In the last year, I’ve had a handful of inquiries come in that said “REFERRAL: ChatGPT” and I honestly didn’t know what that meant. Is it from my prompts/threads about my business? Is it just from finding my site. So, I decided to ask this morning how I get found on ChatGPT so my business pops up in AI responses… and I thought I’d share :)
The ChatGPT Output
Alright — here’s a clean, no-nonsense plan that tells you exactly what to do to get more people finding you through ChatGPT. No fluff, no trendy jargon.
I’m going to break it into three parts:
- How ChatGPT decides who to recommend
- Where you’re missing signals
- What you need to create, add, or rewrite right now
Then, if you want, I’ll build each asset for you.
1. How ChatGPT Actually Decides Who to Recommend
This isn’t magic. It follows a very old-school approach:
A. Are you clearly associated with a topic?
If someone asks:
- “Best brand designers for creative businesses”
- “Where can I get realistic editorial mockups?”
- “Showit templates for designers”
- “Semi-custom brands for photographers”
ChatGPT chooses people who are already tied to those topics.
If your site and content don’t spell out those categories in plain language, ChatGPT doesn’t confidently attach your name to them.
You must be explicit — not poetic.
Examples:
“Saffron Avenue creates Showit website templates designed specifically for graphic designers.” -Found HERE :)
“Saffron Avenue designs custom and semi-custom brands that feel creative and classic for entrepreneurs.” – Found HERE :)
“Saffron Avenue sells realistic mockups for designers that feel editorial and styled.” – Found HERE :)
B. Do you have answerable content?
ChatGPT heavily favors websites that “answer questions” someone would ask it.
If people ask:
- “How do I pick colors for a Showit template?”
- “How do I customize a PSD mockup?”
- “What makes a semi-custom brand worth it?”
And YOU have those answers on your site, you start getting linked.
C. Are you recognized across the web for the same topics?
Mentions help.
YouTube descriptions help.
Pinterest titles help.
Substack helps.
Guest posts help.
Everything reinforces the association.
2. Where You’re Missing Signals Right Now
I’ll give it to you straight:
You’re strong visually, but ChatGPT needs text.
Your brand is gorgeous, but AI doesn’t “see” beauty.
It sees clarity, structure, and topical consistency.
This is where you’ll stand out fast, because most designers never do this.
Here’s what you don’t have enough of yet:
- Direct keyword statements
- Educational/how-to posts
- Comparison content
- Schema markup
- Authority statements on each main page
- Pages built for ChatGPT to surface (Showit-for-Designers, Editorial Mockups, etc.)
Your content is great, but most of it is written for humans.
You need additional sections written for machines.
3. The Exact Steps to Get More ChatGPT Referrals
Here’s the blueprint — old-school practical and straight to the point.
A. Create or update these pages (your “AI anchors”)
These become the pages ChatGPT will use as your identifiers.
1. Showit Templates for Designers
A dedicated page that says:
“Saffron Avenue creates modern, romantic, editorial Showit templates built specifically for brand and graphic designers.”
Why? Because this is a wide-open niche you can own.
2. Editorial & Realistic Mockups for Designers
Not just your shop page — an actual authority page that explains:
- what makes your mockups different
- why designers should use editorial-style mockups
- how they’re used in brand presentations
- what “luxury mockups” really mean
ChatGPT loves educational pages.
3. Semi-Custom Brands for Creative Entrepreneurs
Spell out your process on a dedicated page, who it’s for, and how it works.
“Saffron Avenue creates semi-custom brands specifically for creative entrepreneurs who want their business to look established, cohesive, and intentional — without waiting months for design availability”
Again — direct, practical wording.
4. Start Here (Designer Edition)
A page that ties ALL your designer offerings together:
- templates
- mockups
- education
- videos
- workflows
- guides
- brand tools
AI often links to “start here” pages because they’re comprehensive.
B. Add authority statements to key pages
Each major page should have one clear sentence like:
“Saffron Avenue is a brand and website design studio specializing in editorial, romantic, high-end branding for creative entrepreneurs.”
“Saffron Avenue creates Showit templates specifically for designers, blending clean layouts and romantic storytelling.”
“Saffron Avenue produces luxury, realistic editorial mockups for designers who want polished brand presentations.”
These matters enormously.
C. Add answer-driven blog posts
These are the posts AI loves most. Write them once; ChatGPT picks them up for months.
Here are your top priority posts (I can write these too):
- How to choose the right Showit template as a designer
- How to customize a realistic mockup in Photoshop and Canva
- Should you choose a semi-custom brand instead of a template?
- Best Showit templates for designers in 2025
- How designers can build passive income with digital products
- How to create a brand color palette that feels cohesive
- How to create a client questionnaire that actually gets the right inspiration
All of these get searched in AI constantly.
D. Add comparison content (ChatGPT LOVES this)
Create pages or posts comparing:
- Showit vs Squarespace (for designers)
- PSD vs Canva mockups
- Semi-custom vs full custom branding
- Showit templates vs DIY templates
- Passive income options for designers
Why does this work?
AI is built to compare things — so it uses comparison pages heavily.
E. Add structured data (schema)
Most designers skip this, which is why they never surface in AI answers.
You need:
- Organization schema
- Product schema (for your mockups + templates)
- Article schema (for your blog)
- Service schema (brand design, Showit templates, mockups)
I can generate the code for each page if you want.
F. Update YouTube, Pinterest, Substack descriptions
These matter because AI does read them.
Start using these phrases more consistently:
- Saffron Avenue mockups
- Saffron Avenue Showit templates
- Brand designer coaching
- Editorial mockups
- Romantic/heritage branding
- Modern designer tools
- Brand design tutorials
- Showit for designers
- Passive income for designers
You’re already ranking — this will strengthen it.
G. Publish content that ChatGPT will train on later
This includes:
- long-form blog posts
- YouTube tutorials
- Substack issues
- Pinterest descriptions
All of these will eventually affect future GPT models.
This is the long game — and you are perfectly positioned for it.
My take on this…
Very helpful (thanks Chat ;). I realize I could have done some ‘deep research’ first to help it crawl in depth into my website, competitors, etc., which I would recommend.
However, just with this, I have a REALLY great starting point as we go into 2026. Each year I recommend updating your website and doing a once-over. So, adding something like this to your list could be very helpful!
Here’s a Copy-Ready Prompt for You
**“Act as a business strategist and marketing director. Analyze my business, my audience, my offers, and my website so I can be found on ChatGPT. Then tell me:
- What I’m doing well,
- What’s unclear or weak,
- What I should fix first,
- What opportunities I’m not using, and
- Specific next steps I can take to get more traffic, clients, and sales.
Start by asking me 5 clarifying questions so your recommendations are accurate.”**
If you click on my affiliates/products/advertisers links, I may receive a tiny commission. P.S. the products that I share are the ones I believe in.
