{"id":226806,"date":"2025-05-06T13:32:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/affiliate-marketing\/optimize-for-llms-ai-with-third-party-signals\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T13:32:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:32:34","slug":"optimize-for-llms-ai-with-third-party-signals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=226806","title":{"rendered":"Optimize for LLMs & AI with Third Party Signals"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This post is about how multiple marketing and branding teams can work together to get featured in LLM results like OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT and Perplexity by using third party signals.\u00a0 It includes being a recommended brand in the lists of where to shop and recommended stores based on what we\u2019re seeing.\u00a0 It is not about what to do on your own website or to use a short cut like clicking thumbs up on outputs being good (which is bad advice and trackable), there\u2019s enough of those posts already.<\/p>\n

TL:DR<\/strong><\/p>\n

When optimizing third party signals for LLMs, backlinks likely have little to no impact, but the content your affiliate, PR, influencer, media, and other teams get out in the world likely does if the LLM or AI is sourcing information from the content you partner with.\u00a0 If you get these teams working together vs. working in silos, AI optimization may become a lot easier and you\u2019ll be setting yourself up for success in the long run.<\/p>\n

For the short version, read the paragraph that starts with \u201cLeaders that\u2026\u201d<\/em> and then skip to the paragraph that starts with \u201cWhen you go into an LLM.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 You will miss a bunch of things that I think are important, but also get the gist of the post.<\/p>\n

The Full Post<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m seeing claims that link building affects AI results including LLMs like Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT.\u00a0 While there is merit in the thought that if links can be \u201ccrawled\u201d<\/em> (spiders don\u2019t actually crawl through and follow links in a literal sense) this could be a thing.\u00a0 Right now it likely is not.\u00a0 However, having an affiliate program with affiliate links may have an unexpected beneficial impact on LLM and AI optimizations.<\/p>\n

This can be especially true if the lists are being used for information and trust by the LLM.\u00a0 The amount of lists you\u2019re on with the content surrounding the inclusion may also have an impact.\u00a0 As some of our clients get featured in themed shopping lists and \u201cbest places to\u201d lists, we\u2019re seeing them show up more often in recommended brands, products, and stores by the LLMs AI results.\u00a0 We also have clients that terminated multiple relationships and they disappeared as the websites being used as sources removed them from their content or reduced the frequency of inclusions, positions on lists, and sentiment.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen zero documentation that backlinks are part of what AI is using as a trust signal like SEO algorithms do.\u00a0 I do see how link building from being in an article on a site that LLMs trust as a source of information can send a trust and credibility signal to the LLM.\u00a0 These lists can also send information about the brand to the AI part of the LLM.<\/p>\n

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It isn\u2019t the link from the article helping with AI or LLM results like in SEO, it is the existence of the website or brand within the content that the LLM trusts and sources their information from that gives the AI overview or LLM feature.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If this is true, the more trusted and likely topically relevant resources your brand is featured in, the more likely you are to be featured in an LLM like ChatGPT or Perplexity result.\u00a0 There are other factors and trends I\u2019ve noticed, but nothing I feel confident sharing yet.\u00a0 It does not mean I\u2019m right, just what I\u2019m observing.<\/p>\n

I do believe that having an affiliate program makes it easier to show up in AI and LLM rankings like ChatGPT and Perplexity because you get featured in \u201ctrusted resources\u201d more easily and more often.\u00a0 Media companies for example feature brands with affiliate links in shopping lists more often than including brands without affiliate programs as there\u2019s less money to be made.<\/p>\n

I also think the LLMs will catch onto these \u201ctrust signals\u201d and devalue affiliate content and listcicles built for revenue vs. helping the user.\u00a0 \u00a0Similar to how search engines have begun devaluing lists built to make money vs. help a user make an educated purchase.<\/p>\n

Leaders from AI and LLM companies like ChatGPT\u2019s Sam Altman have said they will likely take affiliate commissions<\/a> from links within results. I\u2019ve already shared how search engines like Yahoo and Bing are using affiliate links<\/a> on SERP page features like some knowledge panels, so why would this be different?\u00a0 Every company has a right to make money and monetize their own traffic, LLMs included.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has a merchant program with Copilot<\/a> and Perplexity has multiple shopping experiences including shop like a pro<\/a> which is like an affiliate toolbar times ten.\u00a0 It has the power to provide informative solutions and drive new customers and top funnel sales to brands.\u00a0 It is the perfect opportunity to monetize through affiliate links.\u00a0 I\u2019m absolutely loving it as a consumer.<\/p>\n

As a creator I don\u2019t love it because it can take my content and use it to make money by using my knowledge and not allowing users to shop through my affiliate links or send me traffic for CPM ad revenue.<\/p>\n

One thing that would be interesting to test and measure is if companies who just launch an affiliate program, who also have trust with the AI algorithm already, start getting more features in LLM results as the LLM is making money from it via the affiliate program.\u00a0 But that isn\u2019t the topic of the post.\u00a0 This post is about optimizing for AI and LLM results via off site metrics and marketing channels.<\/p>\n

When you go into an LLM or AI result, you can find the sites and sources by asking for citations.\u00a0 I include some examples below.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t any one channel in particular that can impact your brand being featured, it is the marketing channels and branding working together towards the same goal.\u00a0 Multiple teams work with content creators that can be indexed, cited, or crawled for information including:<\/p>\n