LLM SEO agency for citations in ChatGPT, AI Mode and other chatbots

An LLM SEO agency helps your business show up as a cited source in answers generated by AI platforms. In plain language, it’s like SEO but for AI-driven search. Instead of just ranking on Google’s first page, the goal is to have chatbots and AI search tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Bing’s AI answers, Google’s AI snippets) pull information from your site and credit you. 

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To achieve this, the agency optimizes your content and website structure for how large language models pick and present information. They might refine your pages with clear Q&A formats, add schema markup (structured data) to define key facts, and ensure your brand is well-referenced across the web. 

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It’s often called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) – different names for the same idea. The agency essentially makes your site a trusted source that AI engines prefer to quote, which in turn drives new visitors and strengthens your authority in your niche.

We measure LLM SEO success in three main ways. 

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Presence is your visibility – how often and where your content appears in AI-generated answers. For instance, we track share-of-voice in AI results (what percentage of relevant AI answers mention your brand versus competitors). 

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Attribution is about credit and quality: when you are cited, is it a proper clickable link, does it mention your brand name, and is the context positive? We optimize so that whenever an AI cites you, it’s clearly pointing readers to you (attribution matters because a plain text mention vs. a hyperlink can make a big difference in traffic). 

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Finally, impact is the traffic and conversions those citations bring. 

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We set up analytics to capture clicks from AI sources – for example, filtering out visits from tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity in Google Analytics – so we can quantify how many users came to your site from an AI answer. 

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We then connect those visits to outcomes like sign-ups or sales. In short, success isn’t just “the AI mentioned us,” but how often did we appear, did people engage, and did it contribute to our goals. All of this is presented in our LLM SEO dashboard and reports, so you have concrete data on presence, attribution quality, and impact.

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LLM SEO and traditional SEO aren’t at odds – in fact, they complement each other. 

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The improvements we make for AI visibility (such as clearer content structure, better schema, and authoritative, concise answers) also tend to boost your performance in regular search. Think about featured snippets on Google: the same kind of content that an AI loves – clear Q&A style, well-structured info – is what Google often picks for position zero. By writing with an “AI answer” mindset, you’re often simultaneously making your content snippet-friendly for Google. 

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Also, focusing on entities (e.g. ensuring your brand and key terms are well-defined) helps with Google’s understanding of your site, which can improve your rankings. We make sure any LLM SEO work aligns with SEO best practices – no hacks that would hurt your search rankings. In practice, our clients see that optimizing for AI answers yields side benefits like better user experience and more clarity, which Google rewards. 

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It’s a virtuous cycle: content that’s great for AI answers is usually great for human searchers too, so you win on both fronts.

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You can typically expect to see initial signs of progress within the first couple of months. 

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For example, after implementing our recommendations, many clients start seeing their pages show up in AI-driven results or get small trickles of referral traffic from tools like Perplexity or Bing Chat in 6–8 weeks. In some cases, it can happen even faster – one client (MentorCruise) saw over 20K+ visits from AI search tools in under 3 months once we optimized their content for LLM. However, the exact timeline depends on your starting point. 

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If you already have high-authority content, we might snag citations pretty quickly. If you’re newer or in a very competitive space, it might take a bit longer (perhaps 3–6 months) to build up your entity authority and get on the AI’s radar. Keep in mind that AI models update their knowledge and algorithms periodically, so there can be an initial waiting period for changes to be reflected. That said, we don’t leave you guessing. 

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We’ll be monitoring and updating you as soon as we see your first AI citations or traffic, and you’ll get regular progress reports. The bottom line: LLM SEO tends to show some early “wins” within a quarter, and then snowballs with bigger impacts in the following months as your optimizations compound.

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LLM SEO is a new frontier, which means it comes with a few caveats to be aware of. 

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First, not all AI platforms are the same – some always cite sources with links (e.g. Perplexity, Bing’s chat), while others might give answers without any citations (or with only a vague mention). This means sometimes your content might help answer a question but users won’t see a clickable link to you. 

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That’s a limitation of certain AI interfaces, not something we control. However, we focus on the platforms and scenarios where citations are provided, and we work on boosting your brand mentions in general so even un-linked attributions still build awareness. Second, the AI algorithms for choosing sources are less transparent than Google’s algorithm, and they’re evolving. 

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We can’t guarantee a given piece of content will be picked every time – the AI might change its model or ingest new information that shifts what it cites. We mitigate this by following durable best practices (quality content, consistent facts, authoritative signals) that make you a good candidate no matter how the AI algorithm tweaks.

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 Another limitation to note: current traffic from AI answers is growing but still a smaller slice compared to traditional search. Projections show it could be around 15% of search traffic by 2028, but today, it likely won’t replace your Google traffic. 

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So LLM SEO is best seen as an additive strategy – capturing new opportunities – rather than a channel that will overnight double your traffic. In terms of risks, there’s no penalty for doing this (it’s all about improving content and technical SEO, which is positive), but the “risk” is more about the ROI timeline and predictability. 

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Because it’s new, results can sometimes be spiky or require adjustment as we learn what works best for your niche. We’ll be candid about what we see and we’ll adapt in real-time. Overall, we believe the biggest risk is ignoring LLM SEO: if your competitors establish themselves with AI early and you don’t, it might be hard to catch up later when AI-driven traffic is even more significant.

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A typical Embarque engagement is full-service, meaning we handle everything from analysis to execution. It usually begins with a deep-dive audit and strategy phase. 

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We learn about your business, do an LLM SEO audit (technical SEO check, content review, and an AI visibility assessment), and identify where the gaps and opportunities are. 

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Next, we present a roadmap that prioritizes tasks – often starting with quick wins like fixing critical technical issues or adding missing schema, then moving into content improvements and link/authority building. 

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We then roll up our sleeves and implement the plan in stages. This can include updating your site’s structure (e.g. better internal linking and clear headings), creating or refining content sections to be AI-friendly, adding schema markup, and ensuring your brand’s online profiles are consistent. If needed, we’ll also support with off-page strategies, like getting your brand featured on high-authority websites or data sources, to boost your entity reputation. 

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Throughout the engagement, we collaborate with your team – for instance, aligning on content topics or working with your devs if code changes are needed – but we do the heavy lifting to make execution easy for you. 

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Finally, reporting and iteration are a big part of our service. We set up dashboards and regular check-in meetings to keep you informed. 

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