#Google search rankings correlate with ChatGPT mentions: study
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Brands ranking on page 1 of Google appear to get more mentions in LLMs. Links don’t seem to matter, new study finds.
Google rankings seem to correlate with brand mentions in ChatGPT’s AI-generated answers, according to a new study published by digital marketing agency Seer Interactive.
Why we care. Brands want to be discoverable in LLMs. Optimizing for LLMs (a.k.a., generative engine optimization) is a new frontier and is not exactly the same as optimizing for classic organic search. However, ultimately, answer engines or search engines want to give users answers. So it may be good news that if you’re creating high-quality, relevant content, your brand is more likely to be visible in both.
What they found. Google rankings seemed to matter, but backlinks and content variety did not, according to authors Christina Blake and Nick Haigler:
- “Brands ranking on page 1 of Google showed a strong correlation (~0.65) with LLM mentions. Bing rankings also mattered but less so (~0.5–0.6).
- We expected backlinks to play a big role, but their impact was weak or even neutral.
- Multi-modal content didn’t move the needle as much as we thought it would.”
About the study. 10,000 questions in finance and SaaS industries were run through OpenAI’s GPT4o API to determine which triggered brand mentions. As always, a reminder that correlation is not causation.
More to come. “Search rankings appear to play some role in influencing LLM mentions, but they’re not the whole story. PR, partnerships, and on-page strategies are areas we’ll be digging into next,” according to the authors.
Zoom out. This is not the only study to find correlation between ranking and visibility in AI-generated answers. 75% of Google AI Overview links come from top 12 organic rankings, according to a recent analysis by Botify and DemandSphere.
The study. What Drives Brand Mentions in AI Answers?
About the author
Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events.
Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.
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