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  1. The Dave Gerhardt Show
  2. How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO
How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show · Jan 27, 2026

Marketing leaders on AEO: Foundational principles like great content and customer knowledge still trump new tactics. It's about integration.

Modern Brand Teams Should Consolidate PR, Social, and Influencer Marketing

Webflow's CMO restructured their team to unify media relations, social media, and influencer marketing under a single PR umbrella. This integrated approach acknowledges that these functions are no longer separate disciplines but interconnected components of brand building.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

AEO Success Relies on SEO Fundamentals, Not an Entirely New Playbook

Marketing leaders find the same principles driving successful SEO—creating high-quality, structured, and user-centric content—are also effective for AEO. The focus should be on adapting existing strategies rather than inventing new ones from scratch.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

Writing Press Releases Can Serve as an Internal Product Positioning Tool

Beyond external communication, drafting a press release acts as an internal forcing function. The C-suite approval process solidifies the company's messaging, value proposition, and target audience for a new product or feature before it goes to market.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

For Startups with Limited Budgets, Nail Positioning Before Worrying About AEO

Marketing leaders advise early-stage companies to ignore the AEO hype initially. Instead, they should invest limited resources in defining core positioning, messaging, and differentiated value. A strong strategic foundation is the prerequisite for effective AEO down the line.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

AEO Traffic Delivers Low Volume but High Conversion Rates

Eagle View's CMO found that while answer engine traffic is a tiny fraction of total volume (0.1%), it converts at an exceptionally high rate (5%). This suggests users turning to LLMs for research have strong purchase intent and are further down the funnel.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

Long-Form Press Releases are a Key Tactic for AEO and Third-Party Validation

Marketers are re-embracing multi-page press releases packed with information. Distributing them via wire services ensures they are reposted by numerous publishers, creating valuable recency signals and third-party citations that LLMs favor when generating answers.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

Use Content on Adjacent Topics to 'Circle the Buyer' and Win AEO

To capture prospects early, create content answering questions related, but not central, to your product (e.g., satellite vs. aerial imagery). This 'circles the buyer' with helpful information, building brand trust so you're in their consideration set when they are ready to buy.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

Add TLDRs, FAQs, and Competitor Comparisons to Core Pages for AEO Wins

To make product and service pages AEO-friendly, marketers should add specific structural elements. Including a 'TLDR' section, an accordion-style FAQ based on buyer questions, and direct competitor comparison content helps LLMs easily parse and surface key information.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago

Analyze Sales Call Recordings with AI to Uncover High-Intent AEO Prompts

Instead of guessing customer questions, tap into sales call recordings. Using AI tools to analyze transcripts reveals common themes, objections, and the exact language customers use. This provides a rich, data-driven source for creating highly relevant AEO content.

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How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO

The Dave Gerhardt Show·23 days ago