a more-honest tact.)
• Third, there’s a difference between a third-party review site’s listicle (let’s hope) and your self-serving one, not just in bias but in breadth of testing and methodology. And AI puts a lot more weight on a third-party recommendation than own claims.

These may be factors the AEO tool isn’t considering in its recommendation. A better option may be to query or submit to review sites that already produce that kind of article.

I’ve also seen suggestions for publishers that aren’t a good match. For example, the publisher might be in the right vertical, such as home improvement, but only cover products, not services, which is what you provide. Or the publisher may actually be a competitor and thus unlikely to feature you on its site. Make sure you vet publisher suggestions carefully to make sure they’re a good fit editorially and geographically. You may need to train your AEO tool on which suggestions make sense.

Looking at the Whole Picture

You need to understand the content suggestion and consider how it would incorporate with the content you already have. Do you already have this content in a different format? If so, is additional content needed or just a revamp of the format?

In working with one of our AEO clients, Waypost examined a suggestion to produce a video on a given topic for social amplification. At the time, we decided a written piece fit the client’s scope better. Since the client’s blog already had two relevant articles, we created a core page for that specific offering, which previously had only been covered on a broader service page. We then used social accounts to promote the service and the new page.

It’s too soon to tell whether that content piece will help move the needle on overall AI visibility, but it did get picked up for relevant prompts. More importantly, it’s already generated several leads and at least one sizeable contract for the client. By asking how we could incorporate the idea into our existing content and best practices, instead of blindly following the suggestion, we’ve already produced a win for the client and made a case for the heavier lift of producing a video on the topic down the road.

Questions to Ask Yourself

• Does this suggestion work with my existing content?
• Does the content suggested need to come from a different platform or partner?
• Does it promise something we can’t deliver? Does it claim something we can’t verify?
• Does it match my brand?

Don’t Over-Structure for the Sake of AEO

In the past, I’ve seen SEO become the tail that wags the dog, and it’s already clear that’s a danger with AEO as well. If your summary and FAQ blocks equal the rest of your article length, it’s a sign of over-structuring.

Forcing repetitive FAQ blocks into every article is going to come across as spammy, because it is. This era’s keyword stuffing is query stuffing. While artificial, low-value questions try to appease algorithms and crawlers, they’ll alienate readers with their robotic feel and low editorial quality as will hyper-fragmented text. FAQs certainly have a place in AEO, but they should still be useful and make sense from a human perspective.

If your carefully optimized content annoys readers, it will simply drive up your bounce rate and in the end damage your metrics and thus your visibility.

Keep the Focus on the User

Your AEO content should still be written for people, and it should be information they find helpful. Yes, part of the goal is to rank for LLM content, but that content is going to live on your site as a reflection of your company. Your primary goal should always be to provide useful content for your users. If you can’t envision your customers finding it helpful, it may not be the right piece for you.

Provide Unique Value

Go beyond what AI can already offer readers. That is, produce content that draws on your professional experience and company history. Without giving away your trade secrets, of course, share your insights and perspectives. You’re the expert.

Be human. Leaning heavily into first-hand experience also helps reinforce the E-E-A-T principles that Google prizes in its content guidelines. Share real-world examples and first-person testimonials.

Partner with Waypost for Your AEO Strategy

As a Platinum HubSpot Solutions Partner, Waypost can help HubSpot users develop and execute a balanced AEO strategy. We can guide you through the process of setting up AEO in HubSpot and help you connect AI visibility to actual pipeline metrics.

We’ve assisted B2B and professional service clients with their online marketing needs since 2003, and we’re excited to support them through this emerging wave of digital marketing. Learn more about Waypost’s AEO services.