Measuring AEO Success: Analytics, Tracking & Attribution

AEO success is harder to measure than traditional SEO because it often involves "Zero-Click" results. If a user gets the answer from Perplexity and sees your brand name, but doesn't click, you've still won authority—but how do you track it?

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1. Key AEO Metrics

• Citation Rate: How many of your target keywords trigger an AI response that links to your site?
• Share of Voice (SOV): In a set of 100 queries, how many times is your brand mentioned vs. your competitors?
• Brand Mention Volume: Tracking how often your brand name appears in AI text summaries (even without a link).
• Referral Traffic from AI: Tracking clicks specifically from openai.com, perplexity.ai, and ai.google.com.

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2. GA4 Setup for AI Traffic

You need to identify what traffic is coming from AI engines.

Custom Referral Channel:

In GA4, create a custom channel group for "AI Search."

• Include Sources: perplexity.ai, chatgpt.com, ai.google.com, bing.com (referrals).

The "Branded Search Lift" correlation:

AEO often leads to an increase in people typing your brand name into Google later. Track the correlation between increased AI citations and "Branded Search" volume.

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3. Tooling for AEO

Since standard SEO tools (like Semrush) are still catching up, you may need a mix of specialized tools:

• Profound: Dedicated AEO analytics for brand mentions.
• AnswerOps: (Our Tool!) Specifically designed to track citation presence and competitor gaps.
• BrightEdge: High-end enterprise tracking for AI Overviews.

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4. Manual Tracking (The Spreadsheet Method)

For smaller brands, a weekly manual check is often best:

1. List 20 "Money" questions.
2. Search them in Perplexity and Google.
3. Record: Was I cited? (Yes/No). Who was the top cited source?
4. Look for patterns in why the competitor won (Better schema? More Reddit mentions?).

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Next Steps

Now that you can track results, let's put it all into a working schedule.

Continue Reading: Your 30-Day AEO Implementation Plan