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AEO Mistakes to Avoid & Troubleshooting

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AEO Mistakes to Avoid & Troubleshooting

AEO Mistakes to Avoid & Troubleshooting

Not getting the citations you expected? AEO is a precise science. Even one small mistake can lead to an AI engine favoring a competitor over you.

1. The 10 Biggest AEO Mistakes

  1. Blocking AI Crawlers: Still the #1 mistake. Check your robots.txt immediately.
  2. Over-Optimization: Writing for "Bots" instead of "Humans." If it sounds like a computer wrote it, an AI engine might flag it as low-quality.
  3. Mismatched Schema: Your JSON-LD says one thing, but your visible text says another.
  4. Poor EEAT: Missing author bios or credentials.
  5. No Answer Capsules: Burying the "Main Point" at the bottom of a 2,000-word page.
  6. Inconsistent Brand Info: Having different addresses or prices on your site vs. your LinkedIn.
  7. Ignoring UX: A slow, pop-up heavy site leads to poor user signals, which AI models track.
  8. Broken Links: If your supporting citations lead to 404 pages, the AI will trust yours less.
  9. No Off-site Presence: Only focusing on your blog while ignoring Reddit and Review sites.
  10. Stale Content: Not updating dateModified for six months.

2. Troubleshooting Decision Tree: "Why am I not cited?"

Q: Is the page indexed?

  • No: Check Search Console. Resolve 404s or indexing blocks.
  • Yes: Proceed to next question.

Q: Does the competitor have Schema I'm missing?

Q: Is my "Answer Capsule" too long?

  • Yes: Trim it to 50 words. Be more direct.
  • No: Proceed to next question.

Q: Is my brand mentioned on Reddit or Quora for this topic?

  • No: This is your gap. Start an authority-building cycle.

3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can I get a manual penalty for AEO? Not exactly, but you can be "De-indexed" by AI crawlers if you provide deceptive or hallucinated information in your schema.

Q: Should I use AI to write my AEO content? You can, but you must add the "Expert Human" layer. AI-generated answers quoted by AI created a "feedback loop" that is increasingly being deprioritized.

Final Thoughts

AEO is a marathon. If you follow the technical rules, write clearly, and build human authority, the citations will come.

Ready to start? Review the 30-Day Plan and take your first action today.

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