Do you actually need a brand new website to show up in AI search and AEO? Usually no. Sometimes yes. The honest answer is that most small business websites need improving, not rebuilding, and the skill is knowing which camp yours is in.

In this episode, Susi and Kev work through the difference. When a refresh is enough, when a rebuild is genuinely the right call, and the simple five-question test that tells you which one you're looking at. Along the way: why AI search cares whether your website is clear rather than new, why vague copy makes AI back away, and why your Google Business Profile, reviews and listings matter as much as the site itself.

One loose hinge does not mean a new kitchen.

If you do one thing this week: pick one important page and make it answer-ready.

This podcast has been brought to you by Susi at Kingstown Web Studio - a small business web designer and AI search specialist helping small businesses get found, get chosen, and reach Position Zero. 

Visit us at our home: Kingstown-web-studio.co.uk

Want to get in touch? WhatsApp @: https://wa.me/447396984711

Let's get social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-e-hogan/

Welcome back to Reaching for Position Zero - the podcast where we tackle AI search one question at a time, with straight answers, the occasional laugh, and no computer science degree required.

This episode is for you if you run a small business, rely on your website to bring in customers, and keep seeing people talk about AEO as if everyone was handed a memo you somehow missed.

So. What actually is AEO?

AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimisation. In simple terms, it is about making your website easier for AI systems and modern search engines to understand, trust and use as an answer.

Because search has changed.

For years, people typed strange little keyword phrases into Google. Emergency plumber Hull. Cheap holiday Spain. Back pain standing up help. We trained ourselves to search like machines because that was what worked.

Now people ask proper questions. They use Google summaries, voice search, ChatGPT and other AI tools to get direct answers. Search has become more conversational, more selective and much more answer-led.

That means your website needs to do more than exist in a list. It needs to answer the questions your customers are actually asking.

In this episode Susi explains what good AEO looks like in practice: clear answers, sensible structure, question-led headings, useful FAQ sections, straightforward wording and pages that properly answer the thing they claim to answer.

Kev asks whether this is just another acronym he is supposed to remember. Fair.

What you will take away from this episode:

What AEO actually means. Why search changed from keywords to conversations. What answer engines are looking for. Why small businesses can compete with bigger brands. And one simple thing to do this week using Google’s suggested questions.

Next episode: Do you actually need to rebuild your whole website for AEO and to get chosen by AI?

Want to know if your website is ready for AI search? Why not get in touch...

Come with us. We are figuring this out as we go.

This podcast has been brought to you by Susi at Kingstown Web Studio - a small business web designer and AI search specialist helping small businesses get found, get chosen, and reach Position Zero. 

Visit us at our home: Kingstown-web-studio.co.uk

Want to get in touch? WhatsApp @: https://wa.me/447396984711

Let's get social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-e-hogan/

Welcome to Reaching for Position Zero — the regular podcast where we tackle AI search one question at a time, with straight answers, the occasional laugh, and no computer science degree required.

This one is for you if you run a small business, rely on your website to bring in customers, and have a sneaking suspicion that something is changing in the way people search - but nobody has explained it in a way that actually makes sense yet.

In our very first episode we are setting the scene for everything that follows.

You already know about search. You use it every single day - typing, speaking, asking Alexa, asking Siri. And what comes back is a big list of websites that Google thinks can help you. For years, getting to the top of that list was the goal. Page one. Position one. The holy grail.

But here is the thing. That list has always been a bit of a playground for the bigger brands. The ones with the largest budgets. The ones who could afford to dominate. Most small businesses never even got close to page one. They were buried somewhere on page four (if they were lucky) where nobody ever goes.

Until now.

Because sitting above position one - above the entire list - there is a new space. A single answer, already summarised, already selected, already served up before anyone has to click. On Google it appears as a featured answer with sources credited underneath. On ChatGPT it might be the only result you see.

That space is Position Zero. And it is the most powerful place a small business can be right now.

In this episode Susi explains why the name felt inevitable, why she has been talking about this for eighteen months while most people were still not listening, and why small businesses are actually better placed than most big brands to reach Position Zero - because this game is won with clarity, not cash.

Kev asks exactly what you are thinking. Including whether position one is basically the first loser. It is.

What you will take away from this episode:

What Position Zero actually is and why it matters more than position one. Why the old search game was stacked against small businesses. Why AI search has changed everything. And one simple thing to do this week to start noticing Position Zero in the wild.

Next episode: What Is Answer Engine Optimisation - and why is a recently launched website already picking up brand new traffic from ChatGPT?

Want to know if your website is ready for AI search? Visit us at kingstown-web-studio.co.uk — and if you have a question or just want to say hello, drop us a message on WhatsApp at wa.me/447936984711. We would love to hear from you.

Come with us. We are figuring this out as we go.

This podcast has been brought to you by Susi at Kingstown Web Studio - a small business web designer and AI search specialist helping small businesses get found, get chosen, and reach Position Zero. 

Visit us at our home: Kingstown-web-studio.co.uk

Want to get in touch? WhatsApp @: https://wa.me/447396984711

Let's get social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-e-hogan/