The England striker is yet to get off the mark for Villa this season, though impressed his manager in last night's Europa League win against Bologna.
"He didn't score, okay, it doesn't matter, the goal is coming through the work he did today," Emery said.
"I am happy because he played doing his task. He worked, this is the most important.
"He pressed, he was getting in duels, he got chances, he got a penalty, he missed but the most important is how he played in 30 minutes doing his task and he did a fantastic job.
"He has to feel after each match like I am feeling now, be happy because he did his work. He has to feel the same and if he is scoring he is going to feel better.
"The most important thing is how he is working in his tasks for the team. Today he played a good match, not enough because he didn't score but he played good. This is the first step."
Meanwhile, skipper John McGinn told TNT Sport: "He's a top-class striker. He's not in the England squad for nothing. He's shown over the years how good he is.
"If he's not scoring, that's fine. You've seen the effort he puts in for the team. We don't need to put any pressure on him and add to any external noise. He's been brilliant for us and has got nothing to prove to us."