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Vibe Marketing: Hype, Reality, and Real Case Studies

2025-10-03 22:08:55

AI has infinitely sped up the hype cycle in marketing.

So when the term “vibe marketing” came onto the scene, you may have rolled your eyes for a moment before you said, “I have to try this.”

In basic terms, vibe marketing means using AI to run entire marketing workflows. Usually, this involves a combination of:

• Vibe coding: No-code AI tools where you type what you want (e.g., “Build me a landing page”), and the tool spins it up
• AI agents: Always-on assistants that handle background tasks, like checking your inbox for leads or updating your CRM

And whether or not they consider themselves “vibe marketers,” many teams are already doing this.

In a survey of marketing teams doing $100m+ in revenue, GrowthLoop found that more than a third of those teams use AI to optimize campaigns or predict customer behavior.

And those embedding AI into their processes report more effective strategies.

So, is vibe marketing the next wave of marketing methodology? Or just more AI hype?

In this guide, we’re diving into real-world case studies that show how marketers are using AI in their daily workflows.

Plus, we’ll test the hype against reality based on my own experiments and the perspective of industry experts.

Vibe Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

With vibe marketing, things like campaigns, segmentation, and competitor analysis can happen in the background. So you can focus more on creative work and strategy.

Here’s how it stacks up against traditional marketing:

This all sounds incredible, and it’s all technically possible for marketing teams today.

But here’s the catch: AI workflows are still clunky and experimental.

Hootsuite reports that while 83% of marketers say their AI budgets have increased, 4 in 10 companies waste at least
10% of their AI budget on tools that didn’t deliver.

So, what does vibe marketing look like when it does work?

6 Examples of Vibe Marketing in the Wild

Vibe marketing can seem like a vague concept.

But when we talk about using AI to automate social listening workflows, follow up with inbound leads, or run competitive analysis, all of a sudden this ambiguous concept takes on real-world meaning.

We’ll see six examples of brands using vibe marketing in their daily workflows.

Plus, how you can copy these ideas into your own strategy.

1. Build Enterprise-Level Campaigns Without Reliance on Technical Teams

The biggest slowdown in most campaigns isn’t the marketing work itself. It’s the wait for other teams to deliver what you need.

At the job site, Indeed, those delays stretched to an average of 3.5 months per campaign.

Even simple requests — like defining an audience segment — meant analysts had to pull data from their warehouse. Then, engineers had to reformat it before marketing could use it.

With vibe marketing, the team broke that bottleneck.

They used the AI platform GrowthLoop to turn raw customer data into ready-to-use segments.

Now, their team can type a plain-English prompt (e.g. “nurses in the U.S. who searched jobs in the last 30 days but haven’t applied”) and instantly generate that segment.

Launch times dropped from months to weeks — an 8x speed boost.

Instead of waiting a whole quarter to get in front of job seekers, the team can now react to hiring needs in almost real time.

Try It Yourself:

If you’re on an enterprise team already using a data warehouse tool, GrowthLoop’s makes it easy to type a goal, generate audiences, and send them directly into campaigns.

On the other hand, let’s say you keep customer data in a CRM or spreadsheet — names, emails, recent purchases.

With a tool like Clay, you can import those leads and use the built-in AI to enrich them with more data.

Then, you can create campaigns that automatically go out based on that enrichment.

For example, when a company has received funding in the last three months, they can be automatically added to a campaign.

In seconds, you’ve got a list ready to target.

What makes this powerful isn’t just faster data access.

It’s the AI layer that turns raw information into something marketing can actually act on, without waiting on anyone else.

2. Automate Social Listening Workflows

Getting a lot of mentions on social media is great — until it isn’t. Some social media managers can spend hours every day sifting through comments and posts that tag the brand.

More than just being a tedious task, this is completely unsustainable.

Which is exactly what Webflow’s two-person social team realized.

Between Reddit, X, YouTube, and forums, they faced 500+ daily mentions. But only a handful actually needed a human reply.

Finding those few was like looking for needles in a haystack.

So, they built an AI workflow to do the sorting for them.

The system scans every mention, tags it by sentiment and urgency, and pushes the important ones straight into Slack.

Out of 500+ daily posts, the team now sees just 10–15 that matter most — and responds within the hour.

Try It Yourself:

Pick one high-volume channel — maybe Reddit, X, or even a busy community forum.

Use a tool like Gumloop or Apify to pull in mentions of your brand. Then, run them through an AI categorizer to flag sentiment and urgency.

Start small, check the tags for accuracy, and only then scale to other platforms.

3. Create On-Brand Content Assets

Ever tried to turn a 40-page technical document into a blog post or campaign copy?

The content is there, but shaping it into something clear — and in your brand’s voice and style — takes time.

At Pilot Company, with multiple sub-brands and channels to manage, that challenge multiplied.

Writers spent hours summarizing technical docs into usable briefs. Designers waited for copy that matched the right tone before prototypes could move forward.

And inconsistencies crept in across brands.

So, the team used Jasper to help build consistency in style and tone.

They used the tool’s summarizer to condense long technical documents into actionable outlines, and the brand-voice model to keep messaging aligned across sub-brands.

Designers could even pull realistic placeholder text without waiting on writers.

The result: Each team member saved 3–5 hours a week, freeing them up for strategy and storytelling instead of slogging through documents.

Try It Yourself:

With a tool like Jasper, you can add specific instructions about your brand voice, audience, and even include source material to show what great content looks like for your brand.

Then, you can use it to create copy and content for entire campaigns.

You can also use tools like Notion AI, Claude, or ChatGPT to turn long documentation into campaign content.

Start by inputting your brand voice, style, target audience, and any other details that might be useful. Then, upload documentation and ask the AI to turn it into specific pieces of content.

Test the tools to find your favorite. Make sure to give specific instructions on what kind of output you’re looking for.

Use AI to generate briefs, draft first passes, or speed up design prototypes — and reserve human time for the creative polish.

4. Follow Up with Inbound Leads

On paper, 500+ inbound marketing leads a day looks like a dream for a small agency.

But for Tiddle, a six-person influencer agency, it was a nightmare.

They were buried in the flood of messages, with only a few that were worth pursuing. Sorting through the noise ate up 6–8 hours a day — time that should’ve gone into client campaigns and outreach.

Instead of hiring more staff, they brought in AI.

Using Lindy, every inbound email was screened automatically.

Low-quality offers were politely declined, while promising ones were flagged and routed to the right person.

If terms weren’t a fit, the AI could even suggest counteroffers.

The team went from slogging through hundreds of emails to focusing only on the 10–15 real opportunities that mattered.

That shift freed up 40–60 hours per week.

As Tiddle’s CEO, Mike Hahn, says, “Every deal we’ve closed in the last few months came from Lindy surfacing the right conversations.”

Try It Yourself:

Pick one channel where inbound volume is overwhelming (email, DMs, LinkedIn).

Define the “must-haves” for a qualified lead (budget, offer type, brand fit), then use a tool like Lindy or Clay to screen and tag incoming requests.

You can even set up conditional logic so the tool can change how it responds based on specific conditions.

5. Build Hyper-Personalization for Your Ideal Customer Profiles

“Hi [first name]…” personalization doesn’t cut it anymore. But manually tailoring every message to your ideal customer profiles (ICPs) is impossible to scale.

Oren Greenberg, a solo marketing consultant, faced this problem.

And since there was no system that fit his ideals of hyperpersonalization, Oren built his own.

He coded a workflow in Replit that filtered a 50,000-company dataset, excluded existing contacts, and generated outreach tailored to each company’s stage and challenges.

The result: outreach so specific it only makes sense for the intended recipient.

Try It Yourself

If you’re a highly technical person with the skills and know-how to recreate something like this in a vibe-coding tool, then by all means have at it.

For the rest of us, using a tool like Clay is a fast path to get 80% of the way there.

Start by defining your ICP.

Then use Clay to pull in business data, filter it against your ICP criteria, and enrich it with extra context.

With that data in place, you can add an AI-powered column that drafts personalized outreach for each prospect.

Run a pilot batch of 50–100 and iterate until the system feels like true one-to-one messaging.

6. Run Competitive Analysis

New marketing roles often start with 30-60 days of slow discovery.

Who are the real competitors? What do customers actually care about? What language do they use?

Semrush’s former VP of Brand Marketing Olga Andrienko found a way to shortcut that process.

Before Day 1 at a new job, she suggests running an AI-powered competitive analysis.

Pull your site and the top competitors’ pages, transcribe the most-viewed YouTube reviews, and mine Reddit and forums for repeated complaints.

Then, feed that into an AI summarizer to surface frequent feature praise or criticism and real customer phrasing. Tools like Google Opal or Gemini help cross-link those insights into a positioning map.

The payoff: You walk in Day 1 with a prioritized punch list.

Try It Yourself:

Whether you’re stepping into a new role, launching a campaign, or scoping out a new market, the same workflow applies.

First, pick your brand and three competitors. With a scraper tool like Apify, get your website copy and grab a handful of top YouTube reviews and forum threads.

Then, feed those into a tool like Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT to summarize and analyze the data.

Extract the top five pains and language customers use, and sketch a one-page positioning map you can bring to meetings.

That way, you start your campaign with clarity — not uncertainty.

My Disastrous Vibe Marketing Experiment (What I Learned the Hard Way So You Don’t Have To)

Giving you examples is great, but I wanted to put all this to the test and see if I could build a usable AI workflow for myself. (Spoiler: It did not go well.)

Goal: Save time replying to LinkedIn comments without losing my voice.

Constraints: Something I could test immediately, for free, and that would actually be useful.

Method: Build a workflow that scrapes comments, learns my style, and drafts replies I could approve before posting.

Time spent: 4+ hours

1st Attempt

First, I created an account in PhantomBuster, a tool that automates actions on social platforms like LinkedIn.

Then, I connected my LinkedIn account and set up the “LinkedIn Post Commenter and Liker Scraper” tool.

I asked it to retrieve only comments from my LinkedIn posts from recent days, which it did successfully.

Next, I created a new “Scenario” in Make, a no-code automation and AI agent tool, and added PhantomBuster as the start of that workflow.

Then, I built a Make AI Agent that would draw from my previous posts to learn my voice..

I added that Make AI Agent into the workflow, giving it instructions to analyze the comments scraped by PhantomBuster and produce a reply.

And finally, I added Google Docs as the final output. The idea was to create a document where I could see both the original comment and the AI-generated reply.

The whole workflow ran successfully, which I took as a win and closed up shop for the night.

But when I opened my laptop the next day to check all the wonderful replies my new AI buddy had written for me, all I found was this lovely Google Doc:

Still undeterred, I decided to try something different.

2nd Attempt

Along the same lines, I wanted to build an automated AI workflow that would scrape content from LinkedIn that I’m interested in. Then, write comments in my voice and style using my existing content as a foundation.

I used a similar workflow: PhantomBuster to scrape the content, Make AI Agents to analyze and write comments, and getting the final output in a Google Sheet.

Unfortunately, that gave me the exact same result (only this time in spreadsheet format, woohoo!):

What especially irked me was that the automations themselves were running successfully. But I still had no output.

So after more than four hours of work (and a lot of back-and-forth with ChatGPT), I finally gave up.

Could I have figured out this AI workflow eventually? Yes, I have no doubt.

But at that point, how much time would I be saving?

Does a little time saved on writing comments justify spending hours building an AI workflow (and what should’ve been a relatively simple one, at that)?

Here’s what I learned from this experiment:

• If you’ve been secretly feeling a little skeptical about vibe marketing, you were right
• The folks building vibe-coded apps and AI workflows in five minutes have years of practice. The rest of us can’t expect the same speed.
• The tools that are currently available for vibe coding and AI automations aren’t ready yet for the average user to just jump in and build
• If someone with a background in tech (me) struggled so much with a simple workflow, imagine the challenge of something more complex

And while it’s true that others are seeing success with vibe marketing (like the examples that we saw above), there are also clear downsides.

It’s Not All a Bed of Roses: The Caveats of Vibe Marketing

Vibe marketing is like any new marketing buzzword: We all love to join in the hype, even if we don’t quite get it.

