Peter Rota: How to Rank in LLMs Without Tanking Your SEO

Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi!
Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder & CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs.

In this episode we welcome Peter Roter — a no-BS technical SEO & enterprise strategist who’s scaled results at HUB International, BuySellAds, YouTube, and Analog Devices by blending sharp execution with APIs, automations, and custom GPTs. We dig into how AI crawlers actually work, what to let them see, and how to turn LLMs into a viable discovery channel.

 

Key Talking Points

✅ What AI Bots Want — ChatGPT/Perplexity bots summarize and build understanding (vs. classic navigators); they’re often crawling more than Googlebot
✅ Let Them In—With Guardrails — You want LLM bots for future traffic, but constrain crawl paths (robots.txt, routing) and monitor logs to avoid overload
✅ JS & Rendering Choices — LLMs struggle with client-side JS; favor SSR/Prerender (or static HTML/Markdown) so your primary content is in the source
✅ Overlap with SEO — LLM visibility skews to brand mentions, co-citation, consensus; think Reddit, social profiles, and authoritative listicles
✅ Schema: Nice-to-Have — Helpful for rich results; mixed evidence for LLMs. Don’t expect markup alone to move needles
✅ Cloudflare Controls — Sites can block AIO usage or explore monetization paths; expect uneven compliance across bots
✅ Measuring Reality — No clean LLM “rankings”; track direct traffic, sales calls, and “How did you hear about us?” to attribute lift
✅ Enterprise Truth — Best practice ≠ shipped; success = buy-in, explainers, repeatable workflows (not hacks)

 

Quotes from Peter Roter

📢 “You definitely want LLM bots on your site—the traffic source will grow. Just make sure they crawl the right paths.”
📢 “Most wins come from mentions and consensus—where people see you cited next to category leaders.”
📢 “If your strategy relies on algorithm quirks, you’re on a ticking time bomb. Build brand and do real marketing.”
📢 “LLM visibility is messy to track. Treat it like podcasting—invest, then watch direct traffic and pipeline.”

 

Actionable Insights

 

🧭 Crawl & Render Hygiene

• Ensure primary content is HTML-visible (SSR/prerender if you use React/SPA).
  
  
• Use robots.txt to keep bots out of non-content areas (cart, filters, faceted junk) but allow key content paths.
  
  
• Watch server logs for AI bot volume; throttle only if infra strains.
  
  

 

🧠 LLM Discovery Playbook

• Seed consensus: secure inclusion in trusted listicles, refresh social profiles, and add useful Reddit contributions.
  
  
• On-page, state your USP plainly (headlines, first paragraph). LLMs reward clarity they can summarize.
  
  
• For recency-sensitive topics, publish hyper-specific, dated explainer pages and update visibly.
  
  

 

🔗 Brand Signals > Tricks

• Pursue co-citation: get referenced alongside category leaders (panels, roundups, partner content).
  
  
• Keep ORM tight: monitor and shape how you’re described across the web; fold customer language (reviews, call notes, Reddit) into copy.
  
  

 

🧾 Schema & Structure

• Maintain core schema (Org, Product/Service, Article) for SERP enhancements and machine clarity; don’t rely on it alone for LLM wins.
  
  
• Provide sitemaps and clean IA; LLMs still benefit from traditional structure.
  
  

 

📊 Measurement That Matters

• Expect answer variance across sessions—don’t “rank-track” LLMs like Google.
  
  
• Instrument sales to log research tools used (ChatGPT/Perplexity/Google).
  
  
• Report blended impact via direct traffic trend, qualified demo/call volume, and attributed revenue.
  
  

 

About Peter Roter

Peter Roter is a technical SEO and enterprise strategist who’s driven outcomes at HUB International, BuySellAds, YouTube, and Analog Devices. He builds modern search workflows with APIs, automations, and custom GPTs, focusing on sustainable visibility across Google and LLMs.

📬 Connect with Peter: LinkedIn — Peter Roter · https://www.peterrotaseo.com/ 

 

🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links

 

At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your FREE strategy session today:
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👋 Connect with your hosts:
👉 Chris Panteli on LinkedIn
👉 Nick Biggs on LinkedIn

 

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