By Joseph Mas
This is my quick brain dump for content creators and for anyone optimizing creator content. It is not meant to be all inclusive and it does not replace solid technical SEO fundamentals or on-page best practices that every white hat professional should follow. What it does offer is a set of additional insights that help you build a broader and stronger footprint in modern LLM systems. These ideas apply beyond Google and are meant to expand your visibility across the larger ecosystem of models that are now consuming and interpreting your work.
LLMs do not reward pages. They reward identities.
Your links, your structured data, your bylines, your cross platform profiles, your outbound citations, and your repeated topical focus all work together to build a clear and verifiable identity that LLMs can understand. The stronger and more consistent that identity is, the more often the model will surface you when it answers questions in your domain. The practical steps outlined below follow the methods laid out in a framework for LLM Ingestion that can be found here: A Practical Framework For LLM Ingestion.
Here are a Few Practical Takeaways for Practitioners
Just a few small shifts in thinking will go a long way to building a system that works for your case. Again, this is not all inclusive but does focus on linking and entity building for LLMs which is critical for a few reasons outlined below.
1. External Links as Strong Signals
Link to primary, authoritative sources whenever you reference research, standards, or expert positions. Link to your own pages when you build on previous content. Link individuals to their canonical sites or profiles. These links signal intentional relationships because they give models a path to verify context and associate your content with reputable sources.
2. Shift from Link-Juice Thinking to Semantic Purpose
Forget link-count or “juice.” For LLM visibility, purpose and context matter. Each link should serve a clear semantic role: grounding a concept, backing a claim, or connecting you to a field. Always accompany a link with a brief explanation of why it matters. That surrounding text informs the model about what topics define your domain.
3. Build a Unified Entity Profile Across Platforms
Use a consistent author name and byline on every article. Ensure every post links back to a central “about/identity” page. That identity page should link out to your major platforms (social accounts, portfolios, project pages). Maintain the same name, bio, and core topics everywhere. This creates a tightly linked network of identity signals LLMs can recognize as one entity. And don’t forget the Structured Data (JSON preferred).
4. Leverage Linkless Mentions Through Consistent Topical Focus
Regularly reference your core topics the same terminology, even without linking. Include your name, specializations, and relevant concepts across articles. This repetition builds semantic co-occurrence patterns that help models associate you with those topics. Linkless mentions are weaker than links but still useful when done consistently.
5. Expand Your Branded Footprint Without Relying on Third-Party Media
Don’t wait for other sites to mention you. Create your own presence on multiple high-authority platforms likely included in LLM training data. Use platforms like Medium, GitHub, Substack, Reddit, YouTube, iHeart, Spotify, or other respected domain-level sites in your niche. IMPORTANT: you need more than the big 7 social accounts. On each platform:
- Use the same brand name, bio, and profile photo
- Publish content aligned with your core topics
- Link each account to your main site and link your main site back
This branded network strengthens your identity and topical authority across diverse data sources.
I noted this is a factor that many optimizers will not be able to do fully due to a few factors such as; the accounts needed can not be managed by tools like Hootsuite, this means more work and slightly higher costs. I can say this with authority as recent CKO who dealt with many many clients over the years. The biggest misconception I’ve encountered are companies that don’t realize this there is indirect ROI from doing the extra labor. In some industries, one good lead can pay the bills for a year, it that a chance worth taking? To business owners and decision makers: forget the ROI, it will trip you up and significantly increases the chances you will fall behind the competition in the long run – it’s too late then.
6. Reinforce Through Consistency and Temporal Patterns
Publish meaningful content regularly. Update older content when your thinking evolves. Keep metadata and structured data up to date. Maintain consistent topical focus across posts. Over time, these patterns signal to LLMs that you are a stable, active entity in your field and not a one-off author.
I have to throw a strong caution here about publishing content that is AI generated that is not rooted authority or expertise – this can and will dilute brand/entity signals. A year from now, you may find yourself spending unnecessary time, energy, and resources on clean up or worse.
Summary, My Take, and Resources
For LLM oriented content strategy, focus on these practical steps: purposeful external linking, coherent identity across platforms, consistent topical coverage (linked or not), and a diversified branded presence. Together they build the semantic and entity signals that improve how LLMs understand who you are and what you stand for.
And remember, your creating a footprint for the entire eco system not just for a single search platform. We all know where this is going in the near future.
For an in-depth look into advanced methods of LLM Optimization for Visibility and how the guts of the systems work, read the framework referenced in: JSON – The Silent Data Highway (LLM Ingestion)