The problem is, the hype can obscure reality.

After running my own experiments, I also talked with other experts in the field. What emerged was a clear pattern — vibe marketing is powerful, but the gaps between promise and practice are real.

It’s Harder Than It Looks

The idea that you can tinker around with AI for five minutes and produce a usable workflow just isn’t feasible for the majority of us.

And yet, that’s the promise we’re seeing over and over again:

This all sounds great, but we’re marketers: We know better.

Simple automations? Sure.

But robust, real-world systems usually need engineering support or serious AI chops.

Without that, you risk fragile prototypes that break the first time they’re stress-tested.

Oren Greenberg, the AI marketing consultant we talked about earlier, told me:

Here’s the point: Don’t get swept up in the hype. Check the source.

The Infrastructure Is Messy

AI workflows look slick in a demo. But in practice, you have to plug into your marketing stack.

And that’s where things get complicated.

For example, you might build the perfect AI agent to score inbound leads, only to realize that your CRM can’t accept the data the way you need.

As Austin Hay, Co-Founder of Clarity and MarTech teacher at Reforge, noted in a recent interview:

For traditional marketing teams, this means your AI workflows may not play well with your company’s established martech systems.

And if your tech’s API documentation is outdated (or worse, nonexistent), it will be nearly impossible to vibe code your way to integrations between existing tools.

AI Can’t Invent Outside its Datasets

Another misconception around vibe marketing is that you can throw any messy, undefined problem at an AI agent and it will figure it out.

The reality is less glamorous.

AI thrives on patterns it’s seen before. Point it at a well-scoped, repeatable task, and it shines.

But ask it to invent outside of its training data — or solve a fuzzy, novel problem — and you’ll end up with loops, errors, and wasted hours.

Speed Only Works When You Know Where You’re Going

AI can help you move fast. But if you don’t know what metrics matter and where you want your workflows to lead, faster will just mean getting lost sooner.

Marketers who succeed with vibe coding are the ones who define the finish line first. AI then becomes a vehicle to reach those goals faster, not a substitute for setting them.

Kevin White, Head of Marketing at Scrunch AI, put it this way in a recent interview:

Vibe Marketing Tools Free Up Time…But for What?

As more marketers build AI workflows and vibe code their way to productivity, a philosophical question arises: why?

AI workflows and automations free up time (when they work). But, what are we freeing up time for?

By eliminating the busywork, we’ve saved only the most demanding tasks for ourselves. And while creating and strategizing may be what we enjoy most, it’s impossible for most people to do that kind of mentally-taxing work for eight hours straight.

Eric Doty, the one-man content team at Dock, explained it like this:

The questions to ask: Are we automating the right things? Are we automating for the right reasons? And how are we using the time saved?

How to Know if Vibe Marketing Is Right for You and Your Business

You may be a marketer in a traditional team with limited resources and a lot of big ideas to execute on.

Or, you might be a solo marketer looking to reduce busy work.

Either way, you’re probably looking at AI as a solution to increase productivity. Even if you worry it’ll steal the humanity from your campaigns.

Still on the fence?

Here are six questions you can ask yourself. Answer honestly, and you’ll have a better view of whether now is the right time to start vibe marketing:

The goal here isn’t to pass/fail. It’s to spot whether now is the right time to lean into automation. And whether you’ll get a meaningful return.

As Lauren Wiener of Boston Consulting Group said:

Ready to Try Your Own Vibe Marketing Experiment?

Vibe marketing isn’t snake oil. But it’s not a silver bullet, either.

The hype can make it feel like anyone can vibe code and automate their way to a marketing edge. But the reality is far more nuanced.

The marketers getting real value from vibe marketing are the ones with strong fundamentals, clear goals, and often a layer of engineering support behind them.

For the rest of us, the takeaway is simple:

Vibe marketing is worth experimenting with, but it won’t replace strategy, judgment, or hard-won expertise.

The post Vibe Marketing: Hype, Reality, and Real Case Studies appeared first on Backlinko.

ChatGPT Shopping: “Buy Now” in AI Chat Is Here

2025-10-02 22:05:17

ChatGPT recommends products — complete with photos, pricing, and purchase links — to its 700 million weekly users.

And now customers can complete purchases without leaving the chat.

BIG deal.

But will ChatGPT recommend your products?

That’s not automatic. And you can’t pay for placement.

What you can do is optimize your site so ChatGPT understands what you sell, trusts your brand, and surfaces your products when buyers search. This guide shows you how.

You’ll learn the eight-step framework for getting featured in ChatGPT Shopping.

I also spoke with Leigh McKenzie, Backlinko’s Head of Growth and founder of the ecommerce brand UnderFit, to get his insights on what’s actually working.

First, let’s look at how ChatGPT decides which products make the cut.

How ChatGPT Shopping Works

ChatGPT Shopping kicks in automatically for some shopping intent prompts.

While it doesn’t fire every time, I found it appears more often than not after testing 100+ prompts.

The key? Typing a prompt with clear buying intent.

Like “e-bikes that can handle potholes.”

Instead of just explaining things or offering advice, ChatGPT Shopping recommends specific products.

This includes product images, pricing, and links to online stores and websites where users can make a purchase.

If your store gets recommended, countless high-intent shoppers will see your products.

For example, when I tested the e-bike query, ChatGPT gave me a brief explanation of what features to prioritize.

But it also provided a visual product carousel with eight products, each in its own card with key details.

(It looks similar to Google Shopping ads, except you don’t have to pay for them.)

Clicking on any card opens a side panel with:

• Additional product photos
• A list of stores, prices, and direct links
• A short “why you might like this” summary
• Sentiment pulled from reviews and forums

From there, users simply click “Visit” to reach the merchant’s product page.

But this experience is changing.

As of September 2025, OpenAI is rolling out Instant Checkout — a feature that lets shoppers buy directly inside ChatGPT.

This is a huge shift.

ChatGPT is no longer just a product discovery tool. It’s a full shopping destination.

Right now, Instant Checkout is only available to Etsy sellers in the United States.

But OpenAI plans to expand this feature to Shopify merchants and other countries soon.

Not on either platform?

They’re also accepting applications for merchants to build their own integrations. (More on this in Step #7.)

How ChatGPT Selects Products to Recommend

A shopper describes what they’re looking for (“running shoes with arch support under $150”), and ChatGPT’s AI goes to work.

It scans the web for the most relevant products based on that request.

And weighs details like product names, descriptions, features, reviews, brand authority, and other signals to find the best matches.

If your product checks the right boxes — and the information on your site is clear and crawlable — it has a chance to be recommended.

ChatGPT may also consider the user’s location and preferences when making recommendations.

Ultimately, all product recommendations must also pass through OpenAI’s safety systems.

This filters out low-quality, misleading, or unsafe products.

So, what does all of this mean for you?

ChatGPT Shopping is evolving fast — and the brands that keep up will win the most visibility.

Here’s how to ensure ChatGPT can understand, trust, and recommend your products.

1. Add Structured Schema Markup to Your Site

ChatGPT needs structured data to understand what you sell.

Schema markup is code that labels key details on your product pages (and website as a whole): name, price, description, availability, reviews, and more.

It turns raw HTML into data AI tools can parse instantly.

Without it, ChatGPT (and other AI systems) have to guess what’s on your page.

With it, they see clean, structured information they can confidently include in product recommendations.

At a minimum, your product schema should include:

• Product: Name, description, brand, image, and identifiers (GTIN, SKU, MPN)
• Offer: Price, currency, availability, and URL
• Review: Individual reviews with reviewer names and ratings

It may look intimidating, but many content management systems — like WordPress, Shopify, and Wix — offer plugins or built-in tools that generate the markup for you automatically.

Once your markup is in place, test that it’s working correctly using Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema.org’s validator.

These tools make it easy to check that your structured data is valid, visible, and error-free.

2. Create and Maintain a High-Quality Product Feed

A product feed is a structured file that packages up your product details and sends them to platforms like Google Merchant Center, Shopify, and Etsy.

It includes details like titles, prices, availability, images, links, and more.

ChatGPT may use data from major platforms like Google to decide which products to recommend.

For example, if your Google Shopping feed is outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate, ChatGPT may return bad information about your products.

Or skip recommending them entirely.

That’s why a high-quality, up-to-date product feed is critical.

But keeping feeds accurate is easier said than done.

There are a lot of moving parts, like site updates, refresh schedules, and third-party tools.

And it only takes one slip for mismatches to creep in.

Here are a few common product feed issues — and how to fix them:

Automation keeps most updates in sync. And manual checks before major launches or sales help catch anything that may slip through.

Here’s how Leigh maintains a balance of the two for his ecommerce store:

3. Make Sure AI Bots Can Read Your Site

If ChatGPT can’t read your site, it can’t recommend your products.

Two simple technical issues block many ecommerce sites from showing up: hidden content and restricted crawlers.

Check for JavaScript

Many AI bots — including ChatGPT — still struggle with content that only loads via JavaScript.

If key details aren’t in the page’s raw HTML, the bot might never see them.

This includes your product descriptions, prices, and images.

Eek.

Here’s how to check if that’s happening:

1. Pull up a product page on your website or online store
2. In Google Chrome, go to “Settings” > “Privacy and security” > Site Settings
3. Under “Content,” click “JavaScript” and toggle “Don’t allow sites to use JavaScript”
4. Reload the product page you’re testing

If your product details disappear, it means they’re only loading through JavaScript.

To fix this, work with a developer to ensure all essential information is in your site’s raw HTML.

Assess Your Robots.txt File

Your robots.txt file can also block AI crawlers.

This small file tells bots which parts of your site they can (and can’t) crawl.

By default, most sites already allow all bots, including ChatGPT’s crawler, OAI-SearchBot.

But it’s still worth double-checking.

Here’s how:

First, go to yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Then, look for a rule like this:

And this:

If it says “Disallow,” then ChatGPT is unable to crawl your site.

You (or your dev team) can fix this issue by changing it to “allow.”

4. Write Product Copy That Matches Real Buyer Prompts

ChatGPT matches products to prompts by language, not keywords.

So, if your product copy doesn’t sound like the way people talk, it may not surface in shopping results.

The goal: write the way buyers phrase their prompts.

Find the Language Your Buyers Use

You don’t have to guess how your customers talk.

Use research tools like:

• Google’s People Also Ask
• AnswerThePublic
• Keyword tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz

Look for modifiers that mimic real queries — terms like “best,” “for beginners,” “eco-friendly,” or “kid-friendly.”

Tools like Semrush’s AI SEO Toolkit show you the actual prompts people type into AI engines.

So, instead of manually guessing or testing one by one, you get a ready-made list of conversational queries buyers already use.

Once you understand how your audience speaks, weave the terms naturally into your product titles and descriptions.

This will increase the odds of your products showing up in ChatGPT when shoppers search.

Write Product Titles That Match Buyer Intent

When you’re writing copy, pay special attention to your product titles.

They often feed directly into the shopping carousel.

And they’re the first thing shoppers see before deciding to click.

The golden rule: Lead with what matters most to your audience.

If trust drives decisions — like in categories such as laptops or smartphones — put your brand front and center.

If features, benefits, or use cases are more important, focus on those instead.

Use this simple formula:

On Leigh’s site, for example, his titles highlight what buyers care about most: product benefits.

That’s why they’re structured as Benefit (Invisible) + Product Type (Undershirt).

But when brand recognition is vital to trust, it makes sense to include the brand name.

Like this product title for a Sony home theater:

Don’t worry about cramming every detail into the title.

Most ecommerce platforms give you multiple fields for product info. Use those strategically to sprinkle in conversational keywords.

Make Product Descriptions Feel Like Real Answers

Titles get people to click. Descriptions get them to buy.

This is where you expand on features, benefits, and use cases — all in plain, natural language.

For example, UnderFit’s product copy mirrors the words buyers use when searching for an undershirt.

• “Stay tucked”
• “All-day comfort”
• “Soft, breathable feel”

These words aren’t filler — they’re search terms.

