What is LLM SEO and why does it matter now?
Optimizing for LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude is not the same as classic SEO. This is the short guide on where to start.
If in 2010 you wanted your business to exist, you needed to show up on Google. In 2026, if you want your business to exist, you need to show up when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, or Gemini. And it's not achieved the same way.
What changed
Classic SEO optimizes a site so a crawler indexes it and presents it in a list of 10 results. LLM SEO optimizes a site (and its entity) so a model cites it as a source when answering a question. The difference is structural: the LLM answers directly, without going through the list of results. If you're not in the answer, you don't exist for that user.
What makes a site citable
Four things: (1) Clear entity — your company, founders, and services defined as entities with JSON-LD cross-referenced by @id and sameAs to your external profiles. (2) llms.txt — the file at the root that tells the LLM what you are and where the key information lives. (3) Dense content — LLMs prefer citing pages with substantive, well-structured text, not three-sentence landings. (4) Literal FAQs — phrasing questions exactly as someone would ask an LLM dramatically increases citation probability.
What to measure
There's no Google Search Console for LLMs today. What we do: every few weeks, ask the major LLMs about your category and log whether they cite you, what they say, and with what link. Measure mentions, not clicks. Conversion comes later.
Where to start
Quick audit: do you have llms.txt? Does your Organization JSON-LD have founder and sameAs? Do you have a FAQ with real questions? If any answer is no, that's your work for the quarter.