Beyond Google: How to Rank in AI Search Results and LLM’s

“AI could become so powerful that people would never need to user a traditional search engine again…” ~Bill Gates

That’s a pretty sobering thought from an industry leader like Bill Gates (who’s company makes a lot of money from? their traditional search engine). But we may already be seeing the effects of this.

Have you seen a decline in your organic traffic from Google since the introduction of ChatGPT?

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way we seek and find information. Traditionally, the act of searching for information online was synonymous with search engines like Google, where keywords and phrases dictated the success of our digital queries.

Today, however, the rise of conversational AI has introduced a more intuitive, interactive, and personalized way to access information. Users are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for their queries, drawn by the promise of immediate, context-aware responses that feel more like a dialogue than a digital search. This transition from search engines to AI interfaces represents a pivotal moment in our relationship with technology, signaling a future where information retrieval is not just about what we’re looking for, but also how we choose to find it.

The result is, that what used to work for getting found online may no longer be enough. Rather than going to Google, users are likely to go to ChatGPT and ask a question like, “What bakery do you recommend in Lakewood, Colorado? I am looking for some great cinnamon rolls.” If your website is not optimized for AI-SEO, you may no longer be relevant. I’ll provide a custom GPT so you can see how well your business is doing in this regard at the end of this article.

One frustration for business owners is that AI chatbots never return the same results. When you go to Google, the search results vary over time, but with ChatGPT, they vary with each response. This of course makes AI-SEO even harder.

How can you insure that your website will be recommended by ChatGPT or other AI chatbots given this trend?

Here is a detailed plan to make sure your site gets recommended by AI chatbots. While there’s no guaranteed method to ensure your site is recommended by AI chatbots, following these strategies can improve your site’s visibility, authority, and relevance—factors likely to influence AI recommendations.

1. Understand AI Content Discovery

• AI models are trained on vast datasets from the internet, including websites, articles, forums, and more.
• They prioritize authoritative, well-regarded, and frequently cited sources.
• Understand that direct recommendations depend on the AI’s training data, its update frequency, and the policies governing the specific model.

2. Ensure High-Quality Content

• Focus on Quality: Create comprehensive, clear, and valuable content that addresses the needs and questions of your target audience.
• Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T): These factors are crucial for SEO and likely for AI recommendations. Display credentials, awards, and user testimonials.
• Unique Value: Offer unique insights or value that distinguishes your content from competitors.

3. Optimize for Traditional SEO

• Keywords: Incorporate relevant keywords naturally into your content, especially those a user might query an AI chatbot with.
• Technical SEO: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, has fast loading times, and employs a clear, crawlable site structure.
• Local SEO: For businesses with a physical location or local service area, optimize your Google My Business listing, and ensure NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) consistency across the web.

4. Leverage Structured Data

• Use schema markup to help search engines understand the content of your pages. This can include information on businesses, products, reviews, and more.
• Structured data helps in appearing in rich snippets and potentially being more easily interpreted by AI models.

5. Establish Authority Through Links

• Inbound Links: Seek high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites within your niche. Inbound links remains a sginificant factor in AI-SEO, including those from YouTube.
• Outbound Links: Link to reputable sources to add credibility to your content.
• Internal Links: Use internal linking wisely to help users and search engines discover more of your content.

6. Engage With Your Audience

• Encourage user reviews and engage with your customers on social media and other platforms. Positive social signals can influence your site’s perception. Google reviews seem to play a huge part in AI-SEO, so continually attracting current and positive reviews is huge. If you get value out of my weekly articles, I’d like for you to consider giving me a positive review on Google. Here is a quick-link to make this easy: https://webstoresltd.com/google.
• FAQs: Include a comprehensive FAQ section that answers potential questions users might ask AI chatbots.

7. Monitor and Adapt

• Use analytics to track how users find and interact with your site. Look for trends in questions or keywords that may be relevant to AI-driven queries.
• Stay updated with AI and SEO industry trends. The digital landscape is continually evolving, and strategies may need to adapt.

8. Transparency and Accessibility

• Ensure your content is easily accessible and that your site’s purpose and ownership are transparent.
• Include clear contact information and, if applicable, editorial guidelines.

9. Consider Voice Search and Conversational Queries

• With the rise of AI chatbots and voice search, ensure your content is optimized for conversational queries.
• Think about how people ask questions verbally and try to incorporate these conversational phrases into your content.

10. Ethical and Clear Content Labeling

• Be clear about sponsored content, advertisements, and any potential biases in your content.
• Ethical considerations and transparency can influence your site’s trustworthiness and authority.

Check to see how well your business does with our custom GPT specifically for AI-SEO: https://ai-geni.us/sellmorein24/customer-centric-copy/#