Which means they’re likely the same language people use when prompting ChatGPT.

5. Feature Your Value Proposition Prominently

Your product’s value proposition needs to be clear and visible at the top of your product page.

This ensures ChatGPT immediately understands:

• What the product is
• Why it’s better than the alternatives

But that’s not enough.

The rest of your page should support and reinforce that promise.

This gives ChatGPT a complete picture of your product.

And helps it see your product as the best fit for the query.

This means every section — features, benefits, reviews, specs — should back up your value proposition with proof and detail.

Huel’s Black Edition product page is a great example of this in action.

The value proposition is right under the product title:

“High Protein Complete Meal.”

This instantly explains:

• What it is (a complete meal)
• Why it matters (high protein)

The image reinforces this by highlighting complementary copy:

“This is a meal. Not a protein shake” and “40g protein per meal.”

The product description repeats the promise yet again: “40 grams of protein.”

But it also adds details like “27 essential vitamins and minerals.”

This repetition is exactly what you want.

While you can (and should) use word variety, your page should tell one clear story from top to bottom.

Explain what the product is, why it’s valuable, and how it delivers on that promise.

So, audit your site.

If copy and images don’t reinforce your core message, rework them until it does.

The more consistent and focused your messaging is, the easier it is for ChatGPT to understand (and recommend) your products.

6. Build Strong Authority Beyond Your Site

ChatGPT doesn’t just look at your product page when deciding what to recommend.

It cross-checks authority signals from across the web to figure out whether your brand (and your product) are trustworthy enough to recommend.

These signals include:

• Reviews and ratings: Platforms like Amazon, Trustpilot, Google, Yelp, and niche retailers
• Community sentiment: Real-world feedback from Reddit, Quora, Facebook groups, and niche forums
• Editorial coverage: Authoritative sites like Wirecutter, TechRadar, gift guides, and industry blogs
• Awards and certifications: Respected organizations that serve as independent trust markers

One way to see which sources matter most for your brand is to run a manual check in ChatGPT.

Type a shopping prompt into the tool, scroll to the answer, and click “Sources.”

The links you see there are the sites that ChatGPT used to pull its recommendations.

(And, by extension, the sites it trusts.)

For example, when I asked for a “yoga mat with serious grip for hot yoga,” ChatGPT cited:

• Niche authority sites like EverydayYoga.com and BrettLarkin.com — smaller but highly trusted in the yoga gear space
• Mainstream review outlets like New York Magazine and People.com
• Community threads on Reddit, providing authentic, anecdotal reviews

Use the sources as your roadmap.

Target them with outreach strategies like expert quotes, partnerships, and co-branded content.

Can’t land mentions on the exact sites ChatGPT cited? Go after similar ones with comparable authority.

And build your presence on community platforms, too.

A strong showing on Reddit, Quora, and niche Facebook groups can boost your brand’s credibility.

7. Sign Up for ChatGPT Instant Checkout

Instant Checkout lets shoppers go from product recommendation to purchase without ever leaving ChatGPT.

Once they find something they like, they can confirm details, pay, and place an order — all within the same chat window.

(Hashtag mind blown)

Instant Checkout currently supports single-item purchases in the U.S. on Etsy.

(But Shopify integration is coming soon.)

If you’re on either platform, you’re in luck. Eligibility is automatic.

For everyone else?

You’ll need to apply and integrate with OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP).

Translation: Roll up your sleeves. There’s work to do.

Here’s what you can do now.

Start by filling out OpenAI’s merchant application form.

This lets OpenAI know you want in.

They’re onboarding merchants on a rolling basis and will reach out when you’re accepted.

Once you’re in the pipeline, you’ll need to:

• Provide a structured product feed that meets OpenAI’s product feed specs. Leigh recommends starting with your existing Google feed and updating it as needed to meet OpenAI’s requirements.
• Enable ACP checkout. ACP lets ChatGPT place and complete orders in your system. If you’re on Stripe, setup can be as simple as one line of code. If not, you can still integrate using Stripe’s Shared Payment Token API or the Delegated Payments Spec — no provider switch required.
• Connect your payment provider. You’ll still process transactions and remain the merchant of record.
• Pass certification requirements. OpenAI requires sandbox testing and end-to-end checks before you go live.

8. Track Your ChatGPT Visibility

It’s not enough to show up in ChatGPT Shopping.

You also need to measure how well you’re performing.

Start with tracking traffic.

The easiest way is through OpenAI’s built-in UTM tag.

This is code that OpenAI automatically adds to all outbound links. And looks like this:

Set up a custom segment in Google Analytics to track and analyze ChatGPT traffic to your site.

Once that’s done, look for patterns:

• Is ChatGPT traffic increasing month over month — or slowing down?
• How does the conversion rate compare to other channels?
• Do visitors stick around or bounce right away?

But traffic only tells you what happens after people click.

You also need to measure what happens before — specifically, which prompts surface your products.

To do this, it helps to understand the kinds of prompts shoppers type.

Most fall into four buckets.

• Price-based: “Best dog food bowl under $20,” “luxury ceramic dog bowl”
• Use-case: “Dog bowl for messy eaters,” “raised bowls for large breeds”
• Feature-based: “Non-slip stainless steel dog bowl,” “slow feeder BPA-free”
• Problem-solution: “Dog bowl that keeps ants out,” “dog bowl that doesn’t slide on tile”

Think of these buckets as templates.

Test prompts in each category and ask yourself:

• Does your product show up? If so, are the details accurate?
• If not, who does — and why? (Are their reviews fresher, their authority stronger, or their copy closer to buyer language?)

Repeatedly run these checks to gather more data.

You’ll learn which prompts lead to product mentions, how your LLM visibility changes, and how buyers talk about your brand.

Rather automate this process?

Tools like Semrush’s AI SEO Toolkit let you:

• Track which prompts surface your products
• Monitor brand sentiment
• Compare visibility in different platforms

Beyond ChatGPT Shopping: Your AI Visibility Playbook

There isn’t a magic formula for getting ChatGPT to recommend your products.

But the brands that consistently get recommended all have three things in common:

• A rock-solid technical foundation
• Clear, buyer-focused product copy
• Strong trust signals across the web

Get these right, and you’re not just optimizing for ChatGPT Shopping.

You’re setting yourself up to be discovered across EVERY AI platform out there.

Want to make sure your foundation is bulletproof?

Read SEO vs. GEO, AEO, LLMO: What Marketers Need to Know for an overview of the most important visibility strategies shaping AI search.

The post ChatGPT Shopping: “Buy Now” in AI Chat Is Here appeared first on Backlinko.

Audience Research: Stop Guessing What Your Buyers Care About

2025-10-02 21:35:11

If I had a dollar for every time someone said “know your audience,” I could retire from marketing altogether.

And yet, most teams are completely winging it.

Too often, marketers equate audience research with half-baked customer relationship management (CRM) data, some social media metrics, and a few buyer interviews.

But that’s just organizing information you already have.

Real audience research means discovering what you don’t know yet.

It’s the exact words people use when they’re frustrated. The solutions they’ve already tried and dismissed. The moment they decide to trust one source over another.

When you get this right, you move from guessing what might work to creating content from what your audience is already telling you.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to find those insights across five key channels, with practical tactics you can use right away.

Why You Can’t Skip Audience Research

If you’ve ever lost hours scrolling TikTok or binge-watched “just one more episode” on Netflix until midnight, you’ve experienced the power of audience research.

Platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok own our attention because they know us better than we know ourselves.

They’ve built this advantage by making audience research a core function.

Netflix, for example, treats “Consumer Insights” as one of its nine core research areas, which shows just how pivotal understanding users is to their success.

For these winning brands, audience research isn’t an afterthought.

It shapes everything: what gets built, how products are positioned, and which messages resonate

And the payoff is massive — delivering experiences tailored to your customers that keep them coming back for more.

In stark contrast, many marketing teams run on fragments.

SEOs chase keywords, social focuses on engagement, and product marketing fine-tunes messaging. Everyone has a piece of the puzzle, but no one can put it together.

As a result, campaigns are designed for specific channels instead of real people.

Done well, audience research can close this gap to:

• Sharpen your messaging that customers find relatable
• Prevent wasted spend by showing you where people actually are
• Speed up creative cycles by giving teams validated insights to work with

And the good news is you don’t need Big Tech’s expensive resources to pull this off.

I’ll show you how to conduct audience research and out-empathize the competition with your existing team and budget.

5 Channels to Conduct Audience Research for Content Marketing

Your buyers are already telling you what they want. You just need to listen carefully.

Let’s learn how.

Make sure to download our tracker and jot down all the information from your audience research techniques.

Tap Into Intel Within Your Company

Some of the most valuable audience insights are already within your reach, sitting with your sales and customer success (CS) teams.

These groups are on the front lines.

They regularly interact with prospects and customers about their frustrations, aspirations, objections, and goals.

For marketers figuring out how to conduct audience research, collecting these insights is a great starting point.

Here’s how:

Listen and Capture First-Hand Conversations

The fastest way to understand your audience is to literally listen.

Sit in on a sales demo, a customer onboarding call, or a quarterly check-in meeting.

This will bring you raw insights you can’t get from surveys, like:

• The way buyers frame their challenges
• The decision factors they prioritize
• The words they repeat

But listening alone isn’t enough.

You need a simple system to document the key takeaways from every conversation and share them across teams.

Here’s an example of what that might look like for a fictional coffee brand:

Our Audience Research Tracker will help you distill these conversations into meaningful content opportunities.

You can jot down recurring problem statements in your buyers’ language and identify their biggest pain points.

Then, prioritize ideas based on our four key parameters like urgency, business value, and more.

Sync with Frontline Teams

Another way to capture these insights is by regularly connecting with your customer-facing teams.

When teams work in silos, each one only sees a part of the puzzle.

This creates a disconnect in your customer experience because no one has the whole picture of what buyers want.

That’s why it’s worth setting up regular cross-team sessions for marketing, sales, customer success, and product teams to compare notes.

These sessions can surface insights that no single team could uncover on its own.

Interview and Survey Customers

Besides internal data, hearing directly from buyers can give you a deeper, more reliable understanding of what drives their decisions.

Customer interviews provide essential context about the why behind their behavior.

You can find out:

• How they first discovered your product or category
• What pain points pushed them to look for a solution
• The decision-making process they followed
• What alternatives did they consider

With surveys, you can validate these insights and see which ones apply broadly versus one-off anecdotes.

Use Reddit for Unfiltered Conversations

Unlike other social media platforms, Reddit gives you access to candid and often brutally honest conversations.

Take this post on frustrating skincare routines.

It voices raw and real emotions that people face when dealing with skincare challenges.

And in the comments, there are even more stories and nuanced perspectives.

They offer crucial insights about the audience, like “skincare feels like a tough road of trial and error” and the “emotional toll of poor skin health.”

So, how do you use Reddit to know your buyers better?

Start with the Right Filters

Reddit’s filters make it easy to sift through posts and find what matters most.

You can sort results by:

• Relevance: Best for finding posts that match your keyword directly
• Top: Surfaces the most upvoted posts over a time period
• Hot: Shows recently trending posts with the most upvotes
• Comment count: Sorts posts with the most comments
• New: Shows you the freshest discussions

Plus, you can filter results by timeframe to see what’s trending now versus what’s been a consistent pain point over time.

In my search for “moisturizer for oily skin,” filtering by “Relevance” shows the closest matches, while “Hot” surfaces the most recently upvoted posts.

Find the Right Subreddits

While it’s easy to find bigger and popular subreddits, it’s equally important to look for smaller, niche spaces where your audience might hang out.

Remember, the same buyers may express themselves differently depending on the space they’re in.

For instance, a skincare brand could find valuable insights across:

• r/SkincareAddiction: Broad, general skincare conversations
• r/AsianBeauty: Discussions centered on Asian markets
• r/30PlusSkincare: Catering to an older demographic

Each subreddit reflects a different slice of the audience.

Read Posts and Comments Like a Researcher

A good Reddit post will give you context into people’s problems, goals, and lived experiences.

