Your best prospect is already searching near you. Your next best prospect is asking an answer engine for a quick, trusted summary. If you show up fast, clear, and credible, you win the click and the call.
Ready to boost your visibility? This guide walks you through how to fine-tune your local SEO and AEO for 2026. You’ll learn how to optimize your Google Business Profile, add smart schema, write answer-first content, and collect reviews that make a real impact. Plus, you’ll get clear insights into how Google’s AI Overviews and Bing’s Copilot highlight sources, and discover how you can become one of those trusted resources.
AEO explained for agents
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the practice of structuring pages so AI systems can quote you, cite you, and summarize you correctly. It is not a trick. It is content clarity plus machine-readable context.
Core AEO moves for agents:
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Answer first. Lead pages with a two to three sentence plain answer. Follow with detail, examples, and links. This helps AI Overviews and people.
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Use entity terms. Name your city, carrier names you discuss, product types, and “Medicare insurance agent” in natural sentences.
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Add structured data. Mark up Local Business, FAQ Page, How To, and Organization where relevant. Google’s Local Business and structured data docs show what properties help.
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Cite sources. When you explain Medicare rules, link to CMS or Medicare.gov. Answer engines favor useful, reliable pages that credit sources.
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Show E-E-A-T signals. Add bylines, credentials, and contact info. Google’s rater guidelines emphasize experience, expertise, author identity, and site trust.
Tune your Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile (GBP) is your front door for local. Complete it, keep it accurate, and keep it active.
Setup checklist
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Primary category: Health insurance agency
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Secondary categories: Insurance broker, Medicare consultant, Health insurance broker (use what fits your services)
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NAP: Name, address, phone match your site and listings
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Hours: Add holiday hours and enrollment hours
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Service area: Add cities you cover if you are a service-area business
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Products and Services: List “Medicare plan reviews,” “ACA marketplace help,” “Small group quotes,” with short, plain descriptions
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Photos: Exterior, interior, team, and screenshots of your quoting process
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Booking link: Add your calendar link
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Messaging and Q&A: Turn on messaging and seed Q&A with real questions and short, clear answers
Why this works:
Google states local ranking is based on relevance, distance, and prominence. Up-to-date profile info and quality reviews improve visibility and conversions in local results.
Reviews:
Ask for honest reviews after each enrollment or renewal. Reply to every review with short, helpful notes. Reviews and responses improve prominence and buyer confidence.
Get technical with schema
Give search engines clean, consistent signals.
LocalBusiness JSON-LD
Add name, logo, address, phone, hours, service area,, review snippets, and “knows about” where relevant. Google’s Local Business doc explains fields and examples.
FAQPage
Create an FAQ on key topics like ANOC, AEP/OEP dates, SOA basics, and subsidy eligibility. Mark it up with FAQ Page so answers are scannable for both users and answer engines.
Organization
Mark your brand sitewide with Organization schema and link to your social profiles. This helps systems resolve your entity.
Pro tip
If your whole site describes one agency, you only need Organization or Local Business markup once, then add page-level schema where useful.
Build answer-first pages that get cited
Structure your service pages and guides for AEO and people.
On-page pattern:
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Two-sentence answer block at the top
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Bulleted key points with city or county references
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Short table with plan types or timelines
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Source links to Medicare.gov or CMS for rules
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Local proof like case notes or anonymized quotes
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Clear CTA to book a review
Content ideas for agents:
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“Medicare plan review in [City]: what to bring”
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“AEP dates and rules in [State] for 2026”
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“How the $2,100 Part D cap affects costs” with simple examples and CMS links
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“ACA marketplace help in [City]: eligibility and deadlines”
Google’s AI Overviews announcement and AI features documentation describe how summaries provide a starting point and link out to sources. Make your pages the clearest source worth citing.
Bing’s Copilot highlights cited sources inline, which rewards precise, well-structured answers.
Local content that actually moves the phone
Write short pages that feel like a helpful brief, not a brochure.
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Neighborhood pages: “Medicare help in North Phoenix” with local clinics, senior centers, and transit notes
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Event pages: “Free plan review day” with RSVP and parking info
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Clinic partner page: List providers you work with and referral steps
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Review page: Teach clients how to leave a review with one link and two prompts
Cross-link these pages from your GBP website link, from your main service page, and from each blog you publish.
Site quality that AEO cares about
Answer engines look for content that is useful, clear, and reliable.
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E-E-A-T signals: Bio pages, licenses, years in market, speaking or training history
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Contact clarity: Real address, phone, and staff names
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Freshness: Update plan-year content and deadlines
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Accessibility and speed: Fast pages, readable contrast, large tap targets
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Source hygiene: Link to primary sources for rules and timelines
Google’s rater guidelines and blog posts stress useful content, clear purpose, and strong expertise. Treat every guide as something you would hand to a client during an appointment
30-day action plan for agents
Week 1: Profile and basics:
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Fix NAP and hours on GBP and site
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Add products, services, and booking
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Upload five photos and a short intro video
Week 2: Reviews and pages:
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Send five review requests with a short script
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Publish an answer-first “Medicare agent in [City]” page
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Add FAQ Page markup to your main FAQ
Week 3: AEO content:
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Publish “AEP 2026 in [State]” with a two-sentence answer and a simple table
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Add two CMS or Medicare.gov source links
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Add LocalBusiness JSON-LD if missing
Week 4: Measure and refine:
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Check GBP Insights for calls, messages, and direction requests
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Review Search Console queries and add missing questions to your FAQ
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Add one clinic partner page and one event page
Google explains local ranking factors, and Search Central outlines how structured data aids understanding. Tie your month to those fundamentals.
Local SEO brings you into view.
AEO gets you cited in answers.
Together they win calls and clicks.
Quotit can help you turn both into sales.
