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The ultimate guide to AEO: How to get ChatGPT to recommend your product | Ethan Smith (Graphite)

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Manage episode 506236617 series 3359822
Content provided by Lenny Rachitsky. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Lenny Rachitsky or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Ethan Smith is the CEO of Graphite—the leading SEO growth agency—and my go-to expert on SEO. After 18 years of mastering traditional SEO, Ethan has been at the forefront of what is called AEO: answer engine optimization, or, more simply, getting your product to show up in ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/Perplexity answers. He’s discovered that ChatGPT traffic converts six times better than Google search—and most companies are completely missing this opportunity.

In our conversation, we discuss:

1. His 7-step playbook to rank #1 in ChatGPT

2. Why ChatGPT traffic converts 6x better than Google

3. How early-stage startups can win at AEO immediately (unlike with SEO, which takes years)

4. The three tactics that actually work: landing pages, YouTube videos, and Reddit comments

5. Why help-center content can suddenly be your highest-ROI investment

6. The specific Reddit strategy that works (spoiler: be authentic)

7. Why AI-generated content doesn’t work

Brought to you by:

Orkes—The enterprise platform for reliable applications and agentic workflows

Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.

Great Question—Empower everyone to run great research

Where to find Ethan Smith:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ethan_l_s

• LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ethans-linkedin

• Graphite: https://graphite.io/

• Graphite Research Papers: https://bit.ly/graphite-five-percent

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Welcome back, Ethan

(04:34) The changing landscape of SEO

(06:19) AEO (answer engine optimization) vs. GEO (generative engine optimization)

(08:13) The impact of AEO

(11:51) How early-stage startups can win at AEO

(14:34) The quality of AEO leads

(15:35) On-site vs. off-site traffic

(16:32) Reddit’s role in AEO and avoiding spam

(20:11) How AI models use citations (RAG)

(21:41) Key principles for winning at AEO

(25:00) Avoiding hyper-SEOed content, and the importance of originality

(28:55) Actionable AEO playbook: steps and experiments

(33:35) Tracking, measuring, and share of voice

(38:34) Adapting AEO for B2B, commerce, and early-stage companies

(41:11) Is letting AI index your content good?

(43:06) Experimentation, control groups, and measuring results

(46:15) The future of AEO, SEO, and search channels

(51:35) AI-generated content: what works and what doesn’t

(55:25) The dangers of infinite AI derivatives

(58:44) The future: convergence of LLMs and search

(01:00:40) Help-center optimization and the long tail

(01:03:18) Lightning round and final thoughts

Resources and episode mentions: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-aeo-ethan-smith

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.


To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
  continue reading

297 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 506236617 series 3359822
Content provided by Lenny Rachitsky. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Lenny Rachitsky or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Ethan Smith is the CEO of Graphite—the leading SEO growth agency—and my go-to expert on SEO. After 18 years of mastering traditional SEO, Ethan has been at the forefront of what is called AEO: answer engine optimization, or, more simply, getting your product to show up in ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/Perplexity answers. He’s discovered that ChatGPT traffic converts six times better than Google search—and most companies are completely missing this opportunity.

In our conversation, we discuss:

1. His 7-step playbook to rank #1 in ChatGPT

2. Why ChatGPT traffic converts 6x better than Google

3. How early-stage startups can win at AEO immediately (unlike with SEO, which takes years)

4. The three tactics that actually work: landing pages, YouTube videos, and Reddit comments

5. Why help-center content can suddenly be your highest-ROI investment

6. The specific Reddit strategy that works (spoiler: be authentic)

7. Why AI-generated content doesn’t work

Brought to you by:

Orkes—The enterprise platform for reliable applications and agentic workflows

Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.

Great Question—Empower everyone to run great research

Where to find Ethan Smith:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ethan_l_s

• LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ethans-linkedin

• Graphite: https://graphite.io/

• Graphite Research Papers: https://bit.ly/graphite-five-percent

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Welcome back, Ethan

(04:34) The changing landscape of SEO

(06:19) AEO (answer engine optimization) vs. GEO (generative engine optimization)

(08:13) The impact of AEO

(11:51) How early-stage startups can win at AEO

(14:34) The quality of AEO leads

(15:35) On-site vs. off-site traffic

(16:32) Reddit’s role in AEO and avoiding spam

(20:11) How AI models use citations (RAG)

(21:41) Key principles for winning at AEO

(25:00) Avoiding hyper-SEOed content, and the importance of originality

(28:55) Actionable AEO playbook: steps and experiments

(33:35) Tracking, measuring, and share of voice

(38:34) Adapting AEO for B2B, commerce, and early-stage companies

(41:11) Is letting AI index your content good?

(43:06) Experimentation, control groups, and measuring results

(46:15) The future of AEO, SEO, and search channels

(51:35) AI-generated content: what works and what doesn’t

(55:25) The dangers of infinite AI derivatives

(58:44) The future: convergence of LLMs and search

(01:00:40) Help-center optimization and the long tail

(01:03:18) Lightning round and final thoughts

Resources and episode mentions: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-aeo-ethan-smith

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.


To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
  continue reading

297 episodes

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