But the comments add more nuance to the original post. This is where people expand on the issue, discuss solutions, and share personal stories.

Here’s a post where the original poster (OP) shares their concerns about using Retinol, an ingredient known for its anti-aging properties.

Other Redditors share their take and advice on this issue, highlighting some alternatives to consider.

For a skincare brand, this post is helpful to understand:

• Buyers’ concerns regarding Retinol
• Commonly used and recommended solutions

Based on these insights, the brand can create content focusing on the best practices for Retinol use. Another great idea is to make a beginners’ guide for using Retinol and taking care of your skin.

Besides, Reddit also offers something other platforms can’t: clear signals of what not to do.

Upvotes highlight ideas and opinions people love. Downvotes show the perspectives or advice they reject.

Find AMAs (Ask Me Anything)

Ask Me Anything (AMAs) can be a gateway to your audience’s biggest questions or issues they’re curious about.

Any industry expert or influencer with trusted credentials can host an AMA.

Here’s an example from a certified dermatologist.

Questions asked in this thread reveal issues where people need an expert’s guidance.

For example, one Redditor asked for basic skincare regimens while another shared a question about stretch marks.

Pay attention to questions with high upvotes. Those are the ones that most people want advice on.

Check Out YouTube Comments and Videos

YouTube is the second-largest search engine where people go to solve problems, compare options, and learn new skills.

Naturally, it can reveal a lot about your buyers.

An audience intelligence tool like Sparktoro is a good starting point for YouTube research.

When you enter any keyword, it lists the most relevant YouTube channels for this audience.

Visit these channels and extract rich insights based on the steps I explain below.

Analyze Comments Using LLM Tools

A YouTube video gives you one perspective.

The comments give you hundreds.

For example, this video comparing stainless steel pans with cast iron skillets tells you the creator’s subjective take on the topic.

But when you scroll through the comments, you’ll find which option people prefer — and why.

Here’s a quick and easy process to document insights from as many YouTube videos as you want.

Copy comments from every video in one go. Then, paste them into ChatGPT or any LLM tool of your choice.

Share this prompt to extract common pain points and themes:

This way, you can turn hundreds of scattered thoughts into a structured list of what your audience actually struggles with in their exact words.

I tried this myself and here’s how it went:

I found a clear breakdown of my audience’s pain points spelled out in their exact words.

Add these to our research tracker — and just like that, I have topics for my next few Instagram reels, like “Health concerns around non-stick pans” and “Why stainless steel pans are better than non-stick.”

Learn From User-Generated Content

Beyond comments, user-generated content (UGC) can also offer a direct line into what your buyers care about.

Think product reviews, unboxing videos, comparisons, or even vlogs where people share how they use a product.

Notice the kind of pros and cons that people highlight in these videos.

For example, this YouTube creator made a video about his decision to stop using Hexclad pans.

He explains:

• Why he bought these pans
• What went wrong with these products
• What alternatives he considered and switched to

Use these insights to understand key buying factors and some pain points worth exploring.

Explore Social Media Platforms Your Buyers Use

Social media works best as an audience research method when you know where your buyers actually spend their time.

Tools like Similarweb make this easier by showing you which channels your audience prefers.

Add your website and a few key competitors to get started, like this example with TechCrunch, Wired, and other competitors.

Here’s how the tool breaks down each brand’s audience share on different social media platforms:

LinkedIn

On LinkedIn, start by identifying people who fit your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

Pay close attention to the posts they share — their wins, failures, roadblocks, and processes.

These real-world updates reveal where your product or service can make a meaningful impact.

For example, if your ICP includes customer success teams, this LinkedIn post shows how leaders are experimenting with AI tools.

It highlights both opportunities and gaps you could address — like growing interest in a trend (opportunity) or frequent complaints (gap).

To scale your research, use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to apply filters and zero in on the right people within your ICP.

For example, you can filter results by industry, keywords, location, seniority, language, and more of these filters.

Instagram

Instagram hashtags are a great way to discover audience interests.

Start with broad themes like #mealprepideas to see what’s trending.

Each hashtag (like a keyword) surfaces a collection of posts tagged with this term.

Look for posts with high engagement because they signal what truly resonates.

For instance, this post earned over 393k likes because it offered clear, visual recipe ideas that people found useful.

Like LinkedIn, you can also follow influencers or niche creators in your space to get closer to your audience.

Their posts (and especially the comments) often pinpoint the questions, frustrations, and goals your buyers are struggling with.

TikTok

To use TikTok as an audience research method, create a fresh account dedicated to your niche.

Interact only with videos specific to your space, and TikTok’s algorithm will start curating a feed of trending content.

Once you see relevant videos, dive into the comments to spot recurring themes and pain points.

For example, the comments on this meal prep video include many questions about the containers and the recipe.

You can also search for your keywords and toggle between “Top,” “Users,” “Videos,” and “LIVE” content to explore different kinds of content on the app.

X

X has powerful tools for audience research if you know where to look.

Use the advanced search function to filter posts by keyword, engagement, account, or time frame.

Another underrated feature for target audience research: “Lists.”

It lets you build a curated feed of accounts you want to hear more from, like potential customers, influencers, or industry voices.

You can either follow existing lists or create a new one.

For instance, searching for “vibe coding” lists shows ready-made feeds you can tap into for insights.

Compare Platforms with Semrush Social Tracker

Semrush’s Social Tracker helps you zoom out and learn more about your audience from multiple channels at once.

It pulls data from Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok, so you can see how your audience interacts with different channels.

With this report, you can identify which platforms generate the strongest engagement from your target audience.

And it’s easier to spot popular post formats (Reels, carousels, videos, etc.) and hashtags that drive interaction.

To get started, connect your social accounts and add competitor profiles in Social Tracker.

Use the “Overview” tab to compare follower growth, posting activity, and engagement side by side.

Then, jump to platform-specific tabs to get in-depth reports for each platform.

Mine Customer Reviews

A single customer review may just be one person’s opinion.

But when you analyze these reviews at scale, clear patterns start to emerge.

For starters, look for factors that led people to buy a product. Or, notice the cons people mention in low-rated reviews.

Both indicate pain points you can target.

For example, this customer calls out weak product durability and a disappointing warranty process.

You also want to find what success looks like for your potential customers. Is it saving time, cutting costs, improving quality, or something else?

Document the features they call out as good or bad.

This insight can shape your messaging and even suggest improvements for your offering.

See if reviews pinpoint any competitors that people considered. Note why they chose or didn’t choose a specific brand over others.

Similar to the exercise I suggested for YouTube, collect product reviews from different platforms.

Ask any LLM tool to analyze these reviews and prepare a list of pain points.

Here are the review platforms you should check out based on your business type:

Make Audience Research Your Competitive Edge

Audience research isn’t simply a box to check.

The more you know about your buyers, the stronger results your marketing efforts can produce.

What’s even better, your audience is already leaving signals about what they want.

When you listen closely and capture these insights, you can create content and launch campaigns that hit closer to home.

Download our Audience Research Tracker to easily document this data and turn these insights into content opportunities.

The post Audience Research: Stop Guessing What Your Buyers Care About appeared first on Backlinko.

Reddit Marketing in 3 Hours/Week: From 0 Karma to Real Cred

2025-09-23 20:49:00

Reddit marketing is delicate work.

Show up with a sales pitch — or just a little too much enthusiasm for your product — and they’ll shut you down quickly. Without mercy.

But that hostility is really standards in disguise.

Redditors care about their communities. They care about real conversations and keeping the place worth coming back to.

Meet those standards, and the mood turns.

They’ll start to trust you. Sometimes, they’ll even ask where they can buy your stuff.

That’s when you know you’ve earned the hard-to-win, harder-to-fake Reddit trust.

A kind of credibility so strong it travels far beyond Reddit. (More on that later.)

This guide shows you how.

Just three hours a week of Reddit marketing, and you’ll go from an awkward outsider to a trusted regular — even if you’ve never posted before.

Reddit Is No Longer Optional for Marketers

Reddit used to be just another “forum.”

But it has now become the gravity pulling the internet into its orbit.

Dramatic? Maybe. But the proof is everywhere.

Reddit Powers Search and AI

Reddit’s partnerships with Google and OpenAI have turned it from an internet hangout to an internet heavyweight.

Google is pulling Reddit threads directly into search results. And Reddit conversations are now feeding into ChatGPT’s answers.

Run a quick Google search, such as “best protein powder brands.”

You’ll usually see Reddit featured more than once on page one.

Same story with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Their answers often cite Reddit as one of the sources.

And this isn’t just anecdotal.

A Detailed.com study shows Reddit dominates product-related search terms in Google’s new “Discussions and forums” feature.

Semrush research backs this up, saying Reddit is the most-cited domain in AI answers.

In short:

Reddit now sits at the heart of your customers’ decision-making.

From the first flicker of curiosity to the final purchase, chances are good they’ll hit Reddit along the way.

Reddit Influences Buyer Trust

People trust Reddit more than your polished marketing.

The open grievances and the unfiltered praise make Reddit feel real in a way your ad copy never can.

Be honest:

How often do you tack “reddit” onto a Google search? I do it all the time. And Semrush data proves I’m not alone.

That’s Reddit becoming the internet’s social proof engine.

As Rob Gaige, Reddit’s Global Head of Insights, says:

In other words, buyers don’t just take your word for it. They take Reddit’s.

Reddit Gives You an Edge Competitors Can’t Easily Copy

There’s no copy-paste trick when it comes to Reddit marketing.

Like you, your competitors have to put in the time to learn the culture and earn their keep.

That’s why the earlier you start, the stronger your position becomes. Every month you engage, you’re stacking credibility that shortcuts can’t match.

Yes, some try to game the system. And that might work briefly.

But eventually, Reddit’s algorithms, volunteer moderators, and the community’s BS detector flush them out.

(And with spam on the rise, the rules are only getting stricter.)

The Reddit Marketing System to Build Karma & Cred

Forget Reddit SEO “hacks,” like slipping links past moderators.

That’s short-sighted thinking.

Here’s the thing:

Reddit’s power isn’t clicks. It’s credibility and influence.

Earn it inside Reddit, AND it reverberates into search results and AI answers.

You don’t earn that trust with Reddit marketing tricks.

You earn it by contributing and becoming part of the community.

Here’s how.

(Shoutout to Ken Savage of Launch Club AI, a Reddit marketing agency, for sharing his insights from the trenches.)

Step 1: Build a Profile That Says “Redditor,” Not “Marketer”

The best way to optimize your Reddit profile? Do nothing.

A shiny, over-engineered profile from a Reddit newborn is a dead giveaway: You’re here to take, not give.

Sure, change your avatar if you like. But, resist the urge to polish.

Instead, keep it plain:

• Leave the bio blank
• Don’t link to your site or socials
• Forget the “curated” look
• Let your engagement history do the talking

Take ItsWahl, a plumber’s profile. You don’t see business links or calls-to-action. But scroll through his comments and post history, and you instantly know what he does.

That’s the beauty of Reddit. Reputation builds itself.

The profile follows.

Step 2: Get Fluent in Reddit Before You Speak

In your first week (or two) of Reddit marketing, don’t post. Just watch.

Study the culture and pay attention to tone and the little quirks of how people interact.

Why?

Because that look-at-me energy that Instagram and LinkedIn reward is exactly what gets you mocked or banned on Reddit.

How The Reddit Community Operates

Your best starting point is Reddiquette.

It’s the platform’s general code of conduct, which includes:

• Remembering the human behind the screen
• Using proper grammar and spelling
• Assuming good intent until proven otherwise
• Formatting posts and comments clearly

But here’s the twist:

Reddit isn’t one community.

It’s thousands of communities, called subreddits (subs), with their own rules and expectations.

What gets you praise in one can get you flagged in another.

For example, in r/Entrepreneur, you need 10 comment karma (Reddit points from helpful comments), and self-promotion is banned.

But in r/Pen_Swap, buying, selling, and trading is the whole point.

Think of it as two layers: global expectations and local rules.

Break either, and the community will remind you. Sometimes, not too gently.

