This article is for companies that want to ensure they are in the top position when online searches move to ChatGPT and other AI platforms. Tools and strategies are developing rapidly as the market evolves, and we try to keep this post as up-to-date as possible as we develop new ways to rank higher on AI platforms with our clients.
Brief history and why ChatGPT matters for SEOs
ChatGPT was launched on November 30, 2022, and in January 2023, it had over 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Fast-forward to August 2024, and ChatGPT hit the 200 million mark on weekly active users.
In the latest update from December 2024, weekly active users have surged to 300 million. A significant spike in growth occurred after the introduction of the search functionality to ChatGPT on October 31, 2024. Over the coming year, the company has set an ambitious goal to nearly quadruple its user base, aiming to reach 1 billion users.
ChatGPT offers potential for organic traffic, especially for B2B companies. OpenAI reports that 92% of Fortune 500 companies already utilise its tools. Additionally, ChatGPT’s growing scale makes it an increasingly influential platform. With 300 million weekly active users, it matches LinkedIn’s 300 million monthly active users, positioning itself as a powerful channel for connecting with professionals.
The key question is: how? With no ads currently available on ChatGPT, the only option for businesses is to focus on generating organic reach.
Is there traffic coming from ChatGPT
To expand your presence on ChatGPT, it’s essential to start by understanding your current position. When optimizing for Google or Bing, tools like Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools provide valuable insights into the keywords driving traffic to your site. However, no equivalent tools currently exist for ChatGPT, making it a unique challenge to track and refine your strategy.
The only way to track traffic from ChatGPT is by using your online analytics tool. In our case, we rely on Google Analytics, so the examples provided will be based on that platform. However, similar functionalities are likely available in other analytics tools as well.
In Google Analytics, navigate to the User Acquisition or Traffic Acquisition report and filter the data by the source, such as chatgpt.com. The screenshot below demonstrates how to locate this information in the User Acquisition report.
The image shows that, during the selected time frame, 67 users visited our website from ChatGPT, spending an average of 31 seconds on the site. This data provides a snapshot of your current performance. As you implement strategies to drive more traffic, regularly compare these metrics to previous time frames to ensure continuous growth and improvement.
What can you do to get more traffic from ChatGPT?
Determining how to increase traffic from ChatGPT is as challenging as analyzing your current performance. In traditional SEO, various tools can provide insights into search behavior and keyword volumes. However, these tools are not yet available for ChatGPT. That said, there are still ways to gather useful information and make informed decisions.
On-page optimisation for ChatGPT
On-page SEO focuses on optimizing individual web pages to improve their visibility and drive organic traffic. This involves refining elements like titles, headings, meta descriptions, internal links, image alt text, and URL structure. The goal is to make pages more relevant, user-friendly, and comprehensible for search engines.
Below is a screenshot from the User Acquisition report where the landing page is added as a secondary dimension. This allows you to see which pages already have organic visibility on ChatGPT.
Prioritizing the improvement of these pages and creating additional content around similar topics is essential for increasing visibility. You can also use ChatGPT to explore prompts related to your content, analyze the pages that rank for those prompts, and then enhance your own content to outperform competitors. For example, the sources listed below are from the prompt “social media trends in Germany,”* which is currently at the top of the list in the above image.
Off-page optimisation
Off-page SEO includes actions taken outside your website to improve its authority and visibility. The main focus is on acquiring high-quality backlinks, which indicate to search engines that your site is credible and valuable. Other strategies include social media marketing, influencer outreach, brand mentions, and promoting content on external platforms.
It’s unclear how much weight ChatGPT assigns to backlinks when ranking websites, but we can gain insights into the sources it values by reviewing the results for specific prompts.
For example, the sources listed below are from the prompt “Digital marketing agencies in Finland.”* Here, you can see websites like Gaasly and Clutch.co, a well-known business directory, which suggests the types of sites ChatGPT considers authoritative for this topic.
For off-page optimization, it’s important to monitor how your company ranks on ChatGPT and identify the other pages ChatGPT references as sources. Establishing a presence on these websites can potentially improve your ranking on ChatGPT as well.
If you are looking for a agency to help you with optimising your content for ChatGPT, get in touch with us here.
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