Why it matters.
Ahrefs found that “best X” blog lists made up 43.8% of the page types ChatGPT cited when recommending brands (published 4 December 2025). Of those lists, 79.1% had been updated in 2025, and 35% sat on low-authority domains, so a small, current list can carry real weight.
Many lists are written by a vendor that ranks itself first: in the same study, 67.6% of 250 Google results for “best X software” included one. Readers and engines both discount that, which is why the honest route is to be assessed by someone else.
The 10-minute self-check.
Search Google for “best [category] [market]” and “top [category] companies [year]”. Open the first ten results and note:
- Which of them name you, and which name your competitors.
- Who wrote each list, and when it was last updated.
- How each list chooses: a submission form, reviews, editorial criteria, payment.
Steps.
- Build a target list of 10 to 20 roundups that rank for your category or that the engines cite (play 05).
- Sort them: independent editorial, built from a directory or review site, or written by a competitor.
- For editorial lists, send a short factual note that matches their criteria, with dated proof.
- For directory-built lists, work on the underlying profile and its reviews first (play 16).
- Accept paid placements only if they are clearly labelled as sponsored.
- Do not publish your own “best” list with yourself at the top.
List inclusion is one strand of our AI search visibility work.
What we saw on prolinkage.com.
How to measure it.
- Coverage: target lists that name you, out of the total, monthly.
- Engine reads: how often those lists appear in the engines’ source panels for your panel questions.
- Referrals: GA4 sessions from the list URLs.
Sources.
- Ahrefs, research on “best” lists as ChatGPT sources, 4 December 2025.
- Prolinkage AI self-test, sources panels (Perplexity, Google AI Overview), 6 November 2026.
- Prolinkage change ledger, directory profile corrections (Clutch, DesignRush), 7 November 2026.