So, before you comment or post, always check the subreddit’s rules. They’re pinned at the top or listed in the sidebar.

The Reddit Moderators (aka Mods) and Their Power

Moderators are the gatekeepers of subreddits.

They control how the community runs within Reddit’s sitewide rules.

You can see who moderates any subreddit by checking the sidebar and clicking “Moderators.”

And yes, they have powers. They can:

• Remove posts or comments
• Issue warnings
• Ban users

Your mileage with mods will vary.

Most are fair and invested in building solid communities.

Others, less so.

As one Redditor put it, “picky and easily angered.”

What most people miss about moderators is this:

Many of them run communities with tens of thousands, sometimes millions, of members. Managing these subreddits takes an enormous amount of unpaid time and effort.

It’s really in your interest to make their jobs easier by:

• Reading and following the rules
• Contributing genuine value
• Respecting their authority

Do that, and you’ll stay on their good side.

Ignore it, and you’ll learn just how much power they really have.

Reddit Language

Reddit speak is conversational and BS-free. Humor, sarcasm, and the occasional bit of self-deprecation are all part of the mix.

It’s also full of shorthand and in-jokes that longtime users expect you to know.

You don’t need to memorize them all, but it’s worth knowing the basics if you want your Reddit marketing to have legs.

Here are a few common ones.

• OP: Original poster
• ELI5: Explain like I’m 5
• TL;DR: Too long didn’t read
• TIL: Today I learned
• OC: Original content
• NSFW: Not safe for work
• IIRC: If I recall correctly
• FTFY: Fixed that for you
• AMA: Ask me anything

Most of these you’ll pick up through context.

But it’s worth bookmarking the full list for reference.

Karma & Voting

Karma is Reddit’s point system.

(Or, as Reddit’s “welcome” guide calls it: fake internet points.)

You’ll see your karma score in your profile sidebar, split into post karma and comment karma.

Here’s why these “fake” points matter:

Karma is the closest thing Reddit has to a reputation score. It affects where you can post and how you’re perceived.

You earn it through upvotes. If people find your post or comment useful, they tap the arrow pointing up.

But there’s a flip side to this democracy.

The down arrow — the downvote — takes karma away.

It’s the community’s way of saying “this doesn’t add value.”

The most-upvoted posts and comments rise to the top. Which means more people see them and more people engage.

(And the cycle reinforces itself.)

Those top comments also tend to spread beyond Reddit through shares or even showing up in search results.

Step 3: Choose Subreddits Strategically

The subreddits you join will decide how quickly (or how slowly) you earn Karma.

Aim for a mix of niche communities tied to your expertise, plus a sprinkling of subreddits on topics you genuinely enjoy.

The rookie mistake is jumping straight into the biggest subs, hoping for easy upvotes.

But big subs move very fast. Their rules are stricter, and mods are hyper-vigilant.

Take r/AskReddit, for example, which has over 57 million members.

To stand out in your Reddit marketing, you need perfect timing, luck, and genuinely compelling content.

Otherwise, your post just disappears.

So, it’s better to start with smaller subreddits. They move at a manageable pace and are often more forgiving while you learn the ropes.

How to Find Subreddits

My go-to method to find new communities is the Reddit search bar.

From the front page, type in your niche.

In the results, click “Communities,” and check two numbers:

Total members and currently online.

That ratio tells you how active a subreddit is.

For example, when I type “SEO” I see r/SEO with 421k members and 64 online, while r/seogrowth has 31k members with 16 online.

Even though r/SEO is bigger, I’d definitely consider also joining r/seogrowth as it’s more “alive.”

When you’re starting out, join 10–15 subreddits.

That’s enough range to test where you get traction. Over time, you’ll naturally narrow to 3–5 subs where you’re most active and recognized.

Getting the Lay of the Land

For your first 1–2 weeks, resist the urge to post. Just observe and absorb (aka lurking).

See which questions people ask repeatedly.

Go hang out in the comment sections. That’s where you’ll get a real feel for the community’s personality. You’ll pick up on how people joke, offer support, or tear bad ideas apart.

And above all: Read the rules.

They’re listed in the sidebar of every subreddit, and they can vary wildly.

For example, r/nutrition has a long list of guidelines to keep discussions science-based, while r/machinedpens has only three rules.

This is also the perfect time to gauge buyer sentiment about your brand or products.

I’ve used Reddit this way for years. And it’s helped me improve product page conversions, get better returns on Meta ads, and even given sales teams a clearer picture of buyer objections.

Take a hair supplement brand I worked with.

Their Meta ads had gone flat.

So, I spent hours in subreddits like r/haircare, r/hair, and r/hairloss scanning threads for brand sentiment and figuring out the deeper psychology behind purchase decisions.

Those insights fueled a creative refresh with new campaign angles, helping turn their Meta campaigns around.

Step 4: Join Conversations Without Being Annoying (The E.A.R.S. Reddit Marketing Framework)

Three hours a week of Reddit marketing is enough to make steady progress.

Here’s how to spend it using the E.A.R.S framework:

• Explore: 5-10 minutes/day discovering threads
• Add insight: 10–20 minutes/day reading, upvoting, and commenting
• Respond: One 30-minute session/week writing and publishing
• Share: 5-10 minutes/day amplifying your posts and comments

And no, your weekends aren’t part of the deal.

Explore: Find the Right Threads (5–10 Minutes/Day)

“Explore” is your foundation for quality and time control.

Your goal is to find 4-7 threads worth engaging in every day.

Get disciplined. This shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

Here’s what to do:

Open a few of the subreddits you joined in the previous step.

Then, filter the threads by “Rising.”

This shows new posts starting to gain traction.

Get in early, and your comment is more likely to get noticed while the thread is still developing.

Next, cross-check with “Hot” to show the top posts.

As you scan both “Rising” and “Hot,” focus on threads where you can genuinely add value.

That means:

• Answering a question with your knowledge
• Filling in missing context
• Clearing up a common misconception
• Sharing a story from experience
• Offering practical help to a “how-to” question

Add Insight: Write Comments That Get Upvotes (15–20 Minutes/Day)

“Add Insight” is the engine of your Reddit SEO strategy.

It’s your daily commenting session to build trust and visibility.

(And get those karma points climbing.)

Your goal is to leave 4-7 high-value comments a day. That’s it.

To leave comments, you have two options:

• You can reply directly to the main post by clicking “Join the conversation.”
• Or you can reply within a thread by clicking “Reply” under someone else’s comment.

 

The catch is:

What you say is only half the battle. How you format your comment decides whether people will give it the time of day.

(Because even the smartest insight dies as a wall of text.)

So, formatting matters. If you want eyes (and upvotes):

• Break paragraphs early and often (but don’t go full broetry — that one sentence per line LinkedIn thing)
• Use spacing to guide the eye
• Bold key ideas when the subreddit allows it

Like this:

You can do all this using Reddit’s built-in comment editor.

Click the “Aa” icon in the comment box, and it will expand to show formatting options similar to Google Docs.

Now, comment with a purpose.

You want upvotes, and Reddit doesn’t give those willy-nilly. You get them by making the conversation better.

There are a few ways to do that.

The Explainer Comment

This is perfect when answering direct questions like “How do I…?” or “What’s the best way to…?”

Just give a direct answer with a bit of reasoning and extra info to support your answer.

The Gap Filler Comment

Use this when replies are missing something important.

Acknowledge what’s already been said, then add the missing piece.

The Shared Experience Comment

When the question overlaps with something you’ve been through, comment by sharing what you tried, what happened, and the key lesson.

The Source Comment

This is great for when a thread is full of assumptions, but you’ve got credible info.

Share the source and summarize in everyday language.

And if you’re the source, by all means join in the conversation.

The Case Study/Lived Experience Comment

Best for when you have real-world results to share: yours or someone else’s. Great for “does this actually work” questions.

Simply outline the situation, what you did, and the outcome.

The Checklist Comment

Sometimes, a checklist is all you need to be helpful.

This can be a step-by-step guide, tips, or just a few boxes to tick.

The Brand Comment

If your brand comes up in a thread, that’s a perfect opportunity to be visible in conversations about your brand.

Identify yourself and answer plainly.

Keep it useful, not salesy. Show that you’re listening and willing to help.

Respond: Keep Threads Going (5–10 Minutes Daily)

“Respond” is what separates real contributors from drive-by posters.

It’s the follow-through in your Reddit marketing process: Circling back to reply to people engaging with you.

Do this, and you:

• Build relationships by showing you’re not just using Reddit as a bulletin board
• Boost visibility, since every new reply bumps the thread back up the feed

Now, you might be thinking: “So…do I need to sit on Reddit all day?”

Nope. Two short check-ins are enough. One in the morning and one in the evening if you’ve got time.

That’s it. Everything else is extra.

To make it easier, you can follow your own comments.

Click the three dots under your reply and choose “Follow comment” to get notified.

So, what does good follow-through actually look like?

Like any good conversation, it’s about keeping the energy alive.

Here are a few ways to do that.

Follow-Up Questions

Great for when you need more detail to give a sharper, non-cookie-cutter answer.

For example, you can ask, “What’s your timeline? That changes the advice.”

Bonus Resources

Drop in a tool, guide, or reference that helps right away. This adds instant utility without forcing people to leave Reddit.

(Bonus: People often reply to tell you how they used it, and you usually get upvotes in return.)

Preface with something like “Here’s a free digital marketing template you can use.”

Connecting Commenters

This works great when multiple people share similar problems. Tag them with u/ and put in the username after the slash

You can say “u/username above had the same issue. Worth comparing notes.”

Acknowledge + Build

Highlight a good point from someone else, then add your own idea. It builds goodwill while boosting your credibility.

Say something like:

“Great point, I hadn’t considered that angle. For anyone reading, here’s why it matters:“

Think Before You Reply

Not every reply deserves your energy.

Here’s a quick response matrix to help you decide what’s worth engaging and what to ignore.

Share: Publish a Strategic Post (30 Minutes to 1 Hour/Week)

At some point, you’ll want to go beyond commenting and start your own threads.

There’s no magic karma number that unlocks this.

Each subreddit sets its own bar. Some require account age or karma, others don’t care at all.

The real question isn’t “Can I post?,” but “Should I?”

That depends on softer factors:

• How well you know the community
• How much you understand its culture
• How much you’ve already contributed in comments

For context, I’ve posted with less than 50 karma when I had a genuine question.

That’s different from posting to build visibility or reputation, where the bar is much higher.

Ken Savage recommends getting a karma score of 500 before posting anything that mentions your brand:

Once you’re ready, focus on posts with weight.

That means content that has a real shot at earning upvotes and visibility. These topics often come from:

• Your top-performing comments
• Recurring questions people ask you
• Threads where the same issues keep surfacing

Once you’ve got a promising topic, package it in a format Reddit loves.

Here are some of the best.

Case Studies

Great for credibility-building. Walk readers through a real experience: yours, your customers’, or someone else’s.

Set up the problem or situation, explain step by step what you did, and share the outcome. Close with a clear takeaway.

Lessons Learned & Common Mistakes

This format works when your goal is to teach.

These posts show where you went wrong and how you fixed it: the “what I wish I knew” or “what I learned” stories.

To make this work, frame the mistake or lesson clearly, share the story behind it, and then give a practical fix.

Keep it simple.

One mistake per point makes it more relatable and easier to apply.

For example, if you’re a financial advisor, your topic could be “the budgeting mistakes I see most in new families and quick fixes that help.”

Discussion Prompt

Discussion prompts flip the spotlight back to the community and get people talking.

(Exactly what you want to happen in your Reddit marketing playbook.)

They work best when you give people a chance to share their stories.

Keep the question short and specific, and follow up in the comments to keep the thread going.

Some examples include:

• Teachers: What’s one low-cost classroom supply you can’t live without?
• What’s the best cleaning hack you’ve found for fur all over the house?
• What’s the most surprising product you’ve found through ecommerce AI search?

Checklists & Step-by-Step Tips

Checklists help people self-diagnose and improve.

They work best when Redditors in the community are often worried they’re “doing it wrong” and want a quick way to check.

