How to Get Your Business to Show Up in ChatGPT

You’ve probably spent years hearing about SEO and how important it is to show up on Google.

But now there’s another place people are searching: ChatGPT.

Instead of typing “website designer South Jersey” into Google and scrolling through a page of results, someone can ask ChatGPT:

“Who are some website designers in South Jersey?”

“Find me a website designer who works with small businesses.”

“Where can I find Showit website templates for photographers?”

And ChatGPT can search the web and recommend businesses and resources that are relevant to what that person is looking for.

Which brings us to the big question:

How do you get YOUR business to show up?

There isn’t a magic “submit my business to ChatGPT” button that guarantees you’ll be recommended. But there are absolutely things you can do to make it easier for ChatGPT — and other AI-powered search tools — to understand who you are, what you do and who you serve.

Here’s where I’d start.

(1) Make Sure Your Website Clearly Says What You Do

This sounds ridiculously simple, but it matters.

Your website shouldn’t make people — or search engines — work to figure out what your business actually does.

Instead of filling your homepage with vague phrases like:

Creating magic for your next chapter.

Tell people what you actually offer.

For example:

Custom Showit website design for small businesses in South Jersey and beyond.

Now there’s context.

What do you do? Website design.

Who do you work with? Small businesses.

Where are you located? South Jersey.

What platform do you specialize in? Showit.

You can still have personality in your website copy. You just also need to give search engines and AI tools enough information to understand your business.

(2) Don’t Forget About SEO

AI search does not mean traditional SEO suddenly doesn’t matter.

Having clear page titles, meta descriptions, headings, website copy and individual pages for your services helps establish what your website is about.

Think about what your ideal customer might actually search or ask.

If you’re a wedding photographer in Cape May, your website should probably include phrases like:

Cape May wedding photographer

South Jersey wedding photography

Jersey Shore wedding photographer

Not stuffed awkwardly into every other sentence — just naturally included where they make sense.

The easier it is to understand what your business does, the better.

(3) Create Helpful Content

This is one of my favorites because your website shouldn’t just be an online brochure.

Answer the questions your customers are already asking.

If you’re a realtor, write about the towns you serve.

If you’re a photographer, create wedding planning or photo-location guides.

If you’re a therapist, answer common questions about your services and approach.

If you’re a website designer (hi 👋), write articles like this one.

Blog posts give your website more opportunities to provide useful, specific information around the topics connected to your business.

Instead of trying to write something just because you think it’ll “rank,” think:

What would my ideal customer actually want to know?

Then answer it.

(4) Get Specific About Where You Work

If you own a local business, don’t just say you’re located in “New Jersey.”

Where in New Jersey?

What towns do you serve?

What counties?

Do you travel?

If someone asks ChatGPT for a recommendation in Ocean City, Cape May, Avalon or another specific town, having those locations clearly associated with your business gives search tools more context about where you actually work.

Create service-area information on your website and naturally mention the locations you serve throughout your copy when they’re relevant.

(5) Keep Your Google Business Profile Updated

Your website isn’t the only place your business exists online.

Keep your Google Business Profile accurate and updated with your website, hours, services, photos, contact information and other important business details.

And don’t set it up once and forget about it.

Add new photos. Update information when something changes. Collect reviews. Post updates.

You want the information about your business across the internet to be current and consistent.

(6) Get More Reviews

Reviews aren’t just there to make you feel good (although a really good one definitely doesn’t hurt).

They provide additional information about your business from people who have actually worked with you.

Encourage happy customers to leave genuine reviews that naturally talk about their experience.

A review that says:

“Laura was great!”

is nice.

But one that talks about working with you on a Showit website for their South Jersey photography business provides a whole lot more context.

Don’t tell customers exactly what to write, but you can ask them to share what service they booked and what their experience was like.

(7) Make Sure Your Business Information Is Consistent

Your business name, website, location, services and contact information should be consistent wherever your business appears online.

That could include your:

Website
Google Business Profile
Social media accounts
Professional directories
Industry websites
Local directories

If one website says one thing and another says something completely different, you’re creating unnecessary confusion.

Keep your information accurate and update old listings when your business changes.

(8) Build Your Online Presence Beyond Your Own Website

You can say you’re the best website designer in the world 100 times on your own website.

But it’s a little more convincing when other websites know you exist too.

Look for legitimate opportunities to have your business mentioned elsewhere online.

That might include local directories, industry associations, vendor directories, podcasts, collaborations, press features or other reputable websites.

And no, that doesn’t mean submitting your website to 700 sketchy directories.

Quality over quantity.

(9) Make Sure ChatGPT Can Access Your Website

Here’s one that’s a little more technical.

OpenAI uses a web crawler called OAI-SearchBot to help discover website content for ChatGPT search. If your website blocks that crawler, some of your content may not be available to appear in ChatGPT search results.

For most small business owners, this isn’t something you’re going to be checking every Tuesday morning with your coffee.

But it is something your website designer or developer can check for you.

Your website should also be publicly accessible, load properly and have content that search tools can actually read.

(10) Keep Your Website Current

If you haven’t touched your website since 2021, now would be a pretty good time.

Update your services.

Add your current locations.

Publish new work.

Update your About page.

Add recent testimonials.

Write useful blog posts.

Remove services you don’t offer anymore.

Your website should be an accurate representation of the business you have right now.

Because whether someone finds you through Google, ChatGPT, Instagram or a recommendation from a friend, they’re probably going to end up on your website eventually.

And you want what they find there to be good.

So, Can You Guarantee Your Business Will Show Up in ChatGPT?

Nope.

And anyone promising you the #1 spot in ChatGPT should probably raise an eyebrow.

ChatGPT search considers multiple factors when deciding what information and sources are relevant to a person’s question, and there isn’t a guaranteed placement.

What you can do is build a strong online presence that makes it really easy to understand:

Who you are.
What you do.
Where you do it.
Who you help.
And why someone should trust your business.

The funny thing is, most of those things aren’t some brand-new “AI SEO” trick.

They’re the same foundations of a really good website and online presence.

So before you start worrying about the latest ChatGPT hack, start there.

Want to Make Sure Your Website Is Doing Its Job?

If your website is outdated, confusing or barely showing up anywhere online, it might be time to give it some attention.

I design custom websites for small businesses that don’t just look good — they’re intentionally built to clearly communicate what you do and help the right people find you.

And if you’re more of a DIY person, you can shop my Showit website templates and create a site that’s completely your own.

Because however someone finds your business, your website should make them want to stick around.