Google Bard and ChatGPT are the latest craze for SEOs. Many people are using ChatGPT to write articles, create product descriptions for their websites, and analyze the data from their analytics. When these tools are going to be publicly available as your “search engine copilots,” you will want prospective customers to find you. In this article, we take a look at some of the ranking signals that will help your website be found when a potential customer does a chat search. We will also give you a checklist called “ranking signals for AI.”
Local citations are more important than ever before.
Local citations in SEO refer to online mentions of a business's name, address, and phone number on other websites, directories, or platforms. Local citations are a key factor in local SEO because they help search engines like Google verify the accuracy of a business's information and also establish its presence in a specific geographic area.
Local citations can take various forms, such as:
- Business listings on directories like Yelp, Yellowpages, and Google My Business
- Mentions of the business's NAP on local news sites or blogs
- Social media profiles that include the business's contact information
- Chamber of commerce or industry association listings
- Government agency websites, such as tourism bureaus or city directories
ChatGPT and Google Bard make use of local citations to find businesses that may be relevant towards the searcher.
If someone does a search for a local type of business, they will often start with a basic search on Google or Bing, such as “basement waterproofing.” Both search engines will turn up a local search result, such as a business near the user’s physical proximity. However, AI platforms will pull up references explaining what the search term is. More detailed searches, such as “best basement waterproofing company,” or “find me a basement waterproofing company,” will start pulling up websites like the BBB, Yelp, and other similar websites. The search results on the chat tool will pull up something that mirrors the search engine. Some of the most common results that will pull include Chamber of Commerce websites, review aggregators, and authoritative citation websites. The key takeaway here is to have your local citations correct across the Internet and to have social media profiles set up.
What type of content should I be producing on my website to be found via an AI search?
You can rank with AI written content. You just can’t rank well within the traditional search engine landscape because of the watermarks contained within the content. Here are some tips to help AI platforms find your website:
- Focus on long-tail keywords: Google’s and Bing’s AI tend to favor long-tail keywords that are more specific and have lower search volume. Use keyword research tools to identify long-tail keywords related to your topic and include them naturally in your content.
- Write in-depth content: Google and Bing, with their AI, will prioritize comprehensive content that provides detailed information on a topic. Consider writing longer articles or blog posts that cover a topic in-depth and provide value to your audience.
- Optimize for readability: Bing and Google AI prefers content that is easy to read and understand. Use short paragraphs, headings, bullet points, and other formatting techniques to make your content more readable.
- Use multimedia: Incorporating images, videos, infographics, and other multimedia can make your content more engaging and shareable, which can help improve your rankings on Bing and Google AI search.
Make your content unique, answer questions, and be conversational. Also, write well-researched content. Make sure you fact check your content. When you deploy it to the website, make sure that you use schema.
Find more authoritative backlinks to be found on ChatGPT
Perhaps the most important aspect of optimizing your website for ChatGPT and Bard will be to find high-quality backlinks. That DA 80 backlink that you buy from the local backlink vendor just won’t cut it anymore. You will need to work to get mentioned in Wikipedia, have backlinks published in authoritative sources like press releases, and make sure that expert websites link back to yours. Here are the types of backlinks that you should be focusing on, in addition to citations.
- Editorial Backlinks: These are links that are earned naturally from high-quality, reputable websites. These backlinks are typically the most valuable, as they signal to search engines that other websites consider your content to be valuable and relevant.
- Guest Post Backlinks: These are links that are earned by writing guest posts for other websites. These backlinks can be valuable if they are placed on high-quality, relevant websites.
- Broken Link Backlinks: These are links that are earned by finding broken links on other websites and offering to replace them with links to your own content. These backlinks can be valuable if they are placed on high-quality, relevant websites.
- Social Media Backlinks: These are links that are earned by sharing your content on social media platforms. While these backlinks may not carry as much weight as other types of backlinks, they can still be valuable for driving traffic to your website and increasing your online visibility.
Consider having a near me page to rank in AI search
Using the basement waterproofing example on ChatGPT, if someone does a "near me" search, you will likely see tons of pages that show up in the chat like this one → https://www.basementsystems.com/near-me/basement-waterproofing.html. Notice that the website lets you pick a zip code or it automatically fixes in on your location. If you don't have the tech expertise to set up a search on your site, try making a page with all of your locations with the URL "near-me."
Will schema be more important for appearing on Bard and ChatGPT?
Schema will tell ChatGPT and Bard what type of content is on a particular web page. Whether your search is pulling a blog article or a recipe, you will need to understand how to place schema on your webpage.
Schema markup is important because it provides a standardized way to describe the content of a web page to search engines and the chat engines that pull from them. By using schema markup, website owners can provide additional information about their content that may not be immediately apparent from the page itself.
This information can include things like the author of the page, the date it was published or last updated, the type of content (such as an article or recipe), and other details that can help search engines and their AI “copilots” better understand the content of the page.
When search engines can better understand the content of a web page, they can provide more accurate and relevant search results to users. Essentially, ChatGPT is another user of search engines. This can improve the user experience and increase the likelihood that users will find what they're looking for on a given website.
Schema markup can also be used to enhance the appearance of search engine results by displaying additional information, such as ratings, reviews, and pricing information, directly in the search results. This can help users quickly determine if a particular search result is relevant to their needs and can encourage them to click through to the website. Remember, ChatGPT and Bard are simply summarizing the search results.
Will ChatGPT and Bard be the end of SEO?
ChatGPT and Bard will be the end of BAD SEO. Good SEO will take off and these websites will enjoy more traffic, better rankings, and more qualified customers. If you are looking for some free resource to help you optimize your website for ChatGPT and Bard, sign up for our email list or request a call back and we’ll send you a FREE guide to start optimizing your website for AI.
