How do you rank on ChatGPT?
Be one of the pages ChatGPT search reads, and the clearest one on the question. There's no form, no fee and no switch.
When ChatGPT decides a question needs current information, it searches the web, reads a handful of pages and writes an answer with links to the pages it used. Those links are the closest thing ChatGPT has to rankings. A page that's cited inline, near the top of the answer, gets seen first and clicked most.
What does "ranking" mean in ChatGPT?
It means showing up in one of three places: named in the answer, cited inline next to a sentence, or listed in the sources. There's no page two.
- Named in the answer: your brand or page is mentioned in the text itself.
- Inline citations: a link next to the sentence your page supported. These get the most clicks.
- The sources list: every page ChatGPT used, shown when the reader opens it.
How does ChatGPT search pick its sources?
It turns the question into one or more searches, gathers results, reads the most promising pages and cites the ones it used. The results come from search providers, with Bing a big part, plus pages OpenAI's own crawler has found.
That has two consequences. A page missing from Bing can be missing from ChatGPT, even if it ranks well in Google. And a page that's blocked to OAI-SearchBot can't be shown in ChatGPT search at all, however good it is.
Because ChatGPT often runs several searches for one question, a page can be cited for one part of an answer without ranking for the whole thing. A clear page on one narrow question can beat a long page that covers everything vaguely.
What makes a page worth citing?
Five things, in our experience. They're the same things a busy reader wants.
- A direct answer in the first sentence or two after the heading.
- Specific facts: figures, dates, prices, steps and names that can be checked.
- A title and meta description that say exactly what the page answers, because that's the first thing ChatGPT sees in a search result.
- A visible date, so it's clear the information is current.
- Plain text in the static HTML, not in images, PDFs, tabs or scripts.
What is the step-by-step method?
These are the eight steps we work through. One to three get you seen. Four to eight get you cited.
- Check robots.txt and your bot protection allow OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User.
- Set up Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your sitemap and turn on IndexNow, then check your key pages are in Bing.
- List the questions your buyers ask ChatGPT, and the searches it's likely to run for each.
- Give each main question one clear page or section, with the question as the heading.
- Answer it in the first one or two sentences, then add the detail and the proof.
- Write titles and meta descriptions that state the answer, not just the topic.
- Show a last-updated date, and refresh pages when the facts change.
- Run the same questions in ChatGPT every month, with search on, and log which pages are cited.
Does ranking in Google help you rank on ChatGPT?
Indirectly. The same qualities that rank a page in Google tend to rank it in Bing, and ChatGPT leans on Bing.
But don't assume. Plenty of sites rank well in Google and have never been set up in Bing, or have pages Bing hasn't indexed. Search Bing for your key pages by name. If they're missing, that's the first thing to fix.
How is ranking on ChatGPT different from being recommended?
Ranking is about your pages being cited as sources. Being recommended is about your business being named as the one to use. They overlap, but they're not the same.
A guide on your site might be cited for "how long does a website take?" while a competitor is named for "who should build my website?". You want both. Our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT covers the second.
How do you see the traffic ChatGPT sends?
ChatGPT search adds utm_source=chatgpt.com to the links it sends, so the visits show up in your analytics. Set them up as their own channel.
Clicks are only part of it. Many people read the answer and never click, so log citations by hand too. Our guide to tracking ChatGPT recommendations has a simple monthly routine.