ChatGPT (and many other AI models) use Bing information to generate results, so you need to exist on Bing if you want to rank on ChatGPT. Here’s how:
Source: Darren Shaw of Whitespark
I’m always writing about Google.
I want every last operator to optimize their Google Business Profile. I want everyone to be rabid about getting reviews. I want solid internal linking, lots of customer-focused keywords, and plenty of helpful content on each page.
I’ve told people not to worry too much about other platforms, because Google is the big dog. Google has around 90% of total search volume, and other search engines work very similarly. So, if you win at Google, you’re likely to win elsewhere, too.
But that might be changing.
You need to care about Bing now.
You don’t need a course in high-level Bing SEO, but you do need a Bing Places account that you pay attention to.
That’s not because Bing suddenly has a huge influx of new users. Bing has just gotten a handful of really important new users: ChatGPT and the other major AI models.
New to AI? Get started with our AI in Self Storage article!
Yes, local businesses should start working on appearing in AI answers now. Most major search companies are investing heavily in AI, and Google is in the process of adding AI search answers to every conceivable query.
There’s a decent chance that all searches will involve AI in the near future.
Whether we like it or not, the companies that run the internet are doubling down on AI.
Better to get ahead of it than to play catch-up.
If you’ve already got a Google Business Profile (and you should), you can import all your information to Bing.
This is quick and easy:
If you don’t have a Google Business profile already, make that first (please, for the love of roll-up doors).
Learn how to make and optimize your Google business profile here!
Self storage ranking factors for AI
Once you’ve got your Bing Places profile set up, you’ll be eligible to show up in ChatGPT results. But how do you get the AI to actually recommend you?
Here are the steps you need to take to rank on ChatGPT and other AI:
AI bots hold almost everything that’s on the internet, and they use that knowledge to answer questions.
That means the angry interchange you had on your old Yelp profile? ChatGPT might have read that.
But also, the article on the local high school website mentioning your sponsorship of the rafting team? They read that too!
For traditional SEO, positive reviews and backlinks work as a vote of confidence for your website and your business. For AI SEO, mentions can do the same.
More mentions = more prominence. Some mentions are better than others, of course! If people talk about how good your service is on a forum (like Reddit), that’s great. If you win an award in the local paper, that’s even better.
The more times an AI sees your business in its training data, the more likely you are to show up in a response.
So, get out there! Sponsor stuff in your community. Join the Chamber of Commerce. Post (a little) on your business’s social media.
But don’t sacrifice your other self storage marketing to do this stuff. If you market well and get good reviews, AI will pick up on that even if you don’t sponsor the local basketweaving cooperative.
Make a Bing Places profile, though. Just in case the robots do take over.
Here are some of my other favorite posts to check out!
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