Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) + Early-Stage GTM
Explore how Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is creating a new marketing and search paradigm, along with other news and factoids
Hi there!
This is Nate from Ten Speed š. As a subscriber to many newsletters, I know how much both frequency and quality of content matter. We reviewed our newsletter data, did some research, collected feedback, and ultimately decided to bring you a totally new format for our monthly newsletter.
Rather than lengthy think-pieces or granular, tactical deep dives, we want to provide newsletters that are a quick read, but still give you a view into our unique perspective as an agency working with dozens of B2B clients.
Iād love to hear your feedback on the new format. Cheers!
AEO? Letās goooo!
In the last few weeks, a lot of us have come to the same conclusions regarding SEO and AI.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), or Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO), or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is a new paradigm thatās here to stay. Still, at the same time, it all feels very familiar š. Weāre throwing our weight behind the AEO name.
ChatGPT has been in the hands of users for a couple of years now, but for a good chunk of that time, it was only able to reference data it had ingested through 2021. Then, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others all started integrating with search or allowing search. This led to a significant shift in the type of questions users can ask and the kind of information being surfaced.
Collectively, we experimented with what results show up for various questions and then dug in to understand why. This is the feedback loop driven by intellectual curiosity that has powered SEO and organic growth for years.
So, it only feels natural that āAEOā emerged as a concept and is gaining traction across in-house teams and agencies. A significant amount of search volume still goes to the search engines, while a growing volume is moving to answer engines, so the objective is now to guide the optimization of websites, content, and overall marketing efforts to work for both.
But, there is a twistā¦and I LOVE it.
What weāre seeing at Ten Speed is that the reasons why companies arenāt included in answers can be a number of things that reach far beyond keywords on a page or search intent.
In many cases, things like negative product reviews, a lack of press mentions, sentiment on social media, and missing features or integrations can be the drivers for not being included.
This means we are headed for an era of companies being rewarded for things like good marketing, good customer service, and a quality product or service, not who can spend the most or spam the system most successfully.
For the last year, we have held the conviction that the best B2B marketing approaches balance SEO (and now AEO) with digital PR, social media, email marketing, podcasts, and unique content featuring first-party/proprietary data.
Over the next 6 months, it will become quite evident which companies and agencies have shifted to this new era and which have not.
We have been expanding our capabilities so that our clients can match the shift weāve seen. We are excited to lean into this new era to help companies continue to grow, and weāre rooting for you, too.
š What the Ten Speed team is readingā¦
Getting Executive Buy-In: How to Tie Audience Research to Business Strategy (SparkToro)
Googleās New Domain Structure: Whatās Next For Hreflang? (SEJ)
The 15 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2025 (The Verge)
LLMs Donāt Reward Originality, They Flatten It (Ahrefs)
š Ten Speedās New Early-Stage GTM Program
At Ten Speed, we have worked with various B2B and SaaS companies, from pre-seed to Series D/E. As part of this, we have seen that early-stage companies not only need different things but they also need a different engagement structure altogether.
This month, we officially launched our Early-Stage GTM Program.
Eligible startups can enjoy the benefits of a strategic partner that can help you execute across a number of channels and content types, without the stress of long-term contracts or a limited scope of work, all at discounted rates for those who meet the criteria.
Random Facts and Cool Finds
May 8, 1985 - Coca-Colaās reformulated āNew Cokeā reached store shelves nationwide. Within weeks, consumer backlash made it the classic case study for brand equity and market research misfires. (Read)
May 5, 2003 - LinkedIn officially launched, giving B2B marketers a dedicated social channel that would later dominate professional advertising and lead-gen budgets. (Read)
May 25, 2018 - The GDPR took effect across the EU, forcing marketers everywhere to rethink consent, email lists, ad-tracking, and martech stacks overnight. (Read)
Loops - A better way to send marketing and transactional email. (Learn more) - not a sponsor or affiliate link; just a cool product
Until next time!
Nate