For example, if you’re in the beauty niche, you can post a topic on “a 4-step test to see if your skincare routine is helping or hurting.”

Then, break the process into 3–7 simple checks and explain why each one matters.

Here’s a Redditor who nails this format.

Myth-Busting

Myth-busting posts are always welcome on Reddit, especially in spaces where misinformation spreads fast.

Lead with the myth people believe and then refute it with proof or experience.

For example, a good topic in personal finance could be “the 3 biggest myths about credit scores and what actually improves them.”

Behind-the-Scenes

These posts pull back the curtain and show how things work.

They get a lot of upvotes because people love insider knowledge, especially when it reveals details they wouldn’t otherwise see.

Set the context, share the surprising or little-known details, and close with why it matters.

If you’re launching a new product, for example, you could show how it’s made and the trade-offs you wrestled with.

Free Resource

Offer something the community can actually use.

Spreadsheets, calculators, templates, swipe files, SEO checklists, mini-guides, code snippets.

Basically, the stuff people would normally charge for, but you’re cool enough to give away.

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Experiment with timing to find the best time to post. Generally, early weekday mornings and early evenings outperform weekends, but test for your specific communities.
2. Stick around after you post. Reply to comments and amplify good responses to help the thread grow.
3. Repurpose smartly. If a post lands, adapt it for 2–3 related subreddits. Tweak the angle and tone for each community. Plus, space them a few days apart to avoid looking spammy. Also, always check the subreddit rules. Some subs ban cross-posting or set timing restrictions.

Reddit Best Practices: How to Talk About Your Brand Without Getting Banned

Big caveat up front:

Don’t even think about promoting your brand until you’ve built karma and credibility.

Jumping in too early is the fastest way to get downvoted.

Once you’ve established trust, here are three ways to bring your brand into the conversation.

The Profile Discovery Method

This method keeps your brand mentions off your comments and lets your profile do the “selling.”

Your comments are focused on helping, and you let curious readers click through if they want to know more.

The Expertise Sharing Method

This approach uses your role or business as context for why your perspective matters.

It signals credibility without sounding like a sales pitch.

The Direct Mention Method (Use Sparingly)

This Reddit marketing method involves naming your brand or product in comments. It’s a risky approach. So, make sure it adds to the conversation.

The key is balance:

Don’t make it an ad, and don’t act like your product is the only solution.

Ways You Can Lose Karma (& Trust)

Now, let’s talk about the fastest ways to torpedo your reputation and send your karma into free fall.

In short, things not to do.

Posting Like You’re on LinkedIn

Polished “thought leadership” and humblebrags are vomit-inducing on Reddit.

What’s modus operandi on LinkedIn reads as braggy here.

Keep it casual, conversational, and other-focused. Always.

Karma Farming

Yes, you can farm karma with memes and throwaway comments.

But that’s empty calories. It might get you numbers, but it won’t get you credibility.

And if you’re not building relationships and contributing to the community, you’re missing the whole point.

Link-Dumping for Quick Clicks

Dropping bare links or thinly disguised self-promo is Reddit’s oldest sin.

If your post exists just to drive clicks, expect downvotes.

Stop Marketing, Start Belonging

This Reddit marketing strategy isn’t about farming karma.

Sure, you’ll earn enough to look legit and stop tripping newbie filters.

But the real win is this: You’ll start thinking like a Redditor.

And you’ll shed the marketing reflexes that get you downvoted and booted off threads.

With that, you become a trusted Reddit local.

And that’s when the ripple effect kicks in. You get seen more on Google. And through LLM seeding — where AI models pull from sources they trust — you also influence AI answers.

Bottom line: Play Reddit right and you etch your brand in a positive light into the internet’s DNA.

The post Reddit Marketing in 3 Hours/Week: From 0 Karma to Real Cred appeared first on Backlinko.

SEO and PPC: 8 Smart Ways to Align for Maximum ROI in 2025

2025-09-18 20:52:18

Your SEO and PPC teams probably don’t share data. That’s problematic.

Organic traffic is slipping. CPCs are climbing.

And conversions aren’t keeping pace.

It’s not just the LLMs — the SERP itself has changed. In 2025, every query is a blended battlefield of ads, AI overviews, videos, shopping units, map packs, and organic links.

Yet, most teams operate with SEO and PPC in silos.

That doesn’t work anymore.

Because to users, there’s no “organic vs. paid search.” They just click what’s useful. And “useful” now shows up in more places than ever.

If you don’t align your channels, you end up with duplication, cannibalization, and wasted spend.

This guide will show you eight ways to bring SEO and PPC together — from sharing keyword data to sharpening targeting. So you can cut costs, capture more clicks, and drive higher ROI.

Let’s start with an often-overlooked but powerful way to combine your PPC and SEO efforts: spotting intent mismatches.

1. Analyze the SERP to Fix Poor PPC Ad Performance

When your PPC ads fail to convert, the problem might not be your targeting or creative — it could be that you’re bidding on the wrong intent entirely.

If the SERP is dominated by videos, tutorials, or how to guides, it signals that users are still researching — not necessarily ready to buy your product.

Without analyzing the SERP, you risk wasting ad spend on queries that will never convert.

Let’s use Squarespace as an example.

If they’re bidding on “website design” and conversions are weak, a quick SERP check would explain it:

Google surfaces a local pack of agencies for this term, which signals service-seeking intent — not DIY website builders.

Knowing that, they could cut the term and redirect spend to higher-intent queries.

2. Stop Wasting PPC Budget on Customer Support Terms

One of the most common (and costly) PPC mistakes is bidding on customer support queries.

Searches like “[YourProduct] login problems” or “[YourProduct] forum” signal that someone is already a customer trying to troubleshoot — not a prospect considering a free trial or demo.

Yet, many companies spend thousands every month sending these clicks to sales pages that rarely convert.

For example, if Squarespace analyzed their rankings for a term like “Squarespace login,” they’d see they already rank #1.

And those visitors almost never convert for one vital reason — they’re already customers.

Luckily, there’s an easy fix: Squarespace can exclude this and other support terms from its PPC campaigns.

Here’s how to do this for your own ad campaigns:

Start by finding support-related queries for your brand using a keyword research tool.

We’ll be using Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool for this step.

Enter your brand’s name in the top search bar and your brand’s URL in the purple search bar to personalize the data to your domain.

Click “Search.”

Manually scan the list (or use the “Include keywords” filter) to find support-related terms like “login,” “pricing,” “free trial,” “templates,” “support,” and “forum.”

Then, view the number highlighted in blue to the right of each term — that’s your current ranking.

Already ranking #1–3 for your most commonly searched support terms?

Organic SEO is doing its job, which means you can remove these terms from your PPC campaigns.

Export them into a CSV or Google Sheet to create a negative keyword list.

Now, you’ll have the confidence (and the data) to cut PPC spend knowing SEO fully covers these searches.

3. Use Keyword Clusters to Create More Focused PPC Landing Pages

When dozens of different queries with slightly different intents funnel into a single PPC landing page, relevance drops.

Why does this matter?

Because landing page relevance improves your Quality Score, which can cut CPC by 16% to 50%.

In other words, the closer the page matches what a searcher actually wants, the less you pay for each click.

Conducting keyword research can help you understand where you need a separate landing page. To start, use a keyword research tool to group organic keywords into clusters.

Then, map each keyword cluster to a dedicated PPC landing page.

This way, your ads always point to content that matches the searcher’s intent, while your Quality Score (and budget efficiency) benefits from the added relevance.

Squarespace is a good example of this.

Instead of sending every “website builder” query to one broad page, they build dedicated landing pages around different intents.

For example, a search for “portfolio website” leads to a page showcasing portfolio-specific templates, not a generic product overview.

4. Unify PPC and SEO Data to Decide When to Bid on Your Brand

Brand bidding is one of the biggest friction points between SEO and PPC teams.

The debate isn’t whether to bid on your brand — it’s when. Without unified data, teams make this decision based on assumptions rather than evidence.

The truth is somewhere in the middle — and the right decision depends on context.

So, instead of separating PPC advertising and SEO data, combine them to make a more informed decision.

Start by checking whether competitors are bidding on your brand with a manual search for your branded keywords.

For instance, a search for “Squarespace website builder” shows that Wix is also bidding on the term.

Want to automate this process?

Use a tool like Semrush’s Keyword Gap that lets you assess your site and your competitors’ sites for the top shared keywords (paid and organic) they use.

If you see your competitors bidding on your branded keywords, it makes sense to run ads to defend those clicks.

But if your competitors aren’t bidding, it’s time to check your organic coverage.

Do you already own most of page one organically for your branded terms?

If the answer is no, ads help fill the gaps.

If yes, you can safely test pausing.

Turn off your ads for branded keywords and see what happens.

Finally, consider the messaging value of your ads.

Even if you’re getting organic coverage, brand ads give you space to promote new features, discounts, or free trials.

So it might still be worth paying for them.

For example, Squarespace uses its paid ads on the term “Squarespace website builder” to promote its new AI website builder tools.

5. Prioritize High-ROI SEO Keywords by Analyzing PPC Data

A common SEO challenge is figuring out which keywords actually matter.

Ranking for broad terms might bring traffic, but not necessarily signups or revenue.

Without conversion data, it’s hard to know where to focus.

This is where PPC comes in. Paid campaigns don’t just generate leads — they generate fast, reliable data.

You can see which headlines win clicks, which keywords drive conversions, and what each click is worth.

Take the phrase “website platform for small businesses.”

If PPC data shows it converts four times better than the broader “website platform,” that’s the angle worth prioritizing in your SEO titles, H1s, and content strategy.

PPC metrics can even help you prove the business value of SEO — something every stakeholder loves.

Once you know a keyword’s conversion rate and customer value from paid campaigns, you can model the value of ranking for it:

Say a keyword costs $30K/month in ads, but ranking organically would capture roughly a third of that traffic.

That’s about $9K in “free” conversions every single month.

That’s the kind of math that gets buy-in from leadership.

You can use this same logic to estimate the value of refreshing existing content. Sometimes a simple update is worth tens of thousands in equivalent ad spend.

The takeaway?

PPC data gives you the proof points and the playbook to double down on the SEO opportunities that will actually pay off.

6. Turn PAA Questions Into High-Converting Landing Page FAQs

PPC landing pages underperform if they don’t answer your audience’s questions.

Say you’re running an ad for “website design,” but you’re sending people to a generic product page.

You’re missing what they actually want — answers to queries like “How can I design my own website?”

The good news? Your SEO team already has the answers.

Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) is essentially a ready-made FAQ list you can use to boost conversions on your PPC landing pages.

To apply this, run a Google search for your target keyword, scan the PAA questions, and pick the ones most relevant to your product.

Or use a PAA aggregator like AlsoAsked.

Then, add concise FAQ sections directly addressing those questions on your landing pages.

Like Squarespace does here:

Use the same phrasing as the query where possible. And for cost-related questions, include transparent pricing.

If PAA hints at confusion between competitors (e.g., “project management versus task management”), add a comparison chart.

But don’t stop at answering.

Finish each FAQ with a call to action like “Compare plans” or “Start free trial” so every answer nudges the visitor toward conversion.

7. Sharpen Your Targeting and Creative with Cross-Channel Insights

PPC and SEO see searchers from different angles, and combining these insights makes both channels stronger.

For instance, PPC campaigns capture signals you won’t get from SEO alone.

This includes detailed geo and device performance, auction insights, and even what competitors are promising in their ads.

Feeding that data back to SEO gives you sharper targeting and more relevant content.

Meanwhile, SEO’s read of the SERPs tells PPC teams which formats, keywords, and messages resonate.

Start with audience insights.

PPC demographic data can show how the same keyword lands differently with different groups.

An “enterprise website builder” query might skew older, while “startup website” attracts younger searchers.

With that knowledge, you can tailor your content to each segment.

Plus, PPC geo reports often show which cities or regions deliver stronger conversion rates.

Double down on those markets with local SEO landing pages and Google Business Profiles instead of spreading resources evenly.

Then, look at conversion timelines.

