SEO, AEO & GEO in plain English

AEO

Answer Engine Optimization

The practice of optimizing content so AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude cite it as a source when generating answers. Think of it as SEO for AI.

AI Overviews

Google's AI-generated search summaries

The AI-generated answer box that now appears at the top of many Google searches. Being cited in an AI Overview is more valuable than ranking #1 in the blue links below it.

Alt text

Image description for accessibility & AI

The text description of an image. Screen readers use it for accessibility, search engines use it to understand image content, and multimodal AI uses it to decide whether to surface your image.

Backlink

A link from another site pointing to yours

When another site links to your content, it's a signal to Google that your content is trustworthy. More high-quality backlinks generally = better rankings.

Bounce rate

How often people leave after viewing one page

The percentage of visitors who land on your page and leave without clicking anything else. High bounce rates can signal that your content doesn't match what people expected.

Canonical URL

The "official" version of a page

When the same content exists at multiple URLs, the canonical tag tells search engines which one is the original. Prevents duplicate content issues.

Citation share

How often AI cites you vs competitors

A metric that tracks how often your domain appears as a cited source when a given question is asked to AI engines. The AEO equivalent of rank tracking.

Click-through rate (CTR)

% of searchers who click your result

The percentage of people who see your search result and actually click it. Higher CTR means Google trusts your title and description more.

Crawl

How search engines read your site

The process by which Google's bots visit and read your pages. If your site isn't crawlable, it can't rank — because Google doesn't know it exists.

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust

Google's quality framework for evaluating content. Content from real experts with proven experience is rewarded; generic AI slop isn't.

Entity

A uniquely identifiable "thing"

A person, company, product, place, or concept that can be uniquely identified — usually by linking to a Wikidata or Knowledge Graph entry. Entities are how AI engines avoid confusing "Apple the company" with "apple the fruit".

FAQ schema

Structured data for question-answer pairs

A type of JSON-LD schema that marks up FAQ content. Eligible for rich snippets in Google and heavily cited by AI assistants.

Featured snippet

The answer box at the top of Google

The block of text Google sometimes shows at the top of search results, pulled directly from a page. Winning a featured snippet can double your CTR.

GEO

Generative Engine Optimization

Optimizing content so AI-generated answers mention your brand, products, or expertise inside the answer text — not just in the sources list.

HowTo schema

Structured data for step-by-step guides

A JSON-LD schema type for tutorial content. Gets rich step-by-step results in Google and is heavily extracted by AI assistants answering "how do I..." questions.

Internal link

A link from one page of your site to another

Internal links help search engines understand your site structure and spread "authority" between pages. They also keep readers engaged longer.

JSON-LD

The format used for schema markup

JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data. It's the format Google recommends for adding structured data to pages. LinkLoom generates it for you automatically.

Keyword

A term people search for

The words or phrases people type into search engines. SEO targets specific keywords by using them naturally in titles, headings, and content.

Knowledge Graph

Google's giant database of entities

Google's database of every "thing" it knows about — people, companies, products, places. Being in the Knowledge Graph as a clear entity is a strong AEO signal.

Long-tail keyword

A specific, multi-word search term

Phrases like "best running shoes for flat feet women" instead of just "running shoes". Less competitive, more intent-driven, easier to rank for.

Meta description

The snippet under your title in search results

The short description shown beneath your page title in Google results. Doesn't directly affect ranking but heavily influences click-through rate.

Meta tag

HTML tags that describe your page

Invisible tags in your page HTML that tell search engines the title, description, and other metadata. LinkLoom writes these automatically.

Organic traffic

Visitors from search (not ads)

Visitors who found you through a search engine without you paying for the click. The goal of SEO and AEO is to maximize organic traffic.

Page authority

How strong a specific page is

A score (usually 0–100) estimating how likely a single page is to rank well. Built up over time through backlinks, content quality, and engagement.

Ranking

Your position in search results

Where your page appears in the list of search results for a given query. "Ranking #1" means you're the top non-ad result.

Rich snippet

Enhanced search result with extra info

Search results that show more than just a title and description — star ratings, prices, FAQs, step counts, etc. Powered by schema markup.

Schema markup

Invisible code that tells AI what your page is about

Structured data added to your page (via JSON-LD) that explicitly labels content: "this is an article", "this is a product", "this is a review". Search engines and AI engines use it as ground truth.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page

The page of results you see after you search for something on Google. Ranking in the SERP is the point of SEO.

Sitemap

A file listing all your pages

An XML file that lists every page on your site so search engines can find and crawl them efficiently. LinkLoom generates it automatically.

Structured data

Machine-readable labels on your content

Another name for schema markup. The code that turns "words on a page" into "labeled information a machine can understand".

TL;DR

"Too long; didn't read" — a short summary

A short summary at the top of content that captures the key takeaways. Modern SEO and AEO reward TL;DRs because AI engines extract them directly into answers.

Topical authority

Being the go-to source on a topic

When you've published enough high-quality content on a specific topic that search engines treat you as an authority on it. Built over time, not overnight.

Voice search

Searching by speaking instead of typing

Queries made through Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. Voice searches are usually longer and more conversational, which is why answer-style content wins them.

Wikidata

The open database behind many AI engines

A free, collaborative database of structured information. Linking your entities to Wikidata is one of the strongest GEO signals because LLMs are trained on it.

Zero-click search

A search that's answered without a click

When someone searches and gets their answer directly on the results page (from a featured snippet, AI Overview, or knowledge panel) without visiting any website. Now a majority of Google searches.

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