How to Track and Improve Your LLM Traffic (The Next Generation of SEO)

The future of website visibility isn’t just Google anymore, it’s AI visibility.

If you’ve noticed your web traffic shifting in strange, untraceable ways, you’re not alone. That mystery bump in “direct” traffic? The new visitors landing on your blog without passing through social or search? Chances are, they came from a Large Language Model (LLM) which are tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity.ai that are quietly changing how people discover information.

I don’t pretend to know a thing about all of the new AI visibility tools; I am learning along with you! So, with a bunch of research, and a little help from AI, we will figure it out and use it to attract more visitors to our websites. (Hang in here, don’t be afraid of all of the techie stuff, we can do it!)

How do you measure where LLM traffic comes from? More importantly, how do you make sure AI finds and cites you in the first place? I will explore the what, the how, and the “now what” of this new layer of online visibility.

What “LLM Traffic” Actually Means

LLM traffic refers to people reaching your site through AI-driven discovery tools such as chatbots, AI-powered search engines, or AI integrations in browsers and mobile assistants.

Think of someone asking ChatGPT:

“Who are the best small business website designers in the U.S.?”

If your site or blog is mentioned (and linked), that user might click directly from the chat interface and bypass Google altogether. That click is LLM referral traffic.

It’s still early days, but this is becoming one of the most important shifts in digital marketing since the birth of SEO itself.

How to Measure Your LLM Traffic

Traditional analytics tools weren’t built with AI in mind, but they’re catching up. Here’s how to spot LLM-driven visits now.

1. Check Your Referral Sources

In Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or your platform’s analytics, go to:

Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition → Session source/medium

Look for sources like:

• chat.openai.com

• perplexity.ai

• bard.google.com

• you.com

• copilot.microsoft.com

Those indicate AI-originated clicks.

If you notice unexplained “direct” spikes, that may also be LLM traffic because not all AI tools pass referral data yet.

2. Use UTM Tracking Codes

(UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module) UTM codes are small snippets added to the end of a link that tell your analytics program where a visitor came from and why they clicked. Yes, lot’s of new techie things to learn here!!

When you share your website in AI-related communities or platforms, use a tagged link like this:

https://yourwebsite.com/blog/ai-traffic?utm_source=chatgpt&utm_medium=llm&utm_campaign=discoverability
This lets you see exactly which AI referrals are driving visitors. 

3. Monitor Your Server Logs

Your server logs and how to access them will be different depending on the platform your site is on, or you use Google Analytics.

And, MORE tech stuff to learn! Hang with me on this, we can do it together!

If you’re a bit more tech-curious, check your server logs for user agents like:

• GPTBot (OpenAI’s crawler)

• ClaudeBot

• Google-Extended (Gemini/Bard)

• CCBot (Common Crawl)

These tell you when your site is being scanned or indexed for AI learning or referencing.

AIO is different!

Welcome to AIO! AI Optimization. It’s like SEO, but for algorithms that summarize and contextualize information rather than rank it.

How to Optimize Your Website for LLM Discovery

AIO focuses on making your content easily understood, cited, and trusted by AI tools and language models like ChatGPT or Perplexity. Instead of just optimizing for search rankings, AIO ensures your website becomes the go-to answer in AI-generated responses.

In layman’s terms, to get the AI visibility for your website, you now need to focus on being credited on the AI tools. If you aren’t using them yet, thinking they are a bit fake, you are missing the point of AI and what it can do for you and your website traffic.

1. Structure Your Content Clearly

AI models love context and clarity. When you are preparing a new website, or refresh, or writing blog posts, keep this in mind.
Use:

• Logical headings (H2s, H3s)

• Short, direct sentences

• Natural language over jargon

• Summaries at the top of your posts

Basically, write like you’re explaining your content to a smart intern who needs to quote you accurately.

2. Add Schema Markup

Schema markup could be a process you haven’t heard about, that’s not uncommon even in the website design world. Keeping ahead of the most elemental things is sometimes daunting.

Schema is invisible code that tells search engines and AI what your content means, not just what it says.

Add schema types like:

• Article

• FAQPage

• Organization

• Person

This increases your odds of being cited or linked in AI-generated responses.
(Squarespace users can add schema in “Page Header Code Injection” or via SEO settings.)

3. Build Digital Authority

AI models favor trustworthy, transparent sources. Digital authority is the trust and credibility your website earns online, showing both users and search engines that your content is reliable and valuable. Regular blogging contributes by providing fresh, insightful, and original content that demonstrates expertise, attracts backlinks, and signals your site as a go-to resource in your niche.
That means:

• Strong “About” and “Author” pages

• Clear bylines

• Backlinks from credible sites

• A consistent publishing history

In short: the more human and legitimate you appear online, the more AI tools trust and cite you.

4. Create Original, Insightful Content

If your site sounds like everyone else’s, keyword-stuffed and soulless, AI will skip it.
But if you:

• Offer unique expertise,

• Tell stories,

• Use your own data or examples,

• Speak with an authentic voice…

then AI tools (and humans) will treat you as a valuable source worth mentioning.

The Takeaway

Your website isn’t just being seen by people anymore, it’s being read, analyzed, and summarized by machines that help people find you.

Understanding your LLM traffic means you’re no longer flying blind in the age of AI discovery. Measure it, monitor it, and write content that both humans and intelligent systems love.

One tool at a time, I’m testing all of the things to do in this article. I can tell you this, so far I’ve improved my SEO, blogged more consistently, and updated my website to reflect SEO/AIO changes. Currently, I’ve seen a 250% increase in my website traffic and I haven’t posted ANYTHING on social media!

Because the future of SEO isn’t about beating the algorithm —it’s about being the answer.