How to Get Your Business to Show Up in AI-Generated Content and ChatGPT Search
Earlier today ChatGPT released its own search engine, which is guaranteed to make certain corners of the internet blow up in rage, despair, excitement, or some confusing combination of emotions and apocalyptic predictions.
I started writing this blog at the same time the ChatGPT search engine was released. Adapting my content on the fly has been fun. And interesting. And it means that I’ll need to write updates to this blog within the next few weeks, and I promise I will [see table of contents above for updates, which will be posted at the bottom of this post, as they come].
ChatGPT Isn’t Taking People Away from Google Search (Yet), but It Is Being Used for Search
ChatGPT’s search engine has only been live for a few hours, but historically (and by historically I mean in the past couple years), ChatGPT hasn’t had the kind of impact on Google search that experts were predicting.
In 2023, Search Engine Land reported that ChatGPT wasn’t yet stealing Google’s share of the search market, and then last month, Rand Fishkin, a thought leader in the digital marketing world, debunked a Wall Street Journal article that warned Google is losing its dominance in search.
What we do know is that Google has a lot more competition in search from sites like TikTok, Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit, as well as from giant retailers like Amazon and Walmart. While there isn’t yet proof that Google is losing too much share of the search market, it is guaranteed that people are also using other tools to conduct searches, including ChatGPT, and this will only continue to threaten Google’s dominance.
Whether you’re pro-Google dominance, anti-Google dominance, or you really don’t care as long as you’re getting good results, the truth is that businesses need to be constantly adapting their strategies to ensure that they’re showing up where people are searching.
Where Does AI Get Its Content?
ChatGPT was initially trained on a vast amount of data on the internet, some of it obtained legally and some of it potentially violative of copyright laws. This included newspapers, websites, blogs, scholarly articles, public domain materials, research studies, and pretty much anything you and I can access online.
Now, however, as ChatGPT expands and accesses live content, their information more closely resembles a real-time Google search, sometimes using actual Google search, and sometimes skipping straight to “reputable sources.”
In a recent conversation I had with ChatGPT about where it gets its content and information, here’s what it had to say:
“By default, I’ll start with search engines and prioritize trustworthy websites, major news sources, and sites known for credibility in the topic area. I aim for a balanced perspective, so unless the topic is niche or recent (where social media or forums might have more firsthand insights), I’ll stick to more established sources.”
You know what this reminds me of?
Ye Olde SEO.
Good ol’ fashioned White Hat Search Engine Optimization. Just like Google, ChatGPT claims to search for information from reputable sources and trustworthy websites, with occasional forays into the wilds of social media and user-generated content.
That doesn’t sound too different from what a lot of businesses already aspire to do with their SEO strategy. However, SEO experts have decades of experience in finding shortcuts to rank well, and not all those shortcuts are going to work the same for ChatGPT and other AI engines as they do for Google and Bing.
With that in mind, here are some tactics your business can employ to get listed in AI-generated content, ChatGPT, and on ChatGPT’s new search engine.
Five Ways You Can Get Your Business Listed in AI-Generated Content
Strong SEO Strategy
As I mentioned above, because ChatGPT functions in many ways like a traditional search engine and because it actually uses traditional search engines, having a strong and effective SEO strategy is the first and most important step to showing up in AI-generated content.
When we create an SEO strategy, we often break it down into three areas:
Onsite SEO Strategy
This includes
1. Keyword research and optimization – digging into how people search for what you offer and making sure the content on your website aligns with that
2. Technical optimization – monitoring and fixing issues with load time and accessibility, making sure the site is structured well for search engine crawling, solving technical challenges that harm user experience or discourage search engines
3. Valuable blog content – creating regular content on your website that provides value to your readers and potential clients
Offsite SEO Strategy
This includes
1. Links – getting other valuable websites to link to your website in context-relevant content
2. Mentions and citations – making sure your business is mentioned and referred to across the internet, even if your website is not linked to
Local SEO Strategy
This includes
1. Local directory listings – making sure your website, address, phone number, and other relevant information about your business is accurate and live on the dozens of local directories that Google pulls its information from
2. Google Business optimization – optimizing your Google Business Page / maps listing, posting regular keyword-optimized content to your Google Business page
3. Review strategy – high-quality reviews can help your Google rankings, and ChatGPT also looks at user reviews when deciding whether a business is authoritative or recommendable
Strong PR Strategy
ChatGPT loves reputable national and local news sources. Getting mentioned in an article in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, or another paper with strong nationwide reach is incredibly difficult for most businesses. It’s certainly not impossible, especially if you’ve developed yourself as a thought leader and/or your business is doing something newsworthy.
However, what’s more likely for most businesses is pitching a story to your local paper or alternative weekly–think Denver Post or Westword–and ChatGPT does look at local news sources for information. ChatGPT also looks at industry news sources, so focus on local and industry specific websites when you’re planning where to pitch a story.
Hiring a PR professional to create and execute a PR strategy for you will potentially get you mentioned in reputable news sources and elevate you as a thought leader; ChatGPT and other AI engines will recognize your authority and trustworthiness from these efforts.
New Why doesn’t do PR, but our friends at Feed Media, a fantastic PR firm, have positioned so many local, national, and international businesses as experts in their respective fields. So, if you’re looking for a place to start with PR, we highly recommend them.
Make Your Website Content Even Better
Having great copy is crucial for SEO, but in order to get your business to show up in AI-generated content, you’ll need to level that up. While we’re not 100% against using ChatGPT to write copy for you, please write some of it yourself, especially if you want that content to end up on ChatGPT.
How weird would it be if we lived in a world where all content became AI-generated and then AI fed itself AI-generated content, and then eventually nothing remained but AI digesting its own content.
Aaaaaanywaay, when ChatGPT is scanning a website for information to include in its responses, it’s looking for authoritative citations and up-to-date content. What that means is that you must, you must!, start linking out to and/or citing sources that have authority, and you must, you must!, publish new content regularly and update old content.
If you look through this blog post, you’ll see that I link out to Reuters and the New York Times (reputable news sources) as well as two well-respected industry news sites. I also link to a .edu domain, and it would be even better if I added a link to a .gov website somewhere in this blog. Stay tuned. I’ll see what I can do.
You’ll also see that I made a promise to update this blog as soon as more information comes out about ChatGPT’s search engine’s impact on Google, which will keep it up to date.
Get Your Business Listed in Industry Directories and Associations
Getting your business listed in reputable industry-specific directories and joining relevant associations sends AI a signal that you’re legitimate. ChatGPT will look at industry directories (such as AVVO for attorneys), industry awards (which a good PR firm can help you with), and association members.
You might not think it will be worth it to shell out $200 a year to join these directories or associations, but it enhances the perception that your business is trustworthy in your industry, which ChatGPT takes seriously.
Be Active on Social Media, Including Reddit
As mentioned earlier, AI prefers to get its information from traditional reputable sources, but it does look at social media for real-time information or content that may not be present on more authoritative (i.e. fact-checked) websites yet.
Your business should be active on social media, even if it’s with a minimal time investment. There are tools that can help you automate posting if you don’t have the time or money to invest in a social media strategy, but please do something.
Google will also pull content from your social media posts to your Google Business page if you allow it to, so this can help keep that listing up to date as well.
Aside from the standard Meta / Twitter(X) / LinkedIn / TikTok combo, Q&A sites like Reddit and Quora can also be sources of information for ChatGPT, and they certainly help with SEO. In fact, earlier this year Reddit signed a deal with Google to allow it exclusive access to its content.
I’m not sure what this will mean yet for ChatGPT search, but as of the time of writing, here’s what ChatGPT had to say about Reddit:
“Reddit’s partnership with Google doesn’t restrict me from using Reddit itself as a source. Instead, it means that Reddit’s content is optimized to appear more prominently in Google search results. So, if relevant Reddit threads come up in a search, I can review and pull information directly from there if it’s suitable for the question at hand.
Alternatively, if I know Reddit is a good place for firsthand insights—like local recommendations or recent community discussions—I can go directly to Reddit rather than relying on a Google search to find those posts.”
