Vasco's HBI SEO Ranking System

// When should you use Vasco's HBI SEO Ranking System?

Use this skill whenever you need to build or audit an SEO content strategy for a business, product, or service. Trigger it when a user wants to rank on Google, get cited in LLM responses (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.), or increase organic traffic that converts into paying customers.

// What do you need before applying the HBI SEO Ranking System?

• Business descriptionrequired
  What the business sells — products, services, or both.
• Target customer profilerequired
  Who the ideal buyer is and what problems they are trying to solve.
• Current keyword list (optional)
  Any keywords or topics the business already targets or ranks for.
• Competitor URLs (optional)
  Competitor websites to benchmark content type and backlink strategy against.

// What are the core principles behind the HBI SEO Ranking System?

// How do you apply the HBI SEO Ranking System step by step?

1. 1

   Identify HBI Keywords by putting yourself in your customer's shoes

   Do not default to keyword tools first. Sit down and ask: 'If I were a potential buyer of this business's products or services, what would I search for on Google or prompt into ChatGPT right before I decided to buy?' List every keyword and prompt that signals purchase intent. Prioritise keywords using buying-signal words: 'buy', 'where to', 'how much does it cost', 'best [X] near me', '[X] service in [city]'. Rank these by funnel position — bottom-of-funnel (near purchase) beats top-of-funnel (informational) every time. It is smarter to go for lower search volume + higher buying intent than higher search volume + low buying intent.

2. 2

   Emulate the dominant content type for each target keyword

   For each HBI keyword or prompt, search it on Google AND type it into ChatGPT (or another LLM). Observe: Are the top results listicles? How-to guides? Videos? Comparison pages? Homepages? Whatever format dominates the top results IS the format Google and LLMs have determined best satisfies user intent for that keyword. Produce content in that format — do not invent a new format for a keyword that already has a clear winner. Also check LLM citation sources: if a brand keeps appearing in ChatGPT answers, find out why (e.g., they are listed in top-ranking listicles) and replicate that positioning.

3. 3

   Produce genuinely high-quality content in the emulated format

   Write long-form, structured content that is easy and enjoyable to read. Include: featured images, GIFs or videos where relevant, bullet points, numbered lists, tables, internal links to related content, external links to authoritative sources, pull quotes, and clear section headers. Add a call-to-action where appropriate (e.g., at the end of a how-to guide, offer a paid alternative for readers who reached a step and got stuck). Remember: even if zero humans click through and read the page, LLMs will crawl it and cite it — so quality is non-negotiable regardless of direct human traffic.

4. 4

   Build backlinks from high-authority sources

   Backlinks remain a primary trust signal. Focus on earning or acquiring links from sources that Google already trusts. One proven tactic is to identify listicles and roundup articles that rank for your target keywords, contact the site owners, and negotiate inclusion. Prioritise quality and authority of linking domains over raw volume of links.

5. 5

   Track keyword rankings AND LLM brand citations continuously

   Set up tracking for two distinct signals: (1) Google keyword rankings — which HBI keywords is the site showing up for and at what position? (2) LLM brand mentions — is the brand being cited in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot, and Claude for the target prompts? Also track sentiment of LLM citations — if an LLM is citing the brand negatively, identify the sources driving that sentiment and publish new content to shift it. Use tracking data to iterate: expand to new HBI keywords, improve underperforming content, and monitor competitors.

// What does the HBI SEO Ranking System look like in practice?

// What mistakes should you avoid with the HBI SEO Ranking System?

• Chasing high search volume keywords with low buying intent — more traffic does not mean more revenue if visitors have no intent to purchase.
• Producing content in the wrong format — if listicles dominate for a keyword, publishing a single-product landing page will not rank regardless of quality.
• Writing walls of text — unstructured content without images, bullets, tables, or links underperforms both with human readers and with LLM crawlers.
• Skipping backlinks — content quality alone is insufficient in competitive niches; backlinks remain a non-negotiable trust signal.
• Not tracking LLM citations separately from Google rankings — a brand can rank on Google but be absent or negatively cited in LLM responses, requiring different corrective actions.
• Ignoring sentiment in LLM citations — being mentioned negatively by an LLM can suppress conversions; negative sentiment must be actively countered with new authoritative content.
• Assuming humans must directly read the content for it to have value — LLMs crawl and cite content even when human click-through rates are low, so quality must never be sacrificed on the assumption that no one will read it.

// What key terms should you know for the HBI SEO Ranking System?

HBI Keywords

High Buying Intent Keywords — search queries (on Google or typed into an LLM) where the person searching has a strong likelihood of wanting to make a purchase. Characterised by words like 'where', 'how much', 'buy', 'best [X] near me', or location qualifiers. The opposite of informational or DIY-intent keywords.

Content Type Emulation

The practice of identifying the dominant content format currently ranking or being cited for a target keyword (e.g., listicle, video, how-to guide, comparison table) and producing content in that exact format rather than an arbitrary one.

LLM Brand Citations

Instances where a large language model (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot, etc.) mentions or recommends a specific brand in response to a user prompt. Being cited by LLMs is treated as a parallel ranking signal to Google keyword rankings.

Bottom-of-Funnel Keywords

Keywords used by prospects who are at or near the purchase decision stage. These are the highest-priority HBI keywords. Example: 'buy Tesla Model Y in Dallas, Texas' vs. the top-of-funnel 'how wide is a Tesla Model Y'.

Sentiment Tracking

Monitoring whether LLM citations of a brand are positive, neutral, or negative. Negative sentiment in LLM citations must be actively countered by publishing authoritative content that shifts the sources those LLMs draw from.

// FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS