SEO for LLMs: How to rank in Large Language Models

While Google still dominates the search market, artificial intelligence; especially large language models (LLMs), are rapidly changing how people discover information online. A notable example is the rollout of ChatGPT’s shopping features in April, where users can now receive product recommendations, see images, read reviews, and click through to product links, all within the chat interface.

As LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and others continue to evolve, the opportunity to gain visibility through them becomes increasingly valuable. Since paid ads PPC currently can’t buy placement in LLM-generated responses (yet), visibility relies entirely on organic presence.

In this article, we’ll explore strategies to optimize your website and brand for LLM visibility and improve your chances of being mentioned in AI-generated answers.

To increase your chances of being surfaced by LLMs or browsing-enabled AI, ensure your site’s technical SEO is solid:

• Don’t block AI bots. Check your robots.txt file and server settings to allow crawling by AI-focused user agents (e.g., GPTBot).
• Use canonical URLs to avoid duplicate content issues and help consolidate authority.
• Implement structured data (schema.org) to help AI and search engines better understand your content.

Google’s Martin Splitt emphasized this, saying:

“Structured data gives us more information and gives us more confidence in information. So it makes sense to have structured data.” (Splitt, 2025)

Brand authority is increasingly critical. A study by Nick Haigler found a significant correlation between brand search volume and AI mentions, particularly in industries where trust is essential, such as banking and finance.

To improve your brand’s presence in LLMs:

• Earn backlinks from high-authority sites that don’t block AI bots.
• Guest post on respected blogs in your niche.
• Use consistent brand language across your website and social profiles.
• Mention your brand name frequently to reinforce association in AI training data.

LLMs are more likely to mention known, trusted brands, especially those with established authority in their domain.

AI models often incorporate publicly available social data during training, especially from platforms like Reddit, Twitter/X, and Quora. They look for real-world conversations that provide user-generated insights.

To strengthen your brand’s AI visibility:

• Encourage genuine product reviews and testimonials across platforms.
• Engage in niche communities where your audience is active.
• Create an omnichannel SEO strategy that includes blogs, video, social, and forums.
• Ensure your messaging is consistent across all platforms.

This multi-touchpoint presence not only improves visibility but also provides additional context for LLMs to learn from.

LLMs favor content that is specific, informative and actionable.

To make your content more LLM-friendly:

• Focus on user intent at each stage of the journey (awareness, consideration, decision).
• Write in-depth, evergreen articles that offer long-term value (e.g., tutorials, guides, FAQs).
• Keep your content up to date; browsing models prioritize fresh, authoritative pages.
• Use formats that match the topic, such as checklists, how-to guides, or comparison tables.

Ranking in LLMs isn’t about gaming the system, it’s about building lasting value, trust, and visibility. As AI continues to shape the way people access information, optimizing for LLMs should be viewed as a long-term content and brand strategy, not a shortcut. Make your brand discoverable, your content useful, and your technical SEO airtight, and you’ll be better positioned to earn a place in the future of AI-powered search. Not sure on how to put this into practice?

Unsure how to put this into practice? Artefact has successfully helped clients across various industries worldwide enhance their organic performance through robust technical SEO audits, organic visibility strategies, and content frameworks tailored for AI-readability. Get in touch with us to explore how we can help elevate your brand and unlock new opportunities in this evolving digital landscape.