Every marketer is asking the same question right now:
“How do I get my website to show up in ChatGPT citations?”
Until recently, the answers were mostly guesses: “maybe schema”, “maybe LLMs.txt”, “maybe keywords”.
Now we finally have real data.
SE Ranking analysed 129,000 domains and 216,000+ pages across 20 niches to understand which websites ChatGPT likes to cite most often.blog.google Their conclusion is surprisingly reassuring for brands:
The same fundamentals that help you win in SEO also help you win in AI.
In this blog, we’ll break down:
What the new ChatGPT citation study actually says
The top signals that correlate with more citations
What this means for brands that don’t have huge authority yet
A practical playbook you can follow with Kodo-style execution
SE Ranking’s research looked at how often domains were cited in ChatGPT’s answers, then checked which on-site and off-site signals were most strongly correlated.
Some highlights:
Referring domains (unique websites linking to you) were the single strongest predictor of citations.
Domain traffic and Domain Trust were next – big, trusted sites naturally get more citations.
Content depth, structure, and freshness clearly matter. Longer, well-structured, recently updated content wins more often.
Social and reputation signals (Quora, Reddit, review platforms) help AI decide whose content is “safe to trust.”
Some hyped tactics — like LLMs.txt files and FAQ schema markup — showed little to no impact on citations.
So, no, there is no magic hidden tag you can drop into your HTML and suddenly become ChatGPT’s favourite child.
Instead, it’s a familiar story:
Authority + depth + structure + performance + social proof = more AI visibility.
According to the study, the number of referring domains to your site is the clearest indicator of how often you’ll be cited.
Sites with up to ~2,500 referring domains averaged around 1.6–1.8 citations
Domains with 350,000+ referring domains averaged 8.4 citations
There’s a “jump point” at ~32,000 referring domains where citations almost double
In simple terms:
ChatGPT behaves like a cautious researcher. If many good sites point to you, it feels safer referencing you.
For brands, this means:
Link-building is not just “for Google” anymore
Digital PR, guest posts, mentions, and collaborations now feed both search engines and AI engines
Low-quality link schemes still won’t work; the focus is on diverse, legitimate websites
If you’re a smaller brand, don’t panic. You don’t need 32,000 referring domains tomorrow. But you do need a plan to earn real mentions consistently.
The study also shows that overall domain visibility matters:
Sites with high Domain Trust (DT > 90) get nearly 4x more citations than low-trust sites (DT < 43).
Traffic only starts to matter in a big way once you cross ~190K monthly visitors – below that, differences are less dramatic.
It’s not random pages; it’s your homepage traffic that correlates most strongly with being cited.
What does this tell us?
Your brand, not just your blog, needs to be strong.
A high-authority root domain with a well-optimised homepage sends a clear “this is a serious site” signal to AI systems.
Google rankings and ChatGPT citations are cousins.
There’s a clear correlation between good organic rankings and AI citations – not proof that ChatGPT copies Google, but proof that quality and authority signals overlap.
For Kodo-type clients, this is good news: all the ongoing SEO work you’re already doing (technical health, content, authority) is also moving the needle for AI visibility.
The study also dives into how on-page content itself affects citations.
Articles over 2,900 words earned around 5.1 citations
Articles under 800 words averaged only 3.2 citations
Depth shows expertise, and answer engines want authoritative sources, not thin listicles.
Pages that:
Break content into 120–180 word sections between headings, and
Use question-based H2s/H3s and FAQ sections
…receive significantly more citations than walls of text.
From an AEO lens, this makes total sense:
When your page looks like a list of questions and clear answers, ChatGPT can “lift” those answers easily into its own responses.
Content updated in the last 3 months almost doubles average citations compared to older pages.
So the play is clear:
Don’t just publish and forget
Build a quarterly refresh ritual for your best traffic and “AI candidate” pages
One of the more interesting findings:
Smaller sites can “punch above their weight” by being active in communities and review ecosystems.
The SE Ranking data shows:
Domains with strong presence on Quora and Reddit have ~4x higher chances of being cited than those with minimal activity.
Sites with profiles on review platforms like G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Yelp, etc., are 3x more likely to be chosen as sources.
This is huge for younger brands:
If you don’t have 50K backlinks yet, you can still build brand trust footprints that AI models see across the open web:
Thoughtful Q&A contributions on Quora
Helpful, non-spammy posts and breakdowns on Reddit
Consistent reviews and ratings on relevant platforms
In other words:
Don’t just exist on your own site. Exist in the conversations around your category.
AI engines don’t like slow, fragile pages any more than humans do.
The study shows that pages with better Core Web Vitals (FCP, LCP, INP, Speed Index) are 3x more likely to be cited than slow pages.
It’s not that ChatGPT “cares” about UX in a human sense. It’s more that:
Fast pages are often better maintained
They’re more likely to stay online and reliable
They tend to correlate with strong SEO discipline
For Kodo clients, this simply reinforces a core rule:
Technical SEO and page speed are now part of your AI strategy, not just your Google strategy.
Two of the most hyped tactics got a reality check.
The study found that LLMs.txt had negligible impact on ChatGPT citations. In fact, removing it slightly improved their predictive models.
Conclusion:
It’s fine to use LLMs.txt for control and policy reasons
But don’t expect it to boost visibility or citations
Pages with FAQ schema actually showed no clear advantage over pages without it (and in some cases, slightly fewer citations).
Conclusion:
Structured data is still useful for classic SEO
But for ChatGPT specifically, content shape matters more than markup
Let’s translate all of this into a Kodo-style action list.
Build a long-term, ethical link-building program
Combine guest content, digital PR, podcast appearances, co-created reports
Track referring domains as a core KPI alongside traffic and leads
Pick priority topics and create:
2,000–3,000+ word deep dives with real data, visuals and examples
H2s and H3s that are questions users actually ask
Short, direct answers under each question (like mini FAQs inside the article)
This serves SEO, readers and answer engines in one shot.
Identify your top traffic + conversion + expertise pages
Update stats, add new sections, expand FAQs every 3 months
Track which pages start appearing in AI answers over time
Answer niche-relevant questions on Quora
Join relevant subreddits with genuine advice, not promo
Claim your brand on review platforms where prospects research tools/services
Think of it as distributed authority – you’re telling the web (and AI) “we exist, we’re trusted, and people talk about us”.
Aim for sub-second FCP/LCP where possible
Fix Core Web Vitals issues as they appear
Avoid heavy, bloated pages for your most strategic content
No. You can’t force citations, but you can increase probability by strengthening the same signals that ChatGPT appears to value: authority, depth, trust, and performance.
Not necessarily. That’s where citations accelerate, not where they start. Smaller sites can still earn citations if they publish high-quality, well-structured content and build strong community and review footprints.
Not at all. If anything, this study confirms that good SEO is the foundation of good AI visibility. Backlinks, domain trust, traffic, and content quality all matter for both Google and ChatGPT.
Schema is still valuable for traditional search features, but doesn’t guarantee AI citations. LLMs.txt is useful for controlling access, not boosting ranking. Focus first on authority, content and UX.
Kodo can help you:
Design an AI + SEO content roadmap
Build pillar pages and Q&A clusters around your core topics
Run digital PR & link-building that grows real authority
Optimise technical performance and Core Web Vitals
Track how often your brand appears in AI answers over time
ChatGPT visibility is not a hack. It’s a natural by-product of consistent, high-quality digital marketing — which is exactly the game Kodo already plays.
April 23, 2024