PPC usually converts faster, so landing pages should focus on immediate offers like free trials or demos.

SEO content, on the other hand, is better for longer nurturing cycles, using tutorials, comparisons, and testimonials to build trust over time.

PPC impression data can even act as an early warning system for shifting demand. Think “tax planning” in November versus “tax software” in January.

By spotting seasonal spikes before rankings catch up, you can publish content early and retarget those visitors later when demand peaks.​​

Finally, use SEO as a proactive defense against competitive ad bids.

If rivals target your brand with ads, you can create comparison pages to address those claims directly in organic search.

That way, competitor ad spend doesn’t define your positioning.

8. Use PPC Insights to Spot SEO Wins

PPC is real-time. SEO is a long game. Put them together and you’ve got an early-warning and opportunity-detection system.

Start with Quality Scores.

They’re more than an ad metric — they’re a diagnostic tool for SEO.

For instance, if your scores are tanking on mobile traffic, that usually means your site is slow or the user experience is clunky.

That’s not just costing you more per click.

It’s also holding back your organic rankings, since Google bakes page speed and Core Web Vitals into its algorithm.

Fix the problem once — faster load times, cleaner UX — and you’ll see the lift across both paid and organic.

Then, there are negative keywords.

In PPC, you might block terms that aren’t relevant to your products to protect your budget.

But those searches don’t disappear just because you turned them off in ads. They still represent demand.

Instead of ignoring it, capture it with SEO. Create tutorials, “how-to” content, or resource hubs around those queries.

You’ll pull in a wider audience for free.

And, since you know these visitors aren’t ready to buy yet, you can retarget them later with PPC when they are.

Finally, watch your keyword position tracker like a hawk after every Google update.

Algorithm shakeups create openings you can exploit if you move fast.

If a competitor drops from page one, don’t wait.

Publish or refresh your content to take over those keywords. At the same time, increase your PPC bids on the same terms while auction pressure is temporarily lower.

That one-two punch lets you capture traffic your rivals just lost before they even know what hit them.

How to Get Your Team Aligned on SEO and PPC

Many stakeholders still think of SEO and PPC as competing, not complementary.

While leadership may be nervous to try a new, silo-free approach to search engine marketing, you can convince them in a couple of ways.

First, show them how SERPs have evolved.

AI Overviews, rich features, and rising CPCs mean the old “paid vs. organic” split doesn’t exist anymore.

Then, use this powerful three-step storytelling framework to convince execs to act.

• Step 1: Explain what’s happening by describing the external shift. Example: “AI Overviews and rising CPCs are changing how people find us in search.”
• Step 2: Show how it’s impacting you by tying the shift to your company’s results. Example: “Our paid CPCs are up 22%, and organic traffic for branded queries is down.”
• Step 3: Highlight what you can do about it by presenting alignment as the solution. Example: “By aligning SEO and PPC, we can cut wasted spend on brand terms and reinvest in high-converting queries.”

Start small. Don’t push for a full overhaul on day one.

Instead, prove ROI by aligning on a single initiative — like deciding when to bid (or not) on branded keywords.

Once you’ve shown early results, it’s easier to get everyone aligned on their responsibilities.

Next, work with SEO and PPC teams to establish next steps for each team member to achieve closer alignment.

Here’s a role-based plan for what your teams should start doing now:

Boost Your ROI with a Shared SEO and PPC Strategy

It doesn’t make any sense not to have SEO and PPC work together.

Keep the teams siloed, and you’ll waste budget, lose traffic, and fall behind as search evolves.

For your first move, start with a shared SERP review.

Map where you’re strong, where you overlap, and where the gaps are for the quickest path to better ROI from both channels.

Want to dig deeper?

Explore our guide to the best PPC tools to uncover the advanced data and insights you need to align SEO and PPC, cut wasted spend, and boost ROI.

The post SEO and PPC: 8 Smart Ways to Align for Maximum ROI in 2025 appeared first on Backlinko.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): How to Win in AI Search

2025-09-15 22:01:54

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is one of the most important topics in search right now.

It’s about making sure your brand shows up inside AI-generated answers — not just on traditional SERPs.

As large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity reshape discovery, AEO ensures your content gets mentioned and cited where buyers are asking questions.

But here’s the bigger truth: AEO is just one piece of a larger shift.

We’re entering the era of Search Everywhere.

Discovery no longer happens in a single Google results page.

It’s happening across AI chat, overviews, forums, video, and social.

And new data shows just how fast this shift is accelerating.

New research from Semrush predicts that LLM traffic will overtake traditional Google search by the end of 2027.

And our own data suggests that’s likely to be true.

In just the past three months, we’ve seen an 800% year-over-year increase in referrals from LLMs.

We’re seeing tens of millions of additional impressions in Google Search Console as AI Overviews reshape how Google displays answers.

If your brand isn’t adapting, you risk disappearing from the channels your audience is already using.

In this guide, I’ll explain:

• What AEO is and how it differs from SEO
• Why your existing SEO foundation still matters (and what to evolve)
• Practical steps to optimize for answer engines and drive measurable results

What Is AEO and Why Does It Matter?

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring and publishing content so that AI systems — like Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity — pull your brand directly into their answers.

But AEO goes beyond tweaking a few pages. It’s about making your brand part of the conversation when people ask questions.

That requires three things:

• Publishing content in the right places where AI tools actively crawl and cite
• Earning brand mentions across the web (even without a link)
• Ensuring technical accessibility so AI crawlers can actually parse your content

These engines don’t rank “10 blue links.” They generate answers.

Sometimes they cite sources. Sometimes they don’t. Either way, the goal is to give the searcher everything they need without leaving the interface.

That changes your job. With AEO, you’re not only optimizing for a click — you’re optimizing to shape the answer itself.

Why AEO Matters Now

Traditional search is still a traffic driver. That won’t change overnight.

But discovery is moving fast:

• Success used to mean ranking #1.
• Soon there may be no “#1 spot” at all.
• The win condition is becoming the recommended solution — the brand AI platforms trust enough to include.

The data tells the story:

ChatGPT reached 100 million users faster than any app in history. And as of February 2025, it now has more than 400 million weekly users.

Google’s AI Overviews now appear on billions of searches every month — at least 13% of all SERPs.

And they appear for more than half of the keywords we track at Backlinko:

Answer engines are influencing YOUR audience too. So it makes sense to start optimizing for them now.

How AEO and SEO Work Together

Let’s clear up the biggest question:

“Isn’t this just SEO with a new name?”

In many ways, yes. But there’s a reason everyone is talking about AEO right now.

If you’ve been confused by all the acronyms — AEO, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AIO (AI Optimization) — here’s the point:

They all reflect the same shift. Search is no longer only about rankings. It’s about visibility in AI-powered answers.

Terms like AEO, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and AIO (AI Optimization) have exploded in interest — because they reflect a real shift.

And with all the acronyms flying around, it can be tough to know who to listen to.

We’re not saying AEO replaces SEO.

But it does help reframe your strategy for how discovery works now — across AI tools, social platforms, and new surfaces beyond traditional search.

From Traditional SEO to Search Everywhere

That means there’s good news:

If you’ve invested in good SEO, you’re already a lot of the way there.

AEO builds on the foundation of great SEO:

• Creating high-quality content for your specific audience
• Making it easy for search engines to access and understand
• Earning credible mentions across the web

These same elements help AI engines decide which brands to reference.

But here’s the difference:

AI engines don’t work exactly like Google.

That means some of your tactics (and what you track) need to evolve.

So let’s walk through how to do that.

7-Step AEO Action Plan

We’re still in the early days of understanding exactly how AI engines pull and prioritize content.

But one thing is clear:

You need to adapt or reprioritize some traditional SEO tactics for Answer Engine Optimization.

The first three steps below cover overarching best practices for AEO.

Steps 4-7 cover optimizing content for answer engines specifically (and how to track your results).

Step 1. Nail the Basics of SEO

As I said earlier, good AEO is also generally good SEO. But not everything you do as part of your wider SEO strategy is as important for answer engine optimization.

I won’t go through all the fundamentals of SEO here. We do that in our guide to the SEO basics.

Let’s focus on what really matters for answer engines.

Make Your Site Easy to Read (for Bots)

• Crawlable and indexable: If AI tools can’t access your pages, you won’t show up in answers
• Fast and mobile-friendly: Slow, clunky sites hurt UX — and your chances of getting cited
• Secure (HTTPS): This is now table stakes, and it builds trust with users and AI systems
• Server-side rendering: Some AI crawlers still struggle with JavaScript, so use server-side rendering as opposed to client-side rendering where you can

Show You’re Worth Trusting (E-E-A-T)

AI wants trustworthy sources. That means showing E-E-A-T:

• Experience: Share real results, personal use, or firsthand knowledge
• Expertise: Stick to topics you truly know — and go deep
• Authority: Get quoted, guest post, or contribute to well-known sites
• Trust: Use real author bios, cite sources, and include reviews or testimonials

Step 2. Build Mentions and Co-Citations

AI systems don’t just look at backlinks to understand your authority. They pay attention to every mention of your brand across the web, even when those mentions don’t include a clickable link.

Backlinks are still important. But this changes how you should think about building your wider online presence.

Audit Your Current Mentions

Start by auditing where you’re currently mentioned. Search for your brand name, product names, and key team members across Google, social media, and industry forums.

Take note of what people are saying and where those conversations are happening.

You’ll probably find mentions you didn’t know existed. Some will be positive, others neutral, and a few might need your attention.

Also run your brand name and related terms through the AI tools themselves.

• Does Google’s AI Mode cite your brand as a source for relevant terms?
• Does ChatGPT know who your team members are?
• What kind of sentiment do the answers have when you just plainly ask the tools about your brand?

For a more in-depth sentiment analysis, use Semrush’s AI SEO Toolkit.

It’ll let you track your LLM visibility (a by-product of good AEO) in top tools compared to your rivals:

The tool compares your brand to your rivals in terms of AI visibility, market share, and sentiment:

And it’ll show you where your brand strengths are and where you can improve:

Keep Building Quality Backlinks

Just because mentions are more important than before with AEO, it doesn’t mean you should abandon traditional link building. Backlinks still matter for SEO, and they often lead to the kind of authoritative mentions that AI systems value.

But expand your focus beyond just getting links.

Aim to Build Co-Citations and Co-Occurences

There are a few different definitions out there of co-citation and co-occurence.

I’ll be honest: the definitions don’t matter as much as the implications. I’ve seen one source define co-citations as the exact thing another source calls co-occurence. So for this section, I’m just going to talk about what these are and why they matter, without getting bogged down in definitions.

The first important way to think of co-citations/co-occurences is simply the mention of one thing alongside another.

In the case of AEO, we’re usually talking about your brand or website being mentioned alongside a different website or topic/concept on another website.

For example, if your brand is Monday.com, you’ll pick up co-citations involving:

• Your competitors (ClickUp, Asana etc.)
• Key terms or categories associated with your business (like “project management software”)
• Specific concepts or questions related to what you do (e.g., “kanban boards” and “how to automate workflows”)

In Monday’s case, there are hundreds of pages out there that mention it alongside ClickUp and Asana in the context of “project management tools”:

This suggests to Google and other AI tools that Monday and ClickUp are both related to the term “project management tools” and are both popular providers of this kind of software.

The other common way to think about co-citations is mentions of your brand across different, often unrelated websites. For example, Monday being mentioned on Forbes and Zapier would be a co-citation involving them.

To sum it up:

• If two (or more) brands/websites are often mentioned alongside each other, AI tools will assume they are related (i.e., they’re competitors)
• If a brand is often mentioned in the context of a particular topic, concept, or industry, AI tools will assume the brand is related to those things (i.e., what you offer)
• If lots of different websites mention a particular brand, the AI tools will assume that brand is worth talking about (i.e., probably trustworthy)

Obviously, there’s a lot more to it, but this is a fairly basic overview of what’s going on.

