Why it matters.
Ahrefs studied 750 top-of-funnel prompts and reported on 4 December 2025 that “best X” blog lists made up 43.8% of all page types ChatGPT cited. 79.1% of the cited lists had been updated in 2025, and 35% sat on low-authority domains, so this is not only a game for big publishers.
When a buyer asks for suppliers, the engine often searches something like “best payroll software for manufacturers UK”. If you are not on the pages that answer that search, you are unlikely to be in the answer.
The 10-minute self-check.
Search Google for “best [your category] for [your buyer]” and “top [your category] [your market]”. On the first ten results:
- How many are lists of suppliers?
- How many include you?
- How many were updated this year?
- Who publishes them: media, directories, or vendors ranking themselves?
Steps.
- List the “best X for Y” searches for your category: vary the buyer type, size and market.
- Record the list pages for each, with publisher, date updated and whether you appear.
- For independent lists that omit you, send the editor the facts they would need: what you do, for whom, dated proof. Ask; never pay for an editorial place.
- For the narrower questions inside the list (“what should it cost?”, “what to ask before hiring?”), publish your own answer pages.
- Re-check the lists quarterly; most are updated at least yearly.
Mapping these searches is part of our B2B SEO services.
What we saw on prolinkage.com.
How to measure it.
- List coverage: share of the category’s list pages that include you. Quarterly.
- Engine named rate on your shortlist questions (play 03). Monthly.
- Search Console impressions on your answer pages for their target questions. Monthly.
Sources.
- Ahrefs, research on “best” lists in ChatGPT answers (750 prompts), 4 December 2025.
- Prolinkage AI self-test (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, one run each), 6 November 2026.
- Prolinkage change log: 14 Insights articles published (article-route-pack-1), 7 November 2026.