The 5 best ChatGPT prompts for SEO to rank higher in 2026

It seems like everyone in SEO is using AI tools like ChatGPT for everything from content creation to keyword research and even coding. But the tool's magic isn't automatic. The quality of what you get out is directly tied to the quality of the prompt you put in.

A vague prompt will give you bland, generic content that's not going to rank. But a well-crafted prompt can uncover some really useful SEO insights.

This guide will give you five solid, ready-to-use prompt categories that cover the whole SEO process, from initial research to the technical details.

And while these prompts are great for specific jobs, it's good to know that tools like the eesel AI blog writer are built to handle this entire workflow. You just provide a keyword, and it generates a complete article, so you don't have to piece everything together with multiple prompts.

What are ChatGPT prompts for SEO?

ChatGPT prompts for SEO are specific, structured instructions you give to a language model to perform a task that helps your website rank better. Think of it as the difference between asking a vague favor and handing over a detailed project brief.

For instance, a fuzzy prompt like "write about SEO" will get you a generic, high-school-level essay that's not very useful.

A targeted prompt, however, looks more like this: "Generate a table of 15 long-tail keywords for 'AI in customer service,' including columns for search intent and a potential blog title." The difference in output quality is significant, as illustrated below.

These prompts can help with just about every part of the job, including keyword research, on-page optimization, competitor analysis, and even the more technical side of SEO.

Our criteria for selecting the best prompts

We didn't just guess which prompts to include. We chose them based on a few practical criteria that actually help you get work done.

First, they had to be actionable. The prompt should give you something you can use immediately, like a table of keywords or a valid piece of schema markup you can copy and paste.

Second, they needed to be efficient. These prompts are designed to automate tasks that would otherwise take hours of manual work.

Third, they are comprehensive. Together, these prompts cover the main stages of a modern SEO workflow, so you’re not just optimizing one small piece of the puzzle.

And finally, they are relevant. They’re built for how SEO works in 2026, focusing on what search engines care about today: user intent, quality content, and technical accuracy.

A quick comparison of top prompt types

To give you a bird's-eye view, here's a quick breakdown of the five prompt types we're about to dive into.

5 powerful ChatGPT prompts for SEO

Alright, let's get into the prompts themselves. These are the workhorses that can really level up your SEO game.

1. The automated workflow alternative: eesel AI blog writer

Creating a single, perfect "mega-prompt" to generate a complete blog post from ChatGPT can be challenging. A very long and detailed prompt is required to cover all aspects of a post. The output might sometimes be generic, miss key assets like images, or require significant editing to meet publishing standards.

This is where a specialized tool like the eesel AI blog writer can help. It's designed to streamline the content creation process. Instead of managing a complex series of prompts, you provide a single keyword.

From that one keyword, the tool delivers a complete, SEO-optimized blog post that actually sounds human. It’s packed with unique features you can't get from a standard prompt, like deep research, automatic asset generation (think AI images, charts, and infographics), and even the inclusion of social proof like Reddit quotes.

It also performs context-aware research and is optimized for AI Answer Engines (AEO), which is increasingly important for getting visibility in places like Google's AI Overviews.

We're not just recommending it; we built our own growth on it. Using this exact tool, we scaled our organic traffic at eesel from 700 to 750,000 daily impressions by publishing over 1,000 optimized blogs.

• Pros: It automates the entire content workflow, from research to writing to visuals, all from a single keyword. It’s an efficient way to scale high-quality SEO content.
• Cons: It's a specialized tool built for one thing: generating great long-form blog posts. It’s not designed for short-form copy or other types of writing.
• Pricing:
  • It's completely free to try.
  • Paid plans start at $99 for 50 blogs.

There's no reason not to give it a spin and see the quality for yourself.

2. Advanced keyword research and clustering prompts

Good keyword research is the starting point for any decent SEO strategy. It's the foundation for everything that follows. Instead of just guessing what people are searching for, you can use ChatGPT to dig deep.

Part 1: Generating Seed & Long-Tail Keywords

Use this prompt to turn a single idea into a list of potential keywords.

Act as an SEO strategist. Generate a table with 15 long-tail keywords related to the seed keyword '[your keyword]'. Include columns for the keyword, the likely search intent (informational, commercial, transactional), and a potential blog post title that targets the keyword.

For example, if your seed keyword was "AI for IT operations," you'd get a structured table full of specific, actionable keyword ideas to build your content plan around.

Part 2: Grouping Keywords into Topic Clusters

Once you have a list of keywords, you need to organize them. This prompt helps you create topic clusters, which is a big signal to Google that you're an authority on a subject.

I have the following list of keywords: [paste your keyword list]. Group these keywords into semantically relevant clusters based on user intent and topic. For each cluster, suggest a 'pillar page' topic that could serve as the main hub for this content.

Doing this helps you build topical authority, making it easier to rank for competitive terms because you’re showing search engines you have deep expertise, not just a collection of random articles.

