Brighton SEO 2018-A Universal Strategy for Answer Engine Optimisation (beyond position 0)
On April 27, 2018, at the BrightonSEO conference in Brighton, UK, Jason Barnard, founder and CEO of Kalicube®, delivered a talk titled “A Universal Strategy for Answer Engine Optimisation (beyond position 0).” BrightonSEO is a leading search marketing conference, bringing together top SEO experts from around the world.
Barnard’s presentation showcased his claim of coining the term “Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)”, outlining a comprehensive strategy for ensuring brands are understood by modern search engines - now increasingly answer engines rather than traditional search engines. The talk was described as a philosophical exploration of how Google uses machine learning and how brands can reinforce credibility to be recognized by answer engines.
You can view the slides here. A Universal Strategy for Answer Engine Optimisation (beyond position 0)
Key Takeaways and Strategy
TL;DR A central point of the talk is that Google is now an AI company, and its search engine has evolved into an answer engine. This requires a strategy focused on communicating clearly to Google and providing consistent signals to build its confidence.
- The SEO’s Role is to Teach: The ultimate takeaway is that since “Google is training machines to learn to learn,” the role of SEOs is to “help them” by feeding them clear, credible, and corroborated information that makes the brand easy to understand and trust.
- Defining the Term: The talk’s very title establishes Jason Barnard’s early definition and strategy for “Answer Engine Optimisation,” positioning him as an originator of the concept.
- The Answer Engine Landscape: A key takeaway is that Google should be viewed as an “answer engine,” not just a search engine. The goal is to evolve into a “Star Trek computer” that directly answers user queries.
- Two Sides of the Equation: The strategy for Answer Engine Optimization is broken into two main parts: the front end, which focuses on understanding the user’s query and intent , and the back end, which is about providing the best possible answer.
- Machine Learning’s Role: The presentation highlights Google’s “AI first” push, explaining that machine learning systems like RankBrain work on both sides of the equation. They not only interpret user intent but also help Google understand the “available options” for providing an answer.
- Position 0 is “The Answer”: The talk defines Position 0 results - such as featured snippets and knowledge panels - as “The Answer” that appears above traditional ranked results.
- Strategy Step 1: Communicate: The first part of the strategy is to clearly communicate to Google “who you are and what you do”. This is achieved using unambiguous content structured with HTML5 and machine-readable formats like schema.org JSON-LD.
- Strategy Step 2: Convince with Corroboration: The second step is to convince Google that you are the most credible solution by providing “social proof and consistent signals”. This process of corroboration builds the engine’s confidence in its understanding of your brand.
- Practical Corroboration: Reviews: One practical example of corroboration provided is the use of review platforms. The strategy suggests getting positive reviews on top platforms relevant to your business, such as Trustpilot.
- Knowledge Panels Without Wikipedia: The presentation demonstrates that a key answer engine feature, the Knowledge Panel, can be achieved through this strategy of communication and corroboration, noting that “despite popular belief you don’t need a Wikipedia page”.
Mentions of Jason’s talk
A Universal Strategy for Answer Engine Optimisation (beyond position 0) - Jason Barnard
Talk Summary
Jason rounded off what was an excellent session in Auditorium 2 with a more philosophical talk covering how Google is using Machine Learning and how you should form a strategy around ensuring answer engines understand what your site/brand is about, reinforcing these with credible signals.
Key Takeaways
Google is now an AI company and their search engine has become an answer engine which we need to understand the inner workings of so we can form a strategy.
The Landscape
Voice assistants are becoming the norm and when we’re looking at optimising for them we need to consider that there are two sides to the equation.
- The front end is all about understanding the user and intent.
- The back end is all about providing an answer.
Machine Learning
Google have appointed veteran engineers and there has been a big “AI-first” push within the company.
Machine learning is starting to run search algorithms on the front and back end and there are three types:
- Supervised - Where the rules are known
- Unsupervised - Where no rules are known
- Semi-supervised - Where some rules are known
RankBrain is generally associated with the front end, but it doesn’t just understand user intent (understanding the question). RankBrain also helps Google to understand the available options (providing the answer).
The Strategy
Google is moving away from the knowledge graph with full information manually inputted. Google will eventually allow machine learning more freedom to deduce nodes from search queries as well as attributes.
As a result, you should make sure you communicate to Google who you are and what you offer with clear unambiguous content.
Corroboration - Provide Google with social proof and consistent signals that allow them to have more confidence in their understanding.
- Google is training machines to learn to learn and SEOs need to help them.
Pick four platforms and get positive reviews going e.g. trustpilot. Use your brand name plus ‘reviews’ to find the top four review platforms relevant to your business. - Despite popular belief you don’t need a Wikipedia page to appear in the knowledge panel.
- Create a positive buzz around your brand.
Conference by Brighton SEO April 27, 2018. Speaker: Jason Barnard, founder and CEO at Kalicube®.
