Make AI Search Recommend You: Build Branded Mentions, Not Links

AI-driven search (AISEO) is opening a new lane for brands in competitive categories. Joe Davies from FATJOE explains why branded mentions (not just links) are increasingly what LLMs use to decide recommendations—and how teams can systematically earn those mentions. We cover tactics like guest blogging at scale, context-seeding your USP across reviews/listicles, building deep product docs to feed LLMs, and using tier-two links to get your “influencer pages” ranking. Early data shows 2–3× higher conversion rates from AI-referred traffic because buyers arrive pre-educated and ready to act.

What You’ll Learn

• Why AISEO rewards brand mentions and clear USPs more than classic link metrics.
• How AI-referred traffic converts 2–3× higher than traditional search.
• A repeatable process to seed your brand in listicles, reviews, and comparisons.
• How to “context-seed” your USP so LLMs recommend you for the right reason.
• Why deep help docs / knowledge bases make LLMs more confident recommending you.
• How to choose targets (DR + real traffic), then lift them with tier-two links.
• The state of AISEO observability (what to track, what’s still immature).

Tactical Playbook (Step-by-Step)

1. Define your USP: the specific “best for ___” angle you want LLMs to repeat.
2. Keyword map long-tail, bottom-funnel queries (e.g., “best X for Y,” “X vs Y,” “X alternatives,” “[product] review”).
3. Prospect targets with credible traffic (DR is fine as a filter, but prioritize verified organic traffic).
4. Commission content: secure guest posts/listicles and full reviews on those sites. Mix formats to look natural.
5. Context-seed your USP in every placement (e.g., “Best for small teams,” “Most features,” “Best value”).
6. Include competitors in listicles/reviews so the page is useful (LLMs prefer balanced sources).
7. Boost with tier-two links (niche edits, syndication) to help these pages rank on pages 1–3.
8. Expand surface area: Reddit answers, YouTube/tutorial mentions, and social chatter to reinforce brand salience.
9. On-site foundation: build exhaustive docs—features, integrations, FAQs, facts sections—so LLMs can learn you deeply.
10. Measure pragmatically: track referral traffic from AI surfaces and downstream conversions; current “AI visibility” tools are early.

Resources & Mentions

• ChatGPT Path (shows the searches/sources ChatGPT runs under the hood):
  https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chatgpt-path/kiopibcjdnlpamdcdcnphaajccobkban
• FATJOE — Brand Mentions Service: http://fatjoe.com/brand-mentions
• FATJOE: https://fatjoe.com/

Key Takeaways

• AISEO is early but growing fast and already drives higher-intent traffic.
• Focus on being mentioned credibly across the open web; LLMs synthesize those signals.
• Listicles + reviews on high-trust, real-traffic sites are the current highest-leverage assets.
• Your docs are marketing now—LLMs read them and recommend accordingly.
• Don’t abandon SEO; it remains the foundation that AI systems lean on.

Chapters

• 00:00 Cold open: AISEO’s opportunity & why mentions matter
• 03:45 Data: AI referrals converting 2–3× vs. classic SEO
• 07:50 Who should prioritize AISEO (and who can wait)
• 10:30 Tactics: listicles, reviews, and “context-seeding” your USP
• 15:45 Tools & workflows; extension that reveals ChatGPT’s queries
• 19:45 Content ops: human vs. AI writing, plans, and clustering
• 22:30 Build deep product docs to feed LLM understanding
• 26:10 Ranking the influencer pages + tier-two links
• 33:00 Observability today: what’s useful, what isn’t yet
• 36:50 The next 5–10 years: AI + SEO, not AI vs. SEO

Guest

Joe Davies

• X: https://x.com/fatjoedavies
• LinkedIn: https://es.linkedin.com/in/joe-davies-seo
• Website: https://fatjoe.com/