3. On-page optimization prompts

On-page SEO is about adjusting the details on your pages so they appeal to both search engines and actual people.

Part 1: Creating Compelling Meta Titles & Descriptions

Your meta title and description are your sales pitch on the search results page. A boring one gets ignored, but a great one gets the click.

Write 5 unique, SEO-optimized meta titles (under 60 characters) and meta descriptions (under 155 characters) for a blog post titled '[Your Blog Post Title]' that targets the primary keyword '[your keyword]'. Ensure the titles are compelling to drive clicks and the descriptions include a clear call-to-action.

This prompt gives you multiple options to test and helps ensure you’re not just stuffing keywords but actually writing something that makes people want to visit your page.

Part 2: Improving Readability and Natural Keyword Integration

Google pays attention to how long people stay on your page. If your content is a dense wall of text, they'll leave quickly. This prompt helps fix that.

Analyze the following text: '[paste your article text]'. Provide specific suggestions to improve its readability to an 8th-grade reading level. Additionally, identify 3-5 opportunities to naturally integrate the keywords '[keyword 1], [keyword 2]' without disrupting the flow or sounding robotic.

Improving readability directly impacts user engagement signals like dwell time, which sends a positive message to search engines about your content's quality.

4. In-depth competitor analysis prompts

If you want to outrank your competitors, you have to know what they're doing right. This prompt turns ChatGPT into your own competitive analyst. (Note: This works best with a model that can browse the web, like the latest versions of ChatGPT).

This is a powerful one, inspired by some competitive intelligence techniques.

Act as a 'Competitive Intelligence Analyst.' Analyze the top-ranking article for the keyword '[your keyword]': [paste competitor URL]. Create a 'Content Improvement Report' that includes: 1. Its structure (H2s, H3s). 2. Key topics and sub-topics covered. 3. The overall tone of voice. 4. A list of content gaps, unanswered user questions, or areas where we can provide more depth, data, or examples to create a superior article.

This prompt doesn't just tell you what your competitor wrote; it gives you a blueprint for creating something that's objectively better. For top-tier results, you can even run this prompt across multiple AIs and combine their insights.

You need to micromanage the GPT to do something well. I output a lot of SEO content with GPT that I manually tweak to both sound more human, and add the keywords I'm going for. The parts of the article that require research, are parts that I rewrite. More often than not with the help of GPT, by giving it additional information/data/stats/whatever that is needed. This way, I've automated all the dull parts of the task, while giving the reader exactly what they're after. And my content output is like 8x. So win - win - win. GPT outputs bullshit content when it gets bullshit prompts.

Reddit

5. Technical SEO assistance prompts

Technical SEO can seem a bit daunting, but it's just about making it easier for search engines to find, crawl, and understand your site. ChatGPT can be a huge help here.

Part 1: Generating FAQ Schema Markup

Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand the content on your page. Valid FAQ schema can help you earn rich snippets in the search results, which can seriously boost your click-through rate.

Based on the content of my article titled '[Your Article Title],' generate a list of 5 relevant frequently asked questions with concise answers. Then, create the corresponding FAQPage JSON-LD schema markup for these Q&As. Ensure the code is valid.

This takes a complicated task and makes it a simple copy-and-paste job.

Part 2: Creating a "robots.txt" File

Your "robots.txt" file tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they should and shouldn't look at. Getting this right is important for managing your crawl budget and keeping private pages out of search results.

Create a "robots.txt" file that allows all crawlers full access to the site but specifically disallows crawling of the '/admin/', '/private/', and '/staging/' directories.

This is a simple but important instruction that helps keep your site tidy from a search engine's perspective.

For those who prefer a visual walkthrough, here's a great video that breaks down the key elements of writing effective SEO prompts for ChatGPT, turning a time-consuming task into a matter of minutes.

This video from Search Engine Land breaks down the key elements of writing effective SEO prompts for ChatGPT.

From prompt to publish: A scalable approach to content

Using these targeted prompts can definitely give you an edge on specific SEO tasks. You can generate keyword clusters, create schema, and analyze competitors faster than ever.

But juggling dozens of them for every article isn't really a scalable way to produce content. It can slow you down.

This is where a tool like the eesel AI blog writer really stands out. It's designed to combine that entire complex workflow into a single step. It’s built for teams that need to consistently publish high-quality, fully optimized content without becoming master prompt engineers for every small task.

Final thoughts

Getting good at writing ChatGPT prompts for SEO can give you a real advantage. It lets you work faster and smarter on keyword research, on-page optimization, competitor analysis, and even technical SEO.

Individual prompts are great for one-off tasks, but a scalable content plan needs something more streamlined. Automating the workflow is the next step up from just juggling prompts.

Ready to skip the manual prompting and start publishing complete, SEO-optimized content in minutes? Generate your first blog for free.