Do Backlinks Still Matter for AEO? What Earns an AI Citation
Backlinks and AI citations aren't the same signal. Here's what Google's docs, a Princeton study, and Ahrefs data show, and what to do instead.
Answer engine optimization (AEO) services
AEO structures your site so AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can quote it when customers ask who to call. Stand Up: ai search setup at build only. Growth: monthly ai search work at $649/mo.
Spec summary
- Stand Up
- AI search setup at build only
- Growth
- Monthly AI search work
- Untapped
- Agency-style AI search
- From
- $649/mo on Growth, 1-year term
- Setup fee
- $0
- Timing
- Set up at launch on every plan. Monthly on Growth. Untapped quoted to scope
Stand Up and Growth have fixed prices, so your bid is instant. Custom work is reviewed by Chris, who gets in touch to talk it through. See plans
AEO or GEO: does the name matter?
Answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) describe the same practice. We use AEO because it names the outcome, getting cited as the answer, rather than the mechanism.
Where SEO aims for a ranked blue link, AEO aims for the passage an AI assistant quotes. The foundations overlap: clear headings, structured data and pages that answer one question well.
What is included in AEO
Stand Up: ai search setup at build only. Growth: monthly ai search work.
- AI search work
- AI search setup at build only on Stand Up: structured content, schema and AI crawler access set up at launch. No ongoing AI search work after launch. Monthly AI search work on Growth: the monthly post is written and structured to be cited by AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews), and your AI search setup is maintained monthly.
- Structured data
- LocalBusiness, WebSite, BreadcrumbList on every plan; FAQPage, BlogPosting, Article, Person, AggregateRating, Offer, ItemList on Growth
- Answer-first copy
- A direct answer at the top of each section on service, county and blog pages
- llms.txt
- A plain-language map of your site for AI crawlers
- Author signals
- Person schema linking content to its author's credentials
- Blog posts
- 1 per month, aimed at a local search you want to win and written to be cited in AI answers (Growth)
- Launch performance standard
- Lighthouse 95+ performance; 100 accessibility, best practices and SEO. Details in the Service Agreement, section 4.6.
AEO deliverables
What Growth covers, grouped. Setup items go live at launch; the content and checks run every month.
Schema
- FAQPage JSON-LD on every page with questions
- Person schema with author credentials
- BreadcrumbList and WebPage schema site-wide
- LocalBusiness schema with county service areas
Content
- A monthly blog post with an answer under every heading
- Answer-first structure on service and county pages
- Links between service pages, guides and county pages
Infrastructure and checks
- An llms.txt file for AI crawlers
- AI crawler access reviewed in robots.txt
- Structured data checked and kept current each month
- Schema validation on each site update
Not included
- Guaranteed AI citations. AI answers change often and no one controls them; we build the signals they draw on.
- Ongoing AI search work on Stand Up. Structured content, schema and AI crawler access set up at launch. No ongoing AI search work after launch.
- Social media management. It is an add-on, quoted in your bid.
How long does it take to get cited by AI search?
There is no fixed date, and anyone who promises one is guessing. This is the order the work happens in.
- 1
Setup
Structured content, schema and AI crawler access go live with the site.
At launch, every plan
- 2
Monthly AI search work
The monthly post is written and structured to be cited by AI answer engines, and the setup is maintained.
Every month on Growth
Plans
Plans from $199/mo, no setup fee.
AI search setup is part of every plan at launch. Monthly AI search work is part of Growth.
Featured sites with an AI search foundation
A few of the Stand Up sites we launched with schema and an AI search foundation.
All featured work
Archer Spaces
St. Charles & St. Louis County, MO
- Plan
- Stand Up
- Trade
- Home organization
- Scope
- New build, 2 county location pages
- Mobile speed
- Lighthouse performance 99 at launch
B. Woody's Tree Service
St. Charles, MO
- Plan
- Stand Up
- Trade
- Tree service
- Scope
- Site rebuild, 2 county location pages
- Mobile speed
- Lighthouse performance 53 before, 96 after
AEO services by county
Each county page is built answer-first, with LocalBusiness schema listing its ZIP codes and FAQ schema for county questions.
Illinois
Iowa
Nebraska
Ohio
What owners want to know before investing in AEO
What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?
AEO structures your website so AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews can cite your business as the answer to a question. Where SEO targets ranked links, AEO targets the extracted answer shown instead.
How is AEO different from SEO?
SEO optimizes for ranked positions in search results. AEO optimizes for being quoted in AI-generated answers. The foundations overlap (clear HTML, schema markup, author signals), and AEO adds answer-first formatting, FAQ schema and an llms.txt file that tells AI crawlers what your site covers.
What exactly gets built for my site?
AI search setup at build only on Stand Up: structured content, schema and AI crawler access set up at launch. No ongoing AI search work after launch. Monthly AI search work on Growth: the monthly post is written and structured to be cited by AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews), and your AI search setup is maintained monthly.
How long does it take to get cited by AI search engines?
There is no reliable timeline. AI tools change how they choose sources often, so we don't promise a date. The signals go live at launch; on Growth they are kept current every month and we tell you what we see.
Why would an AI mention my small business over a bigger competitor?
AI assistants quote pages that answer the question clearly and can be trusted for it. A local business with a specific, well-structured answer about its own trade and towns can be the best source for a local question, whatever its size.
Answered by Chris Melson, Founder & CEO.
Find out whether AI tools mention you.
Pick a plan and the features you need, and see the price before the first call.
Stand Up and Growth have fixed prices, so your bid is instant. Custom work is reviewed by Chris, who gets in touch to talk it through.