Everything You Need To Know About ChatGPT’s Local Ranking Factors

While ChatGPT doesn’t have traditional “rankings,” it does show local business suggestions based on several key factors. Understanding and optimizing these factors can help your business appear more prominently when users ask ChatGPT about local businesses.

Key ChatGPT Local Ranking Factors:

1. Consensus and Popularity
ChatGPT prioritizes businesses frequently mentioned online. If your business is listed highly on platforms like Yelp and Google or mentioned positively in news articles, it can improve your visibility. Being widely recognized in your industry boosts your chances of appearing at the top of local recommendations.

2. Verified Bing Places Listing
Having a verified and complete Bing Places listing significantly improves your chances of being recommended. ChatGPT has close integration with Microsoft and Bing, so it is crucial to ensure your business is listed on Bing Places.

3. Bing Rankings and Mentions
When ChatGPT handles local queries, it often searches Bing for top recommendations. If your business ranks highly on Bing search results or is mentioned by high-ranking websites, you’re more likely to appear in ChatGPT responses.

4. Complete Online Profiles
Ensure your business profiles across various websites are complete. Profiles lacking key details, such as descriptions, reviews, logos, etc., have a higher chance of being ignored by ChatGPT. Complete and regularly updated profiles help ensure visibility.

5. Customer Reviews on Your Website
ChatGPT sometimes references a business’s own website for testimonials and reviews. Having these clearly visible can help ensure your business isn’t filtered out.

6. Recent Google Reviews
Regularly updated reviews on Google significantly impact your visibility. ChatGPT recognizes that most local businesses have Google profiles, and fresh reviews appear to be a strong ranking signal.

Factors That Can Hurt Your Visibility

• Website Downtime: Ensure your website is always online and loading correctly.
• Poor Online Reputation: Consistent low ratings can negatively impact your visibility.
• Lack of Reviews: Having no reviews at all can exclude your business from recommendations.
• Duplicate Business Listings: Operating multiple identical businesses through a single dispatcher can limit or eliminate your visibility.
• Lack of Recent News Mentions: Competitors with recent press releases or news mentions may appear ahead of businesses lacking recent updates.

Optimizing these areas helps ensure that your business is frequently and prominently recommended by ChatGPT.