Showing up in ChatGPT results has become the new holy grail of digital marketing, but so far, no one has cracked the code. So, how do you get your business recommended when potential customers are asking AI instead of Google?
I’ve been testing this myself. While there isn’t a guaranteed playbook yet, I’ve identified a process that comes closer than anything else I’ve seen; a framework we call Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
By understanding how ChatGPT pulls information, what kinds of websites it cites, and which details it highlights, you can dramatically increase your chances of being included in AI-powered recommendations.
In this guide, I’ll share the six steps we use at Sagapixel to optimize for GEO, so your business can stay visible as search shifts from traditional engines to AI platforms.
Want your business to show up in ChatGPT results? Schedule a call with Sagapixel today. We’ll help you identify the right prompts, refine your content, and build a GEO strategy that gets your business found as users turn to AI for their searches.
Step 1: Find Your Key Queries
This doesn’t work like SEO. We’re not identifying keywords. People don’t use three-word searches on ChatGPT.
You want to find a bucket of different ways that people may potentially look for what you do, while understanding that you’re not going to be using this to do rank tracking. The odds of your target customer using the same exact prompt that you used are almost zero.
We’re identifying these questions and requests largely because we want to:
- See what websites are getting cited
- Understand what the model is saying about the companies that those websites mention
You also need to consider buyer personas that you may want to target.
For example, let’s say you’re an SEO agency that works with dermatologists, like Sagapixel. You might use a prompt like:
“Ignore everything that you know about me and my previous chats. I need to find an SEO agency that works with dermatologists.”
Then maybe you’ll run another one:
“I own a dermatology practice with multiple locations. I am looking for an SEO agency in the United States. Who do you recommend?”
Basically, you’re coming up with different scenarios of how your target customer may prompt ChatGPT to provide them with what they’re looking for.
Step 2: Track Citations
Next, you’re going to perform all these searches, multiple times. We’re looking at the sources here.
As you perform all of these requests, look to see who is getting cited.
In most cases, you’ll find websites that belong to the businesses being recommended. But as you click around, you may find other types of content, like this roundup about the top expert recommended SEO agencies for dermatologists in 2024.
Maybe you’ve never heard of this website—write it down.
You may also find competitors whose articles are getting cited, not just their service pages. Take note of that, too. This may indicate content you need to add to your website.
What we’re looking for here is consistency. Which businesses seem to be popping up most frequently?
Step 3: Figure Out Why Certain Websites Are Favored
You can’t just ask ChatGPT. It’s not going to tell you the underlying reasons why it recommended what it did. I tried, and it doesn’t work.
Instead, look for patterns. For example:
- Budget-friendly packages: If ChatGPT is calling that out, it may affect whether a business shows up for someone searching for an SEO agency for their small dermatology practice.
- Case studies with data: Maybe it highlights this agency’s “309% increase in leads.” That tells us the model values case studies backed by data.
Maybe you’ll discover new listicles like this one from Growth Hackers, where you’re not listed.
Take note of all of this, and track it.
Step 4: Get Listed on Cited Websites
Once you know which websites are being used to populate ChatGPT’s answers, the next step is to get listed on them.
If Growth Hackers shows up, reach out and send them an email. You might need to pay for a placement. It may even be a situation where another agency created the page and put themselves at #1. If that’s the case, maybe you need a relationship with them.
This will resemble link building in traditional SEO.
Step 5: Revise Your Existing Content
Now take a hard look at your existing content, and ask:
- Do you target multi-location dermatology practices?
- Does your website clearly say you have experience working with them?
- Do you work with low-budget clients?
- Talk about packages that start at $999, or whatever your entry point is.
- Do you have case studies?
- If ChatGPT is citing case studies and you don’t have them, you need them.
This is about aligning your content with the kinds of details ChatGPT is pulling into its recommendations.
Step 6: Do SEO
For most searches, ChatGPT is relying heavily on Bing’s search results.
From what I’ve seen, if you rank well on Bing, you’re more likely to be recommended frequently through ChatGPT.
So, no. SEO is not dead.
As a matter of fact, you need to do SEO if you want to do “GEO” or “AI optimization,” or whatever you want to call it.
Get Found in ChatGPT with GEO Services from Sagapixel
At Sagapixel, we help practices and businesses like yours adapt to evolving search behaviors. As more users turn to AI tools like ChatGPT instead of Google, we’ve developed a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) framework to give your business the best chance of being included in AI recommendations.
We’ll help you identify the prompts your potential customers are using, track citations, refine your content to match what AI highlights, and build authority signals that increase your likelihood of being recommended.
Schedule a call with us today. Let’s create a GEO strategy that keeps your business visible and competitive in the age of AI search.
