SEO Tactics for GenAI Visibility

Traditional search engine optimization is fundamental to visibility on generative AI platforms.

Large language models query Google to research topics and find answers. Thus low or unranked pages are largely invisible to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and others.

Here are the top SEO tactics to elevate genAI mentions and citations.

Keyword research

To date, genAI platforms provide no prompt data. We have no definitive info on how consumers discover brands or products on those platforms.

Keyword research remains the primary source for how online consumers decide to buy. Third-party tools can organize keywords by intent, offering clues for targeting prospects at every step of their research.

Keyword gaps identify what’s missing on a site to attract would-be customers.

Prompts are longer than traditional search queries and, anecdotally, wildly unpredictable. Yet higher-level keyword optimization informs content and landing pages that cater to shoppers’ needs.

Optimized content

The best ecommerce content explains how a merchant’s products help consumers address needs and solve problems.

It may generate less traffic than a few years ago, but it remains essential for product discovery. Focusing on “bottom-of-the-funnel” queries (a common recommendation from “GEO experts”) leads to fewer new customers.

Yes, LLMs may summarize your content and include it in an answer without referring to your company. But the content will be part of that answer as a trusted LLM solution provider, foretelling potential future recommendations.

Optimizing for buying journeys, then, includes keywords to understand shoppers’ desires and relevant content for search and LLM bots to find solutions.

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Site architecture

Horizontal site architecture (pages aren’t buried) and internal links ensure bot crawlability and long-tail ranking opportunities.

Clear architecture helps LLMs understand a business and correctly place its products in the training data.

Optimized site navigation is:

• Structured for humans and LLM agents to find what they need quickly.
• Usable without JavaScript and accessible with all web browsers.
• Focused on a site’s most important sections and key benefits.

Link building

LLMs’ use of authority signals, such as backlinks, remains unclear. Nearly a year ago I speculated on Reddit that Gemini and AI Mode rely on PageRank at least indirectly. Whether that includes backlinks, however, is a mystery.

Yet backlinks, brand mentions, and co-citations are important for LLM visibility:

• Higher organic rankings drive genAI discovery.
• Entity associations (being mentioned/linked alongside prominent competitors) elevate rankings.
• Consistent mentions and links from your site to authoritative publications help LLMs trust your business.

Such indirect LLM signals are achieved through traditional link building via journalist outreach, being quoted as an expert, and building connections on social media.

To be sure, success for GEO is visibility rather than actual sales. But absent SEO, a site’s chances of being found by LLMs are near zero.