How to Optimize Website Content for LLMs or AI-Driven Search
AI is here to stay. At least, for the foreseeable future. It’s been placed into almost every piece of software people interact with every day. That comes with mixed results, certainly. Many folks complain about AI giving them incorrect or misleading answers. That’s likely partly because large language models, or LLMs, like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and other models use their pretrained data to find answers. Therefore, they aren’t referencing up-to-date information, but only the info they were trained on up to a certain date.
However, it’s important to know that some more advanced LLMs—like Perplexity and Google’s AI-driven search tool—are able to crawl the web in search for the most relevant information within websites. That means, just like with Google’s SERP (search engine results page), optimizing website content is crucial. When a user inputs a search inquiry, Google is now giving their AI summary at the top of the page, then their traditional SERP follows. The answer now has links to source information, and if a user wants to learn more, they can easily access those websites from the top right corner of the screen.
How to Optimize Website Content for LLMs
While there are many strategies to optimize website content for LLMs, one of the simplest is by using topic clustering, which includes the structure, keyword integration, and a concise answer and explanation below each subheading.
Search Engine Land cites optimizing content for large language models as one of the top content strategies companies cannot ignore. So, let’s get into how to optimize website content for LLMs, starting with topic clustering.
Topic Clustering
As we are always staying on top of trends and the evolution of SEO and content marketing, SharpNet Solutions’ content team has recently added onto our toolbox with topic clustering. But what does topic clustering mean? Let’s take a look:
- Structure and headings: Both humans and web crawlers skim content headings and bullet points to search for their answer. Good SEO includes adding keywords into the meta data, on-page content, and at least one or more of the headings and subheadings. This strategy isn’t new to our content, but a staple.
- Clustering content: If a service page or blog has multiple keywords or topics, it’s good practice to explain one keyword under each subheading.
- Question and answer: When possible, a subheading should be given a concise answer in the first sentence that follows it. Then, the topic can be further explained in the following paragraph. This strategy helps pages appear in AI-driven search engines within AI generated results, therefore increasing website traffic.
- Keywords for specific clusters: Each cluster should focus on its own keyword which is related to the primary keyword. That primary keyword can be used throughout the entire page or piece of content.
Companies and brands have a new goal to reach for: Landing in those AI-generated search results.
LLMs Look for Alignment With User Intent
User intent, or search intent alignment, is one of the most-important SEO skills in 2025 because it gives us clues as to what the user wants to do. Google’s AI-driven search results want to give users the most relevant information that fits with their query. How searches are written gives Google an idea of what they’re looking for, and content that aligns with that will be shown at the top of the SERP as well as in the LLM search results. The four types of user intent are:
- Informational: A user is looking to know more about a certain topic. These include “how,” “why,” and “what” searches.
- Commercial: The searcher wants to compare and investigate a specific product or service. They’re seeking list or comparison articles to make a better-informed decision.
- Transactional: This user wants to purchase something online, and they usually search terms like “buy” or “download.”
- Navigational: At the end of the journey there is navigational intent, where a user feels informed enough to head directly to the site of their choosing for that particular product.
For our service pages and blogs, the first two types of user intent—informational and commercial—are most often used, and all of the optimized website content we create drives traffic and conversions with calls to action.
LLMs Identify Conversational Dialogue to Provide Answers
As search continues to evolve—including voice search capabilities—conversational questions are being used by searchers, and LLMs identify conversational answers to those queries. In an effort to answer questions quickly and concisely, LLMs crawl for the answers to questions and highlight them in the AI-driven search results.
This is related to the earlier question-and-answer part of topic clustering. Content writers can create subheadings that are questions or statements and then answer them concisely in the first sentence after the heading. Google’s web crawlers will be able to read and detect that, and if it’s coming from a reputable source, it could be used by the LLM in the top answer. Reputation and Google’s E-E-A-T scores—which we’ve focused on for some time now—are important in both SEO and GEO (generative engine optimization).
How to Get LLMs to Cite Your Content
LLMs are more likely to cite your website’s content in their AI-generated responses when user concerns are directly addressed in FAQs. Including a frequently asked questions section on your website gives you more chances to answer important and relevant questions about the topic. And landing in that AI-generated answer is likely to result in great gains in terms of traffic.
Along those same lines, using schema markup and labeling pages as “FAQ Page,” “How To,” or “Article” increases LLMs citing content. There are even schema markup tools available to streamline the process.
Optimizing Your Website Content for LLMs Doesn’t Take Precedent Over SEO, and SharpNet Solutions Does It All
SharpNet Solutions is a full-service digital marketing agency, specializing in SEO and optimizing content for LLMs, but we also offer social media marketing, programmatic advertising, and PPC services. We’re here to help our clients grow their businesses with stellar digital marketing campaign strategies.
We are constantly keeping an eye on what’s next in digital marketing, adapting our approach along the way to ensure our customers are getting the best marketing solutions in the industry. For instance, how AI is affecting SEO has changed a lot, even in the seven months since we first wrote about this topic.
When you partner with SharpNet Solutions, you can rest assured that we have your business goals and your website’s best interests in mind with everything we do. Contact us today to get the ball rolling on your next SEO strategy or PPC advertising campaign!