How to Rank #1 in ChatGPT & AI Search

Update your robots.txt to allow GPTbot, Bingbot, and Googlebot

Ranking in AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews isn’t just about keywords anymore — it’s about being crawlable, citable, and trusted. As large language models (LLMs) increasingly pull from the web to answer user questions, the technical foundation and content depth of your site determines whether you show up or get left out entirely.

This guide covers the most critical steps most websites are missing. Whether you’re a local business in Tampa Bay or a national brand, these strategies will help you build visibility in both traditional search engines and AI-powered platforms. Let’s get into it.

What Is LLM SEO and Why Does It Matter?

LLM SEO refers to the practice of optimizing your website so that large language models -the technology powering ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and others — can find, understand, and cite your content when answering user queries. Traditional SEO focuses on ranking in Google’s blue link results. LLM SEO focuses on being the source those AI systems reference.

The stakes are high. When someone asks ChatGPT, “Who is the best web designer in St. Petersburg, FL?” — the answer will not come from a ranking algorithm. It will come from whatever authoritative, well-structured content the model was trained on or can access. If your site isn’t crawlable and credible, you simply don’t exist in that answer.

Step 1. Update the robots.txt file

To allow GPTBot, Bingbot, and Googlebot to crawl your site, update your robots.txt file (located at yourdomain.com/robots.txt) by adding Allow: / rules for each user-agent. This ensures these crawlers can access your content for search results and AI training.

User-agent: Googlebot
Allow: /

User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

Many sites accidentally block GPTBot through overly restrictive legacy robots.txt settings. This single fix can immediately open your content up to AI indexing.

Step 2. Upload and Test the File

Save the file: Ensure it is named exactly robots.txt and saved with UTF-8 encoding.
Upload to Root: Place the file in the root directory of your domain (e.g., https://example.com/robots.txt).
Verify via Search Consoles:
- Google: Use the Google Search Console Robots.txt Report to request a recrawl of the file.
- Bing: Use the Bing Webmaster Tools Robots.txt Tester to verify that Bingbot is not blocked.
- Manual check: Visit https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt directly in a browser to confirm the file is live and correct.

Step 3: Add Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Schema markup is code you add to your website that tells search engines and AI systems exactly what your content means — not just what it says. For a local business, this might include your business name, address, phone number, hours, and service area. For a blog post, it might define the author, publish date, and article topic.

LLMs favor content that is semantically rich and unambiguous. When your site uses JSON-LD schema, you’re essentially handing AI systems a cheat sheet for understanding your authority and relevance. At minimum, local businesses should implement LocalBusiness schema, and content pages should use Article or BlogPosting schema.

Step 4: Build Topical Authority with Deep Content

One of the most important signals LLMs use when deciding what to cite is topical authority — how thoroughly and consistently a website covers a given subject. A site with one blog post about web design is far less likely to be cited than a site with 15 interconnected posts covering web design, SEO, landing pages, performance optimization, and local search.

To build topical authority, audit your existing content and identify gaps. Create a content cluster around your core expertise — in this case, web design and digital marketing in the Tampa Bay area. Every new piece of content should link back to a central “pillar” page, and that pillar page should link out to the supporting articles. This internal linking structure signals depth to both Google and AI crawlers.

Step 5: Earn Citations and Backlinks from Trusted Sources

Backlinks remain one of the strongest authority signals in both traditional SEO and LLM training. When reputable websites link to your content, they’re essentially casting a vote of confidence in your expertise. LLMs are trained on vast datasets that weight frequently cited sources more heavily — so the more your content is referenced across the web, the more likely AI systems are to surface it.

Focus on earning links from local directories, industry publications, and partner websites. Guest posting, press coverage, and being listed in curated resource guides are all effective strategies. For local businesses in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay, citations in local news outlets and chamber of commerce directories carry particular weight.

Step 6: Why This Matters Especially for Local Businesses

For small and mid-sized businesses in St. Petersburg, Tampa, and the broader Tampa Bay area, AI search represents both a major opportunity and a real risk. Customers are increasingly turning to ChatGPT and Perplexity to find local service providers — and the businesses that show up in those answers are the ones that have invested in both traditional SEO and LLM optimization.

The good news is that most local competitors haven’t started yet. By making your site crawlable, adding structured data, building content depth, and earning citations now, you can establish a dominant position in AI search before it becomes saturated. The businesses that act early will have a significant and lasting advantage.

AI Visibility vs. Traditional SEO: What’s the Difference?

Traditional SEO and LLM SEO share the same foundation — quality content, technical accessibility, and authority — but they diverge in important ways. Google’s algorithm ranks pages; LLMs synthesize information across sources to generate answers. This means that in AI search, you’re not just competing for a top-10 position — you’re competing to be the source the model trusts enough to cite.

Key differences include: LLMs reward content that directly answers questions in plain language; they favor structured, well-organized pages over dense walls of text; and they heavily weight external validation (citations, mentions, backlinks) as a proxy for credibility. If your content strategy has been built around keyword density alone, it’s time to shift toward genuine expertise and clear, helpful writing.

Ready to Rank in Both Google and AI Search?

Getting your business visible in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews requires a strategy that goes beyond basic SEO. I help businesses in St. Petersburg, Tampa, and across Tampa Bay build the technical foundation, content depth, and authority signals needed to compete in both traditional and AI-powered search.

Contact Farr Design today to get started: shanefarr.com/contact | 727-210-5579