How to Get Your Website to Rank in ChatGPT
Something shifted in 2024, and most brands missed it entirely.
While everyone was obsessing over Google algorithm updates and SEO tweaks, a new search behaviour quietly took over. People stopped typing "best copywriter near me" into Google. Instead, they started having conversations. Real, natural conversations with ChatGPT about their business problems.
Read on to find out how you can rank high on ChatGPT and harness that natural attraction potential ⬇️
Why ChatGPT ranking matters more than you think
Let's talk numbers that'll make your calculator blush. ChatGPT processes over 1 billion queries per day, and in April 2025, the site reached 5.14 billion visits, up 182% from a year ago. That's some serious traffic.
But here's what makes ChatGPT different from traditional search engines: when someone asks ChatGPT for recommendations, they're not getting ten blue links to wade through. They're getting curated, conversational answers that feel like advice from a knowledgeable mate. If your brand gets mentioned? That's like getting a personal endorsement to millions of users.
The trust factor's enormous. ChatGPT's responses are perceived as authoritative, so being mentioned can enhance credibility. Unlike Google ads that people scroll past, or SEO results that feel salesy, ChatGPT recommendations come across as genuine suggestions.
The anatomy of ChatGPT's ranking algorithm
Right, let's get into the nitty-gritty of how ChatGPT actually decides who gets the spotlight. It's not like Google's traditional ranking system at all – ChatGPT uses a completely different approach that focuses on these core factors:
Brand mentions and digital footprint
The big 2 factors to focus on are brand mentions and relevancy. ChatGPT doesn't just look at your website – it scans the entire internet for mentions of your brand. Every blog post, every review, every social media shout-out builds your digital reputation.
Think of it like this: ChatGPT is constantly eavesdropping on internet conversations. The more people talk about you positively across different platforms, the more ChatGPT starts thinking, "This brand must be worth mentioning."
Authority and credibility signals
The first thing ChatGPT will take into account when auditing sources is the authority of that source. But authority isn't just about domain age or backlinks anymore. ChatGPT looks at:
Review sentiment across platforms – Your Google reviews, Trustpilot ratings, and industry-specific review sites all matter
Expert mentions – Being featured in authoritative publications or getting quotes from industry leaders
Awards and recognition – Companies whose products or services have won awards in their fields often represent the best options
Social proof – Your social media following, engagement rates, and brand mentions across platforms
Content relevance and keyword alignment
Here's where it gets interesting. The research showed that (just like Google) all websites within GPT search results had the keywords from a specific query. But it's not about keyword stuffing – ChatGPT favours content that naturally incorporates relevant terms while providing genuine value.
Freshness and reliability
ChatGPT has a soft spot for current, well-maintained content. If your website is constantly updated with fresh, relevant content, it's like a shiny apple in a box of stale ones when ChatGPT is on the lookout for answers.
The ChatGPT-Bing connection you need to know about
ChatGPT relies on Bing's search index and ranking algorithms to retrieve and prioritise content. In fact, one study discovered that when using ChatGPT Search, the results are 73% similar to Bing's search results.
This means your Bing optimisation directly impacts your ChatGPT visibility. While everyone's obsessing over Google rankings, smart brands are also focusing on Bing SEO to capture ChatGPT traffic.
How to optimise your website for ChatGPT ranking
1. Master the art of conversational content
ChatGPT loves content that sounds human. Write in a conversational tone: Structure your content as if you're speaking directly to the user.
Instead of: ❌"Our organisation facilitates comprehensive digital marketing solutions"
Write: ✅"We help small businesses get found online without the tech headaches"
Use natural language patterns, ask questions your audience actually thinks, and answer them like you're chatting over coffee. ChatGPT's algorithm rewards content that mirrors how people actually speak.
➡️Read more about writing conversational copy
2. Build authority through strategic brand mentions
This is where most brands get it wrong. They focus solely on their own website and forget about the broader digital ecosystem. The currency of large language models is mentions (specifically, words that appear frequently near other words) across the training data.
Your advanced brand mention strategy:
Third-party list placements: ChatGPT's recommendations very often mirror the top results of Google searches. I’ve found that in almost all cases, if a company can secure placement on the latter, the former will follow. Get featured in authoritative "best of" lists that rank well on Google.
