BACKGROUND
This project was for a client in the US consumer fintech space. The goal was to position the brand as a cited source in AI-generated answers about savings strategies, budgeting frameworks, and app recommendations, in a category where YMYL classification means the credibility bar for AI citation is significantly higher than most.
I built the roadmap around a credentialing-first requirement: every piece of content needed to be written or reviewed by a named financial professional before the structural work of AEO optimization could carry any weight. The four target query categories were prioritized by proximity to product intent, with app comparison and recommendation content treated as the highest-priority citation opportunity.
The result was a roadmap that addressed both the content quality requirements and the technical structure requirements needed to earn AI citations in a YMYL category, with a secondary strategy for building a footprint in the editorial and review ecosystem where AI tool recommendations originate.
