How do I get cited in ChatGPT? A Writer’s Guide to the GEO-16 Framework

Summary

How might we structure our writing so that it’s cited by AI answer engines? We explore Kumar and Palkhouski’s GEO-16 framework, a data-driven model suggesting a correlation between 16 on-page signals and inclusion in answer engine responses. We’ll discuss how adapting our approach to elements like structured data and semantic HTML can potentially improve content discoverability and increase the likelihood of becoming a trusted source for generative engines.

What Page Signals Improve AI Citation Likelihood?

Below are some practical suggestions derived from the research to enhance the chances of AI referencing your articles:<>

• Give prominence to a well-organized structure: Arrange your content logically by incorporating distinct headings and subheadings to streamline information flow.
• Concentrate on reader-centric content: Strive for clarity and brevity in your writing, catering to the audience’s needs. Research indicates that articles with high readability and a straightforward layout are more easily navigated and utilized by AI systems.
• Utilize structured data: Employ structured data formats like Article, TechArticle, or FAQPage schema to annotate your articles. This facilitates AI comprehension of your content’s context and substance.
• Maintain content freshness: Regularly update your articles and visibly display the date of the last update to indicate relevance to AI algorithms.
• Substantiate arguments with evidence and citations: Bolster your assertions with proof and proper referencing to establish credibility and expertise, crucial factors for AI evaluations.
• Employ semantic HTML: Ensure your articles are composed in neat, semantic HTML code by utilizing suitable tags for different types of content, enhancing machine interpretability.
• Optimize for snippet extraction: Craft content that can be readily extracted as a concise snippet by using clear, succinct language and furnishing direct responses to common queries.

Prioritize a Well-Organized Structure

Arrange your content logically by incorporating distinct headings and subheadings to segment your content. Think of your headings (H1, H2, H3) as a table of contents for users (and AI). A clear, logical hierarchy allows both people and machines to instantly grasp the main topics of your article and understand the relationship between different concepts.

Concentrate on Reader-Centric Content

Strive for clarity and brevity in your writing, catering to your audience’s needs. Research indicates that articles with high readability and a straightforward layout are more easily navigated and integrated by answer engines. This aligns with the “people-first” principle; when content is genuinely useful and easy for a person to understand, it’s also well-structured for an AI to interpret.

Depending on the audience, we tend to err on the side of more simple, writing at a Grade 8 level (based on Flesch-Kincaid grade score).

Implement Structured Data

Employ structured data formats like Article, TechArticle, or FAQPage schema to annotate your articles. This facilitates AI comprehension of your content’s context and substance. Think of structured data as a “translator for machines.” By adding structured metadata, you are explicitly telling answer engines details like the publication date, author, or the questions and answers on the page, removing any ambiguity.

Maintain Content Freshness

Regularly update your articles and visibly display the date of the last update to indicate relevance to answer engines. In a rapidly changing field, content freshness is a significant trust signal. It shows that the information is not stale and that the author is actively maintaining its accuracy, making it a more reliable source for citation.

Link Appropriately

Bolster your articles with the appropriate references (i.e. links) to establish credibility and expertise. Linking out to authoritative studies, established sources, or primary research helps answer engines better understand your content in context. It demonstrates that your claims are well-researched and supported by a wider community.

Employ Semantic HTML

Ensure your articles are composed in neat, semantic HTML code by utilizing suitable tags for different types of content, enhancing machine interpretability. Instead of using a generic <div> tag, for example, using <article>, <blockquote>, or <aside> gives the AI precise information about what that block of content represents.

Optimize for Snippet Extraction

Craft content that can be readily extracted as a concise snippet by using clear, succinct language and furnishing direct answers to common queries. This often involves an “answer-first” writing style, where a key question is answered directly in the first paragraph. By providing a clear, self-contained answer upfront, you make it incredibly easy for an answer engine to select your content as the most useful response.

The GEO-16 research study gives us an empirical framework for thinking about online writing and generative engine optimization (GEO). Our focus should be shifting toward creating content that is clear, organized, and trustworthy. The good news is that the very things that help an answer engine understand your article, like a logical structure and proper referencing, are the same things that help a human reader. By concentrating on these building blocks of quality, we give our work the best possible chance to be seen as a helpful source worth citing.