You may be here because the last “get backlinks quick” blog you read felt a little… off. Many SEO “hacks” for gaining domain authority or inbound links for your website are increasingly getting punished by Google Core/Spam Updates, especially with the rise of SAIO (Search AI Optimization, aka GEO, AEO, AIO, etc.).
As happened years ago with people promising easy SEO backlinks, now SAIO is getting its own library of “get citations fast” hacks. Don’t get us wrong. There are a lot of great white-hat ways to build your authority and links/citations without looping in third-party website personnel, but there is no quick fix for generating visibility and links in SEO/SAIO.
Let’s look at 4 SEO/SAIO visibility enhancement strategies. Note that some strategies impact both SEO and SAIO while others mainly impact just one. Stay tuned to the end to see how we rank all four of these initiatives in terms of visibility impact.
Perplexity Pages
This is one of those hot, new SAIO strategies you may have been hearing about. With over 45 million active users, being featured in Perplexity citations is a major visibility win for your brand. With Perplexity Pages, users can create and feature articles on Perplexity’s website.
Pros
An article about your brand featured on Perplexity’s highly valued domain? Yes, please. This feature puts you in charge of reviewing the article, thus preventing misinformation from being spread (spoon-feeding what you want Perplexity to know right into its data-hungry mouth). This sounds pretty great, but let’s think objectively.
Considerations
Currently, you need a Pro account to access this feature. It will eventually be available to non–paid users, but we are unsure when this will happen.
If you think of it from a user perspective, they may see these pages like an AI-assisted Wikipedia. And everyone knows, especially school children cheating on history reports (contrary to popular belief, Herbie Hancock did not sign the constitution), you can’t always trust user-generated content.
From a visibility standpoint, have you ever seen a Perplexity Page in a Bing or Google result? (If you have, lemme know.) Think about it, why would Google and Microsoft want you to go to their competitor for answers they want to provide? Therefore, this technique is not as SEO-friendly as other strategies.
Recommendation
If you have a Perplexity Pro account, that could be reason enough to do it. It’s extra visibility in a space you’re already paying for. You can recycle blogs or use AI to help you make new content — be sure to check AI’s work if you do that.
We wouldn’t recommend doing this if Perplexity Pro is not in your budget. It’s nice to have, but not a breaking factor if it can’t happen.
Google has made it very clear how much it digs Reddit. (I’m sure you’ve seen many Reddit chats ranked at the top of random queries.) Being featured so prominently in the largest search engine in the world’s results, naturally, sparks the question: should my brand be on Reddit?
Pros
Natural, positive reviews about your brand on Reddit can be such a win. People organically discussing how awesome your brand is… awesome word of mouth. If a brand account is moderated correctly with the right tone and engages with the right groups to provide seasoned, relevant, keyword-rich responses, then it absolutely could be a great SEO initiative.
Considerations
Truth drop: If you brag about yourself all the time, no one is going to want to talk to you.
Reddit, being a conversation-based platform, is the same way. You can’t just dip into a SEO-relevant Subreddit and talk about how cool the premium cheese graters your brand sells are (even if they are pretty sweet). The platform needs nuance. Think of your brand as a helpful neighbor. If you were an expert landscaper with the best yard on the block, you might offer advice to help another neighbor having trouble with their lawn.
Because this platform is mainly featured in Google results, Reddit is mainly a Google SEO visibility strategy. It is not used as frequently in SAIO citations, so if you’re looking for a double-whammy technique, this might not be it.
Recommendation
To do this channel right, you need to be actively helpful and involved. Like all social channels, it can’t be a set-it-and-forget-it approach.
The biggest consideration here: is your audience using this platform? And do they really want to use it to talk to you? You want to make sure your presence is not an intrusion… like a hall monitor at a house party.
And, of course, if you already have an account and post regularly, just include some SEO terms and links (as long as they’re relevant and helpful).
LinkedIn Articles
LinkedIn posts are nice, but LinkedIn newsletters and articles are amazing at getting cited in both AI citations and search engine results.
Pros
LinkedIn articles/newsletters can be an easy recycle of a blog or newsletter you already publish. The interface is super simple to work. LinkedIn Articles are free to create for all users and a great way to associate SEO keywords, SAIO topics, and website links to your brand identity online and off.
Considerations
But if you’re a small B2C business/brand, struggling with resources to begin with, this may not be the best place for you to focus SEO and SAIO efforts. If this platform can’t give you the leads you want, you might want to focus on consumer-based social channels. (Try the YouTube section.)
Recommendation
For B2B or professional businesses/brands, LinkedIn articles are a great place to emphasize your expertise. Helpful content with related SEO keywords, SAIO topics, and links mixed throughout can drive positive associations to your brand from both user and search engine/AI bot perspectives.
YouTube
You see them in all kinds of search engine results and AI responses. YouTube videos pop up.
Pros
YouTube is an excellent place to share expertise and build a community. A meaningful video with links and keyword optimization in the description can be another fabulous way of building authority for your brand. Video transcripts and video chapters are eaten up by search engine and AI bots to provide richer results and responses.
Considerations
Committing to creating video content will take time and resources. Yes, it can be done with simple equipment (phones will do) and AI can help with scripts (as long as your expert eyes approve), but creating videos are a bit more involved than imagery and written content. Posting consistency and performance measurement are necessary to continually create videos users want to watch. Your team will also have to get familiar with at least minimal video editing to make sure the video is polished to brand standards. A good place to start is how-tos videos.
Recommendation
YouTube provides rich opportunities for SEO and SAIO success. Frequently cited in AI platforms and popping up in search engine results, it truly is a two-birds-one-stone strategy. If you can do it well, it’s helpful from many vantage points. You can obtain inbound links and positive associations with your domain authority as well as build a community of people seeking out your expertise/thoughts as a brand. To top it off, video content can easily be repurposed in blogs, other social channels, and webpages.
Video production soaks up a lot of time and resources. Really ask yourself the question: can I share something helpful here, and do I have the resources to do it? If yes, jump right in. If not, maybe it’s something to put on the back-burner for now.
Deciding on SEO/SAIO Initiatives
Knowing the pros and considerations of each channel/platform/feature is the first step in understanding which SEO/SAIO initiatives are right for you. Look into tools to help you manage the work like AI (duh), social media scheduling, video editing tools, and more. We are also keeping an eye on the Google Search Console Social Insights experiment that lets you track the traffic going from Google to your socials. (Hot tip: You can stay apprised of these and other hot new digital marketing updates in our free Perceptive Marketer newsletter.)
Before starting any project like this, think about the following questions:
- Is your audience actually on this platform?
- Do you have the resources to manage the platform on a continuous basis?
- Would your gains from implementing be worth the resources expended? (Note: Social channels need love to treat you well back — not an “automated engagement bot” kind of love… but a passion for connecting with your community.)
Of course, there might be a wavering confidence when answering the second question. If you have done the research and approach your new initiative with positivity, you might develop more positive output than you may expect.
If we were to prioritize these platforms by SEO/SAIO impact, here would be our order:
- YouTube
- LinkedIn (for B2B)
- Perplexity
- Reddit – Note: This will mostly be for SEO visibility. If you already have a Reddit, you might as well include SEO strategies in your efforts.
Happy optimizing!
