Discover some best practices to ensure good ranking on ChatGPT Search, OpenAI's new search engine.
With the launch of its search engine, ChatGPT Search, OpenAI has made a significant impact. While the tool is still far from matching the performance of Google, which has dominated the market for over two decades, it represents a competitor that the Mountain View firm hasn't faced in a long time. For SEO professionals, ChatGPT Search offers a new playing field that could generate substantial traffic to websites, especially thanks to the citations included in its responses.
Although all the specifics of its functionality haven't been revealed yet, there are still some best practices to adopt to improve your ranking. Here's what we know.
How does ChatGPT search works?
ChatGPT incorporates two technologies: Microsoft's Bing search index and OpenAI’s proprietary solution. The latter combines the chatbot's two latest language models: GPT-4o and o1-preview. OpenAI’s technical documentation lists three distinct crawlers:
- OAI-SearchBot: This is the primary crawler for search functions, indexing content to improve site visibility in OpenAI's results.
- ChatGPT-User: This crawler responds to user requests in real-time, enabling direct interactions with external applications.
- GPTBot: GPTBot is dedicated to training the AI models.
Ensure your site's indexing by ChatGPT Search
Considering the previously mentioned elements, it is essential to facilitate the indexing of your site by ChatGPT Search. First, make sure to configure your robots.txt file to allow access for both OAI-SearchBot and ChatGPT-User. GPTBot, on the other hand, can be blocked without affecting your search visibility. A possible solution if you prefer not to have your content used for model training.
Bing’s technology could contribute a significant portion of traffic, as many SEO specialists have observed strong similarities between article rankings on both platforms. Therefore, it is also crucial to ensure good indexing of your site on Bing. A clear site architecture will also be beneficial.
'For search results, please note that it may take around 24 hours between a site’s robots.txt file update and our systems adapting,' specifies OpenAI.
Content: How to appeal to ChatGPT Search?
Send Signals of Reliability
When it comes to content, ChatGPT's new search engine emphasizes the reliability of sources. Aware of the concerns that an AI-based search engine could raise, particularly due to the hallucinations that the chatbot sometimes generates, OpenAI has partnered with numerous reputable media outlets to strengthen its credibility. Citing your sources and, conversely, having your articles referenced across various media outlets, websites, or social networks will send a positive signal to the search engine.
ChatGPT also prioritizes up-to-date content. Therefore, it is essential to regularly update your articles, especially if they cover trending news.
Optimize Your Content for Bing
If your articles rank well on Bing, there's a good chance they'll perform well on ChatGPT Search too. Fortunately, Bing's content recommendations are similar to those of Google. On its Webmaster Tools page, Bing suggests the following practices:
- Create Content for Users: The priority is still rich content based on keyword research, meeting visitor expectations rather than catering to search engines.
- Publish Unique Content: The content should be original to your site.
- Use Optimized Media: Original images and videos relevant to the topic increase engagement. For accessibility, Bing recommends using captions and alt text. Optimizing formats will also help with page load times. Conversely, like Google, Bing warns against Black Hat SEO practices, such as cloaking, duplicate content, link buying, or affiliate programs without added value.
Consider Local SEO
For local searches, ChatGPT provides an interactive map. Places and establishments are selected based on articles from regional daily news, tourism offices, websites specializing in events and activities, or platforms like TripAdvisor. If you operate a local business, being featured in online rankings could secure a good position on ChatGPT Search.
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