Todd Friesen, a seasoned digital marketer, recently shared insights on LinkedIn about the overlap between traditional SEO and AI search optimization. His post, which garnered significant engagement, suggests that the foundational SEO practices remain effective in the AI-driven search landscape.
Who is Todd Friesen?
With a distinguished career in SEO, including roles at Salesforce and other leading companies, Todd Friesen is a respected voice in the industry. He co-hosted the pioneering SEO Rockstars podcast with Greg Boser, establishing himself as a veteran despite his younger age.
The Debate Over SEO Terminology
In the evolving world of search engine optimization, various terms have emerged to describe the process for AI search engines:
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
- AIO (AI Optimization)
- CEO (Chat Engine Optimization)
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
- LMO (Language Model Optimization)
Despite these new terms, many experts, including Friesen, argue that AI search optimization doesn’t fundamentally differ from traditional SEO strategies.
In his LinkedIn post, Friesen emphasizes the continuity in SEO practices:
“It is basically fundamental SEO and fundamental brand building. Can we stop over complicating it?
– proper code (html, schema and all that)
– fast and responsive site
– good content
– keyword research (yes, we still do this)
– coordination with brand marketing
– build some links
– analytics and reporting (focus on converting traffic)
– rinse and repeat”
Consensus Among SEO Professionals
Several SEO professionals have echoed Friesen’s sentiments, criticizing the proliferation of new terms for traditional SEO practices:
“Too many names! SEO vs AEO vs GEO” – Rosy Callejas
“The ones that talk about what they do, can change the names to whatever they want. The rest of us will just do the darn things.” – Kevin Doory
“Still SEO after all these (failed) attempts to distance from it by “thought leaders” – eg: inbound marketing, growth hacking, and whatever other nomenclature du jour they decide to cook up next.” – Don Rhoades
“GEO is a terrible name” – Ryan Jones
Industry Reactions to SEO and AEO
The discussion extends beyond LinkedIn. On Bluesky, Google’s John Mueller and others have debated the necessity and impact of rebranding SEO in the context of AI advancements:
“It is absolutely wild to me that in this debate of GEO/AEO and SEO, everyone is saying that building a brand is not a requisite for SEO, but it is important for GEO/AEO. Like bro, chill. This AI stuff didn’t invent the need for building a brand. It existed way before it. smh.” – Preeti Gupta
“You don’t build an audience online by being reasonable, and you don’t sell new things / services by saying the current status is sufficient.” – John Mueller
What Do You Think?
Is SEO for AI fundamentally the same as for regular search engines? The debate continues, but the consensus leans towards a unified approach to SEO, regardless of the technology driving the search engine.