Cross-platform mention building:
Get featured in industry roundups and "best of" lists
Collaborate with other businesses for cross-mentions
Engage actively in industry forums and communities (especially Reddit)
Encourage satisfied clients to mention you in their content
Partner with influencers and thought leaders for authentic mentions
The SparkToro method: Use tools like SparkToro to find websites that frequently mention your industry terms, then pitch them for coverage. You can create an alert for a keyword and monitor where your competitors are getting mentioned.
3. Optimise for Bing alongside Google
Since one study discovered that when using ChatGPT Search, the results are 73% similar to Bing's search results, your Bing optimisation directly impacts ChatGPT visibility.
Bing-specific optimisation tactics:
Submit your sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
Ensure your robots.txt doesn't block Bing or ChatGPT bots
Check your server logs for Bing bot (Bing bot) and ChatGPT bot (GPT Bot) access
Focus on clear, structured content that Bing's algorithm prefers
Build quality backlinks that Bing recognises as authoritative
4. Implement advanced structured data markup
Schema Markup, when done right, transforms unstructured web content into structured, semantic data that can be leveraged across multiple applications, from search engines to enterprise AI tools.
Essential schema types for ChatGPT:
LocalBusiness schema with precise location data
FAQ schema for common industry questions
Review/Rating schema for social proof
Organization schema with detailed company information
Service schema for what you offer
Person schema for key team members
💡 Use ChatGPT itself to generate your schema markup. Simply provide your business details and ask it to create JSON-LD structured data. ChatGPT can be a handy tool to write website schema – a structured data that tells search engines what your website is about.
5. Create citation-worthy content with data depth
Create content that ChatGPT wants to reference — Include statistics, data points, and first-hand experiences that make your content citation-worthy.
Advanced content strategies:
Original research studies that become industry references
Comprehensive guides (3,000+ words) that answer every aspect of a topic
Case study collections showing real results with specific metrics
Industry trend reports with exclusive insights
Tool comparisons with detailed feature analysis
👀 Offering a mix of content types keeps both users and AI search engines engaged. Employing diverse formats – such as videos, infographics, and text – appeals to different user preferences.
6. Focus on E-E-A-T principles with AI optimisation
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and it's a concept used by Google to evaluate the quality of content on websites. These factors are essential for ranking well in search results, but they're also highly relevant for AI tools like ChatGPT.
Advanced E-E-A-T implementation:
Experience: Document real client transformations with before/after metrics
Expertise: Create detailed author bios with LinkedIn links and credentials
Authoritativeness: Secure mentions from trusted websites (media, academic, government)
Trustworthiness: Maintain complete transparency about your methods and results
7. Voice search and conversational query optimisation
ChatGPT's Voice Assistant will respond in the voice you've selected for it to use among the 10 pre-set voice style options, making voice queries increasingly important.
Voice optimisation tactics:
Structure content to answer complete questions, not just keywords
Use FAQ formats that mirror how people actually speak
Include location-based phrases for local queries
Optimise for "near me" and conversational location queries
Create content that answers "how," "what," "why," and "where" questions naturally
💡 65% of consumers aged 25-49 years old regularly talk to their voice-enabled devices, so optimise for natural speech patterns.
8. Advanced technical optimisation for AI crawlers
Page speed and user experience: Securing fast page loading speeds is essential. Techniques to enhance site speed include image optimization and leveraging browser caching. Faster websites enhance user experience and can lead to higher conversion rates.
AI-friendly technical elements:
Clean, semantic HTML structure with descriptive headings
Fast loading times (under 3 seconds)
Mobile-first responsive design
Clear internal linking structure
Optimised images with descriptive alt text
Clean URL structure that indicates content hierarchy
Final thoughts
ChatGPT optimisation requires a completely different approach to traditional SEO. Not just keywords and backlinks – but a focus on building a comprehensive digital presence that positions you as the obvious choice in your field.
If you're ready to stop being invisible to 400 million weekly ChatGPT users and start building the kind of authoritative brand presence that gets recommended again and again, let's chat. I specialise in helping brands develop the verbal strategy and content approach that makes them impossible to ignore – whether that's on ChatGPT, Google, or anywhere else your ideal clients are looking.
