If you want people to find your business online—whether on Google or ChatGPT—you need strong SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Many businesses forget that even AI tools like ChatGPT often rely on the internet to recommend businesses and answer questions.
So, if your website isn’t built with good SEO, you’re missing out.
1. ChatGPT Uses the Web to Find Answers
When someone asks ChatGPT for a good marketing agency or how to grow their business, it pulls information from websites across the internet. If your website is easy to find and full of helpful content, ChatGPT is more likely to show it in its answers.
2. Brand Mentions and Backlinks Build Trust
ChatGPT and Google both look at how trustworthy your site is. One way they judge this is by checking if other websites are talking about you.
This includes:
- Brand mentions – when other sites mention your business name
- Reviews – especially on popular platforms like Google, Yelp, or Clutch
- Backlinks – when other websites link to your site
Backlinks are especially important. They act like “votes of confidence” from other websites. The more quality backlinks you have, the more search engines and AI models trust your content.
Example: If a marketing blog writes about “top agencies to watch” and links to your website, that’s a strong signal to AI tools that your agency is worth recommending.
3. Using the Right Words (Keywords)
If your site uses the same words people are typing into search engines or asking ChatGPT, you’re more likely to show up. This is why keyword research matters. You need to understand what your ideal clients are searching for and include those words naturally in your content.
4. Older, Trusted Sites Often Rank Higher
Websites that have been around for a while usually do better. They’ve had more time to earn backlinks, reviews, and mentions. But new websites can still compete by building strong SEO foundations—like quality content, smart keyword use, and backlinks from trusted sites.
5. Good SEO = Better Results on Google and ChatGPT
Strong SEO helps your website in multiple ways:
- It makes your site easier to find
- It builds trust with Google and AI tools
- It makes your content more helpful to users
Great SEO includes:
- A fast, mobile-friendly website
- Clear titles and headings
- Useful content
- Good reviews
- And yes—strong backlinks from other websites
What You Should Do Next
Want to rank higher and show up in AI tools like ChatGPT? Here’s where to start:
- Use the right keywords – Talk about what your audience is searching for
- Write helpful content – Make it easy to understand and full of value
- Get backlinks – Reach out to blogs, directories, or partners to link to your site
- Collect reviews – Encourage satisfied clients to leave a review
- Fix technical issues – Make sure your site is fast and easy to use on phones
Final Thoughts
Even though ChatGPT is powered by AI, it still depends on information found across the web. Strong SEO—including backlinks, reviews, and helpful content—is the key to showing up in both search results and AI-generated recommendations. If your SEO is solid, you won’t just rank better—you’ll also be one of the trusted sources AI tools like ChatGPT choose to feature.