LLM SEO: 6-Steps to Get Your Blog Cited by ChatGPT

You might be hearing that SEO, and traditional search is dead now with growing use B2B searches starting in Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude. ChatGPT logs over 37.5 million searches per day, up from virtually zero just two years ago. While LLMs now give one blended answer instead of ten blue links, this a major opportunity to compete over established brand blogs. From March 2025, 36K keyword study by SEOClarity, Google’s AI Overviews pulled at least one citation from the existing top-10 organic results 99.5% of the time. In other words, classic SEO still supplies the fuel—but LLMs deliver the answer.

So if you want your blog cited in LLM answers, follow the same six-step checklist we use at GrowthUp Partners:

1. build a focused topic cluster

2. write in LLM-friendly headings (aka: machine parsing)

3. drop an original data point,

4. add simple JSON-LD

5. keep your brand facts identical everywhere

6. refresh quarterly

Scroll for real-world snapshots and the research that backs each move.

Signal: ChatGPT logs over 37.5 million searches per day, up from virtually zero just two years ago.

1. Build a focused “topic cluster”

• Why it matters. Researchers proved that optimizing for LLM search can boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses. (Aggarwal & Fu, “GEO at Scale,” KDD ’24).

How to do it:

• Choose one pillar idea that isn't already saturated.

• Test market gap.

• Draft 2-3 support posts.

• Publish & interlink within 30 days.

Mini market gap test: Put in Google Search: "<your idea>" site:competitor-url.com → if nothing focused shows up, you’ve found a gap. Put in LLM: Ask ChatGPT or Google Gemini: “Give me a quick guide to <your idea>.” Note any source links; if your rivals aren’t cited either, the lane is still open.

Just start small: You don’t need 10 support posts or guides on day one to get LLM traction. What matters is creating clear internal links and unique angles—even if that’s just two or three pieces to start.

2. Write for machine parsing

Machine parsing is how LLMs/bots “read” your website's HTML and decide where each idea starts and ends.

Why it matters. Clean heading plus a bulleted structure or "chunking" lifted chatbot citation rates by 39.7% Lewis et al., “Retrieval-Augmented Generation,” arXiv 2005.11401.

How to do it:

• Write naturally, but add structure.

• Start every major idea with a H2. Nest short H3 sub-points if you need them.

• Keep paragraphs ≤ 3 lines

• Convert dense lists into ≤ 7 bullets.

• Open each post with a 60–90-word answer box.

• Add one FAQ section (“How do I …?”) to mirror conversational queries.

Wrap-up. Short, scannable chunks = happier readers and easier auto-chunking for ChatGPT & Gemini.

3. Embed one verifiable data point

Why it matters. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) research shows LLM answers are 60% more factual when a retriever* can grab a number it can cite (Lewis et al., 2023).

How to do it

• Pull a real metric (e.g., “15 % fewer returns after chatbot”).

• State the figure in plain text—“Result: 15 % drop in returns.”

• Add one line on where it came from (“Internal Shopify data, Q1 2024”).

• Link to the longer case study if it’s public; otherwise say “data on file.”

• Run a quick LinkedIn poll and publish your own results.

Wrap-up. One defensible stat turns your post into a source LLMs want to reference.

What does a “retriever” mean in the world of LLMs?

Unfortunately—no dogs involved. However, in most chatbots (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Claude), answers come from a retriever-then-generator pipeline, called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

• Retriever → Think librarian who receives a question, then dashes off to fetch the most relevant pages or snippets.

• Generator → a grad student who turns the librarians notes into a crisp summary and hands in the final answer.

That’s the whole dance behind every AI search reply you see.

4. Add simple JSON-LD

JSON-LD = JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data, but plain-speak: its a short code block that labels each Q&A on your page so Google and chatbots know it’s an frequently asked quesiton by your target audience that you/your brand/service can answer.

Why it matters. Google’s rich-result case study saw an 82% increase in CTR after adding FAQ & HowTo JSON-LD code blocks to their pages. Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT read this information when they crawl your page.

How to do it

• Go to Schema Markup Generator (free)

• Choose “FAQPage” → paste one Q&A from your post.

• Copy the code and drop it just before </body> (WordPress → Code Editor).

• Validate with Google’s Rich Results Test—look for the green check.

EX: Say you are HR SAS product for small businesses:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@type": "Question",
    "name": "What HR software service for a company of more than 5 people?",
    "acceptedAnswer": {
      "@type": "Answer",
      "text": "The best software is X."
    }
  }
}
</script>

Wrap-up. Want 82% more clicks? Of course you do! But if you don't have webpage editing rights, skip the code and just format each FAQ on your blog with a clear Heading 2 plus a 2-line answer—the retriever bots can still “see” those sections, even without structured data.

5. Mirror your “entity facts” everywhere

Your “entity facts” are just 5-7 rock-solid details about your company (name, tagline, industry, location, founding year, logo) repeated verbatim everywhere. Some are visible and some are invisible.

Why it matters. A Ahrefs study that looked at over 75,000 brands showed that companies with the most consistent web mentions are cited up to 10× more often in Google AI Overviews. Google’s own Search Central docs echo this, urging identical wording across all channels.

How to do it.

• Make a shared “Brand Facts” reference doc or at least the same name + tagline. (e.g.: BrightPath Law PLLC — Estate-planning attorneys for NC families."

• Place this exact text in your website footer, LinkedIn page headline, podcast bios, press releases, directory listings, social influencer scripts, etc.

• Advanced method: Go back to Schema Markup Generator (free), generate Organization JSOC-LD code on each of your pages.

Helpful checklist

• Google your brand facts in quotes; any mismatch you see, update it.

• Check your social bios quarterly—even slight messaging changes can break consistency

Wrap-up. Consistency = confidence signal; give every model the same “business card” to memorize.

How AI image generator, Ideogram, thinks people exchange business cards.

6. Refresh every quarter

Why it matters. Google’s AI Overview will reference sites that offer freshness signals. Authoritas, conducted a rigorous "SERP Organic & AI Overview Volatility Research" study in Fe. of 2025 finding that 68% of the cited links change within 90 days. Google AI Overview, ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc., favor newer sources to cite. Freshness = higher inclusion odds.

How to do it

• Add “Last updated: YYYY-MM-DD” at the bottom of every post.

• Set a calendar reminder every quarter.

• Swap in one new stat or example, add any new internal link, etc.

Practical rule of thumb

• If the post (or page) is meant to answer a question and earn organic/LLM traffic → follow refresh it quarterly with new date.

• If the post (or page) is purely informational or rarely changes → skip the visible “Last updated” line, but keep your Organization schema up-to-date in the code.

Wrap-up. Fresh dates + tiny content boosts keep you cycling back into the AI spotlight without writing from scratch.

Bottom line: Traditional SEO isn’t dying because of LLM SEO—it’s branching. Solid site health (fast load times, clean code), clear keyword targeting, and trustworthy backlinks are may still what earn you a spot in Google’s top 10. However, the six LLM SEO tactics above determine whether AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overview quote your content or your competition’s. Search is evolving fast; optimizing for both channels today means staying discoverable tomorrow.

Curious to integrate the latest AI insights for actionable business results—let’s talk!