What is answer engine optimization (AEO)?

Answer engines reward format as much as authority

Extraction systems look for a passage they can present without editing. A 40 to 60 word answer directly under a question heading is the single highest-leverage format change most sites can make. Lists and small comparison tables extract well too, because their structure survives being pulled out of the page.

The page pattern that works

Repeat this pattern for every question you want to own:

• H2 written as the question, in the words a person would use
• One paragraph answer, 40 to 60 words, no preamble
• Supporting detail: steps, criteria, examples, numbers
• FAQPage schema for the question and answer pairs on that page

What loses

Long throat-clearing introductions, answers buried in the seventh paragraph, vague hedging, and pages that try to answer ten unrelated questions at once. If an extraction system cannot find a clean boundary around your answer, it will use a competitor's.