How Marketing Leaders are Thinking About AEO
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
Marketing leaders from three different companies gather to discuss what they've actually learned about AI and search (AEO - Answer Engine Optimization) over the past year. (01:06) Dave Steer (CMO at Webflow), Marcy Comer (CMO at EagleView), and Clare Schmitt (VP Marketing at Piedmont Global) share real examples of how they're approaching content, prompt tracking, PR, and brand authority in this new search landscape.
- Main Theme: Moving beyond the hype to understand how marketing leaders are practically implementing AI search strategies, focusing on integrated marketing approaches, content that "circles the buyer," and the resurgence of PR as a critical channel for building brand credibility in AI-driven search.
Speakers
Dave Steer
CMO at Webflow with 20+ years of marketing experience, having joined the company seven months ago. He leads marketing for the platform that helps companies build brand-forward websites and increasingly serves as a central part of the web marketing stack for AI and answer engine optimization.
Marcy Comer
CMO at EagleView for five years, where she manages marketing for aerial imagery and data extraction services sold to roofing, insurance carriers, and government agencies. She's responsible for delivering revenue and managing board relationships while navigating complex multi-industry buyer journeys.
Clare Schmitt
VP of Marketing and Communications at Piedmont Global, a strategic globalization organization helping companies with language access, cross-cultural operations, market expansion, and AI integration into workflows. She reports directly to the CEO and manages both marketing strategy and tactical execution.
Key Takeaways
Integrate Everything, All the Time
Dave Steer emphasizes that the technology is changing but marketing principles remain the same. (10:25) The key is integrated thinking across your entire marketing team rather than siloed activities. This means taking a full-funnel view of how you move audiences from awareness to consideration to conversion, ensuring your website and web experience work for both humans and AI agents. The challenge isn't measuring data—it's determining which signals to focus on and how deeply to analyze them while establishing clear north star goals for integrated campaigns.
Circle the Buyer with Content
Marcy Comer introduced the powerful concept of "circling the buyer" with content that goes beyond your direct product offering. (34:33) This means creating content about adjacent topics that your buyers research, even if you don't sell those specific solutions. For example, EagleView creates content about satellite imagery and drone capabilities even though they don't sell those services, because their buyers research these topics. The strategy recognizes that 95% of your buyer audience isn't in-market right now, so your job is to build awareness and consideration for when they are ready to buy.
PR is Back and Long-Form Wins
Multiple panelists confirmed that PR has returned as a critical channel, with long-form press releases becoming essential for AI search visibility. (38:28) Clare Schmitt noted they went from one press release in 2024 to 8-10 planned for 2025. Long-form press releases provide more information for LLMs to crawl and often get reposted across multiple domains, creating valuable backlinks and citations that signal credibility to AI algorithms. The key is pushing releases to wire services rather than just posting on your website.
Focus on Positioning Before Tools
For startups with limited budgets, all three panelists agreed: focus on positioning and messaging before worrying about AEO tactics. (45:17) Understanding your differentiated value, who cares about that value, and leaning into that foundation is more important than chasing AI optimization tools. Once you nail positioning, start with a small, manageable content strategy with weekly or biweekly publishing cadence, creating useful content for your buyers that can later be optimized for AI search.
Third-Party Citations Are Gold
Getting cited by third-party sources is potentially more valuable than creating your own content because it signals to AI algorithms that your information is credible and true. (34:25) When multiple sources say the same thing about your brand and product, it validates your messaging and can push your content higher in AI search results. This emphasizes the importance of building relationships with industry publications, getting mentioned in listicles, and encouraging authentic user-generated content on platforms like Reddit.
Statistics & Facts
- EagleView found that while AI search traffic represents only 0.1% of their total traffic, it converts at a 5% rate compared to other channels, making it highly valuable despite low volume. (23:06) This demonstrates that AI search users are high-intent and well-informed when they reach sales conversations.
- According to Dave Steer, 95% of your buyer audience isn't in market right now - you're only speaking to 5% that are actively looking to purchase. (41:58) This statistic emphasizes why the "circle the buyer" content strategy is so important for nurturing future demand.
- Dave Steer's marketing team consists of about 70 people, highlighting the scale of marketing operations at Webflow. (33:35) This provides context for their integrated marketing approach and ability to have team members actively building in the open across social platforms.