How to Put This into Action

To build citations, co-citations, and co-occurences:

• Look for opportunities to get mentioned alongside your competitors. When publications write comparison articles or industry roundups, you want your name in that list. These co-citations help AI systems understand where you fit in your market.
• Participate in industry surveys and research studies. When analysts publish reports about your sector, being included gives you credibility (and any backlinks are a bonus).
• Get involved in relevant online communities. Answer questions on Reddit, contribute to LinkedIn discussions, and join industry-specific forums. These interactions create mentions in places where AI systems often look for authentic, community-driven insights.

The goal is to become a recognized voice in your space. The more often your brand appears in relevant contexts across the web, the more likely AI systems are to include you in their responses.

Step 3. Go Multi-Platform

Going beyond Google is something top SEOs have been telling us to do for a long time. But AI has made this an absolute must.

Platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and other user-generated content sites appear frequently in AI outputs.

So, a strong brand presence on these platforms could help you show up more often.

The benefits here are (at least) three-fold:

1. Being active on multiple platforms lets you reach your audience where they are. This helps you boost engagement, brand awareness, and, of course, drive more conversions.
2. AI tools don’t just look at Google search results. They pull from forums, social media, YouTube, and lots of other places beyond traditional SERPs.
3. Being active on multiple platforms means you’re less exposed to one particular algorithm or audience. Diversification is just good practice for a business.

Brian Dean did an excellent job of this when he was running Backlinko. That’s why you’ll see his videos appear in Google SERPs for ultra-competitive keywords like “how to do SEO”:

We’re taking our own advice here. In fact, it’s a big part of why we launched the Backlinko YouTube channel:

Here’s some quick-fire guidance for putting this into practice:

• People go to YouTube to learn how to do things, research products, and find solutions to their problems. This makes product reviews, tool comparisons, and in-depth tutorials great candidates for YouTube content.
• Podcast content and transcripts are beginning to surface in AI results (especially in Gemini). Building a presence here is a great opportunity to grab some AI visibility.
• TikTok and Instagram Reels reach younger audiences who increasingly use these apps for search. Short-form videos that answer common questions in your industry can drive discovery, and AI tools can also cite these in their responses to user questions.
• AI tools LOVE to cite Reddit as a source of user-generated answers (especially Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode). To grow your presence on the platform, find subreddits where your target audience hangs out and share genuinely helpful advice when people ask questions related to your expertise. Don’t promote your business directly — focus on being useful first.
• LinkedIn works similarly to Reddit for B2B topics. Publish thoughtful posts and engage in relevant discussions to help establish your voice in professional circles. These interactions can then get picked up by AI systems looking for expert perspectives.

Step 4. Find Out What AI Platforms Are Citing for Your Niche

What’s a powerful way to understand both what to create and what topics to target?

To simply learn what AI tools are likely to include in their responses to questions that are relevant to your business.

Start by directly testing whether/how your content appears in AI tools right now. Go to ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity and ask questions that your content should answer.

In the example below, Backlinko is mentioned (great), but there’s also a YouTube video front and center. And forums are appearing too. These are places we might want to consider creating content or engaging with conversations.

As you do this for your brand, pay attention to the sources they cite:

• Are they commonly mentioning your competitors?
• What platforms do they tend to cite? (Reddit, YouTube etc.)
• What’s the sentiment of mentions of both your brand and your competitors?

As you do this, try different variations of the same question.

For example, you could ask “What’s the best email marketing software?”

Then try “Which email marketing tool should I use for my small business?”

Notice how the answers change and which sources get mentioned consistently.

In the example above, the first prompt mentioned MailerLite, which was absent in the list for small businesses. But the second prompt pushed Mailchimp to the top and mentioned three new options (Constant Contact, Brevo, and ActiveCampaign).

If you were MailerLite and trying to reach small businesses, you’d want to understand why you’re not being cited for that particular prompt.

You can automate this process with tools like Profound or Peec AI. These platforms run prompts at scale, helping you understand how and where your brand appears. But they can be pricey.

That’s why I recommend you spend some time running these prompts manually at first.

By the way:

This isn’t just important for “big brands” or those selling products. You can (and should) do this if you run a blog, local business website, or even a personal portfolio.

For example, consultants and freelancers will find these tools often cite marketplaces like Upwork and Dribbble. If you don’t have a profile on there, you’ll likely struggle to get much AI visibility.

And if you’re a local business owner, you’ll often find specific service and location pages appear in AI responses:

This is useful for understanding the types of content you should be focusing on for AEO. Now it’s time to decide what topics to focus on in your content.

Step 5. Answer Your Audience’s Questions

The way people search with AI tools is fundamentally different from how we use traditional Google search. This changes how you should plan your content.

Traditional SEO taught you to target specific keywords. You’d create a page optimized for “healthy meal prep ideas” and try to rank for that phrase.

But what happens when people are instead searching for “what to cook for dinner when I’m trying to lose weight”?

The answer might involve healthy meal prep as a solution, but it’s a completely different prompt (not a search) that gets to that answer (not a SERP).

When you run these queries through Google’s AI Mode, you see two totally different sets of sources and content types.

For the “healthy meal prep ideas” query (which is a perfectly valid and searchable term), the focus is listicles, single recipes, and YouTube videos. And the format is categories (bowls, wraps, and sandwiches etc.) with specific recipes:

But for “what to cook for dinner when I’m trying to lose weight,” the sources are primarily lists, forum results, or articles specifically around weight loss.

In this case, the format of the answer is largely broad tips for cooking healthily and then some general cooking styles or meal types, rather than specific recipes:

As more users realize they can use conversational language to make their searches, longer queries will become more common. This makes this kind of intent analysis critical.

These longer, more specific queries represent huge opportunities. Most companies aren’t creating content that answers these detailed questions.

The more specific the question, the more likely you are to show up when AI systems look for authoritative answers. You want to own the long-tail queries that relate directly to your product or expertise.

But:

You obviously can’t reasonably expect to create content for every single long-tail query out there. So how do you approach this in an efficient way?

How to Choose the Questions to Answer

Start by listening to the actual questions your customers ask.

Check your customer support tickets, sales calls, and user feedback. These real questions from real people often make the best content topics — because they’re the same kinds of questions people will ask these AI tools.

Don’t have any customers? No problem.

Use community platforms to find these conversational queries. Reddit, Quora, and industry forums are goldmines for discovering how people actually talk about problems in your space.

Step 6. Structure Your Content for Answer Engines

AI systems process information differently than humans do. They break content into chunks and analyze how those pieces relate to each other.

Think of it like featured snippets but more granular, and for much more than just direct questions.

This means the way you structure your content directly impacts whether AI systems can understand and cite it effectively.

One Idea per Paragraph

Keep your paragraphs short and focused on one main idea.

When you stuff multiple concepts into a single paragraph, you make it harder for AI systems to extract the specific information they need.

Also avoid burying important information in the middle of long sentences or paragraphs. Front-load your key points so they’re easy to find and extract.

And guess what?

It also makes it easier for your human readers to understand too. So it’s a win-win.

Use Clear Headings

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize your content logically.

Think of these as signposts that help both readers and LLMs navigate your information. And make sure your content immediately under the headings logically ties to the heading itself.

For example, look at the headings in this section. Then read the first sentence under each one.

Notice how they’re all clearly linked?

This is a common technique when trying to rank for featured snippets. You’d have an H2 with some content that immediately answers the question…

…and this would rank for the featured snippet for that query:

This is still a valid strategy for traditional search. But for AEO, you need to have this mindset throughout your content.

Don’t make every H2 be a question (this will quickly end up looking over-optimized). But do make sure the content that follows your (logical) headings is clearly linked to the heading itself.

Break Up Complex Topics into Digestible Sections

If you’re explaining a complex or multi-step process, use numbered steps and clear transitions between each part.

This makes it easier for AI systems to pull out individual steps when someone asks for specific instructions. And it’ll make it much easier for your readers to follow.

Also write clear, concise summaries for complex topics. AI systems often look for these kinds of digestible explanations when they need to quickly convey information to users.

Include Quotes and Clear Statements

Include direct quotes and clear statements that AI systems can easily extract.

Why is this worth your time?

Because pages with quotes or statistics have been shown to have 30-40% higher visibility in AI answers.

So instead of saying “Email marketing could be an effective channel for your business,” write “Email marketing generates an average ROI of $42 for every dollar spent.”

Use Schema Markup

Schema markup gives you another way to structure information for machines. This code helps systems understand what type of content you’re presenting.

For example, FAQ schema tells algorithms that you’re answering common questions. HowTo schema identifies step-by-step instructions.

You don’t need to be a developer to add schema markup. Many content management systems (like WordPress) have plugins that handle this automatically.

Make It Scannable

Use formatting like bold text to highlight important facts or conclusions and make it easier for readers to skim your content. This helps both human readers and AI systems identify the most important information quickly.

This has always been a big focus of content on Backlinko. We use lots of images to convey our most important points and add clarity through visualizations:

And we use clear headings to make our articles easy to follow:

The goal is to make your content as accessible as possible to both humans and machines. Well-structured content performs better across all types of search and discovery.

And if your content is enjoyable to engage with, it’s probably going to do a better job of converting users into customers as well.

Step 7. Track Your Visibility in LLMs

How often are tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini mentioning your brand?

If you’re not tracking this yet — you should be.

Tracking your visibility in AI-generated responses helps you understand what’s working and where you need to focus your efforts.

But where do you start? And what should you track?

Manual Testing as a Starting Point

Start with manual testing. This is the simplest way to see how you’re performing right now.

Ask the same questions across different AI platforms, like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google (both AI Mode and AI Overviews). Take screenshots of the responses and note which sources get cited.

Do this regularly, and you’ll start to see patterns in which types of content get mentioned and how your visibility changes over time.

Honestly though: you’re going to struggle to get a lot of meaningful data doing this manually. And it’s not scalable. Plus, so much of what an AI tool outputs to a user depends on the previous context, like:

• Past conversations
• Previous prompts within the same conversation
• Project or chat settings

This makes it challenging to get truly accurate data by yourself. This is really more of a “feel” test that, in the absence of dedicated tools, can provide a very rough idea of how answer engines perceive your brand.

Use LLM Tracking Tools

For more comprehensive tracking, dedicated tools can automate this process.

Platforms like Semrush Enterprise AIO help you track your brand’s visibility across AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s AI Overviews.

It shows you exactly where you stand against competitors and gives you actionable steps to improve.

Competitive Rankings is my favorite feature. Instead of guessing why competitors might rank better in AI responses, you get actual data showing mention frequency and context.

Another option is Ziptie.dev. It’s not the most polished tool yet, but they’re doing some really interesting work — especially around surfacing unlinked mentions across AI outputs.

If you already have Semrush, then the Organic Research report within the SEO Toolkit does provide some tracking for Google AI Overviews specifically.

You can track which keywords you (or your competitors) rank for that have an AI Overview on the SERP. If you don’t currently appear in the overview, that’s a keyword worth targeting.

Tracking the keywords you do rank for in these AIOs over time can help you gauge the performance of your AEO strategy.

Why Talk to Your Boss (or Clients) About AEO?

You’ve seen the steps. Now you need a story.

AEO isn’t just a tactical shift — it’s a way to explain what’s changing in search without resorting to hype.

AEO helps you frame those changes clearly:

• Traditional SEO still works
• Your past investments are still paying off
• But the bar is higher now
• Visibility means more than rankings
• Your brand needs to be mentioned, cited, and trusted across every channel

AEO gives you the framework to explain what’s changing and how to stay ahead of it.

You Need to Start Now to Stay Visible

This space is evolving fast. New capabilities are rolling out monthly.

The key is to start tracking now so that you can benchmark where you are and spot new opportunities as AI search matures.

Grow your presence by adding a AEO approach on top of your SEO efforts:

• Continue optimizing for strong rankings and authority (AI still leans on this)
• But now, prioritize content and signals that AI engines are more likely to reference directly

Want to learn more about where the world of search is heading? Check out our video with Backlinko’s founder Brian Dean. We dive into how search habits are changing and how you can build a resilient, multi-channel brand.

The post Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): How to Win in AI Search appeared first on Backlinko.