AEO vs SEO for Small Businesses in 2025: What Actually Drives Leads

Who this is for: US SMBs on Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, or Shopify.

Goal: Decide where to invest next quarter so you get more qualified leads—from search results and from AI answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, etc.).

TL;DR

• SEO gets you ranked pages.
• AEO gets you selected answers (and citations) inside AI assistants and co-pilots.
• In 2025, buyers start in answers: voice, chat, sidebar co-pilots. The fastest lift for SMBs usually comes from AEO-first content structure + proof, with enough SEO fundamentals to stay discoverable.
• Best blend for most SMBs: 60% AEO / 40% SEO for the next 90 days.

Why This Shift Happened

• Answer-first behavior: Users ask direct questions ("cost to replace 3-ton AC in Plano").
• Assistants choose vendors: Co-pilots summarize, compare, and cite sources.
• Risk & verifiability: AI favors vendors with structured facts, policies, pricing bands, certifications, dated reviews, and local eligibility—not long, fluffy pages.

SEO vs AEO: The Core Differences

Key takeaway: SEO gets you visible; AEO makes you choosable.

What Actually Drives Leads in 2025 (for SMBs)

1. Answer clarity above the fold

One sentence that defines service, locations, turnaround, and price range.

2. Eligibility & logistics

Service areas (ZIPs), hours, response time, on-site fees, warranties, contraindications (health/legal).

3. Proof density

Certifications, licenses (with IDs), policy links, dated reviews tied to the exact service.

4. Pricing transparency

Ranges + inclusions/exclusions beat "contact us." Ambiguity ≠ citations.

5. LLM-readable structure

JSON-LD for FAQPage/Service/Offer/LocalBusiness/HowTo. Clean sitemaps, canonical URLs, consistent NAP.

6. Safety language

Disclaimers for health/legal/finance; links to official references.

The 60/40 Plan: How to Allocate Effort

60% AEO (ships fast, impacts answers):

• Convert top 5 pages to Answer Objects (Q→A, specs, evidence link, CTA).
• Publish a /proof hub: pricing bands, policies, certifications, dated reviews.
• Add FAQPage + Service/Organization/Offer schema to key pages.
• Create Local Eligibility blocks (ZIP lists, fees, SLAs).
• Spin up FAQ sitemap and ensure server-rendered critical copy.

40% SEO (keeps you discoverable):

• Fix crawl & performance (LCP < 2.5s), internal linking to money pages.
• 4–6 high-intent landing pages (service + city).
• 2–3 utility articles (calculators, checklists) that earn mentions/links.
• GBP (Google Business Profile) hygiene: categories, services, Q&A, fresh photos.

AEO-First Page Skeleton (copy this)

1. Outcome sentence: "We [service] for [persona] in [locations]; typical projects take [time] and cost [range]; includes [inclusions] with [warranty]."
2. Definition box: What it is/who it's for.
3. Specs & limits: Materials, capacity, contraindications, eligibility, ZIPs.
4. Process: 3–5 steps (or HowTo schema).
5. Pricing bands: With inclusions/exclusions and add-ons.
6. Proof strip: Certifications, dated review excerpts, policy links.
7. Top 5 FAQs: Each as an Answer Object + FAQPage JSON-LD.
8. CTA: Book consult / Get free audit.

Example: One Answer Object + Schema

Q: Do you service Plano, TX?

A: Yes—ZIPs 75023, 75024, 75025, 75074, 75075. Same-day Mon–Fri; travel fee waived for Plano addresses. → Book 20-min consult

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [{
    "@type": "Question",
    "name": "Do you service Plano, TX?",
    "acceptedAnswer": {
      "@type": "Answer",
      "text": "Yes—ZIPs 75023, 75024, 75025, 75074, 75075. Same-day Mon–Fri; travel fee waived for Plano addresses."
    }
  }]
}

Stack Notes (Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, WP)

• All let you add custom code → paste JSON-LD in page settings.
• Keep critical facts server-rendered (avoid hiding key text behind JS).
• Create a lightweight /answers.json if your CMS supports it (core facts).

30/60/90 Day Roadmap

Days 1–30 — AEO Foundation

• Convert 3 money pages to the AEO skeleton.
• Publish /proof page + add 10 structured reviews (date, service, city, metric).
• Add FAQPage/Service schema; build FAQ sitemap.
• Fix canonicals, sitemaps, robots, and GBP consistency.

Days 31–60 — Scale & Local

• Launch city/ZIP variants with clear eligibility.
• Add pricing bands to top services; link to policy details.
• Ship 2 utility posts (calculator/checklist) for links + SEO coverage.

Days 61–90 — Dominate Answers

• Add HowTo schema to process pages.
• Expose /answers.json or a facts block.
• Weekly AEO dashboard: citations, coverage, selection rate, leads.

What to Measure (beyond rankings)

• Citations from assistants (mentions/links in answers).
• Coverage of Buyer Question Inventory (BQI): % of Qs with Answer Objects.
• Selection rate: presence in 10–20 target assistant queries.
• Proof density: avg proofs per page.
• Leads from cited pages (forms, calls, chats, bookings).

Ready to Act?

Fast path: We'll refactor your top pages to the AEO skeleton, add schema, publish a /proof hub, and fix crawl in 30 days.

DIY path: Ask for our AEO Page Template Pack (copy-paste sections + JSON-LD).

• → Book a 20-min consult
• → Get a Free AEO Audit (drop your URL; we'll return a 10-point AEO gap report)