How to Rank in ChatGPT - a step by step walkthrough for my keywords
About a year ago, I started my journey on “how to rank in ChatGPT”, so I figured I would start with my own site so I can learn. Fast forward to today, and I’m learning a lot on how to optimize for generative engine answers but in that process I am noticing a new trend now that we have ChatGPT with search, and it is pretty sad.
Who's Getting the Spotlight in ChatGPT Searches for SEO Agencies?
When I was doing the research certain agency names keep popping up, over and over, and over. My spidey senses went up. Even in areas where I would prompt asking for areas where Seer Interactive is entrenched PPC and SEO integration, innovation, big data, we might show up, but they ALWAYS showed up.
Then there are aggregator sites like Reddit, SEMrush, and Clutch—all expected players in this space. But things got weirder when LinkedIn Pulse pages and SEO agencies started appearing. That made me curious. How does an agency rank in these results?
The more I dug, the clearer the pattern became. LinkedIn Pulse pages appeared to be leveraging similar tactics to traditional SEO strategies—targeting queries like "best SEO companies" with content that highlights agencies. This wasn’t just a one-off discovery. These names showed up repeatedly in different formats and across various search triggers. Obviously anyone on the internet can list out any company on a LinkedIn pulse. But what shocked me was how many agencies had their own pages of “15 best SEO companies” on THEIR own sites, that they have 100% control over.
Ranking Your SEO Agency #1 on your own list of top agencies
Many agencies are ranking themselves as the best SEO company on their lists. The pattern was undeniable—these agencies listing each other across multiple pages, maybe not even on purpose, maybe they are all using AI to build their pages with very little human oversight, resulting in whoever shows up, they copy and past in? Not all but some. At first it almost like an old-school link swap, except now it’s being applied within LLMs, but I am wondering if it is just LazyGPT.
I also just can not see any reputable company saying, yes…to win in ChatGPT I will list out my other competitors with very little human oversight or input, and rank myself at the top. What’s concerning is how effective this is, despite being an artificial method to build authority.
SEO’s are missing the human element. Humans, you know the people who pick agencies, don’t trust lists on agency sites, we really don’t trust it when you list yourself as the #1 site. When is the last time a company said we’re #1 at something in a long list of their competitors, and you believed them? Gartner listing, yes, but for me to make a Seer Interactive page, that lists us as the #1 agency… are you crazy?
A Blast from the Past: 2005 Tactics in a 2025 World
As I dug deeper, I kept seeing the same names over and over: Outerbox, Neil Patel Digital, Titan Growth, Straight North, and more. It felt like a time warp back to the days of 2005 SEO tactics—cross-linking schemes where everyone agreed to promote each other to game the system. And guess what? It’s working in large language models (LLMs).
The implications of this are huge. If LLMs continue to rely on these outdated tactics to surface results, users might start losing trust in AI-driven searches. It’s eerily similar to the early days of Google when low-quality, white text, white background stuff worked on Yahoo! And Google came along and changed the game.
People trust people for recommendations on agencies FIRST, so I will not damage my brand for this visibility. I will be sharing my week by week gameplan on what I am doing that is legit to get into the ChatGPT + Search world.
If you are trying to optimize on ChatGPT, know which query types trigger web search!
Note: I find that when I use ChatGPT without search and only rely on the training data that Seer is more visible vs when the search is "enhanced" by Bing.com’s index. So keep that in mind when you are analyzing this yourself. If you are in an industry that changes a lot, more web searches might be triggered, meaning you are more at risk.
I’m willing to lose some LLM Visibility to Maintain my Brand. Are you?
When I was optimizing Mercedes Benz USA’s website back in 2001, I remember the CMO some day saying to us on a call, when I kept pressing for “used mercedes” as the keyword… Kid, I’ll sponsor golf tournaments for millions of dollars to change how people search, I will someday change people’s searched to pre-owned, but don’t ever put used in my copy ever again.
What did I learn there? Strong brands won’t roll over for every tactic that works, they have some kind of a belief system that is greater than chasing every trend to get 1000 more clicks. For the record, showing up in search for SEO company in the top 10 in 2005-2009 was one of the worst uses of my time back then, but that is for a different day.
Don’t sacrifice human trust for the short term win. Once LLMs evolve, websites relying on this method could face penalties or a sudden drop in visibility—just like the early Google updates that targeted manipulative SEO tactics. This doesn’t mean DON’T do the thought leadership Rand and I are doing, because I think ultimately that is how people, humans, buy and pick agencies…who is that company I saw that study from? Who am I following on LinkedIn that is dropping real insights… spend time on that.
Authentic Intelligence vs. Artificial Authority - Why I’m building an Organic Social Practice at Seer
Here’s the issue: I believe Bing and ChatGPT, which rely on search partnerships, can’t yet decipher true thought leadership. When I search for top data-driven SEO companies, I expect to see leaders like Chris Long from GoFish Digital or Lily Ray’s agency, Path Interactive, Mike King at iPullrank. When I compete with these guys in search, I know I’m in for a battle. Game recognizes game, they are good.
These are the people pushing the industry forward. Instead, the search results favor agencies that may not offer as much depth or insight.This disconnect creates a poor user experience. Imagine searching for expert advice and only finding companies that excel at SEO manipulation. The agencies with genuine thought leadership are getting drowned out by those that know how to game the system.
Building an Authentic SEO Strategy
We’re at a crossroads. Do we follow the 2005 SEO playbook to win in LLMs, or do we double down on authentic intelligence? For me, the answer is clear. I’m focusing on building industry-specific content and thought leadership. We’re creating vertical pages for SaaS, banking, healthcare, and education, submitting for awards, and speaking at conferences to associate our name with these industries. I’m going to test this on Seer’s site first, then roll it out to clients.
We’re also investing in more authentic engagement on platforms like LinkedIn, where real human interactions drive visibility. This strategy isn’t about gaming the algorithm—it’s about building trust and delivering value, if the LLMs catch up and start using these signals, GREAT we’ll show up even more, but if they don’t I am betting that humans are going to see this approach, say no way over time, and go to places like private groups, private slack groups, LinkedIn and others to get recommendations.
Winning Humans (and eventually LLMs) with Authenticity
This isn’t about gaming the system. It’s about attracting clients through genuine expertise and human connection. Real people are voting with real clicks on platforms like LinkedIn, where engagement reflects actual interest and value. That’s where I’m placing my bets—on authentic intelligence that resonates with both search engines and the people using them.
This is also a cautionary tale on letting an “agent” run your RFP process, or using deep research too heavily. You gotta start to know the defaults on how it surfaces things.
If Search + AI hybrid search experiences (Like ChatGPTs) don’t improve, users will turn to their networks instead. We’ve already seen this shift in other industries. People bypass traditional search engines AND LLMs for social platforms and peer recommendations when they want trustworthy answers.
So let's not do this. Let's try to do things that authentically show our intelligence and attract clients so that we don't have to spam like this like we used to in 2005.
