How to get featured in listicles and comparison articles for GEO

Generative Engine Optimisation is all about testing, and many agencies and brands in the field have noticed a trend; AI is citing a lot from certain areas of the web, ranging from reputable sources for independent thought and insights (Wikipedia and Reddit) to branded sites for company specific information and more recently, comparison content on a variety of different sites. 

Comparison articles have been a great way to be discovered online way before the launch of ChatGPT to the general public; those entering a market for a service or product often do not have the faintest idea of the best brands in the space, in this instance, comparison articles listing out the different options are super useful. 

Whether you are looking for a new enterprise level marketing software or a new dishwasher, lists comparing the options are a great place to start, AI recognises this, which is why it often pulls through these lists as citations within the content. 

I cannot tell you how excited we were when we saw this on the off-page SEO team. For years Google has avoided sharing information on the backlinks it has used when surfacing specific websites, and we have relied heavily on third-party software to plug the gaps. Having this insight into specific citations is a game-changer. But how do you get featured on this content? It can be tricky, but it can be done. Keep reading to learn more about where Varn has had initial success with our client campaigns. 

When you start your search for round-up content you may come across a trend, most of the articles ranking are written by the very companies that would hope to rank in such a list. There is inherent bias in this, which is why getting on a range of sites (not just your own) is crucial to future proofing the strategy. 

If you do proceed with your own list, you need to make sure it is really good. If possible, compare your specific services with other competitors and be honest about where they may be better suited (ultimately if you cannot service your clients or customers in the right way and there is a genuine reason to go to the competition, it makes sense to ease that process along). Acknowledge the bias in the content (this is something not many brands are doing when they produce the lists) so it’s a great way to stand out. 

Before you start the process of getting featured, make sure you have benchmarked at least some results and AI answers to targeted prompts. This will help you justify the work and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your brand featured and climbing up the ‘rankings’ within an AI prompt after conducting the steps shown above. Benchmark across the different LLMs and if there are multiple services or terms that would best describe you, make sure you keep a record of them too. Of course, keep dates in mind for all of these optimisations so that you can track it back to business impact (website visits, form fills and revenue) in the future.

The above steps are simple, but you need a solid process that scales different verticals and niches to maximise results. Varn can help you with that. Our software lets us reach out to sites at scale and we know how to get our clients featured. If you want to get started and get your brand more visible in AI, then get in touch.