You don’t want to be smarmy about Reddit; it’s not great to pretend to be someone else recommending your business. Instead, you can create a profile for yourself or your business, and if you respond with a recommendation or advice, use a “full disclosure” addendum to let people know it’s your business, but you do truly believe you can provide value to the conversation.
Our Client’s Success Story
So, how do I know that this stuff works? Well, like all things marketing, sometimes it does, and sometimes…it takes longer. If you do these things consistently over time, they will work. Usually it won’t be quick or simple or easy, but if you stick with it or hire someone like us to stick with it, it will pay off.
One of our clients, Rider Justice, is a law firm who specializes in handling personal injury cases for motorcycle accident injuries. It’s a surprisingly competitive industry; personal injury law is easily the most cutthroat and expensive industry I’ve ever done digital marketing for. We manage SEO and Google Ads for this client, and for years we’ve helped them grow online so that they’re usually ranking number one for their top keywords.
In addition to all our SEO work, they’ve done a fantastic job connecting with their community by sponsoring and attending motorcycle events, hosting accident scene safety classes, doing giveaways, and just being a visible brand out in the world. Because they’re so omnipresent online and in the real world, they’re deeply trusted by the motorcycle community.
Yesterday I asked ChatGPT who it would recommend as a motorcycle lawyer in Colorado, and this is what it said:
“For a specific recommendation, I’d look closely at Rider Justice, which is well-connected to the Colorado motorcycle community and specializes in motorcycle accident injury law. Rider Justice is known not only for legal expertise but also for its active involvement in supporting motorcyclists in the area, which often translates into a strong understanding of riders’ unique needs and challenges in legal cases.”
Look at that. We’re “ranking” in ChatGPT. This isn’t just ranking, this is dominating. <INSERT AGGRESSIVE FIST PUMPING.> Our client is ChatGPT’s top pick for exactly what we want to be the top pick for.
How New Why Can Help
When we design a digital marketing strategy, we’re focusing on these three things:
1. Building your digital ecosystem – your digital ecosystem is the entire footprint you occupy online, including your website, your social media presence, and anywhere else online where you can and should be.
2. Driving attention and traffic to that ecosystem – we make each component of this digital ecosystem more visible with solid tactics that drive people to your various digital properties.
3. Making it easy and desirable for your clients and customers to convert – once your audience starts seeing you more online and visiting you across your ecosystem, we work to make it easier and more desirable for them to take the actions that you want them to take, whether it’s making a purchase, calling you, filling out a form, or some combination of them all.
Building your authority online increases your search engine visibility and also makes you more trustworthy to ChatGPT and other AI systems. If you want to get your business to show up in AI generated responses, you need someone like us to execute a holistic digital marketing strategy that works to build this visibility and authority across the entire digital world.
If you’d like to chat more about optimizing for AI or learn how we can help get you found in AI-generated content, contact us today and we’ll set up a time to discuss your goals and how we can help.
Bonus Pondering; Or, Does Anyone Other than SEO Nerds Use the Phrase “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO) Yet?
I will admit that up until recently, I didn’t know that there was a specific phrase for optimizing your content, website, and business for AI. I would just call it that: “optimizing for AI.” I’ve never been into insider lingo, and while I’ve been in digital marketing for 15 years now, there is still a whole lot of jargon I don’t know and I don’t care to know.
Leave it to digital marketers to give “optimizing for AI” an acronym: GEO. Originally called “SEO for AI,” Generative Engine Optimization seems a bit of a stretch to me. Are we calling AI a generative engine just to make it more familiar? Or is generative engine genuinely the most accurate way to describe it?
I guess it doesn’t truly matter, and there’s a chance we won’t be using GEO in a few years. I would kind of a like a different term for it, so if you have any ideas, let me know!
Update on 11/06/2024 – ChatGPT Uses Bing’s Index! What?
I promised updates when they came, so here’s one! While ChatGPT’s search has its own algorithm, it also uses Bing. Whodathunk, right? While SEO professionals don’t necessarily ignore Bing, it’s usually not our primary focus. I’m not saying it should become our primary focus, but we need to take it a bit more seriously.
Check your Bing Webmaster Tools and if you’re into tracking your rankings you can see how you’re doing in Bing, too.
Loving all your content!!