Get Your Business Found on Google and ChatGPT

A practical checklist for founders and small businesses: the foundations that help Google find your site and AI assistants recommend it.

Marina Ranenko5 min read

This checklist covers the basics that help people find your business, whether they search on Google or ask an AI assistant like ChatGPT. Each step explains what to do and why it helps.

Two terms you'll see along the way:

  • SEO (search engine optimization) helps people find your site in search results.
  • AEO (answer engine optimization) helps AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity understand your business and mention it in their answers.

The checklist

  1. Make sure search engines can read your site, and add it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
  2. Describe your business the same way everywhere: one description, plus the same name, location, and contact details
  3. Claim and complete your profiles, starting with Google Business Profile and reviews
  4. Give every page a clear title and description
  5. Write answers, not slogans, including an FAQ
  6. Choose words people actually search
  7. Get mentioned elsewhere, starting with links from your own profiles
  8. Measure, then give it time, with a monthly check-in on Search Console

1. Make sure search engines can read your site

Search engines and AI tools read your site with automated crawlers. They see each page the way it arrives from your server, so the words that matter (what you do, who it's for, how to reach you) should be right there in the page, not loaded in afterwards. Most website builders and modern frameworks handle this well. If your site was custom built, it's worth asking your developer to confirm.

Then let search engines know your site exists:

  • Add your site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Both are free. Bing matters more than it used to, because some AI search tools, including ChatGPT search, draw on its results.
  • Submit your sitemap in both. A sitemap is a simple list of your pages, and most platforms create one for you.

2. Describe your business the same way everywhere

Search engines and AI assistants piece together who you are from everything they can find: your website, your social profiles, directories, and reviews. When those sources agree, they can describe you with confidence.

  • Write one clear sentence about what you do and who it's for, and use it everywhere.
  • Keep your business name, location, and contact details identical on every page and listing.
  • Ask your developer to add Organization structured data. It's a short block of code that tells search engines your name, logo, location, and the profiles that belong to you, in a format they read directly.
  • Optionally, add an llms.txt file: a short summary of your site written for AI tools. Few tools rely on it yet, but it only takes a few minutes.

From our own site: when we checked, our footer, our LinkedIn page, and our search description described Aster Lab in three different ways. Lining them up was one of the first things we fixed.

3. Claim and complete your profiles

Your website is one of several pages about your business, and for many searches, your profiles show up first.

  • Google Business Profile is the big one, especially for local searches. Fill in your categories, services, hours, and description, add real photos of your work, and ask happy clients for reviews. Reviews matter more than almost anything else on your profile.
  • Directories and review sites for your field (a local realtor or childcare directory, for example) and your LinkedIn page help too, as long as they match your site.

4. Give every page a clear title and description

A page's title is the link people see in search results, and its description is the short text underneath. Together, they're often the first thing anyone reads about you.

  • Make each title say what the page is about, like "Property Management Services in Calgary" rather than just "Services".
  • Write the description for people: one or two sentences on what they'll find.
  • Give each page one main heading that matches its topic.

5. Write answers, not slogans

AI assistants quote sources that answer questions clearly. "We go above and beyond for every family" gives them little to work with. "Licensed daycare in Calgary for ages 1 to 5, open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m." tells them exactly who you serve and how.

  • Put the answer first, then the details.
  • Use the questions people actually ask as headings.
  • Be specific: numbers, steps, and examples.
  • Add an FAQ section for common questions, with FAQ structured data so machines can read each question and answer.

Broad terms like "real estate" or "daycare" belong to huge sites and directories. Specific phrases are where a smaller business can win, and the people searching them are usually closer to choosing someone.

  • Aim for phrases like "rental property inspection checklist" or "how much house can I afford in Calgary" rather than "real estate".
  • Use Google Trends to compare how people phrase things.
  • Look at Google's autocomplete and "People also ask" boxes to see real questions.

7. Get mentioned elsewhere

Links and mentions from other sites tell search engines that real people know about you. Start with the ones you control:

  • Link to your site from every profile you have.
  • Ask partners and clients to mention you when you work together.
  • Share your articles in newsletters and on LinkedIn.

8. Measure, then give it time

Search Console shows which searches your site appears for and where it ranks. A good first thing to watch is your position for your own business name: it should be first. Changes usually take a few weeks to a few months to show up, so check in monthly rather than daily.

Want a hand?

Our SEO & AEO service covers all of this, from the technical setup to the writing. Or get in touch and tell us about your site.

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