How to Track Keyword Rankings on Perplexity (2025 Guide)

As more users turn to Perplexity AI for quick, sourced answers, traditional SEO must adapt. Beyond blue-link rankings, brands now need Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—optimizing how AI engines interpret prompts, cite sources, and mention brands. Tracking your keywords (prompts) inside Perplexity reveals whether your brand shows up, is cited, and is described positively—insights you can turn into content and product improvements.

The GEO KPIs to Track in Perplexity

When monitoring a keyword or prompt in Perplexity, focus on:

• Brand Mentions: Does the answer include your brand when users query your target keyword/prompt?

• Citations (Source Coverage): Are your webpages among the cited sources in the answer? Which domains are cited most often?

• Sentiment: When your brand is mentioned, is the tone positive, neutral, or negative? Track shifts over time.

Example: For a prompt like “best luxury mobile phone,” Perplexity may mention brands such as Vertu and cite multiple sites (e.g., official brand domains and topical publishers). Evaluating mentions, citations, and sentiment shows where your brand stands today and what content updates are needed.

Tools That Track Keywords in Perplexity

• Several products can help automate Perplexity keyword tracking:

  • Geneo — Tracks brand visibility across Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google AI Overview. Useful for monitoring mentions, citations, and prompt-level coverage.

  • Otterly — Monitors content and brand visibility signals across AI answers.

  • AWR — Simulates searches in Perplexity and checks whether your site appears in answers.

  • Rankscale — Tracks citations and website mentions within Perplexity responses.

Step-by-Step: Track Keywords on Perplexity with Geneo

1. Create an account (free trial available).

   

2. Add your domain. Geneo analyzes your site and generates ~5 prompts representative of what your ICP might ask.

   

3. Auto-run visibility checks. Geneo queries multiple AI search platforms (including Perplexity) and returns visibility metrics for each prompt.

4. Add your own prompts. Enter custom prompts like “best phone for photography” to track branded/non-branded visibility.

5. Review Perplexity results. Inspect brand mentions, cited sources (do your URLs appear?), and sentiment—and compare across prompts.

Manual Tracking (No Tools)

If you prefer a lightweight approach:

1. Query Perplexity with your target prompts.

2. Record outputs in a spreadsheet: brand mentions (Y/N), which domains are cited, and sentiment.

3. Repeat weekly to spot shifts, then adjust content based on what Perplexity favors (clarity, authority, freshness, and topic completeness).

Perplexity vs. Classic Search Tracking

• Perplexity shows source links/citations in every result. Google/Bing focus on ranked URLs.

• Strong overlap: Ranking well on Bing/Google boosts Perplexity visibility, but AI curation/reputation are increasingly important.

• Long-term: Focus on earning citations from high-authority sites (Amazon, Reddit, GitHub, news, etc.).

Power Tips to Optimize Perplexity Presence

• Publish authoritative, well-structured, recent content. AI prefers trustworthy, clear sources.

• Gain citations from established domains. Outreach and PR help boost your brand’s reputation in the AI knowledge graph.

• Cluster your content around key themes. Semantic relationships make your site more likely to be referenced as an expert.

• Monitor and adapt. AI logic evolves—review your data regularly and adjust strategies as needed.

Turn Insights into Actions (SEO + GEO)

• Fill citation gaps: Create or update pages that directly answer your target prompts with concise, source-worthy explanations and first-party evidence (original data, specs, case studies).

• Improve E-E-A-T signals: Strengthen author bios, add references, and surface credentials to increase the chance your pages are cited.

• Structure for retrieval: Use clear headings, glossaries, tables, and FAQs that Perplexity can easily extract and cite.

• Align with searcher intent: For each prompt, ensure your page mirrors the angle Perplexity returns (e.g., comparisons, checklists, “best for X” use-cases).

• Track sentiment & fix friction: Where sentiment is neutral/negative, improve product docs, address objections, and add proof (reviews, benchmarks, detailed specs).

• Iterate weekly: Add new prompts from customer questions and sales chats; prune low-value prompts and double down on those generating mentions and citations.

Sample Tracking Template (copy this)

• Prompt: e.g., “best phone for photography”

• Brand Mention: Yes/No

• Cited URLs: yoursite.com/page-A; yoursite.com/page-B

• Other Cited Domains: domain1.com, domain2.com

• Sentiment: Positive / Neutral / Negative

• Action Item: Update feature comparison table; add sample images; include spec sheet PDF

FAQs

What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimization focuses on how AI engines (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Google AI Overview) interpret prompts, assemble answers, and choose citations. You optimize to be mentioned, cited, and framed positively in those answers.

How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO targets ranking documents in web search; GEO targets answer inclusion and citation in AI responses. Both rely on authoritative, structured, trustworthy content—GEO adds prompt-level coverage and citation optimization.

How often should I track Perplexity visibility?
Weekly is a good baseline. Increase cadence around major content releases or product launches, and monitor sentiment after updates.

Which prompts should I prioritize?
Start with non-branded category prompts (e.g., “best [product] for [job]”), then add branded navigational prompts and problem/solution prompts derived from your ICP.