What Is LLM SEO? The Complete Guide for 2025
LLM SEO is the practice of optimising your content and brand to appear in AI-generated answers. Here's everything you need to know.
Search is being transformed. For decades, SEO meant ranking in Google's blue links. In 2025, millions of users get their answers directly from AI—ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Copilot. LLM SEO (also called Generative Engine Optimisation or GEO) is the discipline of making sure your brand, product, or content appears in those AI-generated answers.
What Does 'Ranking' in an LLM Mean?
In traditional SEO, ranking means appearing in position 1–10 in Google's results page. In LLM SEO, 'ranking' means being mentioned—cited by name—when a user asks an AI a question in your category.
- Primary mention: Your brand is the first or main recommendation
- Secondary mention: Your brand is included in a list of options
- No mention: Your brand is absent — the invisible competitor problem
How LLMs Decide What to Cite
LLMs learn from massive amounts of web content. The brands and sources they cite tend to share several characteristics:
- High-authority content cited frequently by other authoritative sources
- Direct, structured answers to common questions
- Rich structured data (schema markup) that signals content type
- Consistent brand mentions across multiple independent sources
- Original research, data, or frameworks that others reference
LLM SEO vs Traditional SEO
Many traditional SEO tactics still apply — but some need rethinking.
| Signal | Traditional SEO | LLM SEO |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | Keyword density & placement | Natural language answers to questions |
| Links | Backlinks for authority | Citations and co-mentions with authority brands |
| Content format | Long-form articles | Concise answers first, detail second |
| Schema | Optional enhancement | Critical for structure recognition |
| Freshness | Important for news | Important for all content |
| Measurement | Rankings in SERPs | Mention rate in AI answers |
How to Measure Your LLM SEO Performance
The key metric is mention rate: the percentage of relevant queries for which your brand appears in the AI answer. Track this across multiple LLMs and over time with a tool like RankJag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LLM SEO the same as GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)?
Yes — LLM SEO and GEO refer to the same discipline. GEO is the academic term coined in a 2024 Princeton/Georgia Tech paper; LLM SEO is more commonly used by practitioners.
Does LLM SEO affect my Google rankings?
Indirectly. Content that performs well in LLM SEO (authoritative, well-structured, widely cited) also tends to rank well on Google. The two disciplines share many best practices.
How quickly can I see results from LLM SEO?
New content can appear in LLM answers within weeks if it's well-structured and earns citations. But building consistent brand authority across multiple LLMs is a 3–6 month investment.
Last updated: February 8, 2025 · Written by RankJag Team