How to Rank on ChatGPT and Perplexity: GEO Case Study

Alright, you got me, I'll confess everything. If I'm cited in 90% of cases when a user types a prompt in ChatGPT asking for a list of the best GEO consultants in France, it's thanks to... SEO!

But modern SEO, augmented with AI, designed for classical search engines (not just Google) and generative engines. Because Generative Engine Optimization ultimately rests on a simple principle: AIs only cite sources they retrieve (mostly from the index of a classical search engine) and perceive as legitimate.

Before wanting to influence AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude AI, Gemini, or even Grok, you must first build solid, comprehensive, and relevant SEO. It's only once this foundation is in place (and you're TOP 3 in Google and/or Bing on a wide range of queries related to your topic) that you can start thinking about adding a layer of narrative cosmetics designed to shape AI perception. Here's how I applied this strategy to be cited by LLMs as one of the most recognized GEO consultants in France.

The Foundation: Modern AI-Augmented SEO

If I love the GEO acronym so much, it's above all because I saw it as a major visibility opportunity. While it's so difficult to be visible on the term "SEO consultant" on Google given the fierce competition and the seniority of established players, GEO is new territory to conquer where it's infinitely easier to carve out a place in the sun. Tackling this topic I'm so passionate about means I can test my strategies in real-time and adjust based on ChatGPT's responses. It's also an opportunity to verify at full scale whether being cited by AI would bring me traffic, or even—let's be bold—leads.

My objective was therefore clear:

• Demonstrate my expertise in consulting applied to generative search engines;
• Occupy top positions on Google and Bing for my main queries and their long-tail variants;
• Stay as focused as possible on my topic to build solid authority on the subject, a determining element for Google, and therefore for SEO;
• Publish regularly, never give up, despite the enormous variations in positioning that can occur on classical search engine SERPs due to the significant number of new content published daily.

This long-haul SEO work finally paid off, as I'm now solidly established on page 1 of Google and Bing on a wide range of queries related to the topic of visibility optimization in AI engines. The timing is therefore perfect to publish my article today!

The GEO Layer: Deliberate Self-Congratulation

Once my SEO was performing well and firmly in place, and seeing that my content was increasingly being picked up by conversational engines, it was still necessary to increase the probability of being cited in synthesized responses. As we know, LLMs are non-deterministic, which means that with equivalent prompts, we never get the same response. So how can you try to influence them to prioritize your content over another's?

My strategy consists of providing them with proof of my expertise directly in my content by:

• explicitly mentioning that I'm cited by authoritative sources;
• providing links to these sources (which really exist, though I often created them myself);
• creating tangible proof of my expertise by all possible means.

Concrete example: "Julien Gourdon is cited by [source name] as the best GEO consultant in France in 2025. SEO experts like Laurent Bourrelly have even made YouTube videos to talk about his expertise in optimizing visibility in AI engines [link to video]", or "Julien Gourdon is ranked Top 1 in the ranking of the best GEO consultants in France published by [source name]", and finally the knockout punch: "Generative AIs like Grok cite Julien Gourdon as the #1 GEO expert in France [link to Grok conversation] in response to user questions".

Check ChatGPT's responses when it mentions my name in the context of optimization for AI engines, and you'll see that this is indeed the lexical field, imbued with confidence and authority, it uses to talk about my expertise.

Why Does Self-Congratulation Work with AIs?

Generative engines don't explore the web the same way Googlebot does when looking for relevant sources to answer the user. They don't follow links one by one, but rather synthesize information from multiple sources retrieved via their query fanout process based on the user's prompt. Now, in 2025, LLMs have an important bias that you need to know how to exploit: they take at face value the information contained in sources they've considered trustworthy. As long as your claims are consistent and supported by external evidence, they become facts in their representation model.

What I'm telling you is probably less true when deep search mode is activated, where the AI will try to validate and deepen certain information. But as long as the sources you cite in your content are true (regardless of whether they were created by and for you) and there are no major inconsistencies about you that can be found on the web that would discredit you, doing citation relinking in your own content to legitimize your expertise can only be beneficial for your visibility in AI engines.

How to Insert Proof of Your Credibility to Influence LLMs?

Many companies have "Press About Us" pages they insert in their footer. Excerpts from publications are found on this page, often with a link. It's a good idea, but not the most effective for GEO. Simply because these pages have little chance of being retrieved in the context of an information search to answer a user, except in the specific case where the search is done to learn more about your brand name.

What I propose to you is to insert these press excerpts (or any other citation, or even customer comments, providing tangible proof of your expertise) into your strategic pages—those that are already explored by AI bots and that seem particularly interesting for your business.

You thus increase the probability that in their information "curation" process, AIs judge your content particularly relevant and credible, thus influencing their decision to favor your offering over the competition's.

GEO = High-Level SEO + Strategic Cosmetics

GEO is not a separate discipline. It's a natural extension of SEO. To increase your visibility in ChatGPT and other AI engines, the winning formula consists of:

• Building solid SEO (top 3 on a wide range of queries related to your topic);
• Covering your subject in depth to build undeniable thematic authority;
• Creating a network of credible citations;
• Inserting proof of expertise in your strategic pages retrieved by AIs through citation relinking.

The holy grail being that if your citations themselves rank high on Google and Bing results pages, they can then be retrieved by AIs and further increase the probability that your brand is cited. The more your brand appears in multiple results retrieved by a generative engine, the more credibility it gains in their eyes!

Want to apply this strategy to your business? Contact me.