LLM Referral Traffic Conversions: Data and Tactics for Enterprise Marketers

Large language models (LLMs) aren’t just a new source of referral traffic. They’re a source of business-ready traffic that could help enterprise marketers crush their conversion goals.

There’s data to prove this, but before looking at the numbers, think about how generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity are changing the customer journey.

Until recently, traditional searches on Google have been the equivalent of a potential customer walking into a store, wandering the aisles, picking up products here and there, and wondering if there might be a better deal elsewhere.

Contrast that with AI search, which saves customers from having to visit myriad websites and pulls everything together: recommended products, pricing comparisons, reviews, and highlights from in-depth research. It’s like walking into a store where everyone gets paired with an expert associate for a personalized shopping experience.

The challenge is that enterprise marketing has always been predicated on getting people to dig deeper by visiting their site to learn more and be compelled to make a purchase. That’s what makes the content they produce one of their most critical marketing assets. Now, LLMs are scraping that content to provide impartial summaries that let people make up their minds without browsing further.

What’s the average impact of AI search and LLMs on organic traffic?

Market research firm Gartner Inc. predicts that by 2028, rapid adoption of AI search tools will see organic traffic drop by 50%. Google’s decision to introduce AI overviews and an AI mode has only accelerated the shift.

According to an analysis from a marketing agency called Seer Interactive, organic click-through rates (CTR) for informational queries featuring Google AI Overviews have fallen 61% since mid-2024. Paid CTRs on those same queries were even worse, plunging 68%.

The risk is that we’ll see more people become zero-click customers. In other words, they’ll simply accept the information they’re given from AI search tools and move on, rather than digging deeper into links to the source of a summary or overview.

How well does LLM referral traffic convert?

A number of studies suggest that by synthesizing details from multiple sites, LLM referral traffic conversions could offset the drop in organic search traffic.

Looking at traffic across multiple industries over an 18-month period, for instance, a digital agency called Rocket found visits from ChatGPT are 5.1 times more likely to convert than organic traffic. While the research is focused on a single tool, it suggests that those who come through AI search are more prepared to take the next step.

Microsoft conducted a similar study that found AI traffic converts at three times the rate of other channels. Though its analysis included not only ChatGPT but other platforms like Perplexity, its focus was primarily on traffic to publishers and news sites.

Research from Amsive found a more modest boost in LLM referral traffic conversion of 4.87% vs. 4.60 for organic, and there are other studies that conclude the two forms of traffic convert equally well.

It’s important to note here that we are still in the early days of the AI-native web, and it may take more time to fully understand LLM traffic and its impact compared to organic SEO.

What content is most appealing to LLMs, and what can businesses do to boost visibility?

LLMs may represent a small percentage of your referral traffic today, but that percentage could tie back to the people most likely to connect with one of your sales reps and become long-term customers. Make sure your content is optimized to get noticed when AI search tools go looking for answers by:

1. Going beyond the glossary entries to target high-intent queries

Many enterprises have created comprehensive glossaries on their websites that define common terms their customers need to understand. Those focused on traditional SEO have also created “What is X” posts to tie detailed explanations of a phrase or concept to their core value propositions.

Those are still worthwhile activities given that traditional search still dominates today, but AI search tools are more likely to simply define a generic term in a response or overview without citing a specific company.

In parallel to traditional SEO work, begin building content based on prompts that

• Consider the role of the person posing a question to an AI search tool.
• Include the task or goal they’re focused on.
• Add any context about the searcher’s needs.
• Include details that would normally require follow-up queries

For a SaaS company selling AI that manages HVAC systems in commercial real estate, for instance, you should have content that responds to questions like, “Best software for commercial real estate operators to autonomously control heating and ventilation systems based on customer case studies and testimonials, pricing, and included professional services.”

2. Acting like your own affiliate marketer

It’s been a side hustle for all kinds of digital creators: Set up a blog in a unique niche, create detailed tutorials, reviews, and other instructional content, and then insert affiliate links from brand partners who give you a commission for referral traffic that converts.

When you look at the results of an AI search query today, it almost resembles an affiliate marketer’s post in terms of comprehensive product details, actionable advice, and curated research. This is what LLMs are looking for, and they’ll be quick to scrape a site that packages it effectively.

3. Replacing gates with welcome mats

One of the most tried-and-true lead generation techniques has involved gating unique content such as eBooks, research reports, and buyer’s guides behind a form that requires site visitors to fill out their contact details.

LLMs can’t scrape gated content, so you risk being left out of the source material that powers AI search responses or summaries when you preserve those assets for lead generation in perpetuity.

Gating might make sense for a marketing campaign, but once it ends, experiment with making the content ungated. Create new blog posts that drive to it as a call-to-action and reference it when it could provide genuine value to those discussing topics on platforms like Quora and Reddit.

Most importantly, update those assets with TLDR summaries and FAQ sections that act like a flare gun to LLMs on the hunt for the best possible information to provide AI search tools. Think of this activity as a second-stage campaign for your content, but aimed at LLMs instead.

What’s a good tool to monitor the volume of LLM referral traffic vs. traditional search?

Parse.ly, which pairs perfectly with WordPress VIP, has a proven track record in helping clients assess how their traffic is changing in response to factors such as Google’s AI Overviews. Meanwhile, WordPress VIP provides a dedicated integration with TollBit to specifically monitor, manage, and potentially monetize AI bot and agent traffic.

If you’re seeing an organic traffic dip, don’t panic. This is an opportunity to better understand how your audience wants to get the information it needs to make a buying decision, and your content will continue to play a critical role in helping LLMs help them.