Reading Citations
The Visibility section maps where authority lives in your category. AI engines pull from web pages to generate answers — those pages are citations. Track them and you see exactly which content earns AI trust.
Two Pages
- Visibility → Overview — Aggregated dashboard: total citation surface, top-cited domains, share of voice
- Visibility → Citations — Detailed list: every cited URL ranked by occurrences
The Overview Metrics
Unique Domains — Distinct websites AI has referenced. High = broad citation surface (easier to break in). Low = concentrated authority (harder to enter, more defensible once in).
Citation Occurrences — Total citation count. The ratio of Occurrences to Unique Domains tells you concentration: high ratio (>2.5) means a few sources dominate; low ratio (<1.5) means citations are spread out.
Top Domain Share — Share held by the single most-cited domain.
| Top Domain Share | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| >15% | One source dominates (often a major directory like G2 or Gartner) |
| 5–15% | Healthy competition; most B2B SaaS categories sit here |
| <5% | Highly fragmented; wins compound slowly |
The Top Cited Domains Table
The 15 most-cited domains in your category, ranked by Mentions and Share of Voice.
Patterns to watch:
- Your domain in top 5 — Strong AEO position. Maintain.
- Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube in top 5 — Common B2B SaaS pattern. Community/social content matters.
- A specific competitor in top 3 — They've built compound authority. Audit what content of theirs is being cited.
- An aggregator in top 5 (G2, Capterra, an industry pub) — Earning placement there is the highest-leverage move you can make.
The Citations Detail Page
Each row is one URL. Columns:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| URL | Cited page with favicon and full URL |
| Type | Website / Corporate / Media / Forum |
| Models | Which AI engines cited this URL |
| Occurrences | Total citation count |
A URL cited by 5+ models with 80+ occurrences is a flagship source — either get cited by it or replicate its content if it's a competitor's.
Five Citation Patterns
The Aggregator Effect
Top 5 URLs are listicles. Action: outreach to the listicle publishers — direct relationships are the path in.
The Reddit/Forum Pattern
Multiple Reddit/HN/Stack Overflow threads in top 20. Action: build authentic community presence (engineer or practitioner, not marketer).
The Competitor's Authority Stack
One competitor's domain dominates with multiple high-occurrence URLs. Action: audit their page types and rebuild stronger versions.
The Vendor-Light Category
Media citations dominate over Corporate. Action: invest in PR and analyst relations over blog content.
The YouTube/Video Surface
youtube.com or video URLs in top 15. Action: build video strategy or partner with creators.
Six Citation Workflows
Authority Audit (Quarterly, 30 min)
Check Top Cited Domains rank. Search your own domain on Citations page. Identify which 3–5 of your URLs do most of the work. Note competitors above you.
Aggregator Placement Strategy (Monthly, 20 min)
Filter to Type=Website/Media. Sort by Occurrences. Identify top 10 listicle URLs. Check which exclude you. Outreach with specific differentiator pitch.
Reddit & Community Audit (Monthly, 30 min)
Search "reddit.com" on Citations page. Note top cited subreddits. Open each. Find threads where competitors are mentioned and you aren't. Engage authentically with substance.
Competitor Citation Mapping (Quarterly, 60 min)
Search top 3 competitor domains. Categorize their high-occurrence URLs (comparisons? technical guides? case studies?). Audit your equivalents.
New-URL Investigation (Weekly, 5 min)
Look for URLs new to the citation list with 10+ occurrences. New high-occurrence URLs lock in authority fast — investigate immediately.
Cybersecurity Vulnerability Source Audit
Search cve, nvd.nist.gov, mitre.org, cisa.gov. Check which authoritative sources cite your CVE content. If your vulnerability content isn't being cited, that's a major gap — security AI queries weight these sources heavily.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing Mentions (raw count) with Share of Voice (percentage) — use SoV for competitive comparison
- Chasing every citation source — focus on top 15
- Ignoring the Type column — Media-heavy categories need PR, not blog content
- Skipping Reddit — AI engines don't care about your brand voice; if Reddit gets cited, you need to be there
- Confusing "cited" with "mentioned" — a cited domain doesn't mean